With a slogan of "too good to be true", skepticism is virtually guaranteed. A lot of things are "too good to be true" about this place:
1. The price of their pizza buffet alone (sans drink) is roughly $5
2. You don't really get what you pay for - you get MUCH more.
It's a mystery at how CiCi's exists and survives but there are some answers to that question that I'll address in a bit. But for readers (as sparse as they are) that are unfamiliar with this spotty chain of pizza restaurants, I'll describe my visit to this establishment today.
Today I drove to my usual place of 86th and Michigan - "the crossroads." I was debating on either going to Skyline Chili, Chipotle or CiCi's. As I was driving, I weighed each option in my head and ultimately decided to go with CiCi's due to two factors: price and cravings. CiCi's was the cheapest and I decided that I was craving pizza rather than Cincinnati chili or a burrito.
I pulled into the strip mall where CiCi's is located and it's a depressing sight. Many vacant storefronts with "FOR SALE" signs exist. The strip is anchored by a big and looming Wal-Mart hypermarket that ascetically looks to be about 20 years ahead of the rest of the strip. Depressing. These type of strip malls are where the vast majority of CiCi's pizza joints are located.
I went inside at 11:ooA on the dot and the door was already opened and I was greeted by Mr. Manager. Mr. Manager wished me a good morning and sold me into getting a large, thermos, take-out-ready drink for $ .20 more instead of the usual. Price only came to $ 7.69.
CiCi's isn't your typical pizza parlor. It's centered around a buffet concept rather than a restaurant concept. It's entirely self-serve as well. You can order a pizza to go and it's dirt cheap and I'm talking Little Ceasars cheap (there are some strange parallels between the two chains that I'll discuss momentarily). Unlike the usual pizza buffets you get at Pizza Hut that are small, stale and not so great, CiCi's is large with roughly 7-10 pies and specialty items such as breadsticks, cheese bread, calzones, desserts. It's heaven, basically.
The pizzas weren't quite done baking when I arrived but they turned over rather quickly and were on the front line in no time at all. Unlike other pizza buffets, CiCi's serves traditional pepperoni Sicilian pizza (deep dish with sauce on top) alongside traditional pies. Slices of those, along with the amazing garlic cheese breadsticks, are a highlight of the whole buffet. Their pizza on the other hand is pretty cheap and standard. Very similar Little Ceasars Pizza in how the sauce is semi-sweet, though CiCi's crust is more on the thin side.
CiCi's is also unique in that they put some pizzas with some wacky pizza toppings such as Macaroni and Cheese, Taco pizza, and several pizzas with Alfredo sauce. Pasta is also served though my experience with their pasta has never been memorable. Oh, and salad is there too for you health nuts that shouldn't be anywhere NEAR CiCi's in the first place. Desert is usually out too - brownies, cinnamon rolls and apple pie pizza. On this visit, I threw in the towel before even making it to desert as I had loaded my plate with the pepperoni sicillian and garlic sticks. Mmm..
CiCi's seems to be doing something right. New locations are springing up everwhere. Humorous advertisements are now rampant on network TV featuring some sort of a weird motivational voice egging on a customer using the massive buffet at a typical CiCi's pizza joint. And they drive the message home - it's all under five dollars. This really is a dream come true for a lot of people who want what a lot of good tasting pizza and et cetera (all you can eat) for the same price as a small pizza elsewhere. Why has this business model worked?
Well, it's all because of a few things:
1. The ingredients. Dead give away. Cheaper ingredients helps their mission greatly.
2. The locations. If you've been into a CiCi's before, it probably wasn't in the greatest area of town. But that helps the franchisees immensely with rent issues and also spares them the need to build a freestanding restaurant. This has helped them drive down prices and allowed them to reduce operating expenses. Every CiCi's I've seen has been in a strip mall that has been, at least, partially dilapidated in some form.
3. The Clientele. Who doesn't want cheap pizza? And an endless buffet of pizza for under $5 attracts anyone from college students swimming in federal debt to various demographics that can't afford to make a sufficient enough meal for a large family.
Like Southwest Airlines was in the aviation industry, CiCi's a good business model for the pizza industry. It's no wonder why they're growing rampanty across the midwest and the south. However, the chain has avoided some areas such as most of New England and the West Coast states. I can see those areas being very "hit or miss" for this business model. Plus there's more competition: noticeably out West where Round Table Pizza and the national chains have a devout following.
Nevertheless, CiCi's has transformed itself into a staple that many people have grown to appreciate immensely. It almost seems as if there's never a time where there are no less than a handful in the dining area. Two men came in literally right after I did, and it wasn't even the "prime time" of the daily lunch period.
That just goes to show you that a cheap, large pizza buffet goes a long way with everyone.
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