OPERATIONS: Pricing and perceived value

May 26, 2004

As Jim Moran shows, damaging perceived value of a product is a risk operators take when they raise or lower menu prices.

Thai Pizza Huts stretch delivery hours during soccer tourney

May 26, 2004

BANGKOK, Thailand—Pizza Hut units here are extending delivery hours to better serve Thai soccer fans staying up late for live broadcasts of matches underway in…

Fishing for franchisees

Many potential pizza franchisees roam the aisles at the 85th-annual National Restaurant Association show, but operators say finding the good ones takes skill…

Atkins Nutritionals launches controlled-carb frozen pizza

May 25, 2004

NEW YORK—Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. (ANI) has introduced a new line of controlled-carbohydrate frozen pizzas called Atkins Quick Quisine Pizza.

Papa John's targets Vermont, last state on U.S market list

May 24, 2004

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Papa John's announced plans to enter the Vermont market, the only U.S. state in which the company lacks a presence.

Advertisers buying space on pizza operator's boxes

May 24, 2004

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, N.J.—Logoed pizza boxes commonly are viewed as advertising opportunities for pizza operations. But according to The Associated Press, one…

Q1 comps up 1.5% at Pizza Huts in Australia, New Zealand

May 24, 2004

AUCKLAND, N.Z.—Restaurant Brands, franchisee of Pizza Hut units in Australia and New Zealand, said comparable-store sales for the pizza chain were up 1.…

Block cheese dives 20 cents to $1.80, further drops ahead

May 23, 2004

Prices for block cheddar plummeted 20 cents on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to trade at $1.80 on May 21.

Papa John's buys Pizza & A Movie firm

May 23, 2004

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Papa John's International, Inc. has acquired the Pizza & A Movie concept and related programs from Peter Connors and his company, Idols…

Domino's Pizza to offer 24.1 million shares at $15 to $17

May 19, 2004

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—As a company, Domino's Pizza expects to raise $136.7 million when it goes public sometime this year, while its current stockholders could reap…

Figaro's Italian Pizza enters South Carolina market

May 19, 2004

SALEM, Ore.—Figaro's Italian Pizza, Inc. will open its first South Carolina outlet in Murrells Inlet on May 27.

Pizza delivery driver robbed at vacant apartment

May 19, 2004

KANNAPOLIS, N.C.—A pizza delivery driver was lured to a vacant apartment, attacked and robbed on the night of May 17.

Domino's Pizza adds salads in Los Angeles market

May 19, 2004

LOS ANGELES—Domino's Pizza units here are hoping to add some green to their cash registers with the test of a new line of Amazin' Greens salads.

Pizza Hut's U.S. corp. store comps soar 10% through mid-May

May 19, 2004

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Comparable-store sales at Pizza Hut's U.S. corporate units jumped 10 percent for the four weeks ended May 15.

Papa John's franchisee renames 30 pizza units Papa Tony's

May 18, 2004

CHICAGO—A franchisee of 30 Papa John's has withdrawn his stores from the 2,900-plus-unit system and renamed them Papa Tony's.

Ronzio Pizza rolls out low-carb pie

May 18, 2004

LINCOLN, R.I.—Ronzio Pizza, an 18-unit chain based here, has developed a low-carbohydrate pizza with 60 percent fewer carbs than its traditional pizza.

Low-carb trend appears to be waning

May 18, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Sales of low-carb products have fallen sharply at independent retail and health-food stores, and according to a report in the Washington Post…

Cheese market signaling another drop in block prices

May 18, 2004

Multiple dairy market factors are signaling an imminent drop in the price of block cheese traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

MARKETING: POS Systems are marketing machines

May 17, 2004

If you're not using your POS system's marketing components, you're throwing money out the window.

OPINION: Cheese prices, gas prices, false advertising, oh my!

May 17, 2004

Senior Editor Steve Coomes takes a look at the pizza news of the past weeks.