Why do good people get bad pizza?

I know this is a topic that pops up all over the place but on a recent trip to pick up a couple of thin-crust pizzas at the very good Villa Rosa on Devon in Edgebrook I passed the newly opened (and oddly named) Domino's Pizza Theater about a half-block away. About a half-dozen people waiting at Domino's; I was the sole customer at V.R. It certainly can't be price.

It's totally price. If you have to feed 3 kids and 2 adults on a budget, and you can get 2 large pizzas for $10 as opposed to one large for $20, where are you gonna go? Good pizza or not. As someone posted on another thread, it's not food, it's fuel.

One major reason is that Domino's has nationwide advertising campaigns so pretty much everyone knows who they are. Local mom and pop shops have to rely on flyers and word of mouth to build their name recognition. Another reason may be nostalgia, when I was growing up the only pizza that was available was Domino's and Pizza Hut (with Papa John's a little later). Sometimes you crave the things you had in your childhood, even if it was crap. We did have one brief bright spot back in the early 80's when a place opened up that delivered amazing pizzas baked in a wood fired oven, but pizza wasn't the only thing they were delivering so they got shut down pretty quick.

Hi- I agree it is price. Myself I would rather not have pizza than have cheap pizza, but I love to cook, and not everybody does. Even DiGiorno pizza is better than the cheap stuff, but it does not work for a large crowd.

Price is a huge reason. Kids don't even care - it's just food to them. Why waste money on higher quality if they don't appreciate it? But some people actually don't mind chain pizza or fast food. I'll still eat McDonald's once in a blue moon and I enjoy it. Same thing with pizza. I haven't had Domino's in years but I am sure one night I might want to save a few dollars and have it. I've never felt that it was so bad that I couldn't eat it, but I definitely don't think about ordering from there.

"Large" (14") sausage pizza at domino's store # 2755: 12.01

"Large" (14") sausage pizza at villa rosa: 13.55

Roger Ramjet wrote:"Large" (14") sausage pizza at domino's store # 2755: 12.01

"Large" (14") sausage pizza at villa rosa: 13.55

That's not a good comparison, though. You have to look at the Domino's deals. A person would have to be exceptionally dim or specific in their needs to pay full price for a Domino's pizza. I bet you you could get two two-topping large pizzas at that same Dominos for $9.99.

EDIT: I checked - 2 large 2 topping pizzas for $19.99, but 1 large 3-topping pizza will run you $7.99 at that store.

Is it really that much of a surprise that a lot of people don't value, or don't perceive differences in, quality (whether you are talking about food or anything else)?

Darren72 wrote:Is it really that much of a surprise that a lot of people don't value, or don't perceive differences in, quality (whether you are talking about food or anything else)?

Not at all, it's just that pizza is one of those things that Chicago does exceptionally well. It just puzzles me that Pizza Hut and Domino's can draw people in when you can throw a rock and find a better "value" overall.

I've posted this story before, but it's always fun to retell.

Back in the early 90's I had to go to Akron OH for two weeks of training. I asked many locals, at least 10 different people, where the best pizza place in town was. Every one of them said Domino's. I thought they had to be pulling my leg. I tried 3 different mom and pop pizza places. Those people were right, Domino's would have been better.

I agree it's different when you're in a place like Chicago. But lots of transplants just don't know any better. To them Domino's is what pizza is supposed to taste like. And for kids growing up that have been forced eat Domino's due to financial considerations, again, it's what pizza is supposed to taste like to them.

I feel fortunate to have grown up in a time before Domino's. I remember seeing all the commercials when they first came to Chicago. I remember being excited when the first one opened up in our neighborhood at Pratt and Ashland. That excitement lasted as long as it took to open the box and see what was inside.

Possibly Domino's Pizza Theater is more oriented toward kid-friendly entertainment than Villa Rosa? The Domino's Pizza Theater locations are intended to be somewhat different than regular Domino's outlets:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013 ... t-business

I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with the kids. My family, we like to go to Pizano's, Lou Malnati's, and some of our more neighborhood-y places for pizza - but my kid, he still insists on having Pizza Hut every once in awhile, so we do that too. However, I draw the line at Domino's, and I won't ever go there. There's just so much better pizza around. As for Pizza Hut - I am originally from Kansas, and Pizza Hut originated there, so I can at least telling myself I'm supporting a hometown company.

