The Decline of CiCi's Pizza...What Happened?
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2020
- Cici's pizza has been on the decline for more than a decade now. What was once the 5th largest pizza chain in the U.S. has fallen to number 10. This video takes a look at how they grew so large and theorizes where they went wrong.
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I worked at a cicis for a little while. The cost of ingredients was so cheap because cicis owned all of the producers from what I was told. What shocked me the most was the average cost to make a pizza was $.03 with the meat lovers being $0.25 to make. The pizzas where so cheap the owner would let employees make fresh pizzas at the end of the shift to take home for free. We would even make pizzas for the homeless people in the area. I have fond memories of there
this is really nice to hear
I'm not gonna argue, just tell you that you're wrong.
@@TheTrainwreckTV fax bro
@@TheTrainwreckTV really? How.
@@TheTrainwreckTV how are they wrong?
CiCis pizza: advertise all the time but have no locations
LMAO so truee.
Indeed I found 1 tho
At fort Smith 7 hours away !
Can't relate lol. I live in Houston so I am surrounded by them!
Ha exactly the problem, we had one, but it closed shortly after a Pizza Inn popped up not far from it, now the closest one is nearly a 2-hour drive away, so we've rarely ever gone to a pizza buffet since.
I grew up super poor, my dad made near minimum wage and with buffet being 1.99 and kids eat free, it was the place for me and brother and my sister. We ate for free every Friday when my dad got paid. Till this day I still love cicis, I know people groan when they hear it but it has a special place in my heart for feeding my family for so many years.
Agreed. That was a great deal. Also, I loved their spinach pizza. When we left, I would always get a quarter to put into the machine where a ball falls with with a toy in it, too.
You ok man? :(
@@dubuyajay9964you okay?
Lies again? Breakfast At McDonald's Creampie
Nah im with ya
i love how all these comments are so wholesome and positive towards cici’s, i was fully expecting so many comments about how horrible it is, but no, everyone has the same fond memories
Nothing like having a CiCi's next to a College. Discount food for bachelor students!
So an ethical CEO who cared about his workers was replaced with people who just wanted to expand expand expand... got it
How B A A A D can they be? They’re just doing what comes naturally.
this was the first comment that showed up directly under the video, now there's no point in watching it 😩😩😩
@@streaksdsb yeah, I saw it that way too
Capitalism
*Looks at Toys R’ US, KB Toys, and Borders*
I remember eating here. I was broke, homeless, sunburnt, and very hungry. I remember being happy that I could get a bunch of calories and eating as much as I could. I shit myself the next day
didnt expect that at the end 😂
Well, that took an unexpected turn
☠️😂🤣😂
Kml😭🤣🤣
...Thanks for sharing???
As someone who grew up in Houston during the 90's to early 2000's, I can attest that the glory days of CiCi's were in fact pretty glorious. Maybe I was just lucky and got one of the better franchises. The prices were great, the workers were friendly and motivated and always kept the pizza trays full, everything tasted fresh, the restaurant was spotless, the drinks were good, overall it was an incredibly enjoyable experience. Heading to CiCi's with my family was sometimes the highlight of my week. Whoever ran the franchise must have been a gamer too, my local CiCi's was the first place I ever saw have a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 machine and you can bet the CiCi's arcade was on and jumping with all the kids running around and beating each other senseless with their favorite superheroes and gaming heroes. It was a great time to be a kid.
They still have cicis in humble by deerbrook mall
As someone who’s probably a little older than you I can agree. I think maybe my local cicis was extra good or maybe the quality used to be much better, because I enjoyed CiCi’s and it helped me survive when I was really broke
There used to be one near Memorial City Mall that i went to all the time in mid 90s.
I am glad that y'all were fortunate enough to have good experiences there, but here in Lexington, KY, the Cici's locations we had (past tense, they're all out of business now) were awful. Dry, hard, cold crust with about a teaspoon of sauce per pizza, an embarrassingly skimpy amount of toppings, and a see through layer of cheese.
The Cici's experience you folks had sounds awesome. Here, the product they put out was dreadful at any price.
Same in Fort Worth man.. such good times with my friends back then.
I remember Cici’s being known as one of the worst places to eat pizza at,yet I liked it.The pizza tastes good,they had a big selection,and the cinnamon rolls were amazing.The only thing I hated was the dirtiness and the annoying kids.
Those cinnamon rolls were amazing
Its considered the place where poor people go to eat. That's why there's more kids then adults on that damn place. All the kids can eat for $3.99.
@@hillorisartin6129yes super good
I agree. It's hard to enjoy your meal with a bunch of screaming kids running all over the place.
They call it Feces for a reason! 🍕🍕🍕 ... Seriously in Orlando, CeCes had a few locations. In 2023; there are around 2-3 central FL total. I tend to avoid CeCes due to the crack heads, dirty sweaty street people. 🤨 Covid 19, lice, bed bugs are not what I want from a pizza buffet.
The pizza may have not been the greatest but those cinnamon bun roll things were so good
YES, the cinnamon rolls are the best thing there, lol
Those brownies were good as fuck țoo
@@alligatormonday6365 on god
Actually no, they were bland. It’s just when we were younger we took advantage of the “all you can eat”, and we stuffed ourselves with brownies and cinnamon buns. It was a good moment, so now that you’re older you always think of Cicis like the first time you went, a magical place.
I say this because I decided to go back after years of not going, and it was depressing. The seats were empty, the pizza was greasy and skinny, the salad wasn’t even fresh, and the dessert tasted like rocks.
