I have a cousin who spent a few years in prison and when he was released had trouble finding work and was very mentally frustrated being out. He got hired at MOD and he says that job probably saved him from going back to prison. He told me the manager was a man who actually cared about his crew and genuinely wanted the best for them. So much so that he connected my cousin to a better job with an HVAC company that he's still doing to this day. So it's MOD for me every time.
I used to work for Mod a couple years back, and let me tell you that your comment on Mod being “wholesome” is spot on. Their motto was “We’re a people place, not a pizza place” and my manager took that to heart. When I caught Covid they gave me sick pay without using my sick pay I had saved up. Not to mention they also offer what’s called “Safe Pay” which I didn’t know was a thing until Mod. As someone who never wants to work in food ever again, I would work at Mod again in a heartbeat.
Venture capital is what got companies like Boeing from being an airplane engineering and manufacturing company to a profit driven business, aka cutting corners on safety, low quality products and shady practices to boost net profit…it’s the last straw before the end of that business…
A - it's private equity, not venture capital. B- that's a stupidly dumb statement to make that ignores why businesses fail (hint: It's not because some evil bad guy is destroying it intentionally).
I don't know why, but your videos are always so cozy for me. I think partially because I found your channel around Christmas time a few years ago, but it just feels cozy to listen to you talk about company stuff lol, thank you for your content :]
A big problem has been inflation. When the first Blaze opened in my area around 2019, a customized personal pizza cost about $7 or $8. They were smaller pizzas with thinner crusts and made quick to go. Now it costs like $12 or $13 for the same smaller pizza with thinner crust. At that price, it just doesn't make sense anymore as a quick bite during my lunch break.
They raised prices significantly at least a year before Covid inflation hit. Prices were cheap when they were trying to rapidly grow, but as with most other trying to grow fast businesses, they were only going to be cheap while growth and not profitability was the main objective.
I worked there in 2017. A few months after I starter, they started penny pinching on toppings ESPECIALLY cheese. They made us put a set amount (small) and only add more small increments after being asked each time. It basically became subway. Main shift lead had a sick Charizard tattoo tho
I was at Mod one time and I ordered make your own pizza. The maker accidentally put mushrooms on and said “Oh no!” Looked over ad asked the to keep making my pizza since they do not charge per topping. Why waste food. I like mushrooms anyways.
What would be even better is if you had to bring in your own ingredients and equipment too. So basically you just have to pay for the space. Would be way cheaper.
I once got a MOD pizza with every topping-Strawberries, roasted garlic, jalapenos, all the meats-EVERYTHING. It weighed almost 5 pounds and was strangely delicious. I ate 3/4 of it and used the leftovers the next morning to make a crazy omelette.
I love the DIY pizza concept. You basically get to control every aspect from the pizza you order, from the toppings to the cheese to the sauce right down to the crust. I've had a lot of fun with the different combinations I've been able to make. I've been to MOD and Blaze, but I've been to Pieology a lot more, so that's what I'm most familiar with.
Man, I remember when MOD first opened here in Seattle. Their pizza was always the same, but their salads were where it was at. Same concept of any toppings/add-ons at no additional price, but their salads portions were fucking HUGE and back when they opened it was under $10 for the larger size.
the flavor of Blaze Pizza is what brings me back every time i love it, but the one near me closed recently and it was sad and they raised the prices a lot
What is up with these insane price inflations for restaurants??? It’s like they’ve outpaced like every other industry I know of when it comes to inflation. It was not too long ago that wing stop had a 10 wing bone in combo for $9.99. And what is it now? Like almost double that!!! Please! Help!
i can only get it if i get the lunch deal with one topping. 8.99 with a drink. cheaper than a lot of fast food places now a days and i can save half for later if i wanted!
Aside from their great pizza, MOD's "vibe" is a really big draw to me. The locations don't feel corporate, and instead feel genuine to wanting to welcome to everyone.
Straight up didn't know MOD was a chain until I saw one in a different state. The people and the decor give a real "local cool place" vibe you dont get with a lot of highly corporate places.
Worked at Blaze for 8 months while in school and while I preferred working there to other jobs I've had I didn't feel to comfortable with management. They did hire and train me despite no prior work experience so I'm grateful to them for that. Vastly preferred eating there to mod since it was few places that you could get open oven pizza for less than $10 if you skipped the drink. Even had plenty vegan and gluten free options that were prepared at separate station. I remember vinny vinesauce and other new yorkers quote "Not bad for conveyor belt pizza." I don't do takeout or delivery pizza because I like to get pizza as fresh as I can so Blaze and few locals where I can order for pickup are my preference to Mod's premade frozen pizza or other restaurants/ delivery.
Ditto, I used to work at one as well, and corporate made it very well known that you were just a number to them. The only thing that kept me from walking out was my coworkers being some of the best people a minimum-wage worker could ask for
@bunchoftoasters2758 same here, stayed way longer than I wanted to just because I meet some of the most hardworking, sweetest people you can find getting paid minimum wage. The moment they left I left too.
Blaze opened up in my neighborhood first and it became an instant favorite. Getting to stack up toppings at no extra cost was great! Also getting actual $3.14 and $4.20 pizzas during those days, with a massive line out the door, gives me nostalgia nearly ten years later.
Yeah, we had a Pieology and I had them a few times before they closed. Not bad but just redundant. They didn’t seem to offer anything Mod wasn’t already offering
Pieology is still all over the place. I have MOD, Blaze, and Pieology around me. They're all good, but I prefer Pieology, then Blaze, then MOD. Pieology and Blaze have rubs they can put on the crust like herb butter and some garlic jizz stuff. Makes it taste better than plain.
