Latest news with #Buddy'sPizza
Miami Herald
03-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Popular pizza chain franchisees close locations, no bankruptcy
The pizza restaurant sector has battled rising operating costs since before the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced some businesses to reorganize and restructure debt. Increased food and labor costs driven by rising inflation took their toll on the pizza dining industry. The average cost of food increased by 29%, and labor costs rose by 31% from 2019 to 2024, according to the National Restaurant Association. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Menu prices also increased, as average prices rose by 27.2% from February 2020 to June 2024. Related: Popular restaurant chain franchisee files Chapter 11 bankruptcy Add fierce competition to the equation, and the economic challenges can force restaurants to restructure their businesses out of court, reorganize in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, sell assets, and sometimes permanently shut down. In some cases, pizza chains or their franchisees will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize and continue as a going concern. East Coast pizza chain Bertucci's Restaurants has used the bankruptcy court successfully to reorganize and remain in business, as it filed for Chapter 11 protection three times in seven years. Bertucci's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the first time in April 2018 to sell its assets, and it operated 31 restaurants when it filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2022. Bertucci's filed for bankruptcy a third time on April 24, 2025, and had 15 remaining restaurants in its chain when it filed. Franchisees of major pizza chains also filed for bankruptcy protection to sell or close locations. Huge Pizza Hut operator EYM Pizza L.P. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2024 and sold 77 of its restaurants at a bankruptcy auction. Legendary Buddy's Pizza, which claims to have invented the iconic square-shaped Detroit-style pizza, closed its Portage, Mich., location, suffering lingering effects from the Covid pandemic, supply chain disruptions, staffing shortages, and rising costs of inflation. The company did not file for bankruptcy. Buddy's Pizza currently operates 15 full-service pizza restaurants throughout Michigan, and another five carry-out only locations. Finally, CiCi's Pizza chain franchisees in Alabama and Florida have closed several restaurant locations, but also have not filed for bankruptcy protection. Related: Popular restaurant chain files bankruptcy, closes locations The pizza chain's Alabama franchisee Buckshot Enterprises LLC recently closed three locations in Florence, Northport, and Huntsville, Ala., Tuscaloosa Thread reported. The three locations were reportedly closed, according to social media posts and signs on the businesses' doors. More bankruptcy: Iconic auto repair chain franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcyPopular vodka and gin brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The Florence location reportedly closed permanently in mid-June, the Northport restaurant's last day of operation was on June 29, and the Huntsville location has not been confirmed as closed, but the business's phone was not operating during normal store hours. Calls to all three Alabama locations were not answered. Another longtime CiCi's location in Uptown Center in North Naples. Fla., closed on June 9 after operating for almost 20 years, Gulfshore Business reported. The local franchisee reportedly decided not to renew his franchise agreement with the national restaurant chain, since he didn't want to commit to another 10 years. If the franchisee renewed his agreement, he would have to bring his 20-year-old store up to the company's latest specifications, which would be costly. Franchisee Philip Santucci was unsuccessful in trying to find someone to take over the franchise. He said a transaction was a hard sell, since the business and all its equipment are 20 years old, and it would be expensive to remodel the restaurant and buy new equipment. Santucci was the original general manager when the restaurant opened in 2004, and he bought the franchise five years ago in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic. The restaurant recovered from the pandemic in about two years. The restaurant owner, however, said it was time for him personally to move on. CiCi's Pizza, founded in 1985, has about 270 locations in 22 states, according to its website. Related: Iconic San Francisco restaurant closes permanently after 40 years The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beloved Detroit-Based Pizza Chain Buddy's Forced to Close Location
One of the best aspects of a regional restaurant chain is that even though the brand is known and loved across a part of the U.S., it still feels like a local spot, because it's not a national chain. When it comes to pizza, there are plenty of options across the U.S., both the big names that have locations across the country and smaller, more regional options. Now, a beloved regional pizza chain that recently expanded is being forced to close one of its locations. This particular location has been open for nearly five years and first opened its doors during the pandemic. Buddy's Pizza is a longstanding pizza brand based in Detroit. It got its start nearly 80 years ago in the Motor City and started specializing in Detroit-style pizza. When it comes to what makes a pizza Detroit-style, Buddy's states it's "the same things that made Detroit – a little bit of ingenuity, some stubborn spirit and a whole lot of hear." They add, "It's what sparked an original idea back in 1946 to take a steel auto pan, create something new and make Buddy's the birthplace of Detroit-style Pizza." Detroit-style pizza, by the way, is pan pizza characterized by "a thick, spongey crust with crispy edges," according to All Recipes, and is "not as thick as Chicago-style pizza." Now, Buddy's is closing its Portage, MI, location, which opened in July of 2020. In a statement, the restaurant says that it has been difficult to navigate the pandemic protocols, as well as "supply-chain disruptions, staffing shortages, inflationary impacts to include lease terms, and more." Those complications "prevented the Buddy's team from ever being able to operate the Portage location at its fullest potential." The good news is that according to the statement, Buddy's has provided resources to its employees to find similar jobs in the area. The restaurant added, "The Buddy's Pizza team is grateful to its loyal Portage customers for their support over the years and will miss being a part of the community."