Cici's definitely has a special place in my heart. I grew up relatively poor, but my parents saved up to take my brother and I to Disney World. Across the parking lot from our hotel was a Cici's and we ate there literally every day. We'd eat a huge breakfast at a Perkins to carry us over through the day, my mom packed jolly ranchers so we wouldn't be too hungry or thirsty in the park (you'd be amazed how well it worked), and then we'd go to Cici's at the end of the day. Being a 10 year old, I was totally oblivious to the fact that we were doing this because we weren't well off. A pizza buffet was the coolest thing of all time to me. Now as an adult, I think back to the careful planning my parents did to take us to Disney and appreciate it all so much more. Cici's is just part of those beautiful memories.
I have similar experience with Disney land and McDonald's though haha 😄 my mom didn't let us eat or drink anything in the park but before and after the park we would eat breakfast and dinner there to save money we had just enough to get into the park haha.
The memories of a family being on a budget and still treating their kids to Cicis is exactly how I grew up too! Loved that place!
I think I know exactly where youre talking about lol
@@whitealliance9540 You must be fun at parties. Dude, chill.
@@whitealliance9540 ...what
The last CiCi's I went to was so dirty, people fighting over whatever pizza was coming out and in some cases would just grab the whole pizza. I really felt sorry for the employees as the customers where just so bad. That's why I don't go anymore.
Same here!
That's the thing. This "fresh" mantra has spread around the entire restaurant industry like a nasty fart in a classroom. It means absolutely NOTHING. Sure the restaurants have a fresh coat of paint, the "buffet" looks more modern, but has the taste and quality of the pizza truly improved? Or the "fresh" pastas and salads? Pizza Hut, Subway, and McDonalds have ALL done these silly tactics. And the food is crap, the employees often overworked and still underpaid, and that "fresh" word has just lost any meaning or swayed the customers into believing it's just another way to coax another dollar more out of their wallets.
The only thing that is going to save this Titanic? Is to actually listen to what the customers truly want, not the CEO's, not the bean counters, the people who go to these places routinely and have tasted their food from when it was good, to what it tastes like now. And newsflash? It makes weekly leftovers in the fridge taste like gourmet compared to the rancid cat food most fast food tastes like now.
You’re lucky they’re still open wherever you live. All the ones here in Vegas were closed😢.. I miss the Zesty cheddar ranch pizza.
$20 for going there
Ha ha! It sounds like a hilarious dump with filthy, obese clients! 🤣
As a '90s baby, I remember in the 2000s that Cici's was one of my favorite places because of the buffet. I still love buffets today, lol. This and Ryan's were my favorite places to go. Cici's pizza, I thought as a teenager, was always good. I loved that they also had pasta and salad as well. Always looked forward to their desserts too. Anyway, I hope they continue to try to improve themselves. There's a lot of potential in this company.
Oh man mf'in Ryan's... wow. Completely forgot about them..
Geesh you basically described my experience too hahahaa. I loved cicis and Ryan's. Cicis was almost a weekend staple for my family. 2006-2010
Pretty much guaranteed if you were born in the 80s or 90s, lived in the south, and played sports as a kid you have been to a CiCi's pizza party
That is true because I’m in FL and been to CC’s after winning my flag football championship
After church every Sunday
I was just hungry
i was born 2003 and we’d always go after my soccer games w my team LMAO
Real truth. I did and didn't play lol maybe I'd go to watch a game and smash pizza lol
When I was little I went into a cicis and I thought "Cici" was a real person and when I found it wasn't real I cried.
DAMN
Lmao wtf
rip lol
When I was a kid I thought "banana man" was a real person and when I found it wasn't real I cried.
@@1Phire i am real
I quit eating at CC's because there's rarely any fresh pizza on the buffet. The last time I ate at CC's there was no pizza at all when I walked in and then they only put out one pizza at a time and didn't replace it until it was gone. I just assumed that the chain was going broke.
Your location sucks. Email the manager an email. This prob doesn't happen when good managers are there
That's a lie
@@gregorygrimm5540 because I know bich I live over there
I got the worst case of diarrhea in my whole life eating this crap
At the locations by me you can ask them to make you a pizza. I would skip the buffet and just get my own pizza.
Growing up with just my mom and sister my mom did her best but didn’t always have a ton extra. I remember Cici’s always being a spot she could take us and we had a great meal. Thankful for them!
I feel like high school bands are the only thing keeping our cicis in business
My school took A+B students to CiCis every quarter. I went nearly every time and it's one of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had.
Yessir as a band member I can confirm.
They have a very select market weather they like it or not
Yeah and also daycares in the summer too
I saw one kid put away 15 brownies on a field trip to Cici's. Good times
CiCi's pizza lost so much money because I kept stealing all their cinnamon buns💀
Reported.
@@benjaminharrison1522 I’m dead 😂
Now i dont feel bad about the time i took some brownies
CRIMINAL REEEE
LMFAOAOAO🤣🤣
I think one of my friends is basically single-handedly responsible for cicis financial woes. Shortly before he got fired he took a huge stack of free buffet coupons. Many fond memories of getting incredibly stoned and going to cicis lmao
My yearly visits to cicis with my grandpa will always hold a special place in my heart and memories.
1:52 That nail is doing literally nothing
Fr 😂😂
Just go with it.
It’s obviously holding the house together 🤦🏻♂️
stock vids amirite
Three stooges craftsmanship
I'll admit I have a soft spot for Cici's. The one where I used to live has a great manager. Like three years after I moved away, I was visiting and went to Cici's for old times sake, and that manager was still there and still remembered my exact special order. Warmed my cold and withered heart.
