Is something going on with Sallys?

Submitted by throwawaylastsupper t3_xz6xog in newhaven

I'm having a little bit of confusion.

Between 2 weeks ago and now, the prices on Sallys have gone up pretty dramatically, at least on their online ordering site. The small tomato pie went up over $3 which is a pretty major price increase.

What's even stranger is it is showing the plain tomato pie and the mozzarella tomato pie as the same price, when usually the mozzarella pie is slightly higher.

Also, you can no longer order a large pie at either location, only mediums and smalls.

According to the menu on their site, which is listed as Summer 2022, so not THAT long ago....the prices was 13.25 for a small tomato, now 16.75. It also shows large pies as an option. Not sure if there is an upcharge for take-outs now. Maybe they are trying to discourage take-out business?

Has anyone eaten there, in house, recently and noticed anything different? Noticed the prices?

28

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

rossiterpj t1_irkzl1g wrote

I've noticed a premium charged on a lot of online ordering platforms. I have no idea about Sally's but a number of places I frequent, it's cheaper to walk in or call to order.

21

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_irnsllj wrote

Yeah...I mean as of 2 weeks ago....it was slightly higher online than the in-house menu prices. I can understand a slight premium.

But...this is a big premium. I will probably call in an order and see how it goes.

4

Crafty-Cauliflower-6 t1_irld6d7 wrote

I would check in person many delivery servuces charge 30% or more and restaurants arent supposwd to change prices to accomodate. Maybe they raised all delivery and online orders to be in line with what they charge on apps.

15

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_irnsr8b wrote

Possible. I mean....the online ordering system is their own thing. It's not like it's Grubhub or Uber Eats or something. It is directly through their own website. So...I am not sure what the reasoning would be.

2

hamhead t1_irogy87 wrote

That’s not true. It’s Olo. It isn’t like they invented their own system.

2

Deaaaadgiveaway t1_irow13o wrote

Yeah odd to think that this pizza place is also a software developer.

1

hamhead t1_iroxlz9 wrote

Yeah although that’s a little unfair too. They could just hire someone to set up a system. You don’t have to go through one of the major offsite systems. But realistically, most everyone does, as you know.

1

Deaaaadgiveaway t1_iroxu3v wrote

I mean everyone kinda thinks of the top few ordering sites when it comes to food. Sadly it’s hard to compete. Where I work is on one of the smaller online ordering companies and it really doesn’t get much traffic because of it.

1

UndercoverPages t1_irlssul wrote

For takeout, they raised their prices by about 8-10% in May and they raised them another 8-10% this week. I can't speak to the on-site prices as I don't dine in regularly enough. I'm not sure about the reasoning for the price increases, but on weekends, the wait for a table is in excess of an hour. Additionally, by the early afternoon they literally book up all of the take-out orders their oven can make. The demand is there. I understand why it's a good business decision to raise prices. I don't like seeing prices go up either, but it's not family-owned anymore.

Large pizzas were still available when I dined-in last month. I could be mistaken, but from my recollection of ordering takeout from their website since March, you have only ever been able to order small and medium pizzas online. They increased the maximum order size recently from three pizzas to four. The large pies are an irregular shape and won't fit in standard pizza boxes. When the Consiglio's still owned the place, they said the takeout boxes were pretty expensive. This could contribute to why they won't do takeout for larges.

14

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_irntprp wrote

I am not inherently opposed to price increases. (Although the dangerous thing is....you can't put toothpaste back in the tube, ya know? Eventually prices will regress, and the economy will be back on stable footing.....and will restaurants lower their prices back to pre-inflation levels? Of course not.)

I understand that price increases and inflation have been an issue everywhere, I do. 8-10% is understandable. Although...for two price increases in less than 6 months is a bit much. At my place of work, we have a price increase once a year. But, for a small tomato pie, the price increase was 25%. That is a pretty massive increase, percentage-wise. Especially when the most expensive part of any pizza is the cheese. So, for a cheese-less pizza to have the highest increase of all the pizzas is....strange.

As far as the large pizzas, my mistake. I could have sworn I had seen them on there before. Maybe I was mistaken. I don't order large pies so it doesn't affect me either way. I just happened to notice, so it did make me wonder.

2

hamhead t1_iroh2gq wrote

Why would you think prices will regress? The rate of increase will slow back to norms. Deflation is unlikely overall, though of course certain things may drop.

3

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_irpkbia wrote

Not overall prices.

But....fuel prices will go down eventually. They always do. Which will in turn affect the pricing (one would hope) of many other products on which businesses rely

And, the costs of individual items will settle back into normalcy eventually. Supply and demand. Wendys used to charge for tomatoes when there was a tomato shortage. No shortage now, so they don't. And so on.

