News

Bankrupt Italian Oven returns as Italian Oven Cafe Pizzeria

July 5, 2004

BRENTWOOD, Pa.—Nearly seven years after the 100-unit Italian Oven restaurant chain went bankrupt, its founder has reentered the restaurant fray with a slimmer version of the concept, called Italian Oven Cafe Pizzeria.

According to the Pittsburgh Business Times, the restaurant features leather chairs, wood paneling, stainless steel trim and a bright décor. The new version's shiny look is far removed from the chain's tarnished image of nearly a decade ago. Back then Italian Oven was sued by its shareholders for misrepresenting growth plans and projections. The matter was later settled out of court.

Leading the new pizza-and-pasta-focused concept is Italian Oven's founder Jim Frye.

According to a marketing prospectus, Frye led the original company to grow to more than $120 million in annual sales generated by a chain spread throughout 17 states.

Frye was removed as CEO by the Italian Oven board when the company owed $7.4 million to creditors and filed for Chapter 11 a few years later.

"What we had was a bad strategic plan," Frye told the Business Times. He added that the company shouldn't have gone public when it did and should have managed growth more carefully.

The new Italian oven has a revamped menu and smaller facility footprint: 2,300 to 2,800 square feet, half the size of original units. The new concept replaces table service with self-service, which reduces service staff from 20 per shift to around eight per shift. Seating is reduced from 100 to 40.

The restaurant's centerpiece—its wood/gas-fired oven—returns, as do nearly half the dishes from the first chain's menu.

Scaled back as it is, Frye maintains a grand vision for the new concept. According to the marketing prospectus, the company wants to become the "dominant fast-casual Italian chain in the world."