The Day the Pizza Died

Brian Doherty | February 9, 2009

Some grim prognostications of doom for companies and brands both beloved and obscure, via Yahoo! Finance. Studying stock drops and debt problems, the authors declare dusty death for 15 companies, among others (and in rough order of how my life would be lessened by their passing), Rite Aid, Sirius Satellite Radio, the Dollar Thrifty car rental group, and Sbarro, the best pizza in most malls and airports, and that's the sort of lack of ambition that's probably killing them as stiff as a pan of three-hour old ziti.

Comments

|2.9.09 @ 9:47PM|#

They forgot General Electric.

Seriously, Bill Fleckenstein thinks they're on their way to Fannieville.

Kolohe|2.9.09 @ 10:03PM|#

Good article (but for a good dose of irony, they could have added Yahoo! itself to that list)

Regarding their assessment of Sbarro's, I wouldn't say that Domino's and Pizza Hut compete with Sbarro's; Sbarro's is competing with other 'mall italian' like Little Cesar's and Familgia, and the rest of the food court in general. And Domino's itself is burning through cash and is 50% off it's 52 week high. God help them if there's another spike in gas prices. Pizza hut has the advantage of being part of the Yum group with a more diversified and worldwide distributed business.

Jesse Walker|2.9.09 @ 10:07PM|#

Regarding their assessment of Sbarro's, I wouldn't say that Domino's and Pizza Hut compete with Sbarro's; Sbarro's is competing with other 'mall italian' like Little Cesar's and Familgia, and the rest of the food court in general.

Pizza Hut, meanwhile, is basically competing with over-the-counter laxatives.

|2.9.09 @ 10:19PM|#

The only edible chain pizza is Papa Gino's.

Pizza Hut, meanwhile, is basically competing with over-the-counter laxatives.

I thought shit came out of your ass with laxatives; it doesn't go in your mouth.

Oh, I see what you're saying. My bad.

SIV|2.9.09 @ 10:38PM|#

I can't believe Krispy Kreme would go out of business.I missed their silly faddish IPO expansion with dumb Yankees waiting in line for donuts.Down South we had to roll up the car windows to keep Shriners and other fund-raisers
from shoving them in the car since before I could walk.

I will miss Chrysler, I hope someone picks up their Marques.Jeep for sure,hell revive Plymouth while you are at it. Mopar or No Car!

Chain pizza can all go to hell. The Hunt Bros gas station pizza can go to purgatory.

Stephen Smith|2.9.09 @ 10:42PM|#

I share your sadness at the loss of Sbarro's..."best of the worst" might not be a great title, but I always look for it on I-95.

|2.9.09 @ 10:43PM|#

I can't believe Krispy Kreme would go out of business.

The parent company of Krispy Kreme was bought some years back (this is at least 10 years before that IPO) by a company that tried expanding, and failed. Then a large group of franchisees bought the parent company. I'm fairly certain something like that would happen again.

The parent company might declare bankruptcy, but I don't think that they'd go out of business.

It's also difficult to take that Yahoo Finance article seriously when they use the spelling "donut," preferred by noted coffee vendor Dunkin', instead of the spelling "doughnut," used by people who actually appreciate the treat.

Brian Doherty|2.9.09 @ 10:43PM|#

If you could get the slices within 4 minutes out of the oven, I found them a tasty slice of greasy dough indeed. I used to live two blocks behind D.C.'s union station and would often--more than once a week--eat at the Sbarro's there, and I LIKED IT.

|2.9.09 @ 10:44PM|#

Sirius? But they merged with XM, right? Which means that if Sirius goes, I will have no way of sitting on my sunny front porch and listening to any MLB game going on anywhere in the country. The recession is finally sinking in.

Mark|2.9.09 @ 10:52PM|#

The loss of satellite radio would be a bitter pill to swallow, although thanks to MP3 players, I think I could manage. Watching the Friedman video that was posted earlier, we've come a long way in terms of the media outlets that are available to us.

SIV|2.9.09 @ 10:56PM|#

It's also difficult to take that Yahoo Finance article seriously when they use the spelling "donut," preferred by noted coffee vendor Dunkin', instead of the spelling "doughnut," used by people who actually appreciate the treat.

Yes butI was trying to be more subtle.

Note the "context" of my spelling of "donut"
I should have been more liberal with the scare quotes.

Orange Line Special|2.9.09 @ 10:57PM|#

I read that post this morning, thanks for reminding me.

Despite that, thanks to Reason for keeping us all entertained while the Dems are greasing up their fist.

Benito|2.9.09 @ 11:00PM|#

Down South we had to roll up the car windows to keep Shriners and other fund-raisers
from shoving them in the car since before I could walk.

I hear you there. I remember liking them as a kid, mainly because we'd go down to the doughnut shop once in a long while and watch the machines making the doughnuts. Good while still hot enough to singe your fingers, but they degrade quickly.

