With all the consumer love for pizza, the competition is fiercer than ever. Pizza chains are fighting for slices of the pie, and many are closing stores left and right. These pizzerias might be in your town today, but there's no guarantee they'll still be there tomorrow.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00With all the nation's love for pizza, the competition is fiercer than ever.
00:05Pizza chains are fighting for slices of the pie, and many are closing stores left and
00:09right.
00:10These pizzerias might be in your town today, but there's no guarantee they'll still be
00:14there tomorrow.
00:16In terms of American pizza chains, there's not many that have had bigger success than
00:20Pizza Hut.
00:22What started in 1958 as a small pizza shop named Pizza Hut only because the sign could
00:27fit just eight letters grew to be a global brand.
00:31Not all is well with Pizza Hut, though, and the brand known for their distinctively shaped
00:35buildings is in trouble.
00:37In August 2019, Nation's Restaurant News reported that Pizza Hut was planning to shut down nearly
00:42500 locations.
00:44Even with around 7,000 locations in the United States alone, shuttering 500 stores is no
00:49small pepperoni.
00:51As for the reason that your local Pizza Hut might soon be locking its doors, it's all
00:55about how people are getting their pizza.
00:58With the emergence of online ordering and delivery services like Uber Eats, not as many
01:03people are choosing to eat their pizza inside a sit-down pizza place like Pizza Hut.
01:07There's a bit of good news.
01:09The company plans to convert some of those old dine-in locations to delivery takeout
01:13units.
01:14So you'll probably still be able to order a pizza from Pizza Hut, you'll just have to
01:18eat it someplace else.
01:19Well, that's where I see things just a little differently.
01:22Contract or no, I will not bow to any sponsor."
01:28It's rough for all-you-can-eat buffets these days, and Cici's is struggling just like so
01:33many other buffets across the U.S.
01:36The pizza chain has been around since the mid-1980s and offers customers unlimited access
01:41to their buffet for one low price.
01:43And while that affordability certainly helps out families on a budget, it hasn't necessarily
01:47been able to keep the chain from losing stores.
01:50In 2018, New York saw all of its Cici's locations close.
01:55The chain's corporate office didn't say why it shuttered stores in the Empire State, but
02:00it suspected that the increase in the minimum wage was too much for Cici's to handle.
02:04Grand Blanc, Michigan also lost its Cici's in November 2018, and Springfield, Missouri
02:10lost its store after an embezzlement investigation.
02:17One possible reason for Cici's struggles may simply be that customers want more than
02:38a product that's cheap.
02:40According to Restaurant Business, quick-service pizza chains like Cici's ranked in the bottom
02:45when it came to guest satisfaction, and Cici's Pizza has seen its consumer satisfaction decrease
02:49by 6.7 points.
02:52While we're on the subject about the hard times of buffet pizza chains, let's talk about
02:56another one that's got a big mess on its hands.
02:59If you grew up in Texas or in the southern U.S., there's a good chance you attended more
03:03than one birthday party at Mr. Gatti's Pizza.
03:07The chain has been a Texas pizza staple since the 1960s and has seen better days.
03:13In September 2018, 13 of Mr. Gatti's stores in its home city of Austin, Texas, were sold
03:19to another franchise group.
03:21That might not have been earth-shaking news, but just a few months later in January 2019,
03:26the owner of the pizza chain, Severano LLC, filed for bankruptcy.
03:31According to the court filing, the company, quote,
03:34"...failed to maximize revenues due in part to underperforming stores at several locations."
03:40As for the folks of the franchise group who bought those 13 Austin-area Mr. Gatti's locations,
03:46they later sued and argued they were swindled into buying a struggling business.
03:51With news like that, it's really no surprise locations in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and
03:55Boonville, Indiana shut their doors around the same time.
03:59Your local Mr. Gatti's might be safe today, but with the turmoil the company is going
04:03through, it could be gone any day.
04:06If you're a parent who is struck with dread every time your child gets an invitation to
04:10a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's, we have some good news.
04:14You may not have to go anymore.
04:16That's right, the pizza chain designed for kids isn't quite as popular as it once was.
04:21The company has struggled over the last several years, and found itself in competition with
04:26the advancements of digital gaming and the overall decline of chain restaurants.