Forbes
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Detroit Pizza Is A Nationwide Phenomenon
The Cheese Pizza and the Super 6 Mile Pizza at Buddy's Pizza in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Rebecca ... More Simonov for the Washington Post) As a mid-century native of the great Motor City, I grew up eating a pretty nuts-and-bolts, workingman's diet. Think fast-food burgers, Americanized Chinese food and boatloads of chili dogs and pizza pies. I'm not sure I ever encountered a fresh vegetable until I left for college, and even then I never crossed paths with anything but iceberg lettuce or shockingly sweet cole slaw, especially the variety served at Big Boy restaurant, where it came with fries on a double-decker burger deal. Arugula? What the heck is that? But once I became a hell-on-wheels teenager able to escape the cookie-cutter, white bread suburb of my childhood, my palate expanded, if but slightly, and I discovered that Detroit was home to a regional variant on the pizza pie that was a future national phenom waiting to happen. Blame local bar owner Gus Guerra, who in 1946 had his wife, Anna, crib her Sicilian mother's dough recipe and started baking pizzas at Buddy's Rendezvous--augmenting the appeal of a watering-hole better known for its rep as a 'blind pig,' or slightly illegal gambling emporium. WASHINGTON, DC- AUGUST 12: Pizza dough and cheeses in the kitchen of Ivy & Coney photographed August ... More 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Suchman for The Washington Post via Getty Images) Here's where the story takes on a distinctive Detroit flavor: the dough, known as sfincione back in the old country, was an airy, focaccia-like construction. But Gus decided to bake the pies in blue steel pans he bought from local automobile suppliers, who generally sold them to factories to hold ball bearings and such. The marriage made in pizza heaven was complete: add Wisconsin brick cheese, a layer of pepperoni pressed directly into the dough and three racing stripes of tangy tomato sauce and the square-shaped legend was born! Take out pizza from Loui's in Hazel Park, MI. Excuse the glorious mess above, a snapshot of a square pie as executed by the old-school pizzaioli at Loui's Pizza and devoured in my rental car during a recent visit to my hometown. While most locals hie to one of the 22 suburban locations of Buddy's Pizza, I prefer the mom 'n' pop vibe of Loui's, what with the empty Chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling and the gruff, take no prisoners servers. My old routine was to gamble on the harness ponies at the now-defunct Hazel Park Raceway, then drown my post-loss sorrows in four slices of Detroit's finest square pie. P.S., the small size is the best ordering strategy, as every piece has maximum crust square footage per bite. It's crunchy-sweet crackle accounts for 95% of the joy of the genre. A view down Woodward Ave. in downtown Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via ... More Getty Images) As you've likely heard by now, the metropolis formerly derided as the Murder City has been reborn as the Midwest's answer to Brooklyn, a hipster haven and tech-bro-and sis magnet with a rejuvenated downtown and vibrant street life. It actually crops up on short lists of cities to visit in America, hosting numerous riverfront music festivals and pro sports franchises, as well as local historical attractions like the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Downtown is also home to a pair of competing chili dog emporia, but let's save that delicacy for another day. Right now, were talking the pie that took the pizza world by storm. From Boston to Barcelona (literally, at a joint called Hoxton Poblenou), the pizza gospel according to Motown is now a staple variant of the tried-and-true pie we've all grown accustomed to. But might I add a caveat if not a warning? The 80-pound loaf of bread masquerading as pizza out of Chicago at Lou Malnati's or Pizzeria Uno is not to be confused with the crisp and caramelized, crusty wonders out of Detroit. Chitown is great for Italian beef sandwiches and hot dogs, but I'm officially on record as a benign hater when it comes to their glutinous, knife-and-fork pizzas. Don't send a mob hitman for revenge, just speaking truth to pepperoni. Now that I can call myself a near-lifelong Angeleno, I'm happy to report that this pie-happy town has more