September 14, 2009
Industry Headlines
It is no secret that the economic recession has caused U.S. consumers to cut back spending related to dining out. But a recent study of foodservice customers, conducted by market research firm Data Development Worldwide (DDW), shows that consumers are not likely to easily or quickly return to spending more even as the economy improves.
The foodservice sector has been hard hit by the economic downturn as consumers find ways to stretch household budgets. DDW’s Know More™ Panel study found that a substantial number of foodservice customers are dining out less often.
When consumers do dine out, the majority finds ways to spend less during each visit. DDW’s survey showed that 37 percent of customers actively use coupons. Other money-saving activities include: ordering less expensive items; ordering tap water; skipping extras like appetizers, sides and desserts; and buying combo or bundled meals.
When asked last month whether an improving economy would change their behavior, a majority of respondents indicated they would actively continue to find ways to keep their spending in check.
“We’re finding that at least for the near-term, consumers plan to maintain their value-based behavior when dining outside the home,” says Chip Lister, managing director of DDW. “This puts a great deal of pressure on the foodservice industry to develop ongoing menu offerings and pricing strategies and tactics that take this into account. It’s a time when the industry needs to consider ways to be stimulative — to give their customers an opportunity to get used to an improving economy.”
Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza will hold a festive public pizza party officiated by the Mayor of Santa Clarita on Saturday, September 19 from 1 to 6 p.m. to mark the new ownership of its freshly renovated restaurant in Valencia, California.
As part of this free family event, Mayor Frank Ferry will officially open the restaurant with a ribbon cutting ceremony. In addition, Nick-N-Willy’s franchise owners Abbas and Sean Moshrefi, along with partner Ray Shirani, will present donations to local charitable organizations as part of their community giving program. The festivities will also include free pizza samples, live music, face painting, an appearance by “Rocky the Clown”, a pizza making competition between members of a local high school, and a raffle to win free pizza for an entire year.
“Pizza is all about bringing people together, whether it’s for a special occasion, sporting event or a family dinner,” said Nick-N-Willy’s franchise owner Abbas Moshrefi. “On Saturday, September 19th our goal is to unite local residents for the ultimate pizza party and demonstrate our commitment to the community by offering a ‘slice of our pie’ to local non-profits currently in need.”
Nick-N-Willy’s is a fast-casual restaurant that specializes in award winning signature pizzas. Operating in 42 locations in 14 states, the franchise company has plans to expand rapidly with a goal of opening 150 units by 2012.
Vocelli Pizza has announced the grand opening celebration of the newest Florida store this Wednesday. The store is located in North Miami Beach. In celebration, Vocelli Pizza is giving away a 14-inch, "Grande" pepperoni pizza to the first 100 customers to come to the store at 4 p.m. on September 16th. "The free pizza makes for an exciting opening and is a great way to invite the community to enjoy our authentic Italian quality," said Vocelli's Vice President of Marketing, Jim Powers. The store will also be offering pizzas for a special introductory price until Sunday, September 20th.
This new store now makes a total of 121 Vocelli Pizza locations and nine Vocelli stores in Florida. And Vocelli Pizza's expansion has been met with overwhelming response from pizza lovers in each market. "Our customers get so excited at our grand openings that some even wait several hours before the event to try our pizza," said Powers. "We're happy to be able to deliver our brand of authentic Italian pizza in North Miami Beach."
Vocelli Pizza is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA and operates over 100 east coast locations offering pizza and other Italian foods for carry-out and delivery.
The Sustainability & Environmental Services Department in the city of Plano, Texas, has awarded a CiCi’s Pizza store with the Environmental Star of Excellence. The honor recognizes outstanding environmental leadership and achievement within the community. The city of Plano gives accolades to CiCi's "Organic Recycling Program," an ongoing green initiative that began in May 2008 and has led to the contribution of 55.042 tons of organic waste in just over a year from one restaurant location. Additionally, the program saved the restaurant more than $2,000 in operational costs.
"This award holds great significance for us as CiCi's becomes more active in the green movement,” says Chris Patterson, Senior Corporate Trainer at CiCi's Pizza. "For our efforts and recognition, the City of Plano will award $500 toward the establishment of an environmental scholarship fund for Plano High School."
Food waste, paper and cardboard are recycled everyday for the City of Plano composting program. At CiCi's, six containers, measuring 96 gallons each, are collected every other day from the restaurant by the City. The reduction of waste not only enhances CiCi's green initiative, but has also decreased the overall waste going out. As a result, CiCi's has reduced the size of the restaurant dumpster saving more than $2,000 annually in operational costs. Patterson and his team are currently working on expanding restaurant participation at other CiCi's locations.
The Environmental Star of Excellence Awards will be presented at the Environmental Community Awards Celebration on Tuesday, September 29, 2009, from 11:30am – 1:00pm at the Collin College Conference Center in Plano.
Louisville, Kentucky-based Tony Boombozz Pizza is bringing back the highly anticipated Kentucky Bourbon Pizza for the second year. Last fall’s debut of the pizza featuring Four Roses Bourbon in its recipe was released in conjunction with September’s Bourbon Heritage Month and the internationally-recognized Kentucky Bourbon Festival.
“Last year’s Kentucky Bourbon Pizza was such a success we just had to bring the recipe back,” said Tony Palombino, owner of Tony Boombozz Pizza. "It started as sort of a collaborative idea between me and Four Roses’ Master Distiller Jim Rutledge.”
The inspiration for the first-ever Kentucky Bourbon Pizza came one night during a bartending competition organized by Four Roses where Palombino, a self-proclaimed Bourbon fanatic, had been asked to serve as judge.
“As I was introducing Tony as one of our judges, I hinted that a bourbon-flavored pizza should be his next big creation,” said Rutledge, Four Roses’ Hall of Fame Master Distiller. “It wasn’t long after the event that Tony was experimenting with Four Roses in his recipes.”
The Kentucky Bourbon Pizza’s special barbecue sauce is what carries the authentic Bourbon flavor. Other toppings include hickory-grilled chicken, smoky bacon, roma tomatoes and red onions. For a stronger taste of Kentucky, customers can order their Four Roses-inspired pizza with extra bourbon-barbecue sauce or a “shot” of sauce on the side for dipping.
The Kentucky Bourbon Pizza will also be featured as the ‘Anniversary Pizza’ during Tony Boombozz’ 11th Anniversary Celebration in October. It is now available at all four Louisville Boombozz locations (Springhurst, Highlands, Crescent Hill/St. Matthews and Jeffersontown) through mid-October.
Sam & Louie’s New York Pizza, based in Omaha, Nebraska, announced this week that it has added gluten-free pizzas to its menu. To celebrate National Celiac Disease Awareness Day on Sunday, September 13, the company issued a press release stating that all 15 of its stores would immediately begin offering a new gluten-free crust along with gluten-free salad dressings and sauces. Additonally, the company says some of its meat toppings are gluten free and that it is currently planning a special heart-healthy menu to further expand healthy choices at Sam & Louie’s.
PizzaVito announced the opening of a second location in Gainesville, Florida. Located at 7750 Newberry Road, the unit opened on September 9. According to a company-issued press release, PizzaVito has 65 signed franchise development deals and has created a new training program called PizzaVito University.
“The opening of PizzaVito University and our second location in Gainesville marks a milestone in the family business,” says Joe DiBartolo, CEO and founder of PizzaVito. “Our current and future franchisees will get the best training in the business at PizzaVito University, and we are excited to be able to continue offering customers the unique pizza taste of the Big Apple.”