After a few construction delays, Lake Forest-based John’s Incredible Pizza Co. is set to open its buffet pizza restaurant and arcade at Buena Park Downtown in June.
Not a moment too soon.
The city and the mall have been awaiting John’s Incredible, hoping the 58,000-square-foot restaurant and entertainment center will lure customers and tenants to the struggling mall.
What’s all the fuss?
“We’re kind of unique,” said owner John Parlet, who opened his first pizza restaurant in Ridgecrest near Bakersfield in 1972 and started John’s Incredible in 1997.
The company’s restaurants have the look and feel of a Las Vegas casino for kids. There are bright, blinking video games and amusement rides, such as the Twister, which at Buena Park Downtown will rise up from the first floor to the second.
The restaurant has five themed dining rooms, including one that is log cabin-style.
John’s Incredible serves specialty pizzas, including a spicy peanut butter and pepperoni pizza. Cooks spread a thin layer of peanut butter over the dough and then add sauce, cheese, pepperoni and red peppers.
“I eat it on a somewhat regular basis,” Parlet said.
The peanut butter pizza started out as a gimmick.
“I grew up eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches,” he said.
As for the pizza, “People either didn’t like it or they really liked it.”
When Parlet opened his first restaurant, he said he couldn’t afford to advertise. So he came up with the peanut butter and pepperoni combination.
It got people talking, according to Parlet.
His restaurants do little advertising.
“It’s more word of mouth,” he said.
Parlet has eight restaurants and plans to open two more this year,the one in Buena Park and another in San Diego. The Buena Park restaurant is the first in Orange County.
Buena Park Downtown’s owner, Ohio’s Developers Diversified Realty Corp., signed John’s Incredible in 2007.
The city considered John’s Incredible a good fit with its entertainment emphasis complementing nearby Knott’s Berry Farm.
Buena Park Downtown cleared out the entire lower level to make way for John’s Incredible.
Parlet is looking for locations in the Irvine area for another restaurant. The company looks for high population density and income levels, good street exposure and plenty of parking.
John’s Incredible considers itself a destination, so it doesn’t mind that Buena Park Downtown has some big empty spaces.
He said he hopes the restaurant will help boost business for others at the mall.
Parlet said his company is weathering the recession relatively well. His business model is like that of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,high volume and low prices.
Wal-Mart is one of the anchors at Buena Park Downtown, along with DSW Shoe Warehouse and Ross Dress For Less. The mall does about $170 million in annual sales.
John’s Incredible bills itself as affordable entertainment for families,an all-you-can-eat buffet costs $9 at the most.
Games are another matter. Visitors can spend $15 to $100 or more.
The company doesn’t disclose sales. But an average restaurant serves 11,000 to 13,000 customers a week, Parlet said. On a busy Saturday, it can serve up to 3,500 people.
A conservative estimate would put each restaurant at about $10 million a year. Each restaurant employs about 300 people.
Correction
Shops at Mission Viejo’s revenue for the 12 months through June was $380 million, down 9.5% from a year earlier, according to the city of Mission Viejo.
The mall’s revenue and percentage decline was misstated in the Dec. 8 issue and in our 2009 Book of Lists. The revenue puts the mall at No. 5 on our list, ahead of Irvine Spectrum Center, with $350 million in revenue.
Auto Marketing
Few auto dealerships are advertising right now. Many dealers don’t have the extra cash anymore. They’ve been laying off workers, shrinking inventory and digging into savings.
Those that are advertising have changed their message.
Norm Reeves Honda’s radio ad goes something like this: Don’t believe everything you hear.
The ad goes on to say that the Huntington Beach dealer has $30 million to lend and that now is one of the best times to buy a car.
“We continue to finance customers as easy as before, and that includes leasing,” the ad says.
It’s a way for dealers to counter all the bad news in the media, said Cheril Hendry, chief executive of Irvine-based HLF Brandtailers, which created the spots.
“What’s really ruling the roost right now is consumer perception,” she said.
Consumers believe they can’t get financing and that no one in their right mind is buying a car, according to Hendry.
Now is a good time for dealers to rethink their business models, she said.
“Dealers are kind of like dinosaurs,” Hendry said.
Dealers that boost customer service and reconsider the way they sell autos are going to be the ones that make it, she said.
“Right now it’s survival of the fittest,” Hendry said. “When we come out the other side it should be for the better.”
