What? Pizza in Five Minutes? Pie Five's NJ Debut

So here's the premise behind the Pie Five name: From the time you get in the door, order your pizza and get your pizza should take no more than five minutes. There are almost 100 Pie Five locations in the U..S., but the South Brunswick Pie Five in Riya Plaza is the first in New Jersey. The location opened on January 8th and is doing well, especially this past weekend, says Dinesh Goswami, the owner of the restaurant.

Goswami says he liked the location for the amount of traffic on the busy intersection of Finnegans Lane and Route 27. "There's a good mix of daytime and dinner population and it's easily accessible," he says. 

Owner Dinesh Goswami next to Pie Five's "periodic table of toppings"

Custom-Pizza Model

He describes the model as "Chipotle-style pizza" in that each diner chooses the type of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings.The restaurant also uses only Halal meat, which makes sense in this area of New Jersey with its growing south Asian population, and has a separate stations for its vegetarian options.The restaurant also offers salads and bread sticks.

Brownie and chocolate chip cookie pies are on the menu for dessert, as well as cinnamon sticks. And to speed the process even more, of course there is a mobile app to order before you get to the restaurant.

An 11-inch pie with unlimited toppings is $7.99 and a 14-inch pie is $15.99. Vegan cheese or gluten-free crust each cost $2 extra. A cheese pizza is $5.99 for 11-inch, and $12.99 for the 14-inch size.

Already the new restaurant has received a fair amount of press, including coverage in Yahoo Finance, Patch, QSR and Restaurant News. In an effort to jumpstart foot traffic, the franchise has also sent out 50,000 coupons for a free pizza within a six-mile radius of the store.

No newbie to the restaurant franchise business, Goswami also has investments in other chains including Dunkin Donuts, Arby's, Popeyes and Taco Bell. 

The biggest challenge in opening the store was finding "good quality employees," Goswami says.
Dallas-based Pie Five Pizza Co. is a unit of RAVE Restaurant Group Inc., which owns, franchises and supplies more than 300 Pie Five and Pizza Inn restaurants. For its fiscal year ended June 25, 2017, the parent company reported a net loss of $12.5 million on revenue of $57.1 million. At the end of fiscal first quarter, the total number of Pie Five restaurants was 83.

Asian Fusion Development

An Asian fusion restaurant will be coming to the strip mall that also houses Kendall Park/Franklin Park Post Office. A handwritten sign is posted in the space that had been occupied by RadioShack..

Three Things on the Stretch

Just a few things to note in the past couple of weeks. I'll be back back on the beat soon with some more details and new stories.

1. New Physical Therapy Business

Innovative Physical Therapy Fitness Center has moved into Town Place Shopping Center, near the Party Fair store. The space was once occupied by Uptown Playaround. This is Innovative's second location. It also has a facility in Edison. This leaves only one vacancy in the Town Place strip mall--the space next to the CVS, where Party Fair used to be.

2. New Learning Center

Marlboro Learning Center has opened in the Tabtor Math building. The business also has locations in Morganville, Edison and Garwood. It provides tutoring for K-12 reading/writing and math as well as help in preparing for standardized tests such as ACT and SAT.

3. Roller Rink Clears Out

The Kendall Park roller skating rink, closed since Nov.  26, is cleaning out. Two dumpsters are in front of the building. A sign on the door says, "Closed for renovation." The rink closed its doors at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.

Happy Holidays and wishing everyone a prosperous New Year!

Have any ideas for "This Stretch of 27"? Either leave in comments or email me at lkiesche@gmail.com.

Liz Kiesche

Liz, a business journalist, formerly worked for Bloomberg News in Princeton and New York.

Grand Opening Giveaway & Specials at Wawa

What better way to get customers in the door than a giveaway? Wawa opened its Kendall Park store on Friday, Dec. 8, and is offering free coffee this week. It's also offering $1.99 12-oz. milk shakes and $2.99 6-inch hoagies to mark its grand opening week. While afternoons have been busy, mornings have been slower than expected, said one of the store's employees. 

Coupon Marketing

Wawa has sent coupons to nearby residents, so business may pick up in the mornings as people realize the store is open and adjust their morning commutes.

Grand opening features free coffee

Gas price matches the lowest price in the area

The gasoline pumps are open, as well, and the per-gallon price for regular-grade gas matches the cheapest in the area at $2.25. Diesel sells for $2.71/gallon.

The grand opening for the Somerset Wawa five miles north on Route 27 is set for this Friday, Dec. 15, with doors opening at 8 am and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 am.

New Businesses Behind IHOP

One business is expanding and two more are moving into the strip mall behind IHOP in Franklin Park. The Spice Rack is adding a banquet facility next door to its restaurant. 

Meanwhile, signs have gone up for Pasha Mediterranean Restaurant & Banquet and Cloud 9 by Pasha. So far, there are no websites for either Pasha or Cloud 9. From the sign for Cloud 9, it looks like it will be a hookah lounge. And from the name, Pasha is likely a restaurant specializing in Turkish cuisine.

Since there are no websites for either Pasha or Cloud 9, there's no telling when the businesses will open.

"This Stretch of 27" covers business on Route 27 between Finnegan's Lane and Route 518. What's your story? Email me at lkiesche@gmail.com

Liz Kiesche
Liz, a business journalist, formerly worked for Bloomberg News in Princeton and New York.