MOD Pizza is everywhere in my neck of the woods (Houston, Texas) whereas I never heard of Blaze until now. Huge fan of MOD...it really is fresh and tastes great! Not that much more money compared to what you see in the frozen pizza section of a supermarket, and of course is going to be a lot fresher. Would hate to see the chain collapse but I have a feeling that this format of pizza joint (build it in front of you like a burrito or sub then bake it quickly) is here to stay in the US.
Same thing I was going to say. I've heard of Blaze, but never seen a location around town. MOD is pretty good and certainly better IMO than the big 4 pizza places.
@@nedharris I just looked and we have 6 around Houston, but only one that is in a place I might drive by. And that one is like 10 miles away. That's in contrast to 58 locations of MOD pizza within 50 miles of me. I've been to at least 6 of those.
I usually grab a pizza from mods once a week every week since I learned they were open. Even when the one I go to shut down for a bit, I found out another place that was just slightly farther away from me and went there instead.
My favorite thing about MOD Pizza is all the stickers on the walls and pictures of customers or workers. Feels very artistic and inviting. It gives it that home vibe. Might just be my location, though. I never get charged for the 3x mushrooms I make the workers add. Everytime I go there there is at least another family in there even when it’s slow. And when it’s busy all the tables are taken.
MOD is the only fast casual place that has helped me and basically gave me table service as someone with a disability, I didn’t even have to ask for it
Wow, how have I not heard of either of these companies? I used to work in an office before I went full-time remote, I should have at least seen a box or something before.
Had MOD for the first time last week. Did a group delivery order for the office. Pretty cool to pick all your toppings and such right inside the delivery app. And they have 2 gluten free crust options that made some people here happy. I thought it was pretty tasty too.
@elgatofelix8917 and that is a prime example why "aiming for clarity in marketing," isn't a great goal, because describing it as the pizza version of Subway absolutely gives you clarity, yet that too would have made me avoid it if I hadn't already eaten there before.
Subway used to have pizzas that you could customize like that, in college subway was 1 of 2 fast food restaurants in town so we ate there a lot and would have subway pizza all the time and they were pretty awesome pizzas, plus they counted as subs on the punch card. My favorite was sweet onion chicken teriyaki pizza.
One restaurant in this category that’s highly underrated, I think, is Your Pie. Their crust and quality of meats is unmatched, and I’ve tried a majority of the chain ones!
yes, a great idea and a great team. that is the foundation for a successful company hubby and wife team of course being the perfect team since they are so in tune with each other and know each other inside out, literally
In Georgia we have Your Pie which is really good. Looks like they may have actually been before MOD since they started in April 2008. Haven't heard of either of these probably because Your Pie already cornered the market here.
I'm in GA and had never heard of "Your Pie" until I read your comment. Funny that I see locations in the Atlanta metro area including the county I'm in but I had never noticed any locations. I bring this up because I have heard of MOD Pizza and they do have locations in GA including one not too far from where I reside.
When I was in high school MOD was THE place to go for a casual dinner out with friends or a cheap date out on the town. Plus it was right next to our movie theater, and it was almost impossible not to run into people there you knew. It was affordable for a teenager working part time, fast, tasty, and had something for everyone. Also their lemonade was so damn good, and they were great about employing ex-cons or HS students looking for their first job and giving them opportunities and a healthy work culture. So many good memories at MOD.
I've only heard of MOD. It's a punk pizza shop, for hipsters. I've been interested in visiting them. There are 2 locations I have seen, in North Texas, where I live currently.
I worked at MOD back in 2017 as an All Star Captain(supervisor/trainer), I actually loved my job there. They also really did stand by the values of hiring people that would normally struggle to find jobs as you said, some were my own coworkers, I am sad the company is struggling because as far as food service jobs that was one that actually treated their employees pretty well.
Never heard of MOD pizza but I did hear of Blaze Pizza as they’re one of the few pizza places that have vegan cheese pizza. That automatically makes it top on my list of pizza places. MOD pizza isn’t around in my area.
I go to University in upstate NY and I’m in my senior year, but since I was a freshman I had been going to Blaze Pizza. Their combination of fair prices and good food (and their fountain lemonade) created a positive experience for me. When I found they closed the location near me before my senior year I was very surprised and a bit disappointed.
In the DFW metroplex specifically for MOD Pizza, I only see them in suburbs. And almost exclusively in affluent suburbs. But certainly not in Dallas proper or lower income suburbs. I get it, but I dislike driving far to enjoy MOD. Truly love their pricing, product, and speed. Quality every time.
I used to run a club when I was in uni, and MOD Pizza sponsored us. Gave us a 50% discount on pizzas for any socials we had, and a stack of 15% discount coupons (with no expiration date) to hand out to members on top of that. We got so much mileage out of the university provided budget because of that.
I first had MOD over a decade ago, then moved to Nebraska during the pandemic, where they have no locations. While typing this, I’m visiting family in the same area and picked up some MOD for lunch, so your timing couldn’t have been better.
you hit on the reason I like mod, its a great place to go for lunch breaks. Making small pizzas a quick meal is a great idea, sometimes I want pizza but not take out and not in a sit down restaurant like a pizza hut. Other restaurants do offer the meal deal with small pizzas and a drink but I feel like mod really does it best, unlimited toppings and the fired pizzas are also a big plus
The Blaze Pizza dough is terrible. I love the concept and it's fun choosing your toppings but it's something about the dough that I can't stand. I haven't been back.
