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Hello everyone! I am a Cici's Pizza Buffet Franchisee and I am wanting to get a better feel for Bayonne. I am from the midwest and have been living in S. Jersey for the past 9 years. I have been looking at a site in Bayonne next to Staples (Stop'n'shop, movie theater, etc). I know there was a pizza place there, but it was catering to a completely different market than Cici's will be.
I would love response from anyone who has been to Cici's (many in Florida and the south) and lives in, or is very familiar with the currnet bayonne market.
If you have not been to a cici's I can give you a basic idea so that opinions can be given as to the viability of having a location in Bayonne.
Cici's is an all-you-care-to-eat pizza buffet with salad, pasta, breads, 12+ kinds of pizza, desserts and they will make any pizza request and bring it to your table. I can tell you it is not east coast pizza. It is also not your typical fast food pizza either. It is a medium thickness crust, not too greasy, and they do everything from a mac'n cheese pizza, to buffalo chicken to alfredo pizza. It is a very family oriented, super clean, and a very customer service based restaurant. Adult buffet will be around $6.99 (+beverage price) and kids under 12 will be $3.99= beverage price. It is also a very community involved place for school and sport fundraisers, etc.
My broker has a concern that there is a strong Italian population that will not receive a national pizza chain well. The key with Cici's is the value and convenience, not the best pizza you have ever eaten, like McDonald's sells the most burgers for the price and convenience, not the outstanding quality and taste of their food.
Any thoughts, questions, comments, would be most appreciated.
Please don't take this personally, cici'spizzachic, but Cici's isn't just bad, it's vomit-inducing. When I was in college, in Virginia, my friends and I were poor and always in search of a bargain. We gave Cici's a try, several tries, actually. We just couldn't. It's awful. The $7 you pay for "all you can eat" crap at Cici's can be spent on three giant slices at the local pizzeria and you'll be much happier with the purchase, and just as full.
OP, I'm not trying to criticize everything you do for a living, but I really don't think Cici's is something that would be greeted with a lot of enthusiasm in Bayonne. You'd have to hunt for a town which has a serious pizza deficiency. And by deficiency, I mean not even a walk-up slice stand within 20 miles. You'd have to find a place where people are more interested in bargains than quality (which isn't hard), but who also wouldn't find crappy pizza personally offensive (which will be more difficult).
It's MIND BOGGLING to me how places like Papa John's and Pizza Hut exist in NJ and NY. Seriously, who the heck goes there, and why??? With so many other better options...
Original Poster...I don't think it would be wise to open up a mediocre pizza chain in Bayonne.
You're going to be competing with a lot of pizza chains, some of which people are very faithful to.
I have a CiCi's not far from me, here in FL. No one ever talks about it (and FL pizza is horrible most of the time), and I only see the occasional commercial. Opening one in NJ just doesn't seem like a good idea, and more than likely, a large financial loss.
I am not sure that Bayonne is the right choice but find that many people are willing to sacrifice quality for quantity. People love buffets/AYCE (all you can eat). I personally hate buffets with a few exceptions in Europe
City data population is not reflective of the general population either.
I think Cici's might be able to do well. Sometimes people want to just pig out without paying 10-15 dollars for a single pie.
Cici's isn't all that bad. Consider the fact that most people go there for quantity over quality.
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