Tuesday, May 2, 2023

["SAY UNCLE"] Owner Finally Throws in the Towel on Failed Franchise

Uncle Maddio's Pizza at Northlake Festival in Tucker has closed.  The nearly 2,500 square foot restaurant opened March 18, 2013 and closed as of May 1, 2023, marking the end of a ten year run for the beleaguered franchise.  Franchisee Brett Pearman had reportedly been marketing the business for sale for quite some time but was unable to find any taker.  

“I chose to open an Uncle Maddio’s because I was blown away by their ‘Served with Love’ culture, by the taste, and how they interact with the community. I’m confident the people in and around Tucker will love us, too” Pearman said at the time of the restaurant's opening.  He was not the only franchisee sold on the idea of getting in early on "the next big thing."  

Despite the pedigree of being started by Matt Andrew, co-founder of Moe's Southwest Grill, Uncle Maddio's may be one of the best examples of a failed franchise in recent history.  The first Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint opened at Toco Hills shopping center in 2009.  Looking to recreate the success of Moe's [a 400+ unit chain by 2009], Andrew started franchising Maddio's in 2010.

At its height, the chain had 38 units open, and as of the Smyrna opening in 2015, claimed to be "on track to have 300 restaurants open in five years with 1,000 units in development" with new units reportedly opening every 10 days.  

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019, at which time it had 28 restaurants.  A year later, following the closure of Atlanta area restaurants in Smyrna and Acworth, the chain was down to just 16 units.  

The closure of the Uncle Maddio's at Northlake comes likely at the end of their lease but at a time when things are starting to look up for Northlake Festival.  KPot, a Korean barbecue restaurant, is preparing to open in the large onetime Blockbuster Video space next to Maddio's, while FIVE GUYS is slated to open soon in a former portion of the Verizon next to Chick-fil-A.  

That said, when you get down to the brass tacks of Uncle Maddio's, the problem was less the center or its location, but rather the fact that the pizza just wasn't that good. 

The Northlake closure leaves the Atlanta-based chain with just two traditional locations operating in the state, and just nine overall locations across four states, according to its website.  The overall count includes a licensed location at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and an odd outpost at Hemrick's Grocery, a local convenience store in Newnan. 

Amazingly, despite the brand's obvious flaws, the company continues to offer franchises on its website. 

"THE ORIGINATORS OF THE CREATE-YOUR-OWN NY-STYLE PIZZA FRANCHISE ARE NOW OUT TO DOMINATE THE CATEGORY."  

Uncle Maddio's and its conveyor belt pizza is definitely not dominating the category, but Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza are.  Blaze started in 2011 and now includes more than 330 locations, while MOD, which started in 2008, recently surpassed the 530 unit mark.   MOD has as many locations in Georgia - nine - as Maddio's has in its entire network.  Blaze operates six in the peach state.  

To date, more than 50 Uncle Maddio's Pizza restaurants have closed.  

Are you surprised by the closure of Uncle Maddio's at Northlake Festival?  What is your favorite fast casual pizza joint?  What would you like to see open in place of the former Uncle Maddio's at Northlake Festival?  

Please share your thoughts below 

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

fast pizza is bad pizza.

CloseOTP said...

I’ve never understood the allure of any of these pizza places, whether the 3 mentioned in this article or any of the others (Your Pie comes to mind). Pizza is all over whether you want a chain or local. It can be cheap or pricey. It can be fancy or simple. It’s quick (maybe not 5 minutes quick, but still quick). I understood the cupcake craze and the Froyo craze - it wasn’t easy to get either if there’s no store that sells them. But pizza is widely available. Anyways, I don’t wish failure on any company or concept, there’s enough real estate for the places I want to eat…

Anonymous said...

“Fast pizza is bad bad pizza” person has never been to Antico.

Anonymous said...

maybe one challenge all of the quick-pizza places face: if we want a quick pizza, we usually just take one out of our freezer and heat it up. If we are going out for any kind of 'quick/fast' food, it's typically burgers, cfa or something else where there's nothing in our freezer that is remotely comparable.

I do think Maddios et al is definitely a step up from frozen--but most people would probably do frozen at home, or go out for a regular full-sized pizza.