I have a MOD pizza a couple blocks from me. I went there a handful of times. If you have nver been, Its basically a Subway sandwich shop, but for pizza. After the initial handful of visits, I havent gone back in years. The novelty wore off. The reality is, you arent going to get 95% of the ingredients they offer, as you arent interested in them. At that point, its just an small thin crust pizza that is more expensive than a large pizza from Dominos.
I went to a MOD Pizza in Bellevue WA a couple of times 12 years ago while on a week long business trip and really enjoyed it. Wish we had them here in the Midwest. One of the closest things to MOD that we have locally would be a smaller chain called Your Pie. But the market I live in is saturated with big and small pizza places as well as Mexican restaurants due in large part to the ethnic demographics here. There's over a dozen of each type of restaurant within a mile or two of my house!
I worked at MOD for 8 months. I think about it all the time. During those days I was also working at Sprouts Farmers Market and Blick Art Supply. I was heavily pierced and needed to work at places that allowed me to look like a human pincushion 😅 But hey, that free pizza every shift kept my head above water, and I am grateful. I learned the fine tuning of customer service, cleanliness, and working under pressure. Nice video❤
Should do a video on the fallout of Freshslice Pizza. Went from a few locations to a national brand, but then fell apart abruptly. Classic example of what not to do.
Never heard of either of these chains, but the Youngstown area has Rise Pies. They started in Chicago and then opened one back in their hometown. I love it because it's just like a pizza place BGSU had back in the mid-2000s at one of their student dining centers where I'd eat every week.
I live with miles of both Blaze and MOD. Recently tried the latter for the first time this year after trying Blaze for many years before. So incredibly delicious...they both are. But I love love love getting a built your own pizza from Blaze, white sauce, plenty of cheeses, chicken, ham, garlic, pineapple, etc...anyway, one of my favorite places! Love Pi day every March 14!
Never heard of MOD Pizza before now. I do have a Blaze Pizza that I went to once down here in South Florida, but I wouldn't say it's anything to run home about. It was good though. Maybe I'll go again.
MOD opened a store nearby in rural Ohio a couple of years ago. They wouldn't take an internet or phone order paid with cash. Never tried to order from them again.
I love Mods! I go there all of the time with my S/O and their pizza is so tasty and having the ability to add unlimited toppings is the cherry on the top for me.
I haven't heard of any of the chains mentioned in this video, but once upon a time, we had a very similar restaurant that was also part of a chain, or at least had several locations around the area. It closed up, rumored due to mismanagement, and another restaurant took its place, doing the same thing in order to make use of the oven, but they weren't as good and didn't last more than a year.
I LOVE both mod and blaze. Blaze is closer to my house so we go there more often, but I will also go to MOD if I'm out and about. It's just about proximity. But I OFTEN get much healthier toppings and overall a much tastier pizza than I would from anywhere else because I'm not paying for the toppings individually. More veggies, spinach on top, fresh basil, hot honey, multiple meats.. things I would never pay per topping for at another pizza joint- but I get to enjoy on my pizza thanks to Mod and Blaze's unique strategy!
On the topic of their whole 'live preparations' not going as well with the transition to delivery, I imagine a pretty cool workaround would be to set up a pseudo-streaming service were they have automated cameras that run for a certain amount of time that directly stream the pizza being made to the user via a private network or something, and end the recording with a message that says "Your pizza is out for delivery!" I think this could be another way that could help them stand out and attract more customers while also being a nice intermediary between the pickup order and the delivery aspect of things.
We have a place called Score pizza in Canada. I like how customizable it is. Our Blaze pizza closed so I’m glad we have something comparable in my city.
Never heard of Blaze or Mod until I started working at Blaze and fun fact, the location I worked at actually closed down within about 5 years right after I quit due to lack of sales 😭
When I was doing food delivery, I got quite a few orders for delivery from Blaze Pizza. I'd say it's on par with sandwich shops (IE Subway) as far as the importance of it being made in front of you. That is to say, it's not ideal for delivery, but there is still room for it. I also got the impression that people tended to consider it to be higher quality than other pizza places.
I love Blaze, used to get it a good amount back when I lived in Cali. Then I moved to Michigan and was thrilled to have a Blaze nearby. However, all the blazes in my area have been closing sadly 😢
Living in Southern California, I've had both, and I enjoy both (though Blaze has more locations here). There's also The Pizza Press, that has several locations on the West Coast.
Feels like a good concept, but one that would be really well served by building locations within walking distance to college campuses. Associating with college kids would make them seem young and cool, and you are in a market that loves the product. Now you just made it faster and more convenient for them to access.
I feel like the DIY/Build Your Own pizza model sprung up and spread in each different region. I've never heard of MOD but there's an Inferno food by fire restaurant and two Blaze locations in Rapid City, SD and somehow one in the Avenues Mall in Kuwait City so I imagine pressure to expand was crucial. They may be struggling with growing pains but I have faith the concept is good enough to persevere.
I once tried Blaze last year when they had a fall seasonal topping of butternut squash. Would have been an awesome concept if the topping was thinly sliced instead of cubed. The squash was still completely raw and inedible straight from the oven. I had to pick out each piece to salvage the pizza.
