59-year-old pizza chain franchisee shuts locations, no bankruptcy

An economical downturn successful the fast-food pizza eating assemblage has led to franchisees closing hundreds of locations and, successful immoderate cases, filing for bankruptcy protection.

Popular pizza concatenation Papa John's shared successful its fourth-quarter earnings call that it volition adjacent 300 underperforming restaurants, including 200 by the extremity of 2026. Papa John’s besides said it would chopped 7% of its workforce.

The institution did not uncover erstwhile it volition adjacent the remaining 100 restaurants.

Domino's Pizza Enterprises, the largest franchisee of the elephantine pizza chain, planned to adjacent 205 low-performing locations successful 2025.

Also, the planetary pizza chain's Oceanside, Calif.-based franchisee North County Pizza Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy connected March 11, 2025, to reorganize its business.

And now, Pieology Pizzeria franchisee Cotti Foods Pizza Hawaii, which operates 5 locations successful the Aloha State, volition adjacent each of its Hawaii locations owed to concern failure, the edifice relation said successful a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification missive sent to authorities officials.

Cotti Foods said it volition adjacent its locations successful Honolulu, Aina Haina, Aiea, Kailua, and Kane'ohe, Hawaii, connected oregon aft May 22, 2026, according to the March 3 letter. The franchisee has not filed for bankruptcy.

Cotti Foods was established with the acquisition of its archetypal Taco Bell determination successful Southern California successful 1967. It began adding Wendy's franchises successful 2014 and Pieology locations successful 2015, according to its website.

The franchisee operates 105 Taco Bell locations, 122 Wendy's restaurants, and 5 Pieology units. The closing of the 5 Pieology locations apt ends Cotti Foods' franchise agreements with the pizza chain.

Layoffs of each 56 employees astatine the 5 locations volition beryllium staggered implicit respective months opening March 23 and ending astir May 22.

The franchisee, which opened its archetypal determination successful 2016, said it volition connection equivalent employment to most, if not all, affected employees astatine different Pieology locations until those adjacent arsenic well. The employees bash not person bumping rights.

Cotti Foods said it wasn't definite if the national WARN Act oregon the Hawaii Dislocated Workers' Act applies to its closing and layoffs.

"Nevertheless, retired of an abundance of caution, Pieology is issuing this announcement arsenic good arsenic notices to each affected employee," the institution said successful the letter.

Pieology included a database of positions being eliminated: 2 wide managers, 2 adjunct managers, 1 country coach, 10 Pieology unit leads, and 41 unit members.