Why is your heart cold and withered
:(
@@demonkingofsalvation7519 maybe hes a zombie and already previously died
@@notlucas6859 :(
:(
:(
I loved Cici’s Pizza so much! Mac and cheese pizza and their spinach pizza was so good 🥹 I haven’t been there since I was about 8 years old but it’s always been an unforgettable experience
That spinach pizza! I loved it.... it's been so long since I've been there..
@@johnm7838 I would have liked to enjoy the mac a cheese pizza
I have nothing but fond memories of Cici's. The fact that you can try different types of pizza and salads for less than $5 was incredible. Now its not the best quality pizza but I'm used to eating Little Caesar's, Pizza Hut, Dominos, etc. When I'm hungry, I don't care too much about having the most gourmet meal. I just want something quick and easy and I'm out the door.
I'd eat at the Cs near me. Less than 2mi BUT the 2020s era customers are mainly; dirty sweaty labor workers, construction guys 👷🏻♂️ families with 5-6-8 kids who may or may not of had a 🛁 or washed their hands in 48hr. Or the regular drunks-homeless bums who panhandle, get high then sit in the AC eating pizza 🍕 for 2hr.
Those brownies that were consistently fresh was my favorite thing to get as a kid.
Same here but now it’s all bad
Same
@@umg7948 yea now it’s sad
I grew up with cici's and I loved it every single time
I would also say that even though the food is cheap it still tastes amazing
The cinnamon rolls were also very delicious
We would have a worker cook me and my brothers an entire tray
And that apple cinnamon dessert pizza
Good times
As someone who worked at and managed a CiCis for a decade, I can tell you the biggest issue was corporate over reach into franchises. The franchisee I worked for was one of the greatest people ever and I still talk to him regularly. But around 2006 corporate started changing recipes for cheaper costs while increasing prices. The quality went way down and you couldn't do anything about it. Dire miscommunication between district supervisors and franchise owners was extremely poor. I will never forget being sent a new recipe poster, taking a week to teach everyone on it, the the DS showed up and told us we were doing it wrong, that the recipes were out of date, but refused to give us updates information and failed our evaluation. I had to spend an hour talking to corporate and my franchisee about what happened, and I was still never told what was wronf our out of date. 3 months later they were the correct procedures but they wouldn't remove the disaplinary actions against me or my franchise owner despite the inconsistencies. Quality of food kept going down, Corporate started mandating small shifts which made cleaning difficult while pushing specials. There was just no good end in sight so I left in 2015.
Yeah, this is what happens when vulture capital takes over your company.
The location that used to be in my town was always dirty and the food was disgusting! That location burned down several years ago, but they actually rebuilt it a few months later on the same spot! My wife & I decided to give them a second chance thinking that this “new location“ would be better since they took all that time and money to rebuild it… Nope! The food was still disgusting, and within a few weeks it was all dirty and ghetto once again. Needless to say this new rebuilt location permanently closed down within a year. In its spot now is a Hungry Howie’s Pizza Buffet, which is 100x better! LOL
Thanks for sharing
When I went to Cici’s pizza as a kid there was a pizza that was like an upside down pizza? Now they don’t have it but I really liked it. Do you remember what that had in it. Thank you so much
@@HS-pb1qq you talking about the Flip? It was basically just crust, cheese sauce and pepperoni folded over itself.
In 2009 or 2010 (I can’t remember) a CiCis opened in my hometown in Ohio. My sister worked there, for approximately 4 weeks. They had some of the craziest rules for the employees, I don’t remember much of them, one I do remember is my sister worked for free the first week of training. It was a weird place, and they closed down within a year, and could never keep employees, constantly understaffed and even some days shut down because they did not have enough employees to open. It was a big deal, until people worked there and realized the owners were nuts….
As a kid growing up in a single parent low income home, I loved Cecis. We'd go as a family, I'd get a bowl of soup and spend the rest of the time eating those brownies with the powder stuff on top. I still wouldn't trust myself in front of a pan of those lmao. Great memories of making plate runs for my mom and being excited for that 'fresh' warm pan of brownies
I remember trying their "smores pizza," and as a child, that was the best thing in the world to me.
Brixx wood fired pizza has a smores dessert pizza
Heck yeah
Sameee
I worked at a cici’s for 2 and a half years. The amount of people that would ask for that and get mad when I told them it was discontinued for over 15 years was too damn high
Woah where & when did you have that I haven't seen one of those
Cici's got me through college. Right next to it was a dollar theatre, where films that had been released a few months earlier would only cost $1 to watch. Imagine getting lots of pizza AND a movie for about $6 bucks total.
Now that's a date night for a college kid
In college, on special occasions when I wouldn't eat the McDonald's dollar menu (when it was actually a dollar menu) I went there for lunch for it to cover both lunch and dinner.
Bro. I felt that
I have one of those movie theaters by me. (In Belair, MD)
That's one of my favorite movie theaters. I remember watching Shrek there in like.... 2009 or something like that, when it came out in 2001. I miss it and it'll be one of my go-to spots once this pandemic ends.
Im guessing you live in Houston. There's a cicis and a dollar cinema
I worked next to a CiCi's pizza in 2005 at a children's furniture store. I used to go there daily. LOVED the pizza. My best friend and I used to stay until closing. Their alfredo pizza was THE BEST. And my parents used to ask for them to make a taco pizza each time we went. I haven't been to one in years but back in the day, it was THE place to go for my friends and family.
