There’s even a startup company that will rent you space for running it.
https://cloudkitchens.com/locations/san-francisco-bay-area/
You’re not missing anything. Just bear in mind that demographics drive restaurant delivery businesses intensely and a big part of the business is related to regional demographic trends (and those vary globally quite a lot).
Pizza Hut has for many years in a lot of locations maintained more of a restaurant focused approach, often serving AYCE buffet as a destination with proper booths and table service. They have a bunch of retro styled locations in the States that still offer that experience. There’s a pretty neat one that I like in Fredericksburg, TX. The full list of classic locations that I know of is here: https://rolandopujol.substack.com/p/the-retrologists-guide-t...
You want a gas conveyor oven which actually takes a lot of space and needs ~3 meters in front for assembly and 2 meters behind it. Walk in fridge and freezer are at least another shipping container in size. Then there's clean up and other prep space..
For us, wages were more than rent and probably our competitors rents. 2/3rds of wages would be drivers at slow times going to something like 4/5ths during the Superbowl.
It does matter where it's made; a location more distant from customers will mean they get pizza that's less fresh.
> In 2019, Pizza Hut brought back its 1974 logo, banking on its nostalgic appeal. I figured that would be the end of it, just a simple marketing tactic soon forgotten. There were no plans announced to bring back the logo in stores, much less redesign the restaurants to look like old Pizza Huts from the chain’s heyday.
> But with no fanfare whatsoever, that’s exactly what’s been happening. Pizza Hut has been taking legacy stores and converting them into “Classics.” The formula includes ...
> So far, these stores appear to be limited to smaller markets, where these legacy stores have survived, the bones of the old buildings intact.
> They have generated incredible curiosity and fascination, and when I post photos of them on my Instagram page, they invariably lead to hundreds of comments and excitement and joy that’s impossible to measure. (Here’s a look at the phenomenon on my friend Heath Racela’s Substack.)
... but yea... for pizza, the dine in experience is almost completely gone. Dominos, Little Caesars, Gumby's (for the college town), Pizza Pit, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns. Papa Murphy's takes it to another level without even having ovens (take and bake... which incidentally _also_ allows them to qualify for SNAP https://www.papamurphys.com/faqs/).
You have to look for places like Pizza Factory or Pizza Ranch for a dine in experience (and many other local places that have only one or two places... but very few national chains anymore).
... And then there's Pasqually's Pizza which straddles the line. https://www.pasquallyspizza.com/our-story/ (CEC Entertainment, LLC is Chuck E. Cheese)
The best bet would be to pool resources to operate a single kitchen with multiple individual pizza companies as tenants. Each could run their own prep stations but use shared ovens. But you're back to rent dominating costs even if it's lower than having your own kitchen and oven(s).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OTpHqq6bFg # Comparing Chuck E Cheese pizza and a rebranded CEC frozen pizza
https://www.lastsqueaktonight.com/ # Last Week Tonight's alternative episode when they discussed HOAs. it's a full and funny history of the pizza chain and includes the virtual brand
You don't need a robot pizza machine, you need an operating model where rent doesn't hold your bottom line hostage (based on my very limited understanding of the business fundamentals). Rent goes up? Class 8 Semi pulls up to pull the trailer to somewhere else with hookups.
Edit: thanks for the learnings y’all!