Why are the pizzerias closing in downtown Bethesda? Anthony's, The Corner Slice, and now, Cheesy Pizzi. Yes, Cheesy Pizzi at 8021 Wisconsin Avenue has closed. Previously known as Pizza Tempo, the pizza parlor was already on the market for sale in March of 2024. Apparently there were no buyers, and the business has closed. Business owners continue to be simultaneously-squeezed by the moribund Montgomery County economy, and the anti-business policies of the County Council, particularly in the thin profit margin hospitality industry.
Or it's that superior Pizza places have opened in the last few years and have taken market share from the one's that aren't very good.
ReplyDeleteWhat superior places besides, perhaps Andy's, which can't account for all the other closures. And then how do you explain bland places like M&Os continuing to be successful? Seems like maybe location/hours/food app presence playing parts in this.
Delete@7:22AM - First of all it is M&N (I assume you mean) which is actually good food.. Then you have Andy's, Vace, AP Pizza, Pizzeria Da Marco which are all very good and different styles of pizza. I even like Alatri Bros pizza. That's all within like a half mile radius of each other.
Delete6:28 - That's survival of the fittest. I agree. Sometimes, which I believe was Anthony's case, the product was extremely good but something else was not executed well like their marketing. The downtown area is way too competitive and you can't simply open and expect people to show up. You gotta let them know. If they are breaking your door down maybe not. But marking and promotion are a must.
DeleteThe true answer is the basic principle of supply and demand. When you have a surplus of anything and a deficit on the demand side, someone will not profit. The only except to this is the Hon rule, were in Baltimore you can have a bar on every single corner and no one loses. BTW, The Corner Slice was always awful. The only thing that kept them alive was late night, weekend drunks.
ReplyDeleteI liked Cheesy, but this has nothing to do with Maryland and the economy. Simply WAY too many pizza places in Bethesda to all stay in business.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these places were bad. Andy's and Mama Lucia re much better
ReplyDeleteI am still a devoted Ledo's fan, and always will be.
DeleteEh - place was mediocre, tough location, and Bethesda now has a ton of legitimately good pizza spots. No need to be dramatic here.
ReplyDeleteNever seen it. Never heard of it. Andy's is very good. Great? I wouldn't say that. Man, Bethesda is chock-full of pizza joints, coffee places and French cafe/pastry. This place looks awful from the outside and likely their product was sub par. That entire block will be developed soon enough anyway. County council loves it. More incentive to ditch your car and bike.
ReplyDeleteThe product was pretty good actually. The cheese pizza
DeleteBethesda has some great pizza places some of which have been mentioned. What I don't understand is why Anthony's Coal Fired didn't make it. It's extremely good pizza and their other food was delicious as well. What doesn't get mentioned (head scratcher) is Frank Pepe at Montgomery Mall. Pizza can be somewhat subjective, sure. But New Haven style pizza is in a category all on its own. Frank Pepe started it all in New Haven. Lucky to have them here. It's among the best pizza in the country.
ReplyDelete@1:37 - Many times you are really obtuse, and this is one of them. "Never seen it. Never heard of it." Yet you always come off as the authority source on everything Bethesda? 1 - This is right under your nose and located in downtown B-town. 2 - Dyer was focused on the downtown area in this report, which eliminates the inclusion of Pepe, but you knew that now didn't you? Maybe you should change you screen name to Clueless in Btown.
Delete7:13. Good point. That bit is tiresome.
DeleteAnthony’s - whole chain went bankrupt. Corner slice - was operating on a partial schedule for years and were waiting to sell the building. So those two don’t count especially with AP and Andy’s opening within the last year.
ReplyDelete9:16 - That's incorrect about Anthony's. They are still open in multiple locations in FL where they were founded and have one store in DE
Delete@9:16 is correct, per this Restsaurant Business article, https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/burgerfi-international-sold-bankruptcy-auction-44m, BurgerFi, which owned Anthony's, filed for bankruptcy and shuttered 19 underperforming units, which I am assuming Bethesda was one of them. BFI then sold the rights to Anthony's to TREW Capital, which subsequently sold Anthony's to Florida Burger, keeping the remaining Anthony's locations opened. Of course it is always easier to make statements and defend them with anecdotes than actually doing the research... which is what trolls do on comments... as well as the current administration.
DeleteCorner Slice had a lot of operational problems for instance it wasn't paying rent, had inconsistent hours, could not order on line, the list could go on.
ReplyDeleteTheir pizza wasn't good, There are many good places for pizza in Bethesda so why buy bad pizza. Big fan of M&N and Olgas. I miss Pi Pizza we need a deep dish place.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Pi, but Caddie's has really good Detroit style pizza, which satisfies my deep dish cravings.
Delete7:13 - renting space in your head for free.
ReplyDelete9:42 - Pi from STL. I believe they had a DC location as well. They were big Obama fans. President Obama visited one of their STL locations if I reach l recall. It was very good.
ReplyDelete12:20 - I am well familiar with what happened to Anthony's. I was responding to someone who said the entire chain went bankrupt which implied they are all gone. As you site, and I was correct, that's not true. They are still in business in FL. Who owns them doesn't matter. Next case.
ReplyDelete