Pizza Pilgrims has announced it is expanding into Wales with the chain set to open a pizzeria in Cardiff before the end of the year.

Pizza Pilgrims was founded in 2012 by brothers Thom and James Elliott after they quit their jobs to embark on a six-week pizza “pilgrimage” through Italy.

They scoured the country for the best pizzas, with the results filmed for an Apple TV series called James And Thom’s Pizza Pilgrimage.

Since then they have turned their business from a single pizza van to a multimillion pound business, with a workforce of 480 people serving up to 50,000 pizzas a week.

The pizza chain, which sold its first slice out of a van in Soho, currently has 22 pizzerias across England including in places like London, Brighton and Nottingham.

Pizza Pilgrims to open new pizzeria in Cardiff

It is now looking to expand into Wales and Scotland with plans to open four more sites across the UK in 2024.

The four new Pizza Pilgrims sites opening in 2024 are: 

  • Euston, London (June)
  • Cardiff (August)
  • King's Cross, London (August)
  • Edinburgh (December)

Co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, Thom Elliot, said: "This year will see four new openings, including our inaugural pizzerias in Scotland and Wales, as we continue to demonstrate that sustainable growth remains an output of running a great business, rather than our sole focus.

“We continue to love the journey and look forward to bringing our team’s legendary Neapolitan hospitality to our growing band of pilgrims in new cities up and down the land.”

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During the pandemic the company launched its Pizza In The Post initiative, where customers were sent their own pizza to craft it themselves at home.

This has recently been followed by Pizza At Home kits in collaboration with Ocado.

The company said its best-selling pizzas were the margherita and the double pepperoni and hot honey.