Would this be an issue to you?

Like myself, my children like buying local. Since my daughter's school team at Noe did a research project over the impact of buying local versus national chains, she's become an even bigger locavore. So when her friends stayed over the other night and wanted pizza, she really wanted Boombozz for carryout. Fine, I like it too.

I was checking the prices online the Highlands location, and they were a bit higher than I remembered. Then I checked another location (St. Mathews) and noticed that at the Highlands branch, cheese sticks cost $2 more, other apps $1-$2 more, a large pizza $3+ more, depending on the toppings. For all items, the price was higher.

Okay, get that the rent probably costs more at that location. Still, I'm getting carryout and getting none of the nice ambiance, just the boxes of food. Instead of paying $7 or more for our order compared to the St. Mathews spot, I saved $12 or so by getting food for the kids at Papa John's (still technically local, I guess), partly since I wasn't eating any of it. I'm far from cheap, but I like spending money logically and couldn't justify spending more when all of the other Boombozz locations charged less.

So, was I wrong? Perhaps other places with multiple locations have different pricing structures, but I couldn't bring myself to spend more when I could've gotten the same food for less by driving an additional seven minutes to the Frankfort Ave. spot. Instead, I skipped the place altogether. For me, it will make it less likely that I patronize the place in the future. Thoughts?

Silvia,
Interesting post. I don't know which of the BoomBozz are corporate-owned vs. franchisee. Maybe that is part of the difference? Even McDonalds lets franchisees determine pricing within a certain range. It's normal for prices to vary significantly for say a airport location vs hwy vs suburban.
Deb

[Robin Garr]

I don't know which of the BoomBozz are corporate-owned vs. franchisee. Maybe that is part of the difference?

Ding ding ding!

Tony often hangs around the forum and may speak to this, but i am quite sure that the regional Boombozz properties are a mix of company-owned and franchise. I am almost certain that Tony owns St Matthews but franchises out Westport Village and Bardstown Road, for instance.

You'll notice that if you go to their Website and want a menu, you have to select the specific shop you want.

Interesting, since there are so few locations, I didn't consider that they might have franchised out some locations. The Highlands spot has the highest prices, even compared to Indianapolis. I'm fairly certain that the Asiago Cheese Sticks used to be $6.99 (as they are at other spots) instead of $8.99.

Since the location has been farmed out, I'll feel less guilt when we go to Mellow Mushroom, which has become a slight favorite in the last year.

I guess I'm not following your way of thinking on this issue. If you support local businesses, which most of us here do, you have to in most cases be willing to pay a slightly higher price than that charged by national chains, it's a fact of life. The difference in price between various locations of a local company has already been explained by others and I think they probably are hitting the nail exactly on the head. Combining franchising fees, higher rent and other factors that vary from location to location such as energy usage because of the building can cost significantly higher operating costs between locations. IMO if you really believe in buying local you had two choices, buy from either of the Boom Bozz locations. You took the third option which was buying from Papa John's, a major national chain that just happens to be based in Louisville whose owner is also from Louisville. Not saying that you were wrong in any way, you made the choice you were comfortable with.

While I agree with others that the different prices can be due to a number of (valid) reasons, they also can be due to determining what the market will bear! Some time check out Kroger. Different Kroger locations have significantly different prices (on regular merchandise, not advertised specials), and also carry different items of different quality!

Personally, I made the decision to go to the Kroger whose prices are lowest for what we buy, unless I'm in a hurry, in which case shopping nearby warrants spending more. (and, if you're interested, the Holiday Manor Kroger appears to have the highest prices pretty much across the board, and also has the worst seafood section and the most limited beef selections (with no Prime meat available). I've seen BBQ back beef ribs at Holiday Manor for $12+ per pound, at Hubbards Lane for $6+ per pound, and normally buy them when I'm in Chicago at Jewel for $0.99 to $2.99.)

In your situation I likely would have driven to the Boomboz that was cheaper, but that's me.

Interesting, since there are so few locations, I didn't consider that they might have franchised out some locations. The Highlands spot has the highest prices, even compared to Indianapolis. I'm fairly certain that the Asiago Cheese Sticks used to be $6.99 (as they are at other spots) instead of $8.99.

Since the location has been farmed out, I'll feel less guilt when we go to Mellow Mushroom, which has become a slight favorite in the last year.

You know there are other local options right?
Have you not tried Za's? In my opinion their "The Works" pizza is the best pie in town. And they deliver.

If you support local businesses, which most of us here do, you have to in most cases be willing to pay a slightly higher price than that charged by national chains, it's a fact of life.

Of course, but the issue isn't, in this case, local price vs. chain price. It's local price A vs. local price B for the exact same food, much like in the Kroger example listed in another post. I cannot swear to it, but I'm fairly certain that the Highlands location prices weren't always this high, which is why I raised the question in the initial post, being at the time unaware that the place might be a franchise. Either way, unless I'm eating in, it knocks it down a notch for me. If not for others, that's cool, just wanted to know.

And yes Doug, I am aware that other local pizza options do exist, thanks for asking. I have opinions on a good number of them, but that wasn't where I was going with my inquiry. I voted awhile back on that matter, I think.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21990&start=30&hilit=best+pizza&view=viewpoll

Price differentials for a brand are always a concern. It just makes people go huh?

As someone who has worked in franchising, pricing control is an important consideration. The one thing a franchisee does not want is competition from a corporate owned store. If the stores are only 7 minutes from one another they have some overlap of potential customers. However, unless the corporate store lowered their prices after the fact then the franchise store knows they are conceding some business in their area.

Either way it's confusing for customers but franchisees must cover the franchise fees that the corporate stores don't have to pay.

Simple solution if you are concerned about buying local. Buy local anyway. Drive to the location that gives you the best combo of time vs cost. If it's just a price decision it's OK to just go to the closest, cheapest pizza place you like.

I read an article alluding to this a few years back. Apparently having different prices in different areas is something that's taking place throughout the retail industry. The article specifically referred to Walgreens and how in New York City prices were different at stores in different areas.

Ultimately, it's probably something the market will decide. If I went into one location and found that the prices were significantly higher than in another location, I'd probably stay vs. leaving but I'd feel as if I'd been duped in some fashion. And not wanting to feel that way again I'd likely never go back to any of that brand's locations. There are too many other choices out there.

A quick turn at the Google and the article shows up:

http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/06/pf/walgreens-prices/