Pizza commodity prices tick up, amidst tornadoes, flooding

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

With reports of some 500 tornadoes ripping mostly across the nation's farmland-rich mid-section in May, prices on some pizza commodities, including wheat, are…

XtraChef raises $7.5M for recruitment, product roadmap advancement

May 30, 2019

Cloud-based restaurant management platform provider xtraChef has closed on $7.5 million dollars in Series A funding and plans to use the money to drive growth…

Mod Pizza scores $160M in financing to grow

May 23, 2019

Mod Super Fast Pizza Holdings LLC this week announced a $160 million equity financing to grow the chain. The financing is being  led by private investment…

Papa John's founder sells $6M in stock

May 15, 2019

An SEC filing this week indicated that Papa John's Founder John Schnatter sold nearly 115,000 shares of common stock in the company, worth more than $…

Chuck E Cheese parent readies for Q3 merger propelled by healthy Q1 results

May 14, 2019

A little more than a month after news broke that Chuck E. Cheese parent company, CEC Entertainment was planning to go public, following a merger with Leo…

A pizza operator's week to pout as brand values fall, cheese prices rise

It's a good thing pizza operators got to spend some time with dear ol' mom Sunday after investors left the four major publicly traded brand needing a consoling…

As Papa John's Q1 sales fall, CEO tells investors, 'Lasting consumer sentiment change takes time'

May 8, 2019

As Papa John's founder John Schnatter mulls selling his 31% stake in the chain, the brand reported continued Q1 2019 losses, equaling 12 cents a share or $3.…

Marco's names restaurant financial veteran, growth guru as CFO

May 7, 2019

Marco's Pizza said it has named former Granite City Food & Brewery CFO Jeffery Rager as chief financial officer for the expanding pizza chain as part of…

Will John Schnatter sell his stake in Papa John's?

May 7, 2019

After stepping down from Papa John's board in March, Founder John Schnatter  may step away from the brand entirely, according to a Reuters report. 

Domino's, Papa John's stocks tick up, possible good news en route for gas prices

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

While stock values on the big brands played out their drama on the trading floor last week, crude production soared to levels not seen in nearly two years…

Domino's, Yum, Papa John's, Papa Murphy's investors all up for bigger slices of the pies

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

With tax time behind them and warm weather ahead, U.S. investors sent some spare change into pizza stocks last week, giving all four of the major publicly…

Domino's turns in healthy Q1, US sales up 3.9%

April 24, 2019

Domino's Pizza Inc. Q1 2019 profits exceeded most analysts predictions when they posted Wednesday at  $92.7 million, or $2.20 per share, which was up 10% over…

Uncle Maddio's files bankruptcy with millions in liabilities

April 19, 2019

The parent company of Uncle Maddio's Pizza, Integrity Brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta.

Papa Murphy's stock soars post-acquisition announcement

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

The stock value for Papa Murphy's soared up to late 2017 levels last week after Wall Street learned of the chain's pending $190 million acquisition with MTY…

Papa Murphy's to be acquired for $190M by MTY Foods

April 11, 2019

Papa Murphy's has signed a $190 million definitive merger agreement with MTY Food Group Inc, a restaurant franchisor with nearly 6,000 stores in North America…

Chuck E Cheese will go public after merger

April 8, 2019

Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza parent company, CEC Entertainment, said today that it's going public again after merging with Leo Holdings, a company…

Trump to nominate former Godfather's Pizza 'turnaround CEO' to Federal Reserve Board

April 5, 2019

Former Godfather's Pizza CEO and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is who U.S. President Donald Trump said he will nominate to fill a vacant spot…

A tale of (investor) love regained: Papa John's crosses $50, Domino's stock soars

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Investors carried Papa John's stock value over the $50 threshold last week for the first time since late November 2018, while Domino's got a huge infusion of…

Commodity prices up, stock values down: Spring starts on sour note for most pizza brands

by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

The first week of spring brought higher prices for all the basic pizza commodities and — aside from Papa John's — lower stock values for the brands monitored…

Kotipizza parent reports profitable 2018 results, presses ahead with brand, franchising growth

March 20, 2019

Kotipizza Group Oyj — parent of Kotipizza, No Pizza, Social Burgerjoint, Chalupa and others — said its 2018 fiscal year ended with comp net sales growth of 1…