My first contact with either of these chains was with Blaze, probably a year or so before the pandemic. I loved the concept and thought it was great value for the money, but the closest one to where were lived at the time (Fort Worth, TX) was about a 20 minute drive away so we didn't go very often. If one had opened closer to us it would have become our go to pizza place for sure. We've since moved to Denver, where there are no Blaze Pizza's (i think they all closed down here before we got here) and only a handful of MOD Pizzas, none of which are near us. I'd still love to eat at either place if it was convenient, but I understand that real estate in Denver is expensive so it isn't likely they are going to open any new locations here any time soon. If anyone in Denver is reading this and knows of any similar but less well-known chains in the city please let me know!
Mod is the only pizza place in my area that has roasted corn as a topping. That alone makes me love them. The fact that they're very reasonably priced is also a massive plus.
I have a cousin who spent a few years in prison and when he was released had trouble finding work and was very mentally frustrated being out. He got hired at MOD and he says that job probably saved him from going back to prison. He told me the manager was a man who actually cared about his crew and genuinely wanted the best for them. So much so that he connected my cousin to a better job with an HVAC company that he's still doing to this day. So it's MOD for me every time.
This part
Awesome story. Thanks for sharing bro 🙏🏻
Mod has my support there. That rocks.
Gotta go try mod now
MOD is known as a second chance employer
I used to work for Mod a couple years back, and let me tell you that your comment on Mod being “wholesome” is spot on. Their motto was “We’re a people place, not a pizza place” and my manager took that to heart. When I caught Covid they gave me sick pay without using my sick pay I had saved up. Not to mention they also offer what’s called “Safe Pay” which I didn’t know was a thing until Mod.
As someone who never wants to work in food ever again, I would work at Mod again in a heartbeat.
That's great to hear. I'll probably switch over from my regular pizza place of this type (&pizza) to Mod. Always gotta support the workers!
Usually when you’re severely sick where you’re out multiple days that’s when it comes in handy. Not many food spots do that. That’s awesome of them
That is really great to hear
Why’d you leave?
@GREGOR21116 what's safe pay? Like extra for working there during COVID?
Once restaurants are sold to a venture capital firm, it’s only a matter of time before they go by the wayside or are milked for every drop of cash.
Cash cows, the death knell of any business .
“Leveraged buyout” = oh no
Yup. They just closed my local mod pizza..
Venture capital is what got companies like Boeing from being an airplane engineering and manufacturing company to a profit driven business, aka cutting corners on safety, low quality products and shady practices to boost net profit…it’s the last straw before the end of that business…
A - it's private equity, not venture capital.
B- that's a stupidly dumb statement to make that ignores why businesses fail (hint: It's not because some evil bad guy is destroying it intentionally).
I don't know why, but your videos are always so cozy for me. I think partially because I found your channel around Christmas time a few years ago, but it just feels cozy to listen to you talk about company stuff lol, thank you for your content :]
I really appreciate that. It mean a lot to me.
@@companyman114you’re the man company man
I totally agree! I think his voice is cozy and I love informational videos. I grew up watching how it's made lol
@@companyman114 I always love your videos! One of my favorite channels.
This is so true
A big problem has been inflation. When the first Blaze opened in my area around 2019, a customized personal pizza cost about $7 or $8. They were smaller pizzas with thinner crusts and made quick to go. Now it costs like $12 or $13 for the same smaller pizza with thinner crust. At that price, it just doesn't make sense anymore as a quick bite during my lunch break.
They raised prices significantly at least a year before Covid inflation hit. Prices were cheap when they were trying to rapidly grow, but as with most other trying to grow fast businesses, they were only going to be cheap while growth and not profitability was the main objective.
I worked there in 2017. A few months after I starter, they started penny pinching on toppings ESPECIALLY cheese. They made us put a set amount (small) and only add more small increments after being asked each time. It basically became subway.
Main shift lead had a sick Charizard tattoo tho
I've only had MOD once or twice, but damn, its good, well priced, and NO toppings cost extra
Mod is def up their in my favorite chains since I tried it around 2022
It’s so good, and has things for everyone!
I was at Mod one time and I ordered make your own pizza. The maker accidentally put mushrooms on and said “Oh no!” Looked over ad asked the to keep making my pizza since they do not charge per topping. Why waste food. I like mushrooms anyways.
Yep. The only thing Blaze does better is its vegetarian/vegan options, but I haven't touched it since the Mod opened up in my area
It costs extra for no toppings?
I consider DYI Pizza almost an entirely separate category from traditional pizza chains.
Yes of course. Especially since they never offer delivery and the quality is never as good.
Mmm...do yourself it pizza...
What would be even better is if you had to bring in your own ingredients and equipment too. So basically you just have to pay for the space. Would be way cheaper.
I once got a MOD pizza with every topping-Strawberries, roasted garlic, jalapenos, all the meats-EVERYTHING. It weighed almost 5 pounds and was strangely delicious. I ate 3/4 of it and used the leftovers the next morning to make a crazy omelette.
You're the reason they are going to file for bankruptcy lol 😅
🤣...that's kinda hilarious.
You're not autistic by any chance?
Dude you modded that pizza
Weed is a hell of a drug
I've never heard of either one of these companies and i guess you learn something new everyday, Thanks Company Man👍👍
You Ain't The Only One Cause I've Never Heard Of These 2 Companies Either.
Only recently heard of MOD as they opened a few blocks from my parents' house. The menu prices were a big NO.
Same! I am lost, I never heard of these companies... is this a Mandela Effect thing going on??? I doubt my whole existence. Hold me, Jesus.
@@andycast_comdef not a Mandela effect, both of these have stores in my city. I like them but don’t love their crust.
My brother has a cognitive disability and absolutely loves his job in MOD Pizza. Everyone everyone there is incredibly friendly and nice towards him.