My hubby & I took our young family there at least once a week. It was the ONLY food we could get our youngest (special needs) to eat (pasta with the tomato sauce). Sometimes he would eat two plates of it. Their pizza was good for the price and the manager knew us. We had to miss a couple of months (long story), and when we went back, the pizza wasn't as good. Our son still ate the pasta but prices had increased so we eventually stopped going. It was sad. There are no longer any locations in our area. :(
Lol
I remember CiCi's at some point changing around ~2014/2015 because the two near my area started getting run down, dirty, and the buffet pizza tasted less fresh. I don't think I've been to CiCis for like 3 or 4 years now, and one of the two in my area closed altogether. It's a shame. Hope the revitalization goes well.
I was not expecting to see you here lol.
Number 8 changed their machines, and the pizza quality declined. I hope they reopen one day.
I was not expecting to see RUclips's resident historian.
I actually live near and went to the original location as a kid it seems so much different going to different ones even just around the DFW area. They very heavily in quality and you see some of them shut down and others with a constant flow of costumers. I really feel their biggest weakness is their inconstancy.
Hey your that guy who did a guest showing to Alternate History Hub
Can't believe you didn't mention the arcade in the back of the restaurant
Watching this video and learning that CiCi's dates back to the 80s makes the arcade make so much sense!
Hell yes we had this starwars cabinet and I must have put soooo many quarters into that one damn machine lol
The CiCi by my house used to have aliens shooter, rival schools, street fighter 2, and battle toads.
I'd go broke in there
@@gudda3d927 when I was a kid I would steal a few brownies in a napkin and hide them in my drawer when I got home
where corona started
This hits so different because my dads side of the family which I don’t really talk to anymore used to take us to cicis all of the time, for birthdays specifically. It was always so much fun and so nice and just playing all of the arcade games with my distant cousins was so much fun. It’s so slightly heartbreaking in terms of nostalgia and childhood to see there’s only one left in the area and I always drive by where both the old ones used to be, it’s such nostalgic memories and it’s almost slightly painful to see that they’re both gone because even if it wasn’t the best in quality it was such a memory for me as a kid.
I used to eat here with my mom and brother, but we haven't been there in a while. My favorite thing was the brownies and there was also a room in the back with a few arcade games and claw machines so I'd always make sure to bring some quarters so me and my brother could play
Some of our happiest family memories are sharing Cici's together. We were so poor it was about all we could afford to treat the kids and we'd eat and laugh and laugh and eat. It didn't matter that the food was only so-so. We had each other and we were happy. Good times.
I agree it was a "treat" and we loved every minute and it really did please everyone. And..we got quarters to play in the game room!
As a kid whose dad was struggling to make ends meet at the time(which I didn’t really know about at the time). Like I thought Cici’s was the bomb! I’m sure your family is so so happy and thankful for those memories! Like I think fondly of those times at lot. Like being a little kid and getting all the food you want and desserts! And of course the fake tattoos and gum ball machines(plus bouncy balls!). And yesss the game room was always a blast!
I relate toooo, I had fond memories of Cici’s and that’s because my grandparents would take me and my siblings every once in a while as a treat when I was like 6 or 7 and I honestly thought it was super good! The game room was super fun and I loved all the desserts
Same here. I remember going with my friend and her family before we went skating. It was so much fun and I'm glad I still have those memories (I was like 8)
Fuck that. Now that I’m rich . I don’t reminisce on struggles no more. Because I realized that being broke. Was a result of bad decision making on the part of those in charge. In essence we never had to struggle if they knew what they thought knew. I grew up to really see that , that shit ain’t cool.
Ironically I think the last time I went to a CiCi's was 2009.
go back
Loved CiCis- such a great value. The Buffalo Chicken pizza was amazing. I take partial responsibility for literally eating into their margins. I would routinely come for lunch and stay for early dinner. Pile the plates high and skip the crust, it's just filler. A bowl full of ranch for pizza dipping? Why not!
When I worked for CiCi's 20 years ago, the owner made us put the sauce and cheese all the way to the edge of the pizza so there wasn't any crust. I guess it made people eat the whole slice, instead of "skipping the crust" as you recommend.
Why do I suspect you weigh around 400 lbs and are on diabetes medication?
I can't remember what, but that is from something... im on to you..
Just started getting into this channel. It’s really nice because it’s more than just a fond memory with some sad music to give us a bit of fleeting nostalgia; it’s the actual accounts of businesses and things that we all at least remotely participated in when we were younger, rightfully oblivious to everything that was going on behind the scenes.
Looking back on them with your research actually makes me appreciate what I had even more. Subbed.
This sounds like the sort of thing that should cling to colleges, stay open a little late (11pm-midnight maybe) and just print money since all the college kids can’t afford anything else and you’re open later than a lot of the competition.
#barclose
Facts.
Buffett late at nights would make a fucking especially among...the....the creative musical makers and philosophers.
Every night coming home i see a jack in the box, taco bell, and dennys have people in it. I'm talking 12 pm to 4 am.
Late night clientel are an untapped potential.
@@fumothfan9 Taco Bell and Denny’s are life savers. Especially when is 3 am and you’re high as shit 😆
usually there are a ton of good and cheap restaurants around college campuses. cicis cant compete in that environment, nobody ate at cicis when i was in college because we could get better pizza down the street from our dorm.
Why aren’t you the CEO of Cici’s?
that cheesy bread was everything when i went on school field trips.