I did have MOD in SS before a show at City Springs and we enjoyed it. It was fast, reliable, let us make the show on time. Mod mostly offers a few pizzas and salads, which is maybe less overwhelming than Maddio's (although I think Maddio's had some pre-set pizzas too, but Mod keeps the menu looking much simpler). But overall, the quick-serve pizza is a niche that I'm not sure will ever be a huge thing.

DanielsPizza said...

Anon doesn't know pizza history. It was invented as a fast to make food. In Italy pizzas come out in seconds from ovens that are far hotter than typical American pizza places. And they taste far better too.

CloseOTP.... what are you not getting? People like pizza. They also want it fast and to be able to customize it.

Atlantan99.... you're certainly entitled to your opinion on whether Uncle Maddios was any good. I found their dough to be much better than any of the other fast pizza options. Mod and Blaze, like many other pizza places, had far too sweet of a sauce for me. American pizza places put copious amounts of corn syrup in their sauces to sweeten it up. Not good in my opinion. However, this isn't the reason Maddios failed. Rather, it's the same old story with so many failed restaurant chains. Too much debt piled on and they weren't able to open locations fast enough to feed that debt.

Anonymous said...

anon knows italian pizza

Anonymous said...

parking has been a problem

Anonymous said...

My grown daughter and I liked their pizza and was going once a week for quite some time and looked forward to being together and enjoying their pizza!
I’m so sorry to hear that they will be closing their doors! ☹️

Anonymous said...

Marcos pizza would be a nice fit, and the pizza is good. American Deli?

Anonymous said...

I think there's an American Deli in the mall, and some 'US Deli' knockoff next to the Dunkin Donuts. I just found some long pdf 'TUCKER-mTAP-Presentation-2021.pdf' online. It looks like Tucker has had the site examined. I guess it will take several more years, but eventually the entire site will probably be re-developed. It seems that Cox communications owns the land, which probably complicates the re-development.

Anonymous said...

That whole huge shopping center is pretty shabby, especially that string of shops. It’s not an appealing place to go, which may have been part of the problem. I live nearby and rarely go there or to the outdated Kroger that shares the parking lot with Uncle Maddios. Hope a redevelopment actually happens.

Anonymous said...

Antico recently opened in Tucker....why go anywhere else?

Anonymous said...

Don't care about Maddio's, but Antico is not that good. Most overrated and overpriced pizza place there is.

Anonymous said...

Antico? Not everyone likes overrated and overpriced pizza.

DeeL said...

I actually liked this Maddios! Parking was terrible, that section of the parking lot flooded whenever it rained! The pizza definitely isn't in the level of an Antico, but I thought it was decent for what it was.

Anonymous said...

We need some good pizza in Chamblee/ Brookhaven. Corner pizza closed up to make way for Henri’s. It’s a nice little center but the landlord, who’s a little meshugana keeps backfilling with low quality establishments. Right now she has the righteous room and the wing place for lease with a little tiny makeshift space in between for the Indian restaurant. I say she should group them all together and lease to a top quality Italian pizza concept, like antico, etc. Another good place for that would be to backfill the former Starbucks and UPS store at Cambridge Square, again to bundle these two together and put a real authentic Italian pizza shop. I actually think that’ll do better there. I wish Dogtopia all the best luck in the world. However, I don’t give it more than six months or a year. There is no green space whatsoever and walking the dogs in the greasy back of all these restaurants and Walgreens is not acceptable for a dog. The green space in front of the parking does not count. There is more doggy action at Joe’s Grill on the patio, then at Dogtopia.

Anonymous said...

There is still a location here in Canton GA on Hwy 20 next to a Chipotle

Anonymous said...

Think maybe the owner of Antico is writing these posts? Antico Antico Antico!!!

Anonymous said...

Went to this location several times years ago. I was satisfied with the pizza but not the service. They would not let you sample an item, and they usually got my order wrong. I put service above most all else and eventually quit going.

Anonymous said...

Slim and huskies pizza. Would fill the spot and crank/ be successful.

Anonymous said...

