Larry Garetto is doubling down on the White Sox.

Two years into a partnership with the South Siders that made Beggars Pizza the only pizza served at U.S. Cellular Field, the CEO of the Blue Island-based chain is sold on sports marketing as a sales booster.

That's why Beggars has extended what was originally a five-year agreement with the Sox for another five, keeping its status as the team's sole pizza offering through the 2023 season.

Doubling the length of the original deal comes with a big perk: The Sox are opening a new Beggars Pizza Pub beyond the left center field seats near section 163. The new spot will be ready for Opening Day April 8 and will serve specialty pizzas as well as including a sit-down dining area.

Add that to a five-year agreement the pizza chain signed with the Chicago Bears last year and Garetto thinks he has a recipe for using team partnerships to generate higher profits.

"We've been trying to get a bigger footprint in Chicago," he said. "We figured (partnering with teams) was the fastest and easiest way."

It's worked so far, said Garetto, who founded the chain 40 years ago with his brother. Beggars' sales last year totaled $45 million, up about 15 percent from two years ago when it signed the initial Sox agreement. That made it the 48th-largest pizza chain in the nation in 2015 by total revenue, up from 53rd the year before, according to an annual list from industry trade publication Pizza Today.

That growth has come despite a struggle to expand its number of locations, which has remained stable for the past several years at 22 outlets on the South Side, in south suburban Chicago and in Northwest Indiana. More than half of those are owned by franchisees.

Onsite sales at Sox and Bears games—which the teams share with their concessionaire partners—haven't contributed to that growth either. The sales increase, Garetto said, has come as a result of introducing the brand to fans of the Chicago area that may not know it.

"More people try (the pizza) now, and a lot of people are first-timers," he said, noting his intention to expand and add more franchises in the western suburbs. "People in Downers Grove go to Sox games, and they've never gotten a taste."

Financial terms of the extended Sox-Beggars deal were not disclosed.

TRYING TO STAND OUT

But gaining market share in a town famous for its pizza and flush with competition will be difficult. Dozens of midsize chains like Beggars consistently jockey for customers, many of whom tend to have an almost religious dedication to the brand they grew up with.

Using the Sox and Bears as a platform may prove to be an effective way to stand out from the pack, but it often comes with the challenge of ensuring that the quality of the pizza served during games lives up to the standard expected in restaurants, said Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Chicago market research firm Technomic.