Pie Five: Fast Casual Piefection
While doing research on Pie Five I stumbled upon a few of their competitors, the main one being Blaze Pizza. I immediately started looking for excuses to visit any of their locations so that I could draw comparisons between the two. I just so happened to be traveling through Columbus, Ohio which which conveniently had a Blaze Pizza that was not too far out of the way. But before we start comparing the two lets talk about the ingredients that make a good fast casual restaurant so that you can see where Blaze is failing and Pie Five is succeeding.
Number One is good location, in short the store should be located in a high traffic area that contains your targeted demographic (the people you are trying to sell your product to). Number Two is the stores layout/format, it must be conducive to efficiently moving as many customers through the point of sale while maintaining positive customer experience. In a close Third is fantastic product w/ quality ingredients, it helps create the buzz to come visit and the memorable experience to come back again and again. In Fourth we have friendly and knowledgeable employees. This contributes to the overall experience and if passed over can contribute to losing your customers to the eerily similar chain across the street. And last but certainly not least, a fair price for the quality of food you are selling. Your restaurant could have the best food in the world but if it is priced too high you might lose tons of customers.
While I can not speak about all locations I have been to one Pie Five and one Blaze Pizza. Pie Five was in an okay location just off a main strip and a major highway exit. Blaze Pizza was right across the street from one of the largest college campuses in the world. Picking from the two locations I would definitely chose Blaze, Blaze- 1 Pie Five- 0.
The format of the stores were similar in the sense that they had quick lines that both ended by the fountain drinks, cool outlets to charge via USB, and easily accessible cafe style seating. But Blaze lost, while this wasn't the case (unfortunately for them), if very busy their line would have directly interfered with people trying to get drinks from the soda fountain. It would also make for awkward who is going which way interactions with other customers while trying to move towards the line. I also thought the giant gas fired pizza oven was a bit much. It required a single person to be able to track multiple pizzas at the same time throughout the entire day, if he isn't paying attention a pizza could be over or under cooked ruining the customer experience. Pie Five's traditional conveyor pizza oven ensures uniform cooking for all pizzas. Along with not having a state of the art bathroom like Pie Five they were missing witty decorations to add that smile to their experience that might get them back. Blaze- 1 Pie Five- 1.
I attempted to get the same pizza at both locations and while the Blaze pizza was larger I thought the Pie Five pizza was slightly better in taste and quality. Blaze only had 1 style of crust besides their gluten free option, Pie Five has 4. The toppings including sauces were similar but at first glance the ingredients at Pie Five had a slightly more premium look. And my favorite part, Pie Five used way more cheese. Oh, and they offer to sprinkle your pizza with "magic dust" right before you check out. Win for Pie Five, Blaze- 1 Pie Five- 2.
While the customer service was not horrible it was not the gold standard of "Starbucks" customer service. Comparatively the wait to start eating my pizza was much longer than Pie Five, which boasts a pizza in five minutes or less. The assembly process of my pizza at Pie Five even seemed to be more carefully constructed. And while waiting at the cashier for my finished product I had a pleasant conversation with the "magic dust" lady and cashier. Blaze- 1 Pie Five- 3.
And what causes the most confusion for me for these "Chipotle" style fast casual restaurants is the price, and how they turn a profit off of these premium products. Bottom line Pie Five is roughly 46 cents cheaper, Blaze $7.45 and Pie Five $6.99. The premium product at an affordable price is evident at both but Pie Five wins. Blaze- 1 and Pie Five- 4.
With many premium locations already taken up by the likes of Panera, Chipotle, and Starbucks it will be difficult for either to find footholds, but not impossible. If Pie Five keeps the wins and ups their game in choosing locations they will easily edge out competitors.
While I can not speak about all locations I have been to one Pie Five and one Blaze Pizza. Pie Five was in an okay location just off a main strip and a major highway exit. Blaze Pizza was right across the street from one of the largest college campuses in the world. Picking from the two locations I would definitely chose Blaze, Blaze- 1 Pie Five- 0.
The format of the stores were similar in the sense that they had quick lines that both ended by the fountain drinks, cool outlets to charge via USB, and easily accessible cafe style seating. But Blaze lost, while this wasn't the case (unfortunately for them), if very busy their line would have directly interfered with people trying to get drinks from the soda fountain. It would also make for awkward who is going which way interactions with other customers while trying to move towards the line. I also thought the giant gas fired pizza oven was a bit much. It required a single person to be able to track multiple pizzas at the same time throughout the entire day, if he isn't paying attention a pizza could be over or under cooked ruining the customer experience. Pie Five's traditional conveyor pizza oven ensures uniform cooking for all pizzas. Along with not having a state of the art bathroom like Pie Five they were missing witty decorations to add that smile to their experience that might get them back. Blaze- 1 Pie Five- 1.
I attempted to get the same pizza at both locations and while the Blaze pizza was larger I thought the Pie Five pizza was slightly better in taste and quality. Blaze only had 1 style of crust besides their gluten free option, Pie Five has 4. The toppings including sauces were similar but at first glance the ingredients at Pie Five had a slightly more premium look. And my favorite part, Pie Five used way more cheese. Oh, and they offer to sprinkle your pizza with "magic dust" right before you check out. Win for Pie Five, Blaze- 1 Pie Five- 2.
While the customer service was not horrible it was not the gold standard of "Starbucks" customer service. Comparatively the wait to start eating my pizza was much longer than Pie Five, which boasts a pizza in five minutes or less. The assembly process of my pizza at Pie Five even seemed to be more carefully constructed. And while waiting at the cashier for my finished product I had a pleasant conversation with the "magic dust" lady and cashier. Blaze- 1 Pie Five- 3.
And what causes the most confusion for me for these "Chipotle" style fast casual restaurants is the price, and how they turn a profit off of these premium products. Bottom line Pie Five is roughly 46 cents cheaper, Blaze $7.45 and Pie Five $6.99. The premium product at an affordable price is evident at both but Pie Five wins. Blaze- 1 and Pie Five- 4.
With many premium locations already taken up by the likes of Panera, Chipotle, and Starbucks it will be difficult for either to find footholds, but not impossible. If Pie Five keeps the wins and ups their game in choosing locations they will easily edge out competitors.
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