Saturday, July 19th, 2008

Lawrence pizza market 'flooded'

Local pizza vendors all vie for slice of pie

With over 16 different pizza places in Lawrence, students have plenty of options. Owners are going to greater lengths to find a niche.

By Matt Erickson (Contact)

Tuesday, March 27th, 2007

University of Kansas students looking for a bite of pizza can choose from a wealth of options. But Lawrence pizza restaurants don’t have it so easy.

Lawrence’s pizza market is crowded with restaurants vying for the affections of hungry students and other residents, making it difficult for some businesses to survive.

Chris Crockett, manager of Glory Days Pizza, 4821 Sixth St., called the Lawrence pizza market “flooded.” He said the Glory Days restaurant in Lawrence had to struggle much harder to survive than the company’s locations in Topeka.

“It’s about 10 times more competitive here than in Topeka,” Crockett said.

The AT&T Yellow Pages lists 16 different restaurants under the “pizza” category in Lawrence and 13 in Topeka. This does not count multiple locations of the same chain restaurant.

Due to Topeka’s larger population, according to 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there are more than 9,000 Topeka residents for each Topeka pizza restaurant, while only about 5,000 citizens in Lawrence for each Lawrence pizza restaurant.

Kevin Boryca, owner of Godfather’s Pizza, 721 Wakarusa Drive, said Godfather’s had never made a profit during its seven years in Lawrence before he bought the store about six months ago. He said he finally made a profit last month.

He said the restaurant’s location made it difficult for him to attract students, so he has concentrated on marketing to nearby residents. But he also began advertising in The University Daily Kansan about two weeks ago.

Sara Rock, marketing director for Wheat State Pizza, 711 23rd St., agreed that Lawrence’s pizza market is saturated.

She said late-night delivery specialists such as Gumby’s Pizza, 1445 23rd St., and Pizza Shuttle, 1601 23rd St., heightened the competition by offering cheap deals aimed toward students.

To overcome this, Wheat State tries to introduce itself to incoming University students through marketing, Rock said. The restaurant advertises in free student planners, and it has established accounts with University residence halls so resident assistants can serve Wheat State pizza to their residents at programs.

“The hope is to get students in one time at the beginning of the year, and hopefully they’ll come back,” she said.

Crockett said Glory Days did not try to compete with the late-night, student-oriented restaurants. The restaurant tries to offer superior food and market it to residential families in the area, he said.

“We’re not out to serve large pizzas for $10 at 2 o’clock in the morning,” Crockett said.

But he said the restaurant also tried to set itself apart by delivering to a wide area — including rural areas of Douglas County — and he said they try to attract students as well.

Crockett said the smallest slip-up could be disastrous for a pizza restaurant in Lawrence.

“If you serve somebody badly once, they’re going to go somewhere else, and they’ve got about 20 other places they can go before they come back to you,” he said.

Kansan staff writer Matt Erickson can be contacted at merickson@kansan.com.

— Edited by Sharla Shivers

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