TexasCHLforum.com

Skiprr wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:Something tells me the "owner's" revenue has not increased by the numbers he claims.... I think the video said he has been open for nine months. Let's look back in a year and see if this delightful follow is still in business.

Actually, the restaurant opened slightly less than one month ago today. For 4 1/2 years, Pi Pizza was a food truck owned and operated by a guy named Anthony Calleo. Calleo partnered with the gracious gentleman in the video, Lee Ellis. Ellis is the money behind the move to brick-and-mortar, and his mouth may doom Calleo's baby barely before it gets off the ground. (And if you want to stay away, Ellis owns Cherry Pie Hospitality, whose properties include State Fare, Petite Sweets, Lee's Fried Chicken & Donuts and Lee's Creamery.)

The stated increases in revenue may well be valid. After all, if you're looking only at your 4th week in business, any data you assume is an indication of trending is totally bogus. Any business person knows you can't determine trends until you establish baseline, and you have zero baseline for a brick-and-mortar in three weeks.

BTW, I checked Pi Pizza's Facebook page last Monday when this first hit, and it had a full complement of chronological posts in its timeline, before and all the way through its delayed opening. That includes the profanity in multiple posts by Ellis directed at a customer who politely and civilly noted his personal opinion. Now, there is an animated GIF thanking Houston for the overwhelming support (the restaurant has dropped from 4 to 2.5 stars in Google reviews in 48 hours) heading a post from September 26, and no other posts appear prior to March 21, 2014. They've pulled them all down, including the ones by Ellis insulting a customer at the drop of a hat.

Hopefully, this means someone has convinced Ellis to get off the keyboard and maybe hire a branding or customer service consultant.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:If he cannot express himself without the vulgar comments, then it speaks volumes about his outlook and lack of respect for others.

It's this precisely, for me. Pi Pizza has every right under Texas law to prohibit LTC holders from carrying in the establishment. I appreciate and respect that completely.

Had Ellis simply responded that he understood, but wished Kyle would consider returning...well, the whole enchilada would have been a total non-issue.

Instead, Ellis's knee-jerk reaction was targeted profanity and "keep your money." It's that response that incensed an entire class of Texas citizens (yep; we're a class, as determined in a year-old pending class action lawsuit). Imagine what the outcry would have been--and the very different media treatment--had it been a different population class that had been insulted. Quick, think of the first three classes that pop into your head.

I don't think we'll have to wait a year, Charles. The restaurant business is a very fickle one. Calleo's Pi Pizza Truck became an icon in the area, and got a lot of media attention for the pizza, in a model that made it's money selling mainly by-the-slice. The truck is now no more, and the brick-and-mortar doesn't sell slices, only whole pizzas...plus, of course, other items including salads and desserts and alcoholic beverages. Whole different business model. But it ain't true that there's no such thing as bad publicity.