Hungry Goofy's Pizza

### Founded

Nayoro City, Hokkaido Circuit Prefecture, Japan (February 25, 1975; 46 years ago)

### Key people

Yasutaka Morita (CEO and Founder)Maverick Dominic Morita (aka Hungry Goofy) (born March 27, 1942) (President and Spokesperson of MFI Company)

### Number of locations

60 (as of September 28, 2021)

**The Morita Food Import Company, Inc.** (森田食品輸入株式会社, *Morita Shokuhin Yunyū Kabushiki-kaisha*), doing business as **Hungry Goofy's Pizza** (ハングリー・グーフィーズ・ピザ, *Hangurī Gūfīzu Piza*), is a Japanese Western-style pizza chain with over 50+ locations in the Chubu and Kanto regions of Japan, and 1 overseas location in the Orange County area of Central Florida. Its headquarters are in the Tokyo Tower near Minato City, Tokyo, Japan.

## Origins

Yasutaka Morita (born April 27, 1944 in Tokyo, Japan) worked at a local izakaya pub in his early 20s since dropping out of high school. He met up with a funny relative of him, which was a Canadian actor and spokesperson Maverick Dominic Morita CM OBC CC (born March 27, 1942 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), whom he called him after the names of a Disney cartoon character and a pizza chain in the United States: "Hungry Goofy". Anonymously adapting the concepts used by the Hungry Howie's and Little Caesars pizza chains, he developed the first ready-to-order fresh pepperoni pizza as an alternative to the original American flavored crust pizza.

Yasutaka and Maverick opened their first Hungry Goofy's Pizza restaurant in Nayoro, Hokkaido on February 25, 1975 (2 years after the founding of Hungry Howie's Pizza). At that time, the restaurant used to be called as ***Hungry Goofy's Original Baked Pizza***. They also established their first menu just after the founding of the pizza chain. A fifth Hungry Goofy's restaurant was opened in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture on October 23, 1989 (the day when the city of Urayasu shared its sister city relationships to the city of Orlando, Florida, USA). However, the second one opened in Murakami, Niigata Prefecture on April 20, 1978.

During that time, Maverick became the president and spokesperson of the Hungry Goofy's pizza chain, and Yasutaka became the chief executive officer of the MFI Company.

On June 16, 2015, Yasutaka and Maverick opened their first overseas restaurant location near 11774 East Colonial Drive (Florida State Route 50), Orlando, Florida 32817, obviously replacing Hungry Howie's Pizza. As of May 2021, the Orlando, Florida location remains intact and still open for business. Hungry Goofy's plans to open a Brunswick, Georgia location and a St. Marys, Georgia location in January of 2022.

## Impacts

#### First restaurant recovery in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

March 11, 2011 saw a major shock and awe when their first Hungry Goofy's restaurant was almost demolished in Nayoro, Hokkaido Circuit Prefecture. Some of the parts were kept for recovery during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, or the ***Great East Japan Earthquake***. Yasutaka commented on that event: "I'm glad they managed to save our first restaurant, it took us years to build this piece of art." However, moving to the Kanto and Chubu regions, the Hungry Goofy's restaurants were safely protected by the police officials, reminding people that there is shelter near their restaurants.

A quick recovery took place on the Nayoro, Hokkaido location on June 28, 2014, as well as the Kanto and Chubu region locations on July 3, 2014.

On March 14, 2016, the first Hungry Goofy's restaurant was given a historical marker, promoting *"The world's first Hungry Goofy's restaurant captivated the American food chain in the land of the Ainu people"*.

## Restaurant reviews

Each year, people go to Hungry Goofy's Pizza for dining in and/or take-out services almost every week. Yasutaka Morita and Maverick Dominic Morita are proud owners of the pizza chain, and they're operated with love by Morita Food Import USA, Inc. (an American subsidiary of Morita Food Import Company, Inc.) They leave the restaurant with commented reviews made from real people and users around the world.

