Pizza. It’s everywhere.

Now Longmont has even more of the universally-loved food group.

Noble Roman’s Take-n-Bake Pizza just opened on Hover, the first one in Colorado and one of just a few in the Rocky Mountain region.

The closest Noble Roman’s is in Layton, Utah, 500 miles west of here.

“Dave has always wanted to have his own business and worked many years in food service,” explained Joe Hebert, who co-owns the business with his son Dave. “We had a little money to invest and decided to give it a go. After some research we found Noble Roman’s with a solid franchise structure and we think very good growth potential.”

What makes this pizza shop unique is the take and bake business model. The pies are made fresh before your eyes, and then wrapped up with instructions for you to go home and toss it in the oven. The Longmont location at 1844 Hover Street does have a small oven for those folks who want it baked on site, but it’s rarely used.

Founded in 1972 on the campus of Indiana University, Noble Roman’s is headquartered in Indianapolis.

“We had a good first week,” said Dave Hebert. “It was wonderful seeing all the people who came in that are familiar with Noble Roman’s brand, and hear how excited they are that we opened one here.”

It’s something the younger Hebert has always wanted to do.

“My Grandfather was a franchisee in California when I was a kid. I always looked up to him and thought it would be a great job,” he said. “He worked extremely hard but was also very successful. I had a little money to invest and Noble Roman’s looked like a great franchise opportunity with awesome growth potential. Once I tried the pizza, I was sold.”

The store was packed on opening day, as they moved hundreds of pies December 30.

It hasn’t slowed down much since then.

“We are currently building another location in Loveland that will open in a few months, and then looking at several other locations in the area,” explained the younger Hebert.

The company said it continues to focus on growth in three primary areas: franchises and licenses in convenience stores; take-n-bake pizzas in grocery stores; and stand-alone take-n-bake franchised locations.

Noble Roman’s sells its pizzas in more than 1,700 grocery stores. In the latest quarter, the company entered into 24 agreements with convenience stores and 61 for stand-alone take-and-bake locations. The Noble Roman business is going strong.

“Yes this is the first standalone location in Colorado,” Dave Hebert said as he wiped down the counter. “Although there is some Noble Roman’s product carried in grocery stores on the western slope. There are stand alone Take -n- Bake franchises located in many other states, including Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Nevada.”

And now in Longmont, Colorado.

Vince Winkel: 303-684-5291, winkelv@times-call.com or twitter.com/vincewinkel