*In the future:* "The Decline of Blaze Pizza: What Happened?"
And the main answer will be that they expanded too fast.
I love the DIY pizza concept. You basically get to control every aspect from the pizza you order, from the toppings to the cheese to the sauce right down to the crust. I've had a lot of fun with the different combinations I've been able to make.
I've been to MOD and Blaze, but I've been to Pieology a lot more, so that's what I'm most familiar with.
Company man back at it
Back at it? As far as I’ve seen, he’s been releasing videos on his usual schedule. Did he take a break or something?
Man, I remember when MOD first opened here in Seattle. Their pizza was always the same, but their salads were where it was at. Same concept of any toppings/add-ons at no additional price, but their salads portions were fucking HUGE and back when they opened it was under $10 for the larger size.
the flavor of Blaze Pizza is what brings me back every time i love it, but the one near me closed recently and it was sad and they raised the prices a lot
Same! And their blood orange lemonade, its so good but hard to find bottled up
What is up with these insane price inflations for restaurants??? It’s like they’ve outpaced like every other industry I know of when it comes to inflation. It was not too long ago that wing stop had a 10 wing bone in combo for $9.99. And what is it now? Like almost double that!!! Please! Help!
@@ryanjohnson4565wages
i can only get it if i get the lunch deal with one topping. 8.99 with a drink. cheaper than a lot of fast food places now a days and i can save half for later if i wanted!
@@ryanjohnson4565
Aside from their great pizza, MOD's "vibe" is a really big draw to me. The locations don't feel corporate, and instead feel genuine to wanting to welcome to everyone.
Straight up didn't know MOD was a chain until I saw one in a different state. The people and the decor give a real "local cool place" vibe you dont get with a lot of highly corporate places.
@@PhaseRabbit Same with Blaze..
Kramer (from Seinfeld) was the first to conceive the DIY pizza concept in the early 90s. “A place where you make your own pie”.
The concept was that the costumers make it themselves but its all supervised
@@Efri3ndso like a pizza version of those instant ramen shops in Korea
@@Efri3nd don’t take it literally.
@manueld5253 I'm a Seinfeld nerd so I take it very seriously sorry
I wouldn't trust customers with brick ovens.
Worked at Blaze for 8 months while in school and while I preferred working there to other jobs I've had I didn't feel to comfortable with management. They did hire and train me despite no prior work experience so I'm grateful to them for that. Vastly preferred eating there to mod since it was few places that you could get open oven pizza for less than $10 if you skipped the drink. Even had plenty vegan and gluten free options that were prepared at separate station. I remember vinny vinesauce and other new yorkers quote "Not bad for conveyor belt pizza." I don't do takeout or delivery pizza because I like to get pizza as fresh as I can so Blaze and few locals where I can order for pickup are my preference to Mod's premade frozen pizza or other restaurants/ delivery.
As someone who works for a blaze pizza, I hate blaze pizza
LMAO who can blame you? 😂
Ditto, I used to work at one as well, and corporate made it very well known that you were just a number to them. The only thing that kept me from walking out was my coworkers being some of the best people a minimum-wage worker could ask for
@bunchoftoasters2758 same here, stayed way longer than I wanted to just because I meet some of the most hardworking, sweetest people you can find getting paid minimum wage. The moment they left I left too.
Worked there as well for about 2 years ago. Hated it so much. My coworkers were the only ones who made it even remotely fun but higher ups could suck
I think you are going to hate any restaurant chain you work in for the rest of your life.
Blaze opened up in my neighborhood first and it became an instant favorite. Getting to stack up toppings at no extra cost was great! Also getting actual $3.14 and $4.20 pizzas during those days, with a massive line out the door, gives me nostalgia nearly ten years later.
0:10 imagine having to bite into that gross hot-doggy slice for a stock photo. Probably had to do it multiple times
Oh how bad could it loo- HO BOY!
I like Mod Pizza, also anyone remembers Pieology, they didn’t last long in our mall, they were getting expensive just for a personal pizza.
Yeah, we had a Pieology and I had them a few times before they closed. Not bad but just redundant. They didn’t seem to offer anything Mod wasn’t already offering
Pieology is still all over the place. I have MOD, Blaze, and Pieology around me. They're all good, but I prefer Pieology, then Blaze, then MOD. Pieology and Blaze have rubs they can put on the crust like herb butter and some garlic jizz stuff. Makes it taste better than plain.
@@pensivepenguin3000 if a mall have multiple pizza places, one is going to fail due to competition.
@@Resoob they’ve closed down locations in the recent years. Pieology only has few locations remaining in our state.
MOD Pizza is everywhere in my neck of the woods (Houston, Texas) whereas I never heard of Blaze until now. Huge fan of MOD...it really is fresh and tastes great! Not that much more money compared to what you see in the frozen pizza section of a supermarket, and of course is going to be a lot fresher. Would hate to see the chain collapse but I have a feeling that this format of pizza joint (build it in front of you like a burrito or sub then bake it quickly) is here to stay in the US.
Blaze has quite a few locations in Houston. They've been here for a while.
What about Uncle Maddio's? Company Man has never mentioned it.
Same thing I was going to say. I've heard of Blaze, but never seen a location around town. MOD is pretty good and certainly better IMO than the big 4 pizza places.
@@trbstang I've seen locations in my city, Indianapolis.
@@nedharris I just looked and we have 6 around Houston, but only one that is in a place I might drive by. And that one is like 10 miles away. That's in contrast to 58 locations of MOD pizza within 50 miles of me. I've been to at least 6 of those.