Bruh facts
@@whiskeyisland3156 lol so true
"it was everything" has to be the most annoying new thing people are saying now
Nah it was the Cinnamon Roles for me. We always devoured them 😂
@@justinrobertson7023 it is? i didn't think it was a new thing people were saying. i thought everyone said that.
Lived in N Dallas for 10 years in the 00’s and CiCis was a staple in my HS/early college days. That pepperoni pizza w/ alfredo sauce was 🐐 status
When my mom was pregnant with me in the late 80s, she literally ate Cici’s every Friday for lunch (I was born and raised in Plano), as it was her main pregnancy craving. It will always have a nostalgic place in my heart!
Can confirm that Cici's locations can vary drastically in terms of quality.
The biggest thing I have noticed is some locations will not make fresh pizza until there are only a few cold slices left of other pizzas to minimize the amount of pizza they make. I shouldn't have to go up 3x and/or wait 10 minutes at CiCi's to get the basics on the buffet like pepperoni pizza, spinach pizza or cheese bread. There should always be cheese bread on the buffet! CiCis could send undercover people from the corporate office into their franchised locations to check on this type of "cheaping out" by their franchisees or they could put a camera over the buffet line. They could evaluate some sort of "fresh basics on the buffet line metric" and internally fine their franchisees for flagarant violations. After all it is a buffet place - people expect reasonably fresh pizza to actually be there for them to take.
And the locations themselves have disparity.
@@lk29392 Not only that some of them like the last one on in my area last I went in 2018 made my 2 nieces, and nephews wants to vomit as we walked in from all the dirty tables not cleaned, and crap on the floor we walked out, and never went back.
@@CommodoreFan64 the one in my hometown was always clean and the food always fresh up until around 5 years ago. You could see the decline. It finally closed last year. Great memories of that place as a kid but after about 2015 you couldn’t pay me to eat there.
Me: "I go to Cici's after church all the time what are you talking about"
40% being in texas
Me:"oh that makes sense
LMAO AFTER CHURCH?? SO DID MY FAMILY
@@rachelybarra9768 yes
I mean I've never went to church but Cici's pizza is pretty good
Yes@@zoepookss
Yes. Almost every Sunday when I was little, my family would go to Cici’s.
To be honest the food and culture of CC’s was good and really affordable for families back in 2009 around 2012 and up they just started not to care until they closed up shop
That place legit always made me sick. My family loved going there, and there wasn't a single time we went that I didn't feel sick to my stomach. I'm assuming it was greasy as all get out, as grease always gets me.
Best part about Cici's as a kid wasn't even the pizza. It was the little powdered sugar brownies they made.
Did your all's cicis have a mini arcade in it?
@@nathancorder7373 mine did
@@nathancorder7373 yup
Dude I staight up didn't even get the pizza as a kid all I got was the good ass brownies and tiny pasta bowl
@@nathancorder7373 god, I’m pretty sure my parents spent more for me on that arcade than the freaking pizza lol.
Worked at my Cicis for 6 years. It was my first job. Started as a register worker, did tables and dishes. Learned how to prep and made up a few pizza call outs. Worked my way up to manager and was a manager for about a year and 6 months. A year into my management, we get a new district manager. Well he decides to move managers to different stores so that he can watch the store that's closest to him. Instead of moving me somewhere he fired me instead. No reason, no excuses, just fires me. I love Cicis. Can't stand the people running it
What’s his name I’ll find him a nice pair of cement shoes and take him out fishing 🎣
@@booooo-urns god damn
@@booooo-urns ...well, that escalated quickly 🙁
@@booooo-urns mafia level mindset
@@booooo-urns FOR CICIS PIZZAAAA!!!!!!
We had a Cici’s in my city for years and I loved it! Cheap, very good. It closed down, don’t really know why, it always seemed popular. I miss it sometimes.
I miss cici pizza
they were featured several times on "Intervention" eating disorder episodes. they became the poster restaurant for the binge/purge culture.
Me: wait CiCi’s is declining?? They’re everywhere
Also me: *lives in Texas*
Ohio has a few. Two are within 15 miles
Never seen one in my life, then again I don't live in Texas
Yeah wtf the cicis in my area are still going strong.
I literally live in Plano TX
Same
“Since they kept the prices low and the quality h-hiiigh enough”
I love your narration 😂😂😂
The low prices alone were well worth it👌.
I think that their problem was obviously that once they hit the $5.99 price point they were asking for real money. A lot of places will sell you a meal for $5.99.
Where can you get a meal for 5.99? Unless you’re buying off the dollar or value menu, nowhere.
In what world is $6 real money? That’s what a little Caesar’s pizza costs. GTFO, “real money”. Yeah, it’s a hardship scrimping together six dollars.
@@chrissmith6097 who hurt you?
I was first introduced to CiCi's in 2005 at the Independence, MO location. I liked it, it was in expensive. A great alternative for lunch breaks at work. I would even take my room mates grand children there on a occasion. I moved to San Diego, CA in 2007 and behold a CiCi's franchise was opened two miles from my apartment. Once again, reasonably priced, tasted just like what I had had in MO and KS. The staff was always friendly. The owner of the franchise had also come from the Kansas City market, so she knew the value of what she had. However, it's one major downside was that it's location was not in the friendliest part of the San Diego, County. So, on certain days you may find yourself surrounded by families and young children, other times you might be surrounded by some of the local street gang elements. I worked in law enforcement at the time, so my spider sense would tingle from time to time. However, there was never a problem at the location it's self, that I am aware off. I was sent to Roswell, NM in 2011 and wouldn't you know it, there was a CiCi's. It was the same CiCi's like all the others. Same good taste, a friendly atmosphere, not expensive. However, there was something different about this one. This was because within twenty minutes of eating, you found yourself in your restroom at full throttle. I did not get sick to my stomach so much as I had to go and go right then, then a follow up. I was not the only one who experienced this. However, I did notice that those who had the same experience were people, like myself, who were from out of state. The location was always busy, so I am assuming the local population did not that the issues that we had. I suspect there was a local ingredient that people like myself were not physiologically familiar with. However, it would seem over the years that both the San Diego, CA location and the Roswell, NM have closed with the great decline.