Detroit, square-shaped pies than you can shake a spatula at. At Quarter Sheets in hepster Echo Park, owners Aaron Lindell and Hannah Ziskin are serving up their gourmet versions of various regional pizzas, including some ingenious variations on the Motown standard. They earned their way into a New York Times list of LA's best eateries a few years back, with upscale toppings like hazelnut pesto and taggiasca olives replacing the usual sausage and green pepper of my hometown. Apollonia's Pizzeria in midtown is also killing it with their white Acapulco Gold pie, adorned with arugula, ricotta and truffle oil. Aaron Lindell and Hannah Ziskin of Quarter Sheets in Los Angeles. Wherever you're headed in the coming vacation season, you're sure to find a credible version of Detroit-style pizza. In San Francisco, locals flock to Pizza Squared; My Friend Derek's in Seattle calls itself an 'underground' pizza source, as it has no physical location and can only be picked up (on certain days of the week); and Via 313 Pizza in Texas, Utah and Arizona is run by a couple of Detroit natives who pride themselves on reproducing the four-sided miracle with meticulous attention to detail. Try the Bobo Brazil--named after a beloved local TV wrestler--with Calabrese, sausage, pepper flakes and Mike's hot honey. Tell 'em Dave sent ya….
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Buddy's Pizza debuts round pizzas for first time — but only at 2 Michigan locations
For the first time in its nearly 80-year history, Buddy's Pizza is debuting round pizzas. Starting Monday, the iconic pizza chain is debuting 'Rendezvous Rounds,' paying homage to the original Buddy's Rendezvous Pizzeria on Six Mile and Conant in Detroit, where the Detroit-style pizza began in 1946. But you won't find the Rendezvous Round at metro Detroit Buddy's locations. Only two locations on the west side of the state will offer the new rounds: the Grand Rapids location at 4061 28th St. SE and the Portage location at 5314 S. Westnedge Ave. 'Pizza should make people happy, and we were hearing and seeing in the feedback from our customers in West Michigan, many of whom may not have grown up with our Detroit-style square pizza, that they would enjoy more style options, sizes and price points in their pizza experience with us at Buddy's,' said Joe Dominiak, CEO, Buddy's Pizza in a news release. Buddy's is known for its square pizzas baked in dark, deep-dish pans. A hallmark of Detroit-style pizza also is how the pizzas are put together; Buddy's pizzas' edges are laced with a crispy, caramelized cheese crust, and the sauce is on top. Rendezvous Rounds is known for its signature sauce, a three-cheese blend and its Sicilian spice. On the new pizza menu, the rounds include the 10-inch ($10.49) and 14-inch ($13.99) specialty rounds available as supreme, meat lovers, or Napoli. Build-your-own pizzas start at $8.49 for a 10-inch and $11.49 for a 14-inch, with toppings extra. For kids ages 10 and under, the Lil' Rendezvous meal is $4.99 for a 7-inch round, personal cheese pizza, Buddy Bread, and a choice of fries, fruit, or steamed veggies. Buddy's' launch of round pizzas is part of its strategy for growth, the company said in a news release. Buddy's will celebrate the launch of its new rounds with in-restaurant events and giveaways, including: On Monday, Feb. 17, the first 46 customers (after Buddy's' founding year) when doors open at 11 a.m. at the Grand Rapids and Portage locations receive a free 10-inch Rendezvous Round cheese pizza. From Feb. 17-23, one customer per day at the Grand Rapids and Portage locations will be randomly selected to receive a voucher for free Buddy's Pizza for a year. Testing the round pizzas at these locations, Buddy's said, will determine the possibility of them moving forward with possible new openings outside beyond Detroit and Michigan. 'Buddy's Pizza has been bringing people together for nearly 80 years, and we want to keep doing that, in as many neighborhoods as possible, for as long as we can,' Dominiak said. 'In order to do that, and to continue to grow successfully in the future beyond Detroit, we are going to have to try some new things and embrace some changes, all for the better…both for our customers and our company.' Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@ Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Buddy's Pizza debuts round pizzas at 2 west Michigan locations
