My daughter and I went to Toppings last night. They had a sign up on their counter that said something to the effect of: (totally paraphrasing here)
Due to the rising cost of flour, we will no longer stamp our pizza boxes with the buy 10 get one free coupons. We will honor coupons through March 31st.
There was more to their announcement but the gist of it is that if you have been saving those coupons for a free pizza, they are no longer being accepted. If you need more information, give them a call. For other coupons for Toppings, click here.
2 responses so far ↓
JJP // April 20, 2008 at 6:31 am
We eat out quite a bit and I am starting to notice the impact of the recession on the independent restaurants. Although food prices are rising I haven’t noticed restaurant prices following suit. This eats into their margin and can quickly erode their profitability. Owners can make up the difference by driving more people to their restaurant (coupons) - thereby making up through volume, and/or lower costs (reducing staff and and buying lower quality ingredients). I’ve noticed several restaurants taking short cuts in their meals and using lower quality ingredients.
I’m sure the decision by Toppings to no longer honor these was a very difficult one to make. The last thing a restaurant wants to do in this type of economy is to tick off repeat customers. A few weeks ago my wife had a long conversation with the owner at Toppings on how the rising cost of wheat was hurting their business. They are from NY where restaurant competition is fierce. They know what happens when quality starts to slide. They are doing the best they can to continue to offer consistently good food. Hopefully they survive.
Matthew // April 20, 2008 at 10:08 am
JJP, we had dinner last night at Schmankerl Stube in Hagerstown. We had a great time ($85 for two), but its owner, Charlie Secula, said, “I haven’t seen business this off in the 20 years I’ve been here. If I didn’t draw from a 150-mile radius, we’d be in trouble.” I agree that many of the independents are hanging on by a thread right now. The chains can spread the hurt across many locations. The independent have to absorb the cost, for fear customers will go to the chains. It’s a scary spot they’re in.
The problem is the triple-whammy of inflation, recession, and sky-high gas prices. Except for the elite, even if you’ve a secure job, you’re still worried about rising prices and spending $60 to refill your gas tank.
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