The ingredients have definitely declined in quality. That's a huge factor, and, unfortunately, it's universal in the Houston, TX area.
I remember the tv jingle of "All you can eat for only $2.99!" Over the years, I've seen the price increase to $3.99 and $4.99. About 6 months ago, I was desperately low on cash, so I decided to hit Cici's up. It was $12! All of the pizzas were old too, and the workers avoided me, so I couldn't ask for a fresh one. My drink cup, which was like $3, could only hold about 10 oz. You can get a 44 oz cup from a gas station for $1.72! At a time when I was struggling in many ways, Cici's really let me down. It sounds overly dramatic, but that was a really dark day.
lmao. ...damn sad the 5 dollar days are thing of the past. but this happens when soulless ppl take over a franchise n greed comes in.
i miss the good old days of CICI pizza. thems 90s days.
If the ingredients decline in quality (often due to penny pinching), it starts a downward spiral:
~Customers are dissatisfied and don't come back as often or at all.
~Revenue and cash flow decrease.
~Cheaper ingredients are purchased to minimize losses.
It snowballs quickly.
When your ten year old doesn’t want to go.....you know it’s bad
I went to the last one left in my area in late 2018, and I was babysitting my 2 nieces, and 2 nephews for the day, and they all looked at me in disgust at how nasty the place was, so we walked out without ordering a thing, and got take out from Little Caesars on our way home, and we have not been back since, and don't plan too. I'll gladly pay more for Little Caesars, or Pizza Hut.
When your ten year old doesn’t want to go to all you can eat pizza.....you know it’s bad.
The ones I go to are always pretty clean LOL
Honestly they should focus on kid demographics. They don't have money but their parents do. They also have relatives who invite them alot to eat out with them.
Vs
The isolating self loathing broke millenials with their avocado toast and mary jane brownies and vape pens....what else am.i missing lol?
Kids also throw a tantrum or give disgusted looks if you force them to go to somewhere they don't like. Hence most adults tend to avoid and spread the bad publicity to other parents or relatives "We can eat anywhere just don't go to X my kid doesn't like it".
Whatttt I am 13 and love dat place
I remember eating the Mac n cheese pizza as a kid and posting my “review” on my Facebook page. Funny I’m in Texas too lmaoo
My review is: You have to get it fresh. If the macaroni has too much time to cool, eating it becomes a chore
Cici’s game room was so hyped as a kid!!
Im in Texas as well, miss the good ole days 🥺
@@Possiblylunar I’ve had my Facebook since 13 😂
Dudeee
Coming from a big family, buffets were our only chance of going out since they were cheap. I LOVED Cici's, especially since they played Nickelodeon (I remember my mom hated that because it was distracting.) We lived pretty cheaply and didn't play in the arcade, but I went to a birthday party there one time and it was awesome. There used to be 4 near me that I know of. The closest one to where I grew up closed probably like 2011-2012ish and I'm not really sure when another closed. I remember shortly after getting my license I went to the one about 40 minutes away with my friend and had to lie to my parents because it was "too far" for a brand new driver and not super familiar. I'm pretty sure the last two closed post-covid. There are now 2 in my state and I think 2 in the state I border. We went to one over the summer that's around 2 hours away as we were passing through for something else and they had closed early a few minutes prior because of short staffing. I was pregnant and pissed lol.
This just broke my heart it reminded me of the one that closed down. After a while of my mom taking my brother & I the manager would give us discounts, every time welcoming us with a warm smile. Hard working, with a positive environment, arcade in the back, families gathered with their kids celebrating birthdays & graduations.
I deadass one time when I was a kid put a dollar in a coin machine and got 3 quarters plus a cockroach
Funniest shit i seen all day congrats my man 😂
LOOL
how did u react I would be like OH FUCK
I remember when they dropped two.
Stupid economy
69 years ago .o.
There was a CiCi's literally right next to a ToysRUs when i was a kid, which was an amazing business descision at the time, but morbidly funny considering where both companies are at right now
Haha same here
you happen to live in Nebraska ? Same thing here
Same here! They were in the same shopping center
:(
Always thought Toys R Us didn't need to be so wide spread, like how many do we need? I always thought that if things start going bad for a franchise, they should focus on smaller markets and on quality and grow after they adapt
I hope the original owner and co founder gets remembered for more than just CiCi's. Like is was a great man and seemed to genuinely care about the company, his employees and everyone around him. Hope he's doing well.
Dude those brownies you showed at the end were the best brownies you will ever have trust me
My mother, before the pandemic, was the general manager of almost 10 Cicis pizza locations. Being her son, I practically ate free every time my brother and dad came by to visit her at work. And I must say, the pasta/macaroni pizza was by far my favorite out of all.
@manny022 Same
Cici's has a soft spot in my heart. I remember countless nights as a broke AF high school student having dinner & good times with my friends around the table because $5.99 was good & cheap. My favorite was jalapeno pepperoni on thin crust. I'd special order one every time!
Jalapeño and pepperoni is fire. 🔥🔥
Are...are you me?
