Little Caesars Pizza has returned to Edinboro, with new foods such as Crazy Bread and custom made pizzas. The question is whether or not the chain restaurant will bring competition for the family-owned pizzerias in town.
“We really just focus on ourselves and don’t worry about other competition,” said John Bellucci, owner of John’s Wildwood Pizzeria, which is located at 105 Erie Street. in Edinboro.
Having been in business for 33 years, Bellucci has seen several restaurants come and go, including Little Caesars.
“Little Caesars was in Edinboro for five or six years and then they left for a while,” Bellucci said. Now that they’re back, Bellucci still isn’t too worried about losing many customers.
Ed Davis and his wife each own half of Norman’s Deli and Pizzeria, which is located in College Park on 103 Brora Drive. Davis says that he’s not too worried about the new pizza place in town because he doesn’t rely completely on selling pizzas at his restaurant.
“It’s not our bread and butter,” he said.
Davis came to own Normans’ nine years ago and his customers consist of 50 percent college students and 50 percent town folk.
I can’t really say that college students are our steady customers because not all of them have a consistent income, Davis said.
The beginning of the semester and the end of the semester, he explained, is when Norman’s gets its largest flow of college students.
“But that’s what college life is all about,” said Davis. “The average college student is busy counting their dollars and cents.”
Several students on Edinboro University’s campus seem to think that, while Little Caesars is affordable and may have some good deals, it won’t persuade them to stop ordering from the family-owned businesses like John’s Wildwood Pizza and Norman’s Deli.
“I usually order from Norman’s and occasionally from John’s,” said Brettaney Duck, a senior majoring in sociology. “John’s late hours are what make it one of the best pizza places because you can order anytime of the night,” she explained.
Kathleen Pobe, a sophomore Spanish major, and Kersten Schloder, an undeclared freshman, both said that they get their pizza mainly from John’s. “It’s open a lot later and the food always tastes good,” explained Schloder.
Delivery is also a big factor in the pizza business. Allie Yeckley, a junior majoring in psychology, said that if students don’t want to venture out into the cold and snow to pick up their pizza, delivery is always a welcome option. Both John’s and Norman’s deliver, unlike Little Caesars, she said.
According to John’s Wildwood’s website, it has been providing Edinboro and Erie with good quality pizza since 1979. John’s has a huge online community that consists of locals and Edinboro students who are currently living in the area or have moved away, but still crave the taste of John’s pizza.
“We get emails every month asking if we can freeze a pie and send it to Hawaii or Arizona, which we don’t do,” said Bellucci on John’s website.
Davis said that Norman’s also has several loyal customers that give his business the support it needs. From donating pizzas and sandwiches to a lot of different charities and causes on campus, “it comes back to us ten times over,” said Davis.
“We’re definitely grateful for what we get,” said Davis.
– Anna Tielmann (Taken from EUP’s The Spectator Vol. III, Issue 14)
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