The Pizza Buffet Chain You Nearly Forgot About Could Come Back In Full Force
a close up image of pizzas on a pizza buffet - Kortemeyer/Getty Images
If you remember people predicting the end of buffet restaurants a few years back, let the newfound success of one pizza buffet chain remind you that nobody really knows how the world will change. At the height of the Covid pandemic, buffets were understandably struggling as people pulled back from eating at restaurants with shared trays of food. There were even concerns that the era of heightened health concerns were here to stay, which would spell the permanent end of the buffet. Little did anyone know that less than two years after buffets appeared doomed, food prices started soaring and the value that all-you-can-eat buffets provide started to look a lot more attractive again. And one of the popular pizza chains trying to take full advantage of that resurgence is Cici's.
Cici's was actually in trouble before the pandemic. The nostalgic pizza buffet of the '90s and 2000s had peaked at over 600 stores, but by 2019 was down to 420 locations. Then Covid nearly killed the chain, with fewer than 300 stores left when the chain filed for bankruptcy in 2021. However, this story has a happy ending. Cici's was purchased by new owners who cleared out all the company's debt, and under the leadership of a president who has been with the brand for over 30 years, the chain refocused on its unique parlor experience and bringing back higher quality pizza.
Read more: 15 Failed Restaurant Chains We Actually Miss
Cici's Pizza Is Expanding Its Gaming Options And Looking To Franchise Again
Cici's Pizza exterior - J. Michael Jones/Shutterstock
Cici's resurgence has been built around three points — getting more efficient technology, refocusing on the gaming side of the chain, and undoing a decline in quality that had plagued the brand under previous owners. The one that will be most clear to customers is the expansion of game rooms, and remodeled Cici's have expanded gaming areas from 400 square feet to up to 3,000 square feet, which has attracted a new wave of customers. A major technological overhaul installed new ordering systems and QR codes to push customer engagement. That focus on efficiency is important to Cici's Pizza, which relies on affordability to attract customers, so keeping its costs down is essential.
On the pizza side, the company has focused on bringing back older, higher-quality recipes that had been successful in the past. It has also added unique menu items like a Chicken & Eggo Waffles Pizza collab and a huge 28-inch party pizza with 64 slices. Sales grew by 31% in the first year after new ownership took over, and another 7.8% after that. Cici's even reopened shuttered stores in North Carolina, Texas, and Alabama, and is courting franchise owners in places like Virginia and Atlanta. The chain is still well below its peak, but with rebounding sales and expansion on its mind, Cici's could be back in your life pretty soon.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
36 minutes ago
- Washington Post
FAA nominee tells senators he will modernize air traffic control system
Bryan Bedford, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that if confirmed, he will push the agency to act with urgency on the administration's multi-billion-dollar revamp of the nation's air traffic control system. 'I know change can be hard, but I believe the agency can get back on the right track,' Bedford told members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Bedford, 63, the CEO of regional carrier Republic Airways, acknowledged that public confidence in the safety of the nation's airspace has been rattled this year by the midair collision near Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people, as well as by equipment failures that caused thousands of delays and cancellations at Newark Liberty International Airport. He said he is committed to rebuilding trust in the agency, which has seen an exodus of veteran leaders as part of staff reductions championed by the U.S. DOGE Service. 'The FAA is sorely in need of his steady leadership,' said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the committee's chairman. 'No Senate-confirmed head of the agency completed a full five-year term since 2018.' The agency has seen a parade of permanent and acting leaders in recent years, which some analysts and lawmakers think has hampered its ability to move forward on efforts to tackle decades-old problems including the persistent shortage of air traffic controllers. The FAA's last permanent leader, Michael Whitaker, stepped down in January after just over a year in the job. Bedford told lawmakers he is committed to serving out his full five-year term. Bedford pledged to 'to build a new best-in-class air traffic control system and to rectify the chronic understaffing in our nation's air centers. However, to accomplish this, I hope we can agree we can't repeat the mistakes of the past. We can't accept half measures.' In response to written questions from the committee, Bedford signaled that he would not hesitate to shake up an agency that he views as too cautious and risk-averse. 'There appears to be no incentive for anyone at FAA to take any innovation risk for fear that it could fail,' he wrote. 'You could say there was an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' attitude, but that has morphed into a quiet resignation that 'we can't fix it, but we can do our very best to make the system work safely today' mindset.' Bedford said as a result a 'malaise' has set in at the FAA, where 'managers believe the agency is helpless to make the necessary changes, and furthermore, they rationalize it isn't really their fault,' he continued. 