Uncle Maddios wasn't any better or any worse than the other quick serve pizza joints he mentions. I frequented the Northlake site numerous times prepandemic. My only complaint was the time it took. Sometimes the line was 10 deep and took a good 15 min to order and another 10 to get the pie. When your on a 60 min lunch break doesnt leave much time to eat it and enjoy.

Anonymous said...

vintage and galla's

Anonymous said...

antico is not fast

Anonymous said...

I was disappointed to see that Maddio's Northlake had closed. I actually liked the pizza. It was a little on the bland side. But Maddio's is the only pizza shop I know that has wheat crust, which I like. RIP Maddio's.

Anonymous said...

additional pizza places in the area: Bambinelli's, Mellow Mushroom.

This area has a rich tradition in pizza, and was once known as Atlanta's 'little Italy' (Ok, I made that part up). But there used to be: Showbiz on Lavista, Pizza Inn where Monterrey is. And the now-demolished Pizza Hut restaurant where Chipotle is.

Jodyml813 said...

Your Pie has wheat crust also if there is one near you.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, Showbiz was traditional Italian high quality pizza.

Anonymous said...

I feel bad for anyone who thinks Antico pizza is good. They must never leave Atlanta. ITP food in general sucks. Enough with the dumb "celebrity chefs" and their cringey beards and tattoos.

Anonymous said...

All of the "conveyor belt" pizza spots are nasty. Their pizza is on the same level as grocery store bought, which is sad. QuickTrip honestly has better pizza which says it all. Maddios, Blaze, MOD, and Your Pie are all garbage.

Want some good pizza?

Antico - Best Italian style in GA. There are others that are good, just not as good as Antico.

Donatos - Their Cincinnati style will blow you away. Only go to the North Druid Hills or Avondale Estates locations. They have ghost kitchens in several Red Robins, which do not taste as good as the originals.

E Ke Pizza - Just all-around good pizza.

Grandmas - This is the closest you will get to real NY pizza in GA. 5 Boroughs is another option but are too inconsistent to be in the top spot.

O4W - Their Detroit style is amazing.

Slim & Husky's Pizza - Their S+H Hot Chicken is wow.

Two Cities Pizza Co - Their Chicago style is the best I've had in GA. If you think Nancy's is the best, you are truly missing out cause it is not.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Antico is delicious, but has a truly homemade crust!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed having their pizza with arugula and white truffle oil. Was appreciative of "fast" concept when I had limited time.

Zippy said...

My family really enjoyed Maddio's pizza and calzones. I can't understand why others say it was bad. The food was good and the people behind the counter were nice. Always! Brett worked very hard to make the place go. I'm sorry it closed.

Melanie F said...

I was caught by surprise to be told the morning of the closing that we were locking the doors. The fact that Mr. Pearman was looking to sell for some time really caught me off guard when I read it just a moment ago. He ran it the way he wanted to despite sticking as close to "the brand" rules and regulations. He underpaid the staff thus causing most to walk away after they received their first pay check. Then there was the hard workers that liked the job there despite being underpaid with no benefits. I enjoyed what I did as a manager. I liked serving the customers and hearing that they could see a difference in the place during the past 2 years that I had been there.
All in all Mr. Pearman was a great man to work for but had already given up. Ideas that I presented him with to bring in new customers or maybe the old customers he would brush off because they had been done in previous years and either failed or run their course.
It was a prime location with so much potential had it not had so many staffing problems and the homeless are a constant problem.

Anonymous said...

Problem is/was, the franchise owner was a crook. The franchise never actually proved itself to be viable yet they were sold as a money maker. The pizza wasn’t bad but the concept was never fully proven.

Anonymous said...

The closure of Uncle Maddio's had nothing to do with the pizza not being any good. I worked for the Smyrna and Acworth locations that were mentioned. The guy who ran those two used to work for Darden which has longhorns etc. He paid us really really good and held us to a standard of customer service that would rival Chick-fil-A, which is who I'm with now. Matt, the owner/creator of Maddio's sold it to someone who lacked business knowledge, decorum and an ability to get along with franchise owners. This is one of the main reasons that franchise owners were willing to let go of the business. Just my two sense of insider knowledge

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