Donatos Heads to Panama City via Longtime Fans of the Brand

Donatos, the Ohio-founded pizza chain with a loyal Midwest following, is heading to Panama City — and the people bringing it there describe themselves first as longtime fans of the brand.

That framing matters in franchising. When a expansion deal is signed by operators who already have an emotional stake in the product, the unit economics tend to get defended more aggressively: recipe adherence, ticket-building add-ons, and labor scheduling that protects margin during the expensive first year of operation. Fan-led franchise groups also shorten the brand-education curve, because the ownership doesn't need to be convinced the cracker-thin, edge-to-edge-topped pizza sells.

Who is Donatos, and why does the geography matter?

Donatos was built in Columbus, Ohio, and its density has historically sat in the Midwest. Every new market outside that core footprint is a test of whether the brand travels — whether a regional pizza identity can win share in a coastal, tourism-driven trade area like Panama City rather than a hometown one.

Regional pizza brands expand on tight math. A delivery-and-carryout pizza model lives or dies on order frequency, driver labor efficiency, and food cost discipline on cheese and dough. Entering a seasonal visitor market adds a variable most Midwest units never face: a customer base that swells and shrinks with the tourist calendar. Smart operators in those markets staff for the surge and engineer catering and large-order programs to capture group demand when it peaks.

What does this change for Donatos?

For the chain, one new market is not a transformation. It's a signal. Growth through devotees-turned-franchisees is the cheapest expansion channel a regional brand has: the buyers self-qualify, they rarely need convincing on menu or positioning, and they tend to open closer to the brand's operating playbook than opportunistic multi-concept investors do.

For Panama City consumers, the practical change is simpler — a pizza option that previously required a trip to Donatos' home territory becomes available locally. For the franchisees, the bet is that a beloved brand with a defined niche converts curious first-timers into regulars fast enough to carry the fixed costs of a new buildout.

Donatos has spent decades proving that a focused menu and a devoted customer base can sustain a chain without national advertising muscle. Panama City will now test whether that devotion exports.

By Daniel Okafor