That’s what it’s all about man 👍
Yeah bro, me and my friend used to go there high as fuck...
Lol same here, my friend srushti would bug me all the time to go there since it served vegetarian friendly pizza. Much cheaper than 3 large curly fries from Jack in the Box
thankfully despite the decline in popularity, the one in the city i grew up around always had one and still does. I'm 19 now and still go almost every birthday because my family and i love it. i love cici's no matter what
I remember going there once as a kid for the pizza buffet and there wasn't one decent pizza available. The had like whole-diameter slices of onions on each slice and other gross stuff. My mom asked for just a regular pepperoni to be put out and after like 45mins they still didn't have one, then they finally did and other people in line got it all and they said it would be another 45mins before they could make another one. I guess it was their strategy to keep people from eating too much.
My childhood consisted of Golden Corral and CiCis pizza. Man I miss my childhood and the early 2000’s I want to go back
same
Yup, our Golden Corral is a sushi place now but we still have Cicis
Literally these two 😂
Me too buddy. Me too.
Chuck e cheese was pretty lit in the early 2000s when i was a kiddo
Cicis is where I take girlfriends I no longer want to be in relationships with.
Lmfao
Ive done McDonalds, just in case they wouldnt get the message with cici's.
Fucking hilarious. A+
LOL... Mine was Pancho's.
I usually drop them off at the door of a Long John Silver's, instruct them to go ask how long the wait is, and then drive off as soon as they step in the door!
I miss the desert pizza with the butterscotch pudding stuff on top 😋
At 6:04 that's our former Rockville MD location ! Me and the former GM are sitting at his dinning room table and are talking about it now lol
Fun facts: I grew up across the street from CiCi's #1. I still live nearby. In the early days, Joe was at the restaurant all the time, and would always come by all the tables and say hi and get to know his customers. He knew my entire family and remembered our names and what we liked. He was an avid bodybuilder / fitness guy and didn't actually eat junk food (like the pizza). He was the friendliest guy you could meet, and as he hired staff he was really focused on ensuring they were welcoming and friendly. His challenge was to never let a customer NOT be welcomed to the restaurant. Hence the loud shouts of "welcome to CiCi's!" every time someone came in the door. The original restaurant is mostly still intact, though the buffet stations have been removed and the kitchen was enclosed. The location now does business as Joe's Pasta & Pizza and I eat there often. I haven't been to a CiCi's in years.
Wow! Imaging knowing (one of) the original owner(s).
You mean to tell me that Joe's was the og cicis?
I wonder if the one at Cambell & 75 is still there -- I used to eat there all the time in the early 90s.
Fancy Ci-ing you here.
Sorry I had to. Don't have my car towed
Thanks for sharing.
They got rid of the chocolate pizza.
That is what caused its downfall
Yeah, it had that crumbly cakey crust on it. That stuff was good.
@@rJayisawesome I saw this and the first thing I thought was Nikocado saying, "Michelle Obama says pizza is a vegetable". 😂😂
Obviously
It’s back
@@rJayisawesome
Shut it Donald.
The one near my home town closed years ago and I still miss it.
it has been a long time since I have eaten at CiCi's. What I remember was the restaurants were definitely targeting frugal customers, but they kept the place clean and the pizza was okay.
Growing up with a family that had to be frugal with spending, it was always a treat to get all you can eat pizza here.
I worked at CiCi’s in 1999 while in high school. I remember a family one time that stayed there all day (open to close) eating. They would eat, walk to the arcade machine to see if there were quarters in the change slot. They would take naps, yes, take naps on the table. They would wake up and eat again.
The manager tried to make them leave, but they argued “we are still hungry”.
I stood at the register laughing the whole time.
This was in the CiCis in Dallas, Tx Wynnewood Village.
Whyy
Sad.
@derrik tie Sounds like it.
Do you remember the cost of their bill?
Well, it is Dallas
i really miss cici’s, my local one closed probably 9-10 years ago
The one in my town is POPPIN on a Friday or Saturday night. My buddies and I used to tear it up
CiCi's: You and your friends are baked, want pizza, lotsa pizza.
fr
I distinclty remember going to CiCi's buffet when i was around 10 years old & watchin The Matrix at the theatre afterwards. I only mentioned this because your comment reminded me of the famous "Guns. Lots of guns" line from the movie, which is kind of a trippy coincidence if that was a deliberate reference
It was the hungover morning feast for me and my friends circa 2008
EXACTLY!!!
If you're broke and baked it's like heaven on earth for 5.99
Loved cicis when I was a fat kid. I haven’t been in 10 years. Not even sure where the closest one is to me. I miss that shitty pizza.
Lmaoo “I miss that shitty pizza” 💀
good 4 u
Atleast you're less fat
@@jvnotfound5358 he weighs 47 pounds
@@joshdeveaux6936 how?
I always loved going to cici's as a kid, especially the macaroni pizza and the brownies. I haven't been to my local one in a while but I kind of want to now after watching this.
This topic was awesome. I love Cici's, but my experience is limited to a signle location near my home that is remodeled, and was clean the last time I was there (haven't been in a while so who knows now). It gave off a more mature, less chuck-e-cheese vibe after the rebrand.
I miss having a Cici's in my area. I still think about that spinnach alfredo pizza.
Where I live in Vegas there’s only 1 store left open I will try to eat their again to try cinnamon rolls they are delicious.
@@wherezmemallet4879 I remember here, there was one near a frozen yogurt place, and I always got creepy vibes.