Katie wrote:Possibly Domino's Pizza Theater is more oriented toward kid-friendly entertainment than Villa Rosa? The Domino's Pizza Theater locations are intended to be somewhat different than regular Domino's outlets:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013 ... t-business

This one still appears to be a crappy Domino's take-out with a new name. Customers appear to be milling around the service counter.

I often find myself buying pizza from Little Caesars. After all, how can you go wrong with a $5 pizza, especially when you have a lot of little mouths to feed? A family of 6 can eat well for $10. One thing that I particularly like about Little Caesars is that the local franchisees are allowed to adjust the recipes for the local markets. So my neighborhood Little Caesars is geared towards a Mexican flavor profile. Therefore, not only is the sauce more spicy and less sweet than expected, the crust is not as bubblegumesque as most of the other chain competitors (I think that also has a lot to do with the hot air cooker they use). The cheese is actually not that terrible either. I tend to stick with the pepperoni, the sausage is not that great. After all, there is only so much magic you can do with a fin. In fact, I rather get a Pizza Pizza than JB Albertos, which seems to have the market cornered in Rogers Park. My favorite pizza in RP is Nueva Italy, but they are twice the price. Little Caesar's also offers disabled vets discounted franchising fees and help with financing their own stores. Being a disabled vet, that means a lot to me.

Domino's. Papa Romeo's and Pizza Slut are pretty much the same as they are anywhere else in the country. Yet they still do a good business. I think that is because some people crave consistency. I always wondered why a college town like Evanston, which is full of cool and quirky little coffee shops, still supports so many Starbucks. I have a business associate from LA that insists on going to Starbucks even when it is located right next door to a really cool little coffee house that roasts its own beans (for half the price). He says it is because no matter where he goes in the world, he knows his Hazelnut Macchiatto with half soy/ half regular milk is going to be exactly the same, right down to the temperature and the markings on the foam. He is just not interested in exploring anything new. I read somewhere that Stevie Wonder only stays at Holiday Inns because every room is laid out exactly the same.

There's also the loyalty card thing. If you have Starbucks' card and you buy some number of drinks you get one free. And there always seem to be coupons for Pizza Hut and Domino's.

In the suburbs, at least when I was a kid, no one delivered except for Domino's. If we wanted to eat pizza from the good pizza place at home we had to go there and pick it up and bring it home, and reheat it.

My husband and I don't have kids, but when we visit family in KY, it always makes the most sense financially and keeping-people-happy-wise to order a big, coupon-discounted order from Papa Johns or Pizza Hut. Yet here in Chicago, we would only order those chains if we were desperate (or, perhaps in my case, feeling nostalgic for that buttery crust from Pizza Hut that I grew up on).

But now, Ranalli's is absolutely our pizza of choice. I never hear anyone talking about Ranallis pizza--does anyone else out there LOVE it as much as us? We've had it delivered over 50 times. Favorite pizza there is pepperoni and onion pan style. A large will set you back over $20, but if it's infrequent (as it's a huge calorie splurge, too), why not?

TheJesster wrote:But now, Ranalli's is absolutely our pizza of choice. I never hear anyone talking about Ranallis pizza--does anyone else out there LOVE it as much as us?

Probably not!

See Ranalli's Up North and various mentions in other threads.

Darren72 wrote:

TheJesster wrote:But now, Ranalli's is absolutely our pizza of choice. I never hear anyone talking about Ranallis pizza--does anyone else out there LOVE it as much as us?

Probably not!

See Ranalli's Up North and various mentions in other threads.

I'm not a fan of anything else on their menu (although it's so huge, I haven't had that much), and I've only dined in there once (never again!!) but I'm telling you, try the pan pizza. It's GOOD when you want rich, devil-may-care pizza. Trust me.