> *"Hungry Goofy's is the best. I would go in there every Wednesday or Friday. Those pepperoni pizzas rock hard, man! Keep it up, you guys! You two are the bomb!"*
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> - Peter Sullivan Morita OC ONB (born March 1, 1954 in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada)
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> *"This pizza chain **really** captivated the post-war black market, dude! I mean, **for real!** These guys are the top dog. And believe me, **nobody** does it better like Hungry Goofy!"*
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> - Hiroshi Morita CH CB CMG (born September 7, 1946 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada)
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> *"I'm telling you folks, Hungry Goofy's got it all. From a variety of classic pepperoni pizzas to rare and authentic flavors you just can't resist! You got to have a go at Hungry Goofy's. They are the best of the best."*
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> - Sir Maximus Edward Atkinson KBE CMG OM KCB CH (born October 23, 1954 in Biggleswade, Central Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom)
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> *"This is amazing in so many levels! I've never been to this place in like, forever! I really like the way they compare Hungry Goofy's with Hungry Howie's Pizza, it gives a big sense of company partnership. I would very much love to come back to Hungry Goofy's more often!"*
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> - Peter James Simpson CM MVO (born October 10, 1968 in Markham, Ontario, Canada)
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> *"I would like to express my fondest congrats to Yasutaka Morita, for his hard work and effort to build his very first pizza chain. You never quit, you never gave up. You followed the footsteps to a brighter and more playful future. **Keep making your lifelong dream come true, Yasutaka-san!** We're all counting on you!"*
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> - Hiroya Morita, father of Yasutaka Morita (born May 7, 1920 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan)
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> *"Outstanding! **Simply outstanding!** Hungry Goofy's really giving it their all! Yasutaka Morita did a very good job on running his pizza chain, that was a memory I shall never forget."*
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> - Yasutaka Morita III, 3rd son of Yasutaka Morita (born November 28, 1972 in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan)
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> *"Pizza! **Pizza!!** **Pizza galore!!!** So many pizzas I want to explore! Pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, garlic, beans. Just don't add the anchovies!"*
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> - Takayoshi Morita (born May 27, 1967 in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, Japan)
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## Yasutaka Morita's grand opening speech

On the day of the grand opening, February 25, 1975 at approximately 6:30 PM Japan Standard Time (5:30 AM Eastern Standard Time), in an exterior building near Nayoro, Hokkaido Circuit Prefecture, Yasutaka Morita prepared his grand opening speech before proceeding to the ribbon cutting scene. This is what he said on his speech:

> *"Dear all of those who come to this fine place.....*
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> *Today, as I'm standing here in the beautiful city of Nayoro, in the heart of the land of the Ainu people, at the island nation of Japan, as I'm standing right here this Tuesday, the twenty-fifth day of the month of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and seventy-five A.D., at approximately half past six in the evening.....*
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> *What you all are about to witness is the first ever pizza chain known to human mankind. A pizza chain that is more than just any old American pizza chain. What you are witnessing is the birth of the first ever Hungry Goofy's Pizza. This pizza chain was invented by none other than we, the Morita brothers ourselves. It all began when I was working at an izakaya pub somewhere in the Shibuya ward. That was when I happened to be introduced to a very intelligent man -- and a bit funny too -- by the name of Maverick Dominic Morita from Vancouver, British Columbia. Hungry Goofy's Pizza was made by two intelligent boys who were smart enough to adapt some concepts from the American pizza chain giants Little Caesars and Hungry Howie's Pizza. Hungry Goofy's is dedicated to pizza lovers and fast-food fanatics around the world. When you come to this successful pizza chain, you'll leave knowing that you're bound to come back again very soon. And now, before your very eyes, the ribbon cutting of the very first Hungry Goofy's Pizza restaurant as it has been declared officially open for business. The staff and team would like to thank you for your generous support and your time."*
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With that, operations for Hungry Goofy's Pizza finally took place after the grand opening.

## Alternate name

The company name (*Morita Food Import Company, Inc.*) is shown as an alternate name used in e-cards.

## Future plans

The pizza chain is planning to open 6 new locations in Georgia and South Carolina by January through February of 2022. Construction of the Tampa Bay, Lakeland, and Jacksonville, Florida locations will take effect on May 15, 2022 and will be open on June 27 through July 4, 2022. By February 2035, there will be a total of 10 overseas locations across the southeastern United States and 5 locations across Greater Manchester, England.