04:31Even trampoline parks are giving old Chuck E. Cheese's a run for its money.
04:35As for the restaurants themselves, those violent altercations between customers that
04:39occasionally make the media rounds can result in store closures.
04:43Way to ruin kids' fun there, grown-ups.
04:46While those may have been incidents affecting only a few particular stores, there's also
04:51that viral internet rumor that's started to spread, alleging that the chain recycled its
04:56pizza.
04:57Chuck E. Cheese's said the idea that they recycled their pizza was, quote, unequivocally
05:02false, but nonetheless, that sort of publicity is never good for a brand's image.
05:07When a deal is a little too good, it can come back to haunt a brand.
05:10Take Little Caesar's $5 Hot N' Ready pizza.
05:13It's a great deal for customers, but for franchise owners, maybe not so much.
05:18Those $5 pizzas were not a hit with businessman Alan Knox, who closed all of his 21 Kansas
05:23City locations in 2018 because he didn't want to play along with the Little Caesar's Hot
05:28N' Ready deal.
05:29Knox argued that he couldn't make a profit at that price point.
05:33Kansas City did later see two Little Caesars open in 2019, they just weren't owned by Alan
05:38Knox.
05:39It's not just the Kansas City area that has seen its Little Caesars locations vanish recently.
05:45Locations in Clemson, South Carolina, Victoria, Texas, and Spokane, Washington have also closed
05:50their doors in the last year.
05:52While no reason for the Clemson or Victoria closures was given, the Spokane Little Caesars
05:57was a victim of being located inside a Kmart.
06:00Your local Little Caesars may be safe for now, but if the company isn't careful, the
06:04lucrative $5 Hot N' Ready deal could seal its fate.
06:08Todd Messer, a spokesperson for the Independent Organization of Little Caesars Franchisees,
06:13put it this way,
06:14"...the $5 price point has become an unprofitable business model for many and is fast becoming
06:21unprofitable for many more."
06:23Papa's in trouble, people.
06:25In November 2018, the chain announced that they would be closing 51 locations, as sales
06:30had dipped almost 10 percent in the United States and 3 percent internationally.
06:36As for the reason behind Papa John's troubles, well, it's been pretty well-documented in
06:41the mainstream media that the chain's founder, John Schnatter, got himself and the brand
06:46in trouble for using a racial slur.
06:48Papa John's worked to improve its image by replacing its CEO and launching a Voices of
06:54Papa John's campaign, but that only helped so much.
06:57Papa John's current CEO, Steve Ritchie, hasn't been shy about blaming Papa John's struggles
07:03on quote, "...the negative impact of media coverage."
07:06There's been some serious damage done.
07:08The company lost $13 million in 2018 from the fallout.
07:12"...that's in my box."
07:14"...spy was found at a crime scene."
07:16"...I beats that never hurt nobody."
07:18"...come again, sir?"
07:19A year later, and Papa John's was still struggling to rebuild its brand back to what it once
07:23was.
07:24The company hasn't closed as many stores in 2019 as it did in 2018, but they're still
07:30closing.
07:32According to Restaurant Business, franchise operators are struggling to compete with other
07:36pizzerias in a crowded marketplace, and are therefore still facing some major difficulties.
07:43For mall shoppers looking for a meal that's a little more upscale than something like
07:47Sbarro, California Pizza Kitchen has been the answer since its inception in 1985.
07:53Like many other casual dining chain restaurants, the chain is feeling the crunch of dropping
07:58sales as consumers look for other ways to spend their dining out dollars.
08:03As a result, California Pizza Kitchen has seen its sales drop by 1.6 percent, and it
08:08seems to be losing stores in its restaurant fleet.
08:11In the summer of 2019, the chain closed California Pizza Kitchen locations in popular dining
08:17areas near Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Arlington Heights, Illinois, and the only two locations
08:23it had in Washington state.
08:25The company remained mum on the reasons behind the closures, but it doesn't take a detective
08:29to uncover why the chain is closing up shop in some areas.
08:33The restaurants typically operate in areas with very high rents, and as in the cases
08:38of its shuttered Manhattan location, sales just weren't covering the cost of business.
08:43In August 2019, the chain announced that it would be trying out Take & Bake as a way to
08:47boost its sales.