So, again, when prices settle back into a more normal non-inflated price range....will restaurants adjust their prices accordingly? No, probably not. Again, toothpaste in the tube.

1

BairleeWoak t1_irygub9 wrote

So how long are they suppose to eat shit....six months, two years? three years?? When are the prices going to "stabilize?" Wendy's is worth $4B+ While the new owners probably have somewhat deeper pockets than ole Sal did.....nobody goes into business to lose money.....tell me how long I have to eat shit and I'll tell you if I can hold the price on tomato's. If they get too rich for your wallet, you can always buy your toothpaste at Domino's!

1

omgburritos t1_irmkfao wrote

They’re owned by a private equity group. This is what they do.

8

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_irnu666 wrote

True.

What I know of business, though, is that price increases should come incrementally. So much so that people just don't notice it. They just get used to paying 50 cents more for a pizza. When you increase prices so much that it is noticeable, you risk losing customers.

It seems like the equity group is leaning into one-timers or first-timers, people who won't know the difference. People who are traveling to try it, so they are willing to pay whatever.

2

peanut5855 t1_irn32po wrote

The online prices that use platforms like grub hub, Uber eats ect are priced higher because those companies take around 30%. Unfortunately it became a necessary evil during Covid, and now people are just used to using it.. 90% of my restaurants business is online. Plus inflation.

3

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_irnvma8 wrote

Understand. But, their online ordering isn't affiliated with a third-party like Doordash or Uber Eats. Their online ordering is directly through them.

2

hamhead t1_iroh93f wrote

It’s through Olo.

2

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_irpkfhd wrote

Fair....but it was with Olo 2 weeks ago, and a month ago and so on. Their prices didn't spike then, so I really don't think it has to do with which online platform they are using.

1

KekistaniNormie t1_irnlxsy wrote

Not specific to Sallys but I have seen price bumps on a lot of places that started in October

2

usmercenary t1_irlhmwm wrote

I've observed similar over time, it appears they are discouraging take out pretty heavily, while leaning into their patio seating and indoor seating.

1

hamhead t1_iroh7yw wrote

Sally’s has always been like that. Their ovens were the biggest problem under the original owners, and I imagine they still are now.

1

poorlywrittenriffs t1_irru0mn wrote

Earlier this year I couldn’t find a large option while ordering online. When I called they said they only do Large for dine in because people were complaining about the quality of the large pizza by the time they arrived back home with their take out order. Sally’s is definitely a favorite but it’s hard to make an effort to go there with their god awful wait times and poor management.

1

BairleeWoak t1_iryeziy wrote

When the ingredients cost more, the price goes up....restaurants can only eat shit for so long!

1

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_is0du31 wrote

I understand that, and I think everyone understands that prices go up.

But, they went up 25% in the spring, and another 25% just recently.

The price of a small tomato pie has more than doubled in less than 4 years. You have to admit that is outpacing most price increases.

1

BairleeWoak t1_is3uiis wrote

Well, that depends on what they paid for it, and their expected rate of return. They did buy it in 2017 before disaster hit in 2020! I'll bet the price didn't move much for the first three years....but that's a different discussion for another post!

1

Bhnz t1_is8c2z4 wrote

Dave Portnoy said it was one of the top pizza restaurants in the US, so that good be a reason

1

Deaaaadgiveaway t1_irm9xh8 wrote

Welcome to inflation. It not gonna get better any time soon. INCREDIBLY difficult for restaurants right now. We will probably see a lot of closings this year into next.

0

throwawaylastsupper OP t1_irnvfdi wrote

I understand inflation. I understand that prices have been going up everywhere.

And yet, the other pizza places have kept their prices relatively stable.

There is difference in inflation price increases and 25% price increases that feel very much intentional.

I will say that Sally's just went from being slightly higher than Pepe's and Modern to being significantly higher than both. It's just a pretty bold move.

Also Sallys just started up with Goldbelly recently. Makes me wonder if these price increases are subsidizing the Goldbelly business.

2

Deaaaadgiveaway t1_irovpkj wrote

We’ll see if they were the first to adjust or if they just price theirs higher. Funny to see how the conversation on this thread is going.

1

BaconBreakdown t1_irnmx8f wrote

Ingredients have risen across the board over the past 2.5 years, has nothing to do with inflation. If you blame this on inflation you haven't been paying attention.

1

hamhead t1_irohbio wrote

I mean, that’s literally the definition of inflation…

1