Monday, July 25, 2016

Uncle Maddio's Suffers Another Store Closure

Fledgling pizza chain continues to shrink in metro Atlanta.

The Edgewood Retail District location of Atlanta-based Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint closed yesterday.  The restaurant, which opened in early 2013 in a former Caribou Coffee, was reportedly owned by a single unit franchisee. 

The restaurant explained their closure on their Facebook page saying: 

"What happened was we ran out of money like ten other locations, not just the ones you mentioned [Toco/Druid Hills location closed, Ansley location closed, now Edgewood location closed].  A franchise cannot survive if it consistently is in the red. The entire time that we were open, we lost money. Think about that the next time the subject of small business comes up."

The Edgewood location received 38 reviews with a cumulative rating of three stars on Yelp.com with the following being my personal favorite:  

5/12/2016 - Lauren H.

"Horrible customer service. Food isn't impressive either. We used to eat here on Thursdays because kids eat free with each adult meal.  Now today they would only give us one kids meal even though we had 2 paying adults. No one is ever in here when we come at meal times either.  Its obvious why.  Don't waste your time at this place."

Comment from Chris F. of Uncle Maddios Pizza Joint Edgewood  [Business Owner] 6/5/2016  
"Thank you for your feedback. It is an honor to be your 48th one-star review. In the future, we will try to improve our "horrible customer service" by giving you more free food."

Uncle Maddio's was started in 2009 by Matt Andrew, former President of Moe's Southwest Grill.  Andrew attempted to apply the same quick serve formula found in Moe's to Uncle Maddio's.  Pizza is of course different than burritos and the brand has had stumbles in metro Atlanta and beyond.  

Over the past twenty-four months, Uncle Maddio's locations have closed in midtown (Ansley Mall), Toco Hills (original), Alpharetta (Windward Parkway) Austin, Texas and Louisville, Kentucky.  

The Buford location of Uncle Maddio's was recently sold by The Shumacher Group while the Kennesaw and Cumberland locations are currently being marketed for sale.  

The troubles facing Uncle Maddio's come at a time when competition is mounting. The Colony, Texas-based Pie Five Pizza and Rancho Santa Margarita, California-based Pieology have both opened locations in metro Atlanta, each with more in the pipeline.  Pasadena, California-based Blaze Pizza is also reportedly scouting the metro Atlanta area for new locations.  


What is your favorite quick serve pizza eatery?  Have you tried any of the new-to-market restaurants?  What would you like to see open in place of Uncle Maddio's in the Edgewood Retail District?

Please share your thoughts below

12 comments:

Coolio said...

So Chris F. wants to be sarcastic when the customer actually had a good point. If you can't afford to give each kid a free meal with each paying adult as advertised, then you shouldn't be in business.

Furthermore, if you don't understand that you need to take in (income) more than you give out (expenses), you shouldn't be in business. I don't even think that's business 101, more like Business 100... or Business 1.

Probably only been to this place like 3 times. The one off of Lavista Road had some temperature issues when we went a couple of years ago, where in late Spring is was actually warmer outside than it was inside of the restaurant. In hindsight, it might have been from all of that red that the business was in.

Anonymous said...

Not sure how long that location was open, but most businesses operate in the red for a decent while before turning a profit. I liked the owner's response to the Yelp post. Sounds like that poster was impossible to satisfy.

I have never eaten at a Maddio's, but if it is modeled after Moe's, that's all I need to hear to continue to steer clear of it.

Edric Floyd said...

The reviews and comments posted are a total opposite of the experiences I have found and heard regarding the Uncle Maddio's that opened in Warner Robins Georgia earlier this year. But then that may be the difference in franchise operation as well as the difference in regional tastes.

Generally the one here in WR has been busy, the food has been good but its a bit pricey. It's not hard to spend $20 and wonder why it disappeared so fast. So I only go there if I am in a rush. My only attraction to it is convenience. Service has been fairly quick and the staff has always been nice when I go there. Almost always when I am waiting for my order I barely get settled into a seat in the dining area before someone brings me my otder and offers to get anything else I may need. They have always been pleasant at the Warner Robins location.

But we thankfully have growing competition for pizza and if you have the time, its worth the wait to order from one of our many independent pizza places who also may lower in price for a good quality pizza.

I am disappointed to hear that the chain is struggling.

AJ said...

Seems like a tough business to be in - owning a single franchise. Odds are stacked against the small franchisee vs larger ones who can afford to deal with being in the red longer to build a customer base and ones who can afford to barely be in the black. Feel bad for these guys (even with a snarky Yelp reply). Though it seems the fast service pizza is easily becoming the new yogurt/cupcake fad. The strong ones will survive while the weaker ones will start closing. Seems Uncle Maddio's may be a weaker one (not that I've tried their competitors).

Anonymous said...

Tried Maddio's once and was not impressed. Usually give places a second chance but glad I stuck with my instincts.

Have a family member that owns a decades old, successful eatery in another state. It often takes a lot of time and effort to weed through the amount of dishonest so-called customer feedback on these websites, that are suppose to help consumers. On a refreshing note they also do not take part in self promoting, fake 'positive' reviews either.

Too many comments on social media that are bots, fake and/or anonymous.

Independent Business Man said...

Franchises are double edged swords - on the one hand, you get the name recognition and assistance building the business, but the other hand the franchise fees can be the expense that puts you in the red!

nsk said...

Cupcakes were a national craze that sprouted franchising and copycats. Same with frozen yoghurt. I never saw that with pizza, so it's not surprising that this Uncle Maddio's concept hasn't really caught on.

Combine a dull food concept with impossible-to-please Yelp reviewers - if I were a small business owner I think I'd have no choice but to pay off the Yelp mafia - and it's not surprising that Uncle Maddio's locations aren't doing well.

Anonymous said...

I loved the owner's response to that Yelp review. Just another person looking for a free handout for their kids. Stop having kids if you can't afford to feed them.

The Eatist said...

Very sad to see them go. Best gluten-free crust around. Their ingredients were fresh, high quality and tasty. I didn't find it to be that expensive.
Don't know where I'll go for my pizza now when I want a personal sized take out.

The Eatist said...

Said they are closed. This was the best gluten-free crust in town.
Wait times were minimal, pizza and toppings were high quality and fresh. I'll miss them.

Anonymous said...

I'm sad to see any small business close. I liked how the owner responded to the yelp review. That person is a serial one-star reviewer looking to get free meals.

Miss Kitty said...

Well, I for one am really bummed that these stores are closing - first my Toco Hills one, then Ansley and now Edgewood - all of which I frequented. Hopefully Roswell Road and LaVista are still open. I LOVED the fact that they had perfect sized individual pizzas and thin crust to boot. You can't get a freshly prepared pizza this size anywhere else; it's perfect for one person. I am vegetarian, and I love being able to custom build my pizza with extra cheese and just the vegetables I want. They are cooked perfectly - I get mine crispy, which just means in the oven a little longer. I don't know what it would take to keep the remaining restaurants open, but PLEASE TRY! I will be crushed if they all disappear. P.S. They also have superb cannolis and excellent music in the restaurants! And yes, that matters to me - it's music I recognize. (Ok, so now you know how old I am ... )

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