CiCi’s pizza recipe: Providing real value

By Richard N. Velotta

Friday, June 25, 2010 | 3 a.m.

This is part of an occasional series of stories on how local companies are moving past the recession.

Conventional wisdom suggests that a company new to town not try to take the growth curve too rapidly, especially during the worst economic downturn in recent history.

But CiCi’s Pizza, a Dallas-based chain that opened its first Las Vegas store in 2008, is far from conventional. Eric Wollenhaupt, an operating partner with the company, took the growth curve at full speed and two years later, there are six restaurants in place with more on the way.

“I started with the company in 1997 in Charlotte, N.C.,” Wollenhaupt said. “I learned a lot, became a district manager and went to work at the corporate headquarters.”

But in 2008, some investor partners approached Wollenhaupt about opening a restaurant in Las Vegas.

“They love Las Vegas and they visit here all the time,” he said. “When I took a look at it, I fell in love with it and thought this would be a great opportunity to grow some CiCi’s here.”

Wollenhaupt had a plan to add a store a year. But when the city embraced the CiCi’s concept, the growth plan was thrown out the window and the company grew like it was in the middle of an economic heyday instead of a recession. The Las Vegas explosion was a part of the company’s western expansion that has taken it into 33 states, including two stores in California.

Within two years, Las Vegas had six restaurants and a seventh will open in less than a month. Three are under Wollenhaupt’s control, two are corporate stores and one is franchised to Mike Haskins.

The area’s first CiCi’s, in North Las Vegas, opened at Cheyenne Avenue and Civic Center Drive. The next three restaurants opened within one month, including two that opened on the same day.

Experts at March’s International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas said pizza is one of the top fast-food bets during the recession because most people like it, it’s easy to make and the ingredients are relatively inexpensive. But Wollenhaupt said there are even more reasons why CiCi’s is on a fast growth track.

It starts with the welcome at the front door as soon as a customer walks in. As soon as the door swings open, one or more of the 25 team members working at the restaurant will shout out, “Welcome to CiCi’s!”

“We’re reminding guests that we really appreciate their business,” Wollenhaupt said. “It certainly lets them know that we’re happy that they’re here. And we are, especially during these times.”

There are other reasons CiCi’s is so successful.

The restaurant is value driven. The all-you-can-eat pizza buffet goes for $4.99 and bottomless drinks are $1.89. Children 12 and under can eat at the buffet for $2.99 with 99-cent drinks.

The buffet also includes salad, pasta and desserts. Although the buffet serves pizza by the slice, customers can also buy a 15-inch pie for $4.99 and a 12-inch for $3.99. Chicken wings are served separately and are not part of the buffet.

Kitchen crews serve 16 varieties of pizza, including thick-crusted versions and a new thin-crust “Italiano” style.

Another unusual policy is that if a certain pizza flavor isn’t a part of the buffet, a customer can special order a pie at no extra cost and several slices are delivered directly to the customer’s table. Wollenhaupt said pizza-makers will follow a customer’s ordering instructions. That, in fact, is how CiCi’s came up with one of its most unusual flavors — a macaroni and cheese pizza.

“It’s one of our best-selling pizzas and guess what? It was invented by a child,” he said.

Wollenhaupt said ingredients are fresh and the dough and sauce are not frozen and are prepared at each restaurant every day. That, he said, keeps costs down.

CiCi’s made-fresh-daily cinnamon rolls are “ooey, gooey, fresh and chewy” and are addictive, he added.

The six stores in Southern Nevada range in size from 3,500 to 4,500 square feet and each has game arcades, televisions and bulletin boards filled with postings about community events. CiCi’s works with church and school groups on fundraisers that have collected thousands of dollars for local organizations.

The company also has embraced social media and “sign shakers” for its advertising and marketing. A recently launched online e-club pushes coupons to customers who sign up for discounts and one sign shaker display simply says, “You. Pizza. Now.”

But when asked about the key to success, Wollenhaupt keeps going back to the value equation.

“Las Vegas is the type of town that needs value and we’re a value-driven concept,” Wollenhaupt said. “We’re in the people business and we happen to sell pizza. It’s a great thing to sell right now.”