Cascadia Pizza Co. is returning to Square as its unified commerce platform as the Pacific Northwest wood-fired pizza brand prepares for its next phase of national franchise expansion.
Announced by Square on August 26, 2026, the move brings Cascadia’s corporate restaurants, franchise locations, food trucks and event catering operations onto one technology ecosystem. The brand, founded in Washington state in 2015, has grown from a single food truck into a multi-format operation with 17 corporate restaurants, additional franchise locations and mobile and catering operations across Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona and Texas.
Cascadia previously used Square during its early growth before moving to another technology platform as its restaurant and franchise operations became more complex. Co-owner Thomas Reinhard later revisited Square to assess how its restaurant and franchise capabilities had evolved.
The company has now deployed Square for Restaurants, Square Franchise Suite and Square hardware across its operating formats. The technology is intended to give Cascadia greater consistency across its increasingly dispersed network while providing corporate leadership with centralized visibility as the franchise system grows.
“Cascadia operates everything from brick-and-mortar restaurants to food trucks and franchise locations, so we needed technology that could work across all of those environments while giving our team the visibility to grow,” said Reinhard. “But seeing how much Square’s full-service restaurant and franchise platform has advanced gave us full confidence that it was the right partner to support the next stage of Cascadia’s growth.”
The Square rollout covers a range of operating environments. Square Register and Square Stand support restaurant and counter-service operations, while Square Handheld is being used for patio service and line-busting. Square KDS and kitchen printers support kitchen workflows, while offline functionality is particularly relevant to Cascadia’s food trucks and event catering operations, where reliable connectivity can be difficult.
For the franchise network, Square Franchise Suite provides centralized reporting and menu orchestration across corporate and franchise locations, while franchisees retain their own Square accounts. Cascadia can aggregate performance across its locations and analyze results by region or ownership structure.
The platform also incorporates Square Loyalty, Gift Cards and Marketing, along with delivery integrations including Uber Eats and Postmates.
“Cascadia Pizza Co. is one of the most operationally complex restaurant stories we get to tell, with all concepts running on our single platform across five states,” said James Schonzeit, Head of Food & Beverage at Square. He added that Cascadia’s operating model required infrastructure capable of supporting its next stage of growth.
Founded by Reinhard, Christian Buck and Calvin Freatman, Cascadia was built around wood-fired pizza, old-world cooking techniques and Pacific Northwest ingredients. The company uses Italian-imported Mugnaini ovens and has developed a business that combines restaurants with mobile food service and event catering.
The brand is now actively pursuing national franchise expansion. Its franchise model supports brick-and-mortar restaurants alongside additional mobile and catering opportunities, although new franchisees are currently required to begin with a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Cascadia says prospective owners should expect a typical restaurant size of 1,500 to 2,500 square feet, while a brick-and-mortar opening generally takes eight to 12 months.
The estimated startup investment for a Cascadia restaurant with a food truck ranges from $325,542 to $646,110, including a $49,500 initial franchise fee. The franchisor lists an ongoing royalty of 6% of gross sales and a brand development fund contribution of 2%.
Cascadia’s franchise strategy is built around active ownership. Franchisees are expected to participate in local marketing, community engagement, catering development and team management. Multi-unit ownership is also available, with incentives for owners committing to additional restaurants upfront.
With its return to Square, Cascadia is effectively pairing its multi-format franchise model with a centralized technology infrastructure designed to support greater scale. For a brand moving from its Pacific Northwest roots toward a national footprint, the objective is clear: standardize operations, strengthen corporate visibility and give franchisees the tools to grow without creating a fragmented technology network.