08:49It's probably still too early to tell if this strategy will be enough to keep doors
08:53open at your local California Pizza Kitchen, so it might be a good idea to enjoy that barbecue
08:58chicken pizza while you still can.
09:01Just a note to any future pizzapreneurs, maybe avoid having Papa in your name.
09:06Papa John's isn't the only Papa having trouble, as Papa Murphy's is also struggling to keep
09:11their doors open.
09:13Papa Murphy's is unlike other big pizzerias because patrons only have the option of Take
09:18& Bake.
09:19While this approach might be good for saving costs on things like labor and store size,
09:23it wasn't enough to keep them from closing 97 restaurants in 2018.
09:28It's never a good thing when a company has 13 straight quarters of sales declines.
09:33Papa Murphy's is also struggling to handle competition from other pizza chains, which
09:37results in units closing.
09:40In an age of online ordering, Papa Murphy's only jumped on keeping up with the competition
09:45through an online ordering app in the fall of 2018.
09:49It's a little late to the party, and in a time when pizza lovers want convenience, who
09:53wants to order then bake their pizza?
09:56A make-your-own-pizza restaurant?
09:58A novel idea, sure, but it's a concept that's struggled.
10:01You remember that idea I had a few years ago about the pizza place where you make your
10:05own pizza?
10:06Yeah.
10:07What was that again?
10:08It's a pizza place where you make your own pot!
10:10Since Blaze Pizza's inception in 2011, it's climbed to nearly 400 locations and even attracted
10:15the attention of NBA superstar LeBron James, but it's seen some disappointing setbacks
10:20in that time, too.
10:22Two Blaze Pizza locations endorsed by James in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were shut down
10:27in 2018 because live flies and dead roaches were found in the food preparation area.
10:33As gross as that may be, South Florida isn't the only part of the country that has recently
10:38seen its Blaze Pizza locations close up shop.
10:41According to the Gazette, the chain closed both of its Colorado locations after just
10:45a year in business.
10:47While the company didn't give any specific reason for why it packed up and left Colorado,
10:52the competitive Colorado restaurant market was likely a factor.
10:56Pizza fans west of the Mississippi may not be as familiar with the Marcos Pizza brand
11:00as those in the eastern part of the United States, but the pizzeria has been around for
11:0440 years.
11:06As QSR Magazine notes, it's only in the last 15 years or so that the chain has really ballooned
11:12and gone from 126 stores to over 900.
11:15Still, there are quite a few examples of the chain biting the dust with its rapid expansion.
11:21In August 2018, the pizzeria closed up all of its locations in New York state, as well
11:26as two locations in Illinois.
11:28No reason for any of the closures was given at the time, but opening up shop only to leave
11:32town in a hurry without any sort of indication why seems to be a protocol for this pizzeria.
11:38In April 2019, it was the same story in Salem, Ohio, when a store closed its doors unexpectedly.
11:44According to the Morning Journal, calls were made to the company's corporate offices in
11:48Toledo, but questions as to why the pizzeria closed went unanswered.
11:53Maybe a Marcos Pizza will open up in your town.
11:55Just don't expect any sort of Dear John letter when they decide to leave.
11:59Perhaps you've heard of Pizza Inn.
12:01They've been around for over 60 years and are continuing to do well today.
12:05What you may not know is that their much newer sister company, Pie 5 Pizza, is going through
12:10some rough times.
12:12In recent years, Pie 5 Pizza has gone from being somewhat of a pioneer in the quick-service
12:16pizza market to a company that is witnessing its sales decline and stores close up.
12:21From 2015 to 2018, Pie 5 Pizza saw its sales drop a staggering 34 percent, and the number
12:28of its stores shrink.
12:30Sales haven't improved much for the company as of late, either.
12:34By February of 2019, Pie 5 was down from around 100 locations to just 65.
12:40The company has tried to shift gears from being primarily a dine-in business to one
12:45that's focused on takeout, delivery, and drive-thru, but how well that's working is debatable.
12:51Sales at the chain hadn't improved by May of 2019, and store closures in Texas, Virginia,
12:56and Missouri all reflected that.
12:59Who knows, at this rate, soon there may be nowhere left to get pizza at all.