'The best they can do is fight every day to make the current system limp along safely.' Bedford has served as CEO of Republic Airways, a regional carrier based in Indianapolis, since 1999. He is married with nine children, several of which joined him at Wednesday's hearing. He has a bachelor's degree in business from Florida State University. Bedford has won praise from an array of industry groups, with Airlines for America, the trade group that represents the nation's largest carriers, calling him a 'superb choice' to lead the agency. 'He intimately understands the importance of a strong working relationship between the FAA and airspace operators of all sizes,' the group said in a statement, urging the Senate committee to move quickly to confirm him. But his nomination has drawn opposition from Democrats on the panel and some labor unions, including the Air Line Pilots Association, which cited his support of efforts to reduce the number of flight hours required to become a commercial pilot. Though repeatedly pressed by several Democratic senators about whether he would seek to reduce the current 1,500-hour requirement, Bedford would only say that he would not take any action that would compromise safety. 'It's important that we have an FAA administrator who strengthens our aviation standards to honor the families who have lost loved ones in these tragic accidents,' said Sen. Maria Cantwell (Washington), the committee's ranking Democrat. 'The tragic midair collision in January between the Army Blackhawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 took the lives of 67 people and is a stark reminder of what happens when the system fails.'


The Verge
38 minutes ago
- The Verge
Posted Jun 11, 2025 at 4:51 PM EDT 0 Comments
Google has appointed a chief AI architect. Koray Kavukcuoglu, Google DeepMind's chief technology officer, will work to combine Google's AI models with its products 'with the goal of more seamless integration, faster iteration, and greater efficiency,' according to a memo seen by Semafor. Kavukcuoglu will reportedly remain Google DeepMind CTO while in his new role.


CNN
41 minutes ago
- CNN
The Washington Post has a new Opinion editor four months after Bezos touted ‘significant shift'
The Washington Post on Wednesday announced it has a new Opinion editor. The move comes four months after it announced a 'significant shift' to the Opinion page and the departure of its embattled section chief. Adam O'Neal, who currently serves as The Economist's Washington correspondent, will take over as the Post's top Opinion editor, the outlet announced in an X post that includes an introductory video from O'Neal. 'We're also going to be stalwart advocates of free markets and personal liberties. We'll be unapologetically patriotic, too,' O'Neal said in the video. 'Our philosophy will be rooted in fundamental optimism about the future of this country.' The Opinion section won't 'lecture' readers about ideologies or 'demand you think certain ways about policy,' O'Neal said. The stance falls in line with the vision articulated four months prior by the Post's owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Bezos also mentioned free markets and personal liberties when describing the section's new mandate, which drew backlash from some staffers — including from Marty Baron, the Post's revered former executive editor under whom the outlet won 11 Pulitzer Prizes — and praise from some conservatives. 'We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,' Bezos wrote in a February X post. 'We'll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.' As part of the February announcement, Bezos noted that David Shipley, O'Neal's predecessor, had been offered the opportunity to continue leading the section under the new directive but that Shipley had 'decided to step away.' Shipley's departure from the Post followed four months of mounting criticism from Post staffers and readers. The storied newspaper drew criticism for its eleventh-hour choice not to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid, which led to several editorial board members resigning and more than 200,000 subscribers canceling their digital subscriptions. Shipley also decided not to run a cartoon satirizing the relationship between Bezos and US President Donald Trump from Ann Telnaes, leading to the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist's resignation. Get Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. Since Shipley's departure, deputy Opinion editor Mary Duenwald has served as interim section chief. No start date has been announced for O'Neal. In a Wednesday email to staffers obtained by CNN, Will Lewis, the Post's chief executive and publisher, noted that O'Neal 'recognizes the importance of ensuring our opinion coverage is relevant, accessible, and consequential for readers who feel underserved.' 'His appointment is about more than just filling a role; it is about connecting our editorial voice to the real concerns and conversations happening across America,' Lewis said. In the email, Lewis similarly championed Bezos' mandate for the Opinion section: He said its new direction is not 'aligned to any political party' but instead presents 'an opportunity for our Opinion section to share the best of American values.' O'Neal's hiring comes just over two weeks after the Post offered voluntary buyouts to Opinion staffers, the Post's video and copy desks and any news employees who have been at the paper for 10 years or more. The buyout offers run through the end of July.