Uncle Maddio's Pizza at Northlake Festival in Tucker has closed. The nearly 2,500 square foot restaurant opened March 18, 2013 and closed as of May 1, 2023, marking the end of a ten year run for the beleaguered franchise. Franchisee Brett Pearman had reportedly been marketing the business for sale for quite some time but was unable to find any taker.
Despite the pedigree of being started by Matt Andrew, co-founder of Moe's Southwest Grill, Uncle Maddio's may be one of the best examples of a failed franchise in recent history. The first Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint opened at Toco Hills shopping center in 2009. Looking to recreate the success of Moe's [a 400+ unit chain by 2009], Andrew started franchising Maddio's in 2010.
At its height, the chain had 38 units open, and as of the Smyrna opening in 2015, claimed to be "on track to have 300 restaurants open in five years with 1,000 units in development" with new units reportedly opening every 10 days.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019, at which time it had 28 restaurants. A year later, following the closure of Atlanta area restaurants in Smyrna and Acworth, the chain was down to just 16 units.
The closure of the Uncle Maddio's at Northlake comes likely at the end of their lease but at a time when things are starting to look up for Northlake Festival. KPot, a Korean barbecue restaurant, is preparing to open in the large onetime Blockbuster Video space next to Maddio's, while FIVE GUYS is slated to open soon in a former portion of the Verizon next to Chick-fil-A.
That said, when you get down to the brass tacks of Uncle Maddio's, the problem was less the center or its location, but rather the fact that the pizza just wasn't that good.
The Northlake closure leaves the Atlanta-based chain with just two traditional locations operating in the state, and just nine overall locations across four states, according to its website. The overall count includes a licensed location at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and an odd outpost at Hemrick's Grocery, a local convenience store in Newnan.
Amazingly, despite the brand's obvious flaws, the company continues to offer franchises on its website.
"THE ORIGINATORS OF THE CREATE-YOUR-OWN NY-STYLE PIZZA FRANCHISE ARE NOW OUT TO DOMINATE THE CATEGORY."
Uncle Maddio's and its conveyor belt pizza is definitely not dominating the category, but Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza are. Blaze started in 2011 and now includes more than 330 locations, while MOD, which started in 2008, recently surpassed the 530 unit mark. MOD has as many locations in Georgia - nine - as Maddio's has in its entire network. Blaze operates six in the peach state.
To date, more than 50 Uncle Maddio's Pizza restaurants have closed.
Are you surprised by the closure of Uncle Maddio's at Northlake Festival? What is your favorite fast casual pizza joint? What would you like to see open in place of the former Uncle Maddio's at Northlake Festival?
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