About
Our Story
A simple idea… with amazing results
The Just Pizza & Pasta story begins with the opening of the first 86-seater restaurant in the heart of Douglas on the Isle of Man by Glasgow-born businessman, Mitch Sorbie.
Mitch moved to the Isle of Man after 15 years owning and operating late-night venues in Scotland. Whilst visiting the TT motorcycle racing back in 2004 he fell in love with the friendly people and vibrant atmosphere of the island’s capital and was determined to find a way to tap into its energy and magic with his own venue. He tried a few different offerings before deciding upon the winning formula: Just Pizza & Pasta.
The combination of great fresh food made with authentic ingredients, and an ambiance which appealed to a wide range of customers, from families and couples, through to tourists and business people, made the new restaurant a huge success.
In 2019, Mitch took his brand to a prime waterfront location in the town with a new 150-seater restaurant. His bold move was to immediately pay off as the restaurant’s reputation spread. It soon enjoyed a busy lunch and dinner service, peaking at serving over 1500 customers per week in July 2023.
The light bulb moment
The success of the new restaurant did not go unnoticed amongst local diners, local businesses, and visitors from across the UK and further afield. Mitch found he was regularly stopped by guests and asked if Just Pizza & Pasta was a UK franchise, as it had a nice warm professional feeling.
Not long after the move to North Quay, Mitch was approached by a local, island-based pub chain with sites on and off island to setup a franchise-style deal with him to offer his menu in their outlets. While this was an attractive prospect in many ways, Mitch wanted to preserve the personality and style of the brand he had built, and felt this was not the direction he wanted to take Just Pizza & Pasta in.
However, this did prove beyond a doubt that the restaurant concept was something which could be replicated elsewhere with the same success, so Mitch began to look at ways he could encourage others to join him. People who could share in his passion, and the ethos he had built up around the original restaurant.
He began some extensive research, and met with some of the best consultants in the industry to help him build the perfect offering and, in 2023, the Just Pizza & Pasta franchise was born!
The next exciting chapter is just waiting to be written – with you at the helm.