It’s garbage
Yea our local cicis got rebranded but kept all the same pizzas and the spinach Alfredo is still fire
Same my cici's pizza near me closed and I used to go there all the time with my family
I had no idea that Cicis was in a decline. There are lots of Cicis everywhere in North Texas and is a popular place to go to as far as I can tell.
It seemed to be very popular with low income, "day labor" types. The 🍕 QC went way down from 2005 era to 2015-2018... I'd eat there when low on $$$...
They taste like card board that's why they are in decline. Casey's > cici's
@@tit-an-nium5673 uh Casey’s is a convenience store and Cici’s is a restaurant😂
I dont like it
The one in my town closed years ago; c. 2012 I think. It's a Mission BBQ now.
I went there once in 2009, don't remember it being that great and never went back. Now I'm kind of tempted to give it another try, sounds like there's quality variety between locations
They opened one up near me in High School. It was fantastic back then. After games the whole team would go and chow down. Go to the same location now (or honestly most locations) and they are disgusting. The product is still the same, but the clientele has ruined it. Nothing like watching a family that is a combined 500 pounds overweight waddle in and then make an absolute mess of the place. When it was local families going it was great. As soon as the more "urban" folks found it they basically destroyed it.
It's so good where I used to live
I used to love going to CiCi's as a kid, but our local franchise closed down sometime in the 2010s. Would love to go to one as an adult and just see how it stacks up to the memories I have from there as a child.
Honestly, despite the pizza being so cheap I really enjoy the taste of CiCi's pizza. It's a pretty iconic part of my childhood, and it's a place I would go to fairly regularly well into my adult years. I hope it stays around.
Exactly, me and my mom didn’t have a lot of money so we would get three pizzas for like twenty bucks, a regular pepperoni a Hawaiian and a Buffalo pizza. That Buffalo pizza brings back so many memories cici’s definitely holds a special place in my heart.
I was eating in a Cici's with my roommates around 2009. My buddy was chowing down on a slice and looked up at the table and said "you know, this clam pizza isn't bad." We all laughed at him for thinking the chicken was clam and then shamed him for ever thinking it would be ok to eat clams from Cici's.
How bad was that chicken holy shit, that's a horror story bro
😂😂😂
That reminds me of a time me an a buddy went to ihop in philly at like, 1am. I got a lil dish of sour cream. In uhh, my "state of mind" i thought it was whipped butter and put it on my pancakes. We had a good laugh about that but not only did it work surprisingly well, as the story went around our group of friends, it actually became a thing we all started doing. Even asking for an extra side of it if we ordered things that didnt come with it.
@Uncle Tom Cat "omg butters i think its working, im feeling pretty stupid"
@Uncle Tom Cat haha. Just fyi that was a reference from a south park episode where cartman wanted to be a nascar driver be he wasnt "poor or stupid" enough to be one. So he set out on a quest and started eating a bunch of tubes of vagisil and got caught by an employee.
My best friend and I would go to Cici’s once or twice a month. It was a great experience (we knew what to expect). Good memories.
Now there is no Cici’s in the state I live in :(
I went to a Cici's once (in WI, it has since closed or moved, not sure which) I found it to be OK for the price, but there are similar pizza buffets that may cost a bit more, but I found then to be a lot better. Most notably Pizza Ranch and Pizza Crafters (which I am pretty sure is a local place)
Honestly it’s like Golden Corral some things are really good and some just don’t taste right
Wait that place is nationwide? I thought that was just some cheap local buffet
@@samuelsmith637 yeah it is dummy
@@dadyos nice 8yr old insult
@@samuelsmith637 Cheap? Are you joking? That place is like $14 per person💀
@@yadirarivera2387 14$ is cheap for a buffet when your getting multiple plates plus dessert all for free compare to any fast food place that you spend $10+ for 1 meal that ain’t even that much food or any restaurant that your looking $15+
In terms of quality, their pizza wasn't the greatest, it was okay, but that definitely played a role in the decline no doubt.
We meet again Just Some Guy without a Mustache
@@smirage22 i second that
@@smirage22 I third that
@@smirage22 I fourth that
@@KidPrarchord95 I fifth that
When I grew up in Arizona, my neighbors, who came from Michigan every year, would take me and my siblings to Cici’s quite often. Honestly, I loved the experience I had as a kid. It was a feeling I only got when I went to Peter Pipers. I haven’t been Cici’s in over 8 years now.
Being in highschool during the early 2000s,this was THE spot. A group of friends, barely any money but plenty to eat.
The real reason they're failing is because they got rid of the chocolate dessert pizza and replaced it with brownies.
they been had brownies tf u talkin bout
@@ars3nikatnep Before they started serving the brownies they had this fantastic chocolate pizza. It always made a mess though, which is why I bet they changed it.
Their pizza is the worst I ever had! Make dominoes look like Lou Malnatis!
or the apple pie pizza
the brownies are amazing wdym
You’re telling me when my dad took me there as a kid he couldn’t spend 12 dollars for both of us to eat??????
Why does your profile picture fit this comment so well
Omg lol 😆
Wait he ate and you watched ?
@@pie7591 yes
@@RedShirtShaggy I'm sorry 😐
Ive got fond memories of going to Cicis for birthdays or holidays with my family since I was little... and then stopping altogether because the quality got so bad and no one ended up enjoying eating there anymore. I've got at least 2 different Cicis in the new city I moved to and one of them was fine, havent tried the other yet.
I have a CiCi’s in my Texas town. It has been there since the early 90s and it’s still kickin in 2022.
same here in fl, all of the cicis pizza restaurants here are always full