An Unlikely Comeback

The year 2015 was a bad one to own an independent pizza restaurant. Total sales for independent pizzerias (here meaning pizza restaurants with fewer than ten locations) were down 5% from 2014, and almost 2% of independent owners went out of business during the year. The large, corporate pizza chains, by contrast, had a great year, with sales increasing a few percent, and the number of units climbing 7% year-over-year. This is a phenomenon that we’ve all seen before—corporate giants use their capital and connections and other advantages to crush their mom-and-pop competitors.