Pizza News
Dallas-based Pizza Inn takes odd step of weighing in on Trump election claims
A Dallas company previously known only for its mediocre pizza has decided to wade into politics.
Dallas-based Pizza Inn weighed in on the Presidential election by issuing an official press release with its thoughts and feelings defending Donald Trump's narrative that the November 2020 Presidential election was somehow beset by fraud.
The release calls for postponing the January 20 inauguration, with a to-do list of action items such as restricting absentee ballots and eliminating mail-in ballots entirely.
"Millions of Americans believe that widespread voter fraud may have changed the results of the Presidential election," the release says. "We believe this is probable, but the fact that we can't say for certain is what concerns us most."
Joe Biden won 306 electoral college votes while Trump won 232. In the popular vote, Biden earned 51.4 percent of the vote to Trump's 46.9 percent.
The release quotes Brandon Solano, recently appointed CEO of parent company Rave Restaurant Group, Inc., who claims that "the current election system is dangerous for our democracy, breeding uncertainty, unrest and in some extreme cases, political violence. This has to stop."
Solano started his relatively recent restaurant career at Domino's and was working for Pei Wei before he was hired in 2019 by Rave. "I'm stoked to lead both Pizza Inn and Pie Five for RAVE," he said at the time. Stoked.
His solutions for reviving Pizza Inn's flagging sales have included installing a giant white board in his Dallas office to jot new ideas.
According to Pizza Inn's most recent financial statement issued in November:
- Total revenue decreased by $1.0 million to $1.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 compared to the same period of the prior year.
- Pizza Inn domestic comparable store retail sales decreased 22% in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 compared to the same period of the prior year.
Solano is into bold claims, some of which website Skift/Table debunked in a Q&A. To wit:
Solano: "From there, I’ve been part of seven or eight brand turnarounds. Domino’s was a big one. Before I joined Wendy's, they hadn't had positive traffic in 10 years."
[Editor's note: When reached for comment, a Wendy's spokesperson indicated that the company wouldn’t attribute the timing of business results or momentum in traffic to one person.]
Other questionable statements made in the release include the idea that the country should "conduct a 10-day audit of the vote to make certain that the man we inaugurate as President of the United States on January 20 is the rightful winner," and that Pizza Inn and Pie Five are "experts at making amazing pizza and salads."
But one statement they make that is definitely true: "We at Pizza Inn aren't Constitutional scholars."
Maybe this is an upside-down marketing ploy?
The comments on Twitter, where Pizza Inn tagged figures such as Gov. Greg Abbott and Sean Hannity are entertaining:
"I wish I lived near you guys so I could order pizza from somewhere else."
"dude your pizzas probably burning"
"Was all this really worth the couple dozen replies? I'm sure your Paler page is popping though, so you do you."
"Hi I want a refund"
