Posted on 06/18/2024 8:55:00 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A major Pizza Hut franchisee just closed 15 locations without warning, and nearly 130 might go dark for good in an ongoing battle with the struggling brand owner.
EYM Group owns and operates 144 Pizza Hut locations in Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina, and Wisconsin but owes millions in franchise fees to Yum Brands. All the Indiana locations were boarded up on Friday of last week, and the Daily Mail reported today that the remaining 129 restaurants "across Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina and Wisconsin are on the brink of shutting as part of the dispute."
How EYM and Yum Brands got here is one of those stories they'll tell for years to business masters students as a lesson on What Not to Do.
Based in Texas, EYM ended up owing millions to Yum for a number of reasons, including inflation jacking up food costs faster than EYM could boost prices on increasingly cost-conscious diners. But Pizza Hut's problems run back much further than Bidenflation.
Yum was showing patience with EYM, giving them extra time to pay their overdue franchise fees. But EYM sued corporate last March for breach of contract — basically, for failing to deliver a competitive product for franchisees to sell. According to the suit, Pizza Hut has "not kept up with the heavy competition from its competitors, Dominos, Little Caesars."
Another complaint was that "In recent years, the best Pizza Hut managed to do is change the cheese in its stuffed crust from mozzarella to cheddar or trot out an occasional, ill-fated appetizer liked the Philly steak melt."
Yum countersued EYM earlier this month. And for its part, Pizza Hut said, "The company is working to transition these locations and expects many of them will reopen soon,"
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
When a corporation cheapens its product, it’s going to be in trouble. I’ve noticed that about my Tim Hortons. They used to bake their doughnuts on site, but now they arrive frozen, having been made somewhere else. They also reduced the product line to just cake doughnuts and they got rid of jelly doughnuts.
I’ve noticed that about my Tim Hortons. They used to bake their doughnuts on site, but now they arrive frozen, having been made somewhere else.
Sacrilege!
The Hut has been (locally) overpriced carp for nearly a decade.
Good riddance.
Same thing is happening to Papa John. Their Founder even mentioned that the pizza isn't what it used to be.
Well, you don’t say? You mean people don’t like paying $40 bucks for a medium pizza with one topping?
Who woulda’ thunk?
I personally don’t get it. I get that costs are rising and I suppose there is a ceiling price on all products, but a corporation should consider it a last act to go for cheaper ingredients.
Yum Brands certainly knows how to take a fairly decent fast food place and turn it into a POS.
repost of bad info.
One Franchise is having issues. bfd, but probably they would say fjb.
I say both. I just had one open near me a few months thankfully.
I just wish that there were still some other traditional american restaurants near my workplace. 15 years ago there was everything, but they have all been displaced since.
There was an extremely good small burger joint that I had eaten at for 30 years that got forced out 6 years ago, now it is some kind of foreign restaurant. I am still not over it.
Maybe it’s because they changed the sauce recipe and it’s not nearly as good as it used to be.
They deserve to die for what they did to Taco Bell.
we lost ours ~7 years ago...
Papa Johns, the pizza is not good. Only went there once, that was it.
It was pretty good but that was over 10 years ago. After they got rid of the founder, the pizza started to use cheaper ingredients and you can taste the difference.
Honestly, in the universe of cheapo pizza mega-chains, Pizza Hut is/was just about the worst of the worst.
Well, that figures. After years of ignoring Pizza Hut, I thought I’d give their Hut Boxes a try and have liked them so far.
For cheap pizza, it’s hard to beat a Costco slice or whole pizza.
We had 3-4 someone brought for a weekday evening meeting, and one guy kept saying “that pizza is just way better than it has any right to be.” Which is true.
Little Caesar's says hold muh beer 'n watch this!
Their prices are fine versus the competition where I live and the app works just as well.
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