Lonny Chesnut (left) receiving buyout check and transferring
ownership to James English (Right). May 2017

A Proud History of Local Ownership

CiCis Pizza was established in 1985 near Dallas, Texas and rapidly began franchising to smaller markets and now operates in 38 states and over 200 cities.

The location in Lake Charles, Louisiana was originally franchised in 1998 by

Lonny Chesnut of Lafayette and set a company sales record of $47,638 at $2.99! The franchise grew to a total of four locations spanning Lafayette, New Iberia, Alexandria and Lake Charles.

Almost 20 years later, the restaurant was purchased by the English Family of Sulphur and is now operated full-time by McNeese State graduate, James English.

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Hired in 2009 as an Assistant Manager, James was promoted to General Manager in 2012, Operator in 2016 and bought the rights to the business in 2017. Operating as the Business Owner for the next 2 years, franchise rights were awarded in September 2019 making him one of the youngest franchisees in the CiCis Pizza system at just 35 years old. 

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Today, the Lake Charles location has grown its operations to include a state-of-the-art Family Entertainment Center that produces the largest revenue stream of any CiCis Pizza gaming facility in operation today. 

July, 2020