Midwest pizza chain Happy Joe's is growing in the Middle East

• Eventually, they would like to open in Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco and Qatar.

How it started: Happy Joe's first franchised in Egypt in the 1980s and 90s, but later left.

• Ahmed El Batran, the franchisee of the current stores, was familiar with Happy Joe's because his uncle and father owned the previous locations.
• He studied at the University of Michigan and traveled the Midwest, learning even more about the franchise, Sacco says.

How it works: Everything is in English and the menu is mostly the same — just without the pork products.

• The most popular pizza at the Egyptian locations is the chicken-ranch (or the chicken-bacon-ranch in the U.S.).
• Seafood and olives are more popular toppings and the restaurants also have their own unique waffle dessert, Sacco says.

What they're saying: While opening Happy Joe's locations in Egypt seems like a juxtaposition to the chain's small-town America branding, Sacco says they're not too different.

• There's demand from families for more American concepts, Sacco says. They want their kids to eat at English-speaking restaurants to help them learn the language, especially if they go to school abroad.

Between the lines: The restaurants are opening in wealthier, gated compounds.

• "We position ourselves in the smaller community," Sacco says. "They just happen to be affluent."