Blaze use to hit, nowadays I’m lucky to get a fully cooked pizza.
I usually grab a pizza from mods once a week every week since I learned they were open.
Even when the one I go to shut down for a bit, I found out another place that was just slightly farther away from me and went there instead.
My favorite thing about MOD Pizza is all the stickers on the walls and pictures of customers or workers. Feels very artistic and inviting. It gives it that home vibe. Might just be my location, though. I never get charged for the 3x mushrooms I make the workers add. Everytime I go there there is at least another family in there even when it’s slow. And when it’s busy all the tables are taken.
MOD is the only fast casual place that has helped me and basically gave me table service as someone with a disability, I didn’t even have to ask for it
Wow, how have I not heard of either of these companies? I used to work in an office before I went full-time remote, I should have at least seen a box or something before.
I don't think I heard of either of these pizza places. But I know that it's going to be interesting.
Had MOD for the first time last week. Did a group delivery order for the office. Pretty cool to pick all your toppings and such right inside the delivery app. And they have 2 gluten free crust options that made some people here happy. I thought it was pretty tasty too.
Missed opportunity: You need a PIE chart showing which chains have market share. Who has the bigger SLICE of DIY pizza?
Someone clearly took the Subway way of doing things and said, "Let's do that with pizza."
That’s how I’ve always described MOD when I recommend trying it.
@@dtheilen thanks. I wouldn't try it then.
@elgatofelix8917 and that is a prime example why "aiming for clarity in marketing," isn't a great goal, because describing it as the pizza version of Subway absolutely gives you clarity, yet that too would have made me avoid it if I hadn't already eaten there before.
Chipotle ...
Watch the whole video..
Subway used to have pizzas that you could customize like that, in college subway was 1 of 2 fast food restaurants in town so we ate there a lot and would have subway pizza all the time and they were pretty awesome pizzas, plus they counted as subs on the punch card. My favorite was sweet onion chicken teriyaki pizza.
It still amazes me when you come up with multiple businesses that I've never heard of.
I have never heard of either of these brands (canadian), but I am sat down and ready to learn.
There is one MOD Pizza in Canada, on Vancouver Island. It’s a busy and popular, and my eldest daughter’s favourite pizza place.
Ready to learn Grant from the corporation for public broadcasting.
@WiseAcres-e4o I'm not in Ontario, I'm in Indiana.
One restaurant in this category that’s highly underrated, I think, is Your Pie. Their crust and quality of meats is unmatched, and I’ve tried a majority of the chain ones!
Wow...never heard of either one of those. They must be new chains.
yes, a great idea and a great team. that is the foundation for a successful company hubby and wife team of course being the perfect team since they are so in tune with each other and know each other inside out, literally
In Georgia we have Your Pie which is really good. Looks like they may have actually been before MOD since they started in April 2008. Haven't heard of either of these probably because Your Pie already cornered the market here.
I'm in GA and had never heard of "Your Pie" until I read your comment. Funny that I see locations in the Atlanta metro area including the county I'm in but I had never noticed any locations.
I bring this up because I have heard of MOD Pizza and they do have locations in GA including one not too far from where I reside.
Georgia had an Uncle Maddio's... or has?
@@apexone5502 Same haha, and now I"m curious as well. And yeah, live nearby a Blaze and MOD.
As a UGA grad, Your Pie will always be my favorite!
@@trebrown6650 university of Georgia
When I was in high school MOD was THE place to go for a casual dinner out with friends or a cheap date out on the town. Plus it was right next to our movie theater, and it was almost impossible not to run into people there you knew. It was affordable for a teenager working part time, fast, tasty, and had something for everyone. Also their lemonade was so damn good, and they were great about employing ex-cons or HS students looking for their first job and giving them opportunities and a healthy work culture. So many good memories at MOD.
Me watching this even though never heard of either of these companies.
Thank you for introducing me to these companies because as a Marylander, I've never heard of them.
Never heard of either of them
Blaze is everywhere in San Diego. Cost about $27 for a pizza and drink, absolutely not worth it.
ditto
I've only heard of MOD. It's a punk pizza shop, for hipsters. I've been interested in visiting them. There are 2 locations I have seen, in North Texas, where I live currently.
@@ElleBrOwVisit California or Texas
@@Baddknewz One of the biggest investors in Blaze Pizza is LeBron James, who is mediocre at best so it explains how Blaze is mediocre at pizza
I worked at MOD back in 2017 as an All Star Captain(supervisor/trainer), I actually loved my job there. They also really did stand by the values of hiring people that would normally struggle to find jobs as you said, some were my own coworkers, I am sad the company is struggling because as far as food service jobs that was one that actually treated their employees pretty well.
Never heard of Blaze pizza. We just got a Mod pizza a couple years ago. I haven't been there yet.
Blaze pizza has LeBron James as an investor, who is the 19th greatest basketball player of all time
Never heard of MOD pizza but I did hear of Blaze Pizza as they’re one of the few pizza places that have vegan cheese pizza. That automatically makes it top on my list of pizza places. MOD pizza isn’t around in my area.
@@reflex9238why would you eat fake cheese
@@TDenterpriser because real cheese makes you fat.
@@reflex9238 fake cheese is made from oi so it also make you fat
I’ve known about Blaze for a few years. There’s a Mod across the street from my local Blaze now too. Looks like I have to try the former.
Reminds me of Kramer. I apologize to all the youngsters who have no idea what I'm talking about.
The only man I know of who was bold enough to put cucumber on pizza
@@Ramen-4-Life Still better than pineapple
@@moosemoomintoog230Pineapples on pizza is better than sardines on pizza.
