MOD Pizza Shuts Down Operations At The Village At Newtown

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — MOD Pizza, which opened its doors at the Village at Newtown Shopping Center in 2020, has turned off its ovens and closed its doors.

The California-based pizzeria chain shutdown operations this week and posted two signs on the door announcing the location's closure.

“This location is permanently closed,” reads the sign. “We are incredibly grateful for your patronage and support over the years.”

The signs on the door announce the permanent closure of the MOD Pizza location in Newtown. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

The chain, which opened its Village at Newtown location four years ago in March 2020, billed itself as “the original superfast pizza experience” – a pioneering fast-casual concept that “put you in the driver’s seat” of pizza-making.

The MOD, or "Made on Demand" pizza concept, was pioneered in 2008 by husband and wife, Scott and Ally Svenson, in their hometown of Seattle. Inspired by their own search for quick, affordable, wholesome restaurant options for their growing family, they started to wonder if there was a better way of doing pizza – and business.

"The last thing the world needed was another pizza place, but maybe this one could be different," the couple thought. "What if everyone could get exactly what they wanted, made fresh on demand, for as little as possible? And what if employees were paid as much as possible and given real opportunities for growth, even second chances? It all started sounding pretty great, and soon Scott and Ally were opening the first MOD Pizza in downtown Seattle."

The concept spread across the nation, but in recent years the fast-casual chain has ran into financial challenges as the restaurant industry coped with inflation-weary customers pulling back from eating out.

In July, amid bankruptcy rumors, the chain was acquired by the Elite Restaurant Group, a California-based company with a history of acquiring struggling restaurant chains.

Prior to the acquisition, the chain had reportedly closed 44 of its more than 500 restaurants across the nation. That included its Quakertown store at Trainer's Corner in June. The Quakertown store also opened its doors in 2020, the same year as Newtown.