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Pizza shop owner closes all three CiCi's stores

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By Richard Wilson, Staff Writer Updated 4:32 PM Tuesday, March 10, 2009

With three stores closed, pizza lovers will have to travel out of the county to get all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta and salad.

Cici's Pizza in Hamilton, West Chester Twp. and Fairfield — franchises owned by Jeffrey Morin — have all closed in recent weeks.

While Morin could not be reached for comment, Amie Martin, marketing manager at Cici's corporate headquarters in Coppell, Texas, a sub-city of Dallas, said the stores were casualties of the stalled economy.

"Cici's Pizza is growing, but the economy has been hard unfortunately on some franchisees," Martin said.

The buffet-style family restaurant offers a wide variety of pizza choices and charges about "five bucks and change," Martin said.

There are about 40 Cici's Pizza locations in Ohio, plus locations in Indiana and Kentucky. About 100 new stores have opened nationwide this year and the brand recently was introduced in the California market, Martin said.

The Hamilton location, on the West Side in the strip mall with Staples and Hobby Lobby, opened in September 2002; the West Chester Twp. store, located on Voice of America Drive, opened in 2005. The opening of the Fairfield store, located on Jungle Jim's property off Ohio 4, could not be determined.

Martin said the company's development department is currently looking for other franchise owners willing to reopen the stores or build new in Butler County.

With funding hard to come by these days, Martin said the company is willing to waive the franchise fee of $25,000 for investors within the franchise system, Martin said.

"We are committed to serving the community and growing in the area," she said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or rwilson@coxohio.com.

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Yeah, you might get better pizza out of a store brand box depending on whereever you get your pizza, but it's more expensive I bet, and you don't get a variety in a box!

john
1:46 PM, 10/6/2009

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The closings don't surprise me. You could get better pizza out of a store brand box.

Don
6:17 AM, 9/23/2009

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Thought you might be interested in opening the frachise in Butler Couny since franchise fee's are being waived.... might be a good opportunity to go along with your other ventures...
RFowler

Becky Wilber
11:16 PM, 4/12/2009

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