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Salad bar separation raises appeal to women, sales at Pizza Inn revamp

Salad bar separation raises appeal to women, sales at Pizza Inn revamp

PLANO TEXAS —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Now the long-struggling franchisor of 324 Pizza Inns is preparing for a mid-October opening of a second corporate location, in Denton, Texas, that will include features of the Plano renovation, which was completed in July. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“The island salad bar was moved from in-line to appeal to women,” explained Charlie Morrison, who has been the chain’s president and chief executive since December. “Revenue in the restaurant has been up consistently between 2 [percent] and 4 percent since we reintroduced the salad bar. We have seen positive sales growth.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

In the past, Morrison said, the salad bar had been a separate module, but it was incorporated into the overall buffet about six years ago. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“That did not work [because] customers are accustomed to a stand-alone salad bar,” he said. “We had walked away from that.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Women like “more selection, and it’s easier and more accessible to get to, because it’s not in-line with the rest of the pizza buffet bar,” he said. “Multiple customers can access the salad bar, and the variety has been improved.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Pizza Inn also has added a Caesar salad and a tossed Southwestern salad. In the past it offered only an iceberg mix and a prepared salad. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“It’s also the appeal” of greater variety that has made the salad bar separation work, Morrison said, adding, “It stands out, and it’s showcased the way a salad bar should be.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Salads are now a focal point of the restaurant, he added. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“Folks who come in to eat pizza found that the salad bar was lost in the in-line space,” he said. “Now it’s back. It gives customers a choice. If the kids want to come and have pizza, Mom can just have salad. She has a better variety and a more bountiful salad bar in front of her.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

The new Denton restaurant will feature the salad bar island in about 4,200 square feet, though Pizza Inn’s standard units range from 3,500 to 4,200 square feet. However, that’s “because of the building that was available,” Morrison said. “If we were to build one from scratch from the ground up, it would be about 3,500 square feet.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

A typical Pizza Inn seats between 145 and 170 guests. Lunch typically accounts for 30 percent of sales, while dinner generates the rest, though that varies by location. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Pizza Inn, which is based in the northern Dallas suburb of The Colony, isn’t predicting yet that the prototypes with its stand-alone salad bar will stimulate franchise expansion, and for now the company is focusing on regrowing its corporate-store base. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Pizza Inn once had three corporate restaurants, but two underperforming units were closed a year and a half ago, leaving only the Plano location. Its redesign reflects market research conducted over the past year. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Danny Meisenheimer, vice president of brand management, said, “We wanted to reconnect with the best parts of who we are.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Morrison added, “We’re reverting back to our heritage.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Pizza Inn, which was founded 50 years ago in Dallas, had gotten away from earlier orientations and even had stopped using a longtime marketing mascot. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Visitors to the Plano and Denton outlets will see “more brick, the island salad bar, more focus on delivery and carry-out, which is consistent with many of our locations but not in the last prototype,” Meisenheimer said, “and then we are going to re-introduce JoJo, our pizza spin-man icon.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

TDA Advertising and Design of Boulder, Colo., has revived the cartoon pizza chef, which was tossed from the brand logo about 18 years ago. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“When you think about what ‘Jack’ meant to Jack in the Box when they went through a tough time, we think JoJo means something similar to us in terms of reintroducing the brand back to people who may have missed us for a few years,” Morrison said. “From 2004 to 2007, the company focused on restoring profitability back to the franchisees in the form of reductions in food costs and helping them improve their economics. That translated into re-investment in the brand.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

The chain now has tallied five straight quarters of same-store sales growth, Morrison added. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“In this economy, that’s something that we’re really proud of,” he said, “especially when you are dealing with a brand that is 50 years old and has gone through some of the challenges that we have.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Pizza Inn once had more than 700 units, but years of corporate turmoil have halved that number. Last year, the company settled lawsuits with a former chief executive and its soft-drink supplier while digging itself out of nearly $8 million in debt. It sold its corporate campus and its distribution center. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“We knew domestically we had to take a hard look at the concept and make sure it was being deployed correctly,” Morrison said. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

To help do that, he hired vice president of operations Jason Daniel, who has a background in casual dining and with Boston Market. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“Standards had relaxed a bit,” he said. “We just rolled out a back-to-basics program to our franchisees. The results are better pizza and better-quality service.” —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

The company recently disclosed new development deals in Oklahoma and Houston, and plans for 35 restaurants in Bangladesh, 12 in Chihuahua, Mexico, and 12 in Oman. Pizza Inn already has 74 units abroad. Two-thirds of them are in the Middle East. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Domestically, Pizza Inn units predominate in communities of 50,000 to 75,000 people. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

“These franchisees know their markets,” Morrison said. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

He noted that development costs for new locations are relatively attractive, with costs for opening a branch in strip-center end-cap sites running about $400,000 to $600,000. The chain’s outlets are concentrated in about 20 mostly Southern states, with more than half the units in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

Publicly owned Pizza Inn last year had corporate revenue that’s been reported as $47.1 million, down from $50.6 million in 2006 and $55.3 million the year before that. However, last year the company posted a net profit of about $200,000 in a reversal from the net loss of about $6 million it recorded in 2006. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

This June, the company bought back 1 million shares of its stock, which recently has traded at about $2.59 per share after peaking in the past 12 months at $3.09 and ebbing at $2.07. Securities filings indicate that chairman Mark Schwartz owns more than 45 percent of the company. —After relocating the salad bar to its own stand-alone island away from Pizza Inn’s namesake buffet indulgences, the chain’s corporate outlet here is not only moving more salads but also tallying incremental sales and more visits from women.

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