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High food costs tough on locally-owned franchise

By Gigi Wood

There is more than dough rising at this pizza shop.

Food costs are increasing nationally, cutting into profits as restaurant owners struggle to make ends meet and keep costs down. For Nick-N-Willy’s Take-N-Bake Pizza on Highway 965 in North Liberty, prices for dough, cheese, tomatoes and seasonings are going up. The restaurant opened in January 2006 and is already experiencing major jumps in costs for raw materials.

“When we opened we paid $8.65 for bags of dough,” says Cathy Boyes, owner of Nick-N-Willy’s. “Now it costs $18.50 a bag. That’s a 110 percent increase. Cheese is through the ceiling. Produce fluctuates a lot; tomatoes and basil are high.”

Menu prices went up once because of food costs, soon they may increase again. The rising price of fuel is cutting in on the bottom line, making all supplies more expensive. Ms. Boyes is trying other options before raising pizza prices, however. She is diversifying her services to increase profits.

“We’re getting into catering and that’s helping,” she says.

She is working with schools on fundraisers to bring in new customers as well. She started selling baking stones that customers use to grill their pizzas at Hawkeye football home games. The business also offers private parties, which Boyes refers to as “Dough University” when customers can come as a group and make pizzas from scratch.

“It’s really taken off,” she says of the parties.

Nick-N-Willy’s is a franchise pizza restaurant that sells pizzas customers can buy and cook at home, or buy cooked and eat at the 25-seat restaurant or take on their way. The dough and toppings are prepared fresh daily and the company’s eight employees prepare each pizza individually. Pizzas bake in about three minutes in high-power convection ovens, for typically a quick grab-your-pizza-and-go experience. The menu also includes calzones, salads and desserts.

There are many pizza choices throughout the Corridor, making it a competitive, coupon-driven market. Customers during a recent lunch rush said they frequent Nick-N-Willy’s because of the specialty pizzas, nice atmosphere and good customer service.

“It’s all about customer service, we call them by name and thank them when they leave,” Boyes says. “I truly believe the customer is always right.”

For Boyes, that means providing lots of little extras. Employees learn customers’ favorite pizzas. They often come out from behind the counter to check on customers. If someone claims toppings are missing from a pizza, she trusts the customer and adds the toppings.

“It matters that people are happy when they leave here,” she says. “We make sure the whole experience is good for you.”

This article originally appeared in the Corridor Business Journal.