It's sad to live in a world where someone didn't watch Seinfeld.
It's not a pizza until it comes out of the oven.
I go to University in upstate NY and I’m in my senior year, but since I was a freshman I had been going to Blaze Pizza. Their combination of fair prices and good food (and their fountain lemonade) created a positive experience for me. When I found they closed the location near me before my senior year I was very surprised and a bit disappointed.
Never heard of those two before.
as someone not based in the US this is the first time ive heard of these brands thanks dawg
MOD ALL THE WAY!
💯
In the DFW metroplex specifically for MOD Pizza, I only see them in suburbs. And almost exclusively in affluent suburbs. But certainly not in Dallas proper or lower income suburbs. I get it, but I dislike driving far to enjoy MOD. Truly love their pricing, product, and speed. Quality every time.
Funny thing is I was telling someone about blaze pizza like yesterday
Rofl
I used to run a club when I was in uni, and MOD Pizza sponsored us. Gave us a 50% discount on pizzas for any socials we had, and a stack of 15% discount coupons (with no expiration date) to hand out to members on top of that. We got so much mileage out of the university provided budget because of that.
I first had MOD over a decade ago, then moved to Nebraska during the pandemic, where they have no locations.
While typing this, I’m visiting family in the same area and picked up some MOD for lunch, so your timing couldn’t have been better.
Are there MOD's in Indiana?
You're lucky. Nebraska has Godfathers and Valentinos. I'd kill to have either one where I live. Godfather's taco pizza is the bomb.
@@dream_in_digital Indiana has goodfellas
you hit on the reason I like mod, its a great place to go for lunch breaks. Making small pizzas a quick meal is a great idea, sometimes I want pizza but not take out and not in a sit down restaurant like a pizza hut. Other restaurants do offer the meal deal with small pizzas and a drink but I feel like mod really does it best, unlimited toppings and the fired pizzas are also a big plus
Wetzel's pretzel dough tastes like crap... and now I know why I always thought Blaze's pizza dough tastes like crap, lmao! 🤣🍕
The Blaze Pizza dough is terrible. I love the concept and it's fun choosing your toppings but it's something about the dough that I can't stand. I haven't been back.
@@inpursuitofexcellence750 Likewise. Had it once and it was so bad I never went back. The price, too, was a bit high for as small as the pizzas were.
Had both Mod and Blaze. Both are excellent. Can’t say I prefer one over the other.
I have a MOD pizza a couple blocks from me. I went there a handful of times. If you have nver been, Its basically a Subway sandwich shop, but for pizza. After the initial handful of visits, I havent gone back in years. The novelty wore off. The reality is, you arent going to get 95% of the ingredients they offer, as you arent interested in them. At that point, its just an small thin crust pizza that is more expensive than a large pizza from Dominos.
You know when "vs." In the title, company man's about to drop a banger.
good video
Great concept for eating pizza at the highest quality and created the way you want
Ministry of Defense Pizza
That’s what I thought it meant 😂
Methods of Destruction Pizza.
Well If it makes you feel better there is a real pizza university in New York
@@dirtmanrock5428 why would it be there? Second-tier garbage < New Haven
Mother Of Dragons? How they fire the ovens?
I went to a MOD Pizza in Bellevue WA a couple of times 12 years ago while on a week long business trip and really enjoyed it.
Wish we had them here in the Midwest. One of the closest things to MOD that we have locally would be a smaller chain called Your Pie. But the market I live in is saturated with big and small pizza places as well as Mexican restaurants due in large part to the ethnic demographics here. There's over a dozen of each type of restaurant within a mile or two of my house!
Well, I live in the Midwest. What about the Midwest?
Did you hear that mod pizza almost went bankrupt and now they’re closing down stores I also forgot to mention that Big Lots has filed for bankruptcy
They closed the Foster City store in California 😢
@@Danny-cy7tl they closed 2 near me
Bro Company Man is peak his videos are so interesting
I stopped going to restaurants altogether. Prices are insane, plus tips.
Interesting topic! Not companies I would have thought about otherwise
company man is goated
For anyone wondering, that means he prefers goat cheese on his pizza.
Worked at MOD during the pandemic. Lasted about 2-3 years there and i can honestly say its one of the better jobs ive had
I worked at MOD for 8 months. I think about it all the time. During those days I was also working at Sprouts Farmers Market and Blick Art Supply. I was heavily pierced and needed to work at places that allowed me to look like a human pincushion 😅 But hey, that free pizza every shift kept my head above water, and I am grateful. I learned the fine tuning of customer service, cleanliness, and working under pressure. Nice video❤
Should do a video on the fallout of Freshslice Pizza. Went from a few locations to a national brand, but then fell apart abruptly. Classic example of what not to do.
It’s worth noting that Blaze is the only pizza to get a 0 on one bite lol
As a Connecticut native this is valuable information.
That’s just because Portnoy hates Lebron and I think he’s part owner
@@gabrielpeters929 in fairness he actually explains why he doesn’t like LeBron
Mod is 1000x better then blaze pizza. I regularly go to mod, i went to blaze once and hated it the crust is way to sweet.
Dave Portnoy is a hack
Never heard of either of these chains, but the Youngstown area has Rise Pies. They started in Chicago and then opened one back in their hometown.
I love it because it's just like a pizza place BGSU had back in the mid-2000s at one of their student dining centers where I'd eat every week.
What vs What? Never heard of either of these. Maybe I should move the rock I'm living under? LOL
What rock?
