Pizza

Leadership

Giordano's CEO steps down, and a Portillo's exec steps in

Yorgo Koutsogiorgas is leaving the Chicago deep-dish pizza chain after 13 years. His replacement is Portillo’s CMO Nick Scarpino, a fellow longtime Chicagoan.

Financing

Fired Pie driven to bankruptcy by double punch of pandemic and inflation

The 13-unit fast-casual chain in Arizona was overleveraged. The restructuring will likely include the closure of underperforming locations.

The Los Angeles-based fast-casual pizza concept adds to the platform company's more than 15-brand franchise portfolio.

The casual-dining pizza chain hopes to add about 75 domestic locations via franchising over the next five years starting with an operator in Nevada.

The Bottom Line: Major pizza brands like Domino’s, Papa Johns and Pizza Hut are trading share with independents. And fast-casual brands are in decline. The sector has a smaller market, thanks to third-party delivery.

The fast-food pizza chain’s same-store sales fell 7% in the third quarter as new CEO Todd Penegor says the company is “acting with urgency” to strengthen the business. The company also made some management changes.

The fast-casual pizza chain, which has been mired in an investor lawsuit, is liquidating what’s left of its business. But some franchisee-owned locations remain.

The country's largest convenience-store chain is looking to lure value-focused consumers with the deal, which includes two slices of pizza and a 20-ounce soda.

The fast-casual pizza chain wanted to be edgy again. But the latest marketing campaign sparked protests, prompting the brand to pull it back and apologize.

The chain’s sales slowed in August as bargain-hunting, lower-income consumers sought out deals from competitors. “I think we’re in the pizza wars right now," its CEO said.

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