Update: Oath Craft is now confirming the Series A round of $4.5 million led by Breakaway, bringing its total funding to $9 million. The company will further expand in Boston, while adding locations in New York City and Washington, D.C., as well.
“We’re thrilled by the ongoing support from our investors, as this additional funding will allow us to execute our growth plans for the brand," said Oath Craft Pizza President and COO Rick Wolf. “As the restaurant industry evolves to keep up with consumer tastes and preferences, Oath is proud to lead the pack in fast-casual craft pizza. We look forward to bringing our unique flavor combinations and exceptional crust to new guests in Boston and beyond.”
Oath has also added Len Schlesinger to the board. Schlesinger is the former president of Babson College, vice chairman and COO of Limited Brands and EVP and COO of Au Bon Pain. Currently, he's a professor at Harvard Business School.
Earlier: Right now, someone is chuckling about a pizza joint raising some serious dough ...
But it's true. And crusty pun aside, it's outstanding news for the pizza lovers among us.
Nantucket's Oath Craft Pizza has promised an aggressive expansion in these parts – an expansion that's already yielded outposts in South Station, Chestnut Hill and Davis Square. And it looks like the company has raised $4.5 million in funding, possibly to fuel that expansion.
There may be more to the story: A regulatory filing disclosing the financing was marked not equity or debt, but an option to acquire a security at a later date. And a spokeswoman for Breakaway, Oath Craft's branding agency, said the form is only half-baked. ("Premature and inaccurate" were the words she used.) Nonetheless, there it is, up on the SEC's website under "Next Level Pizza," which is Oath Craft's corporate entity. (Hat tip to the BBJ, which tasted this filing hot out of the oven.)
Apparently, more funding may be on the way. The spokeswoman called the filing "a legacy that needed to be handled in advance of a yet to be closed funding – happening next week." She wasn't able to elaborate further before the kitchen timer ran out on this story, but we can only hope this financing event means more local locations dishing out the beloved Spicy Mother Clucker in the near future. Or whatever crafty concoction they're topping their proprietary, fried-dough-like crust with.
A crust, mind you, they describe as such:
Our crust is prepared with 100% pure grain north dakota mills flour. We infuse it with pure olive oil and a hint of omg in a super secret double probation methodology that delivers a super crispy experience that is as unique as it is delicious.
It really is super. And unlike any pizza crust you've likely encountered to date. (Fun fact: The South Station spot is just 165 square feet.) Oath Craft also fires all its pies in a diabolical electric-powered oven that cooks the damn things in 90 seconds flat. So there's that.
