Revenue at Noble Roman's Inc. inched up in the first quarter as the Indianapolis-based franchisor continued to grow its take-and-bake pizza operation in grocery stores.

Profit was $368,012, or 2 cents a share, up slightly from $351,667 in the same period last year, the company announced Tuesday. Revenue surpassed $1.8 million, an increase of about $27,000.

The franchisor of Noble Roman's Pizza and Tuscano's Italian Style Subs attributed the gain to a boost in ongoing royalties from its grocery store business and other non-traditional franchises.

Ongoing revenue from traditional locations was down.

The take-and-bake program, launched in 2009, offers pizzas, lasagna, breadsticks and sauces in more than 550 supermarkets and has signed agreements with a number of grocery store distributors to broaden its reach.

The company also is “experiencing some renewed interest” in other non-traditional venues such as hospitals, military bases, universities, convenience stores, entertainment facilities and travel plazas, according to a news release.