I live with miles of both Blaze and MOD. Recently tried the latter for the first time this year after trying Blaze for many years before. So incredibly delicious...they both are. But I love love love getting a built your own pizza from Blaze, white sauce, plenty of cheeses, chicken, ham, garlic, pineapple, etc...anyway, one of my favorite places! Love Pi day every March 14!
Basically Pizza with a Subway model
Subway started it in the 70s/80s. Chipotle and other burritos copied it in the 90s. Pizza copied them in the 2000s.
I literally never heard of either of these places
Then there is also Pieology.
Yes, the same thing I was thinking.
He actually mentioned pieology in the video if you watch it
@Sig_P229 The video came out 15 minutes ago, this comment is 11 minutes old 💀
I was about to say this is like MyPi
And Pizza Rev
And Puzzle Pizza
What's your point?
Never heard of MOD Pizza before now. I do have a Blaze Pizza that I went to once down here in South Florida, but I wouldn't say it's anything to run home about. It was good though. Maybe I'll go again.
It's all just fast food at the end of the day, and it never scales well. I'll stick with my local mom-and-pop shop.
I've never heard of MOD Pizza but we have a Blaze here in town and its really good.
MOD opened a store nearby in rural Ohio a couple of years ago. They wouldn't take an internet or phone order paid with cash. Never tried to order from them again.
Get a debit card ya caveman
I have never heard of either of these places, lol
Born, raised, and have lived in and out of Chicago for 46 years.
I love Mods! I go there all of the time with my S/O and their pizza is so tasty and having the ability to add unlimited toppings is the cherry on the top for me.
Request: Do “The Decline of Tupperware…What Happened?”, since they recently filed for bankruptcy.
I haven't heard of any of the chains mentioned in this video, but once upon a time, we had a very similar restaurant that was also part of a chain, or at least had several locations around the area. It closed up, rumored due to mismanagement, and another restaurant took its place, doing the same thing in order to make use of the oven, but they weren't as good and didn't last more than a year.
I LOVE both mod and blaze. Blaze is closer to my house so we go there more often, but I will also go to MOD if I'm out and about. It's just about proximity. But I OFTEN get much healthier toppings and overall a much tastier pizza than I would from anywhere else because I'm not paying for the toppings individually. More veggies, spinach on top, fresh basil, hot honey, multiple meats.. things I would never pay per topping for at another pizza joint- but I get to enjoy on my pizza thanks to Mod and Blaze's unique strategy!
On the topic of their whole 'live preparations' not going as well with the transition to delivery, I imagine a pretty cool workaround would be to set up a pseudo-streaming service were they have automated cameras that run for a certain amount of time that directly stream the pizza being made to the user via a private network or something, and end the recording with a message that says "Your pizza is out for delivery!"
I think this could be another way that could help them stand out and attract more customers while also being a nice intermediary between the pickup order and the delivery aspect of things.
We have a place called Score pizza in Canada. I like how customizable it is. Our Blaze pizza closed so I’m glad we have something comparable in my city.
Never heard of Blaze or Mod until I started working at Blaze and fun fact, the location I worked at actually closed down within about 5 years right after I quit due to lack of sales 😭
When I was doing food delivery, I got quite a few orders for delivery from Blaze Pizza. I'd say it's on par with sandwich shops (IE Subway) as far as the importance of it being made in front of you. That is to say, it's not ideal for delivery, but there is still room for it. I also got the impression that people tended to consider it to be higher quality than other pizza places.
I love Blaze, used to get it a good amount back when I lived in Cali. Then I moved to Michigan and was thrilled to have a Blaze nearby. However, all the blazes in my area have been closing sadly 😢
Living in Southern California, I've had both, and I enjoy both (though Blaze has more locations here). There's also The Pizza Press, that has several locations on the West Coast.
These chains sound incredible! I wish we had some in my area
Feels like a good concept, but one that would be really well served by building locations within walking distance to college campuses. Associating with college kids would make them seem young and cool, and you are in a market that loves the product. Now you just made it faster and more convenient for them to access.
I feel like the DIY/Build Your Own pizza model sprung up and spread in each different region. I've never heard of MOD but there's an Inferno food by fire restaurant and two Blaze locations in Rapid City, SD and somehow one in the Avenues Mall in Kuwait City so I imagine pressure to expand was crucial. They may be struggling with growing pains but I have faith the concept is good enough to persevere.
I once tried Blaze last year when they had a fall seasonal topping of butternut squash. Would have been an awesome concept if the topping was thinly sliced instead of cubed. The squash was still completely raw and inedible straight from the oven. I had to pick out each piece to salvage the pizza.
My first contact with either of these chains was with Blaze, probably a year or so before the pandemic. I loved the concept and thought it was great value for the money, but the closest one to where were lived at the time (Fort Worth, TX) was about a 20 minute drive away so we didn't go very often. If one had opened closer to us it would have become our go to pizza place for sure.
We've since moved to Denver, where there are no Blaze Pizza's (i think they all closed down here before we got here) and only a handful of MOD Pizzas, none of which are near us. I'd still love to eat at either place if it was convenient, but I understand that real estate in Denver is expensive so it isn't likely they are going to open any new locations here any time soon.
If anyone in Denver is reading this and knows of any similar but less well-known chains in the city please let me know!
We had a Blaze Pizza in my local town in Texas. Months later, the restaurant closed. Broke my heart.
😢
Mod is the only pizza place in my area that has roasted corn as a topping. That alone makes me love them. The fact that they're very reasonably priced is also a massive plus.