In high school, the athletic teams would have periodic Krispy Kreme fundraisers, and boxes of a dozen were actually pretty cheap. Over the course of one day I watched a friend of mine eat 144 Krispy Kremes. Teachers hated it: hyper students in the morning followed by sick/sleepy students in the afternoon. By the end of the day you could see piles of uneaten KKs in the hallway trashcans.

Orange Line Special|2.9.09 @ 11:02PM|#

CORRECTION: That's not grease. They're going to use habanero sauce this time.

Don't worry: we can count on Reason to stop the Dems. They're going to make a satire. Surely, that will stop the Dems if nothing else will!

Jerry|2.9.09 @ 11:03PM|#

Heh, I remember last summer when the Sirius CEO explained how he was going to create synergy from the merger, while all around him car companies were dropping like neocons at the NY Times. That man has one warped view of reality.

Jesse Walker|2.9.09 @ 11:11PM|#

Don't worry: we can count on Reason to stop the Dems. They're going to make a satire. Surely, that will stop the Dems if nothing else will!

We all aspire to your level of productive activism, Lonewacko.

|2.9.09 @ 11:12PM|#

I've never understood why investors believed in the long-term viability of satellite radio - it always seemed like a matter of time until web based radio destroys it, recession or no recession.

|2.9.09 @ 11:46PM|#

Yeah, vanya, but there is a market for people who want to sit on their sunny front porch and listen to any MLB game going on at any time. Much easier to trot out a wallet sized portable satellite radio than hope that my wireless reaches to the front porch and streams a game from MLB.com, or glitch central, as I prefer to call it. Web based radio? Are you still tied to the web, hon?

|2.9.09 @ 11:47PM|#

vanya, didn't mean to call you 'hon.' My evil Beagle typed that. :)

|2.10.09 @ 12:38AM|#

They forgot Hollywood Video, if that isn't already in Bankruptcy.
Blockbuster is next.

I'll give it till 2011 on the outside though.

Tim Cavanaugh|2.10.09 @ 12:48AM|#

Rite Aid? Where am I going to get cheap beer and whisky? And an ice cream cone for a buck? I'm going to miss Rite Aid stores, which are always clean and well stocked. Although it's not really surprising. Usually there are more employees than customers when I go there.

Tim Cavanaugh|2.10.09 @ 12:49AM|#

How can Blockbuster still be in business anyway?

|2.10.09 @ 1:40AM|#

Tim, looks like you're going to have to settle for Costco or Wal-Mart for that low-rent vibe that seems to warm you all over. You might have to buy 50 ice cream cones at once, but they'll still be nice and cheap.

Costco Greeter|2.10.09 @ 8:36AM|#

Welcome to Costco. I love you.

ed|2.10.09 @ 8:39AM|#

God help them if there's another spike in gas prices.

If?

|2.10.09 @ 9:29AM|#

Yeah, vanya, but there is a market for people who want to sit on their sunny front porch and listen to any MLB game going on at any time. Much easier to trot out a wallet sized portable satellite radio than hope that my wireless reaches to the front porch and streams a game from MLB.com, or glitch central, as I prefer to call it. Web based radio? Are you still tied to the web, hon?

It's called an iPhone bro. I'm not sure if Blackerry or Android based phones have MLB streaming access, but the iPhone should be good enough. The monthly data plan is cheaper than satellite radio too. Plus, Pandora!

|2.10.09 @ 9:31AM|#

Rite Aid is one of the few places in Manhattan where you can buy name brand cereal for a reasonable price.

Tyler|2.10.09 @ 11:20AM|#

I got 2 slices of pizza at Sbarro the other day and it was about 9 bucks (without a drink).

They just happened to have a monopoly over "edible food at the rest stop"

|2.10.09 @ 12:05PM|#

Episiarch is right about Papa Gino's.

Despite the fact that I think Sirius destroyed everything that was good about the music channels on XM, I'm still hoping against hope that they somehow manage to hold on. A world without Ron and Fez (noon to three) is not a world worth living in.

|2.10.09 @ 12:38PM|#

Ahhh Papa Ginos. It's one of the places I have to hit when I travel back to the east coast. There are only a couple places in northern Colorado that one can find good pie.

|2.10.09 @ 2:18PM|#

In what world is Sbarro's considered good pizza? Is this because of the recession? Now I'm officially scared.

|2.10.09 @ 2:53PM|#

I'm willing to sacrifice most of those companies at the altar of recession, but PLEEEEEEEEEEASE not Sirius. There's currently no substitute in the market for their product, and I'm NOT going back to fucking FM.

|2.10.09 @ 3:52PM|#

People still listen to radio?

And the idea that Sbarros is considered a reasonable place to eat anywhere other than at an airport is comparable to the idea that a pet is a reasonable substitute for a mate, or that Budweiser is a beer.

Bob A|2.10.09 @ 4:57PM|#

So, what, no fuckin' ziti?

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