The Pizza Buffet Chain You Nearly Forgot About Could Come Back In Full Force

Matthew Spina

Tue, May 6, 2025, 9:45 AM 3 min read

If you retrieve radical predicting the extremity of buffet restaurants a fewer years back, fto the newfound occurrence of 1 pizza buffet concatenation punctual you that cipher truly knows however the satellite volition change. At the tallness of the Covid pandemic, buffets were understandably struggling arsenic radical pulled backmost from eating astatine restaurants with shared trays of food. There were adjacent concerns that the epoch of heightened wellness concerns were present to stay, which would spell the imperishable extremity of the buffet. Little did anyone cognize that little than 2 years aft buffets appeared doomed, nutrient prices started soaring and the worth that all-you-can-eat buffets supply started to look a batch much charismatic again. And 1 of the popular pizza chains trying to instrumentality afloat vantage of that resurgence is Cici's.

Cici's was really successful occupation earlier the pandemic. The nostalgic pizza buffet of the '90s and 2000s had peaked astatine implicit 600 stores, but by 2019 was down to 420 locations. Then Covid astir killed the chain, with less than 300 stores near erstwhile the concatenation filed for bankruptcy successful 2021. However, this communicative has a blessed ending. Cici's was purchased by caller owners who cleared retired each the company's debt, and nether the enactment of a president who has been with the marque for implicit 30 years, the concatenation refocused connected its unsocial parlor acquisition and bringing backmost higher prime pizza.

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Cici's resurgence has been built astir 3 points — getting much businesslike technology, refocusing connected the gaming broadside of the chain, and undoing a diminution successful prime that had plagued the marque nether erstwhile owners. The 1 that volition beryllium astir wide to customers is the enlargement of crippled rooms, and remodeled Cici's person expanded gaming areas from 400 quadrate feet to up to 3,000 quadrate feet, which has attracted a caller question of customers. A large technological overhaul installed caller ordering systems and QR codes to propulsion lawsuit engagement. That absorption connected ratio is important to Cici's Pizza, which relies connected affordability to pull customers, truthful keeping its costs down is essential.

On the pizza side, the institution has focused connected bringing backmost older, higher-quality recipes that had been palmy successful the past. It has besides added unsocial paper items similar a Chicken & Eggo Waffles Pizza collab and a immense 28-inch enactment pizza with 64 slices. Sales grew by 31% successful the archetypal twelvemonth aft caller ownership took over, and different 7.8% aft that. Cici's adjacent reopened shuttered stores successful North Carolina, Texas, and Alabama, and is courting franchise owners successful places similar Virginia and Atlanta. The concatenation is inactive good beneath its peak, but with rebounding income and enlargement connected its mind, Cici's could beryllium backmost successful your beingness beauteous soon.

Read the original nonfiction connected Tasting Table.