Black Market Pizza

[Frak]

Exactly. Plus, Ames has a ton of competition in the pizza market, with some really good pizza for reasonable prices. If youre going to do expensive pizza you probably want to go where the money is that'll buy expensive pizza.

I don't know, they are sitting on the right side of town for that. Plenty of money over there.

[CycloneErik]

Sounds like they expanded waaaay too fast. I never heard a bad thing about it, and getting on Man v. Food is a pretty big f'ing deal. I'm definitely surprised.

No kidding. I would think you'd want to be booming in one store before aiming for a second one, and struggling through everything that brings with losses and expenses.

The Man v. Food thing sounds like a show to watch, but it'll be kind of awkward.

[VTXCyRyD]

Never had it, but no way is it better than Great Plains

[dmclone]

Never had it, but no way is it better than Great Plains

Never had Great Plains but no way is it better than Pizza Hut.

[Broodwich]

Black Market's price point is the same as any other purveyor of deep dish pizzas. Felix & Oscars, Giordanos, Lou Malnati's.

Deep dish pizzas also take considerably longer than hand-tossed pizzas.

There is NO competition in Ames for traditional Chicago style pizzas.

[simply1]

I've had the Ames one, it's not bad at all.

[simply1]

Hard to compare to Great Plains, completely different imho. Sometimes feel like one, sometimes the other.

[Farnsworth]

How did they get selected for Man vs. Food in the first place being open for a year?

And how was expansion after 1 year, especially one year in a college town right right as students are leaving, a good idea?

[JP4CY]

I didn't really care for the inside of the restaurant. I think the Somerset lacks a bar, yes I know Brewers is one, but I mean a 'real' bar with beer on tap. I think if they could have parlayed the pizza into a complete package with a bar, it might have lasted longer.

[BigJCy]

Ditto. Tried it once...good pizza, very slow service, way high prices. Not a good combination for a successful business plan.

Agree

[HerkyKiller]

Sucks they are closing, maybe people on here should buy some pizza and keep them open.

[Frak]

I didn't really care for the inside of the restaurant. I think the Somerset lacks a bar, yes I know Brewers is one, but I mean a 'real' bar with beer on tap. I think if they could have parlayed the pizza into a complete package with a bar, it might have lasted longer.

TRUE. I like(d) the pizza there. BUT, when it takes 40 minutes to bake and the place has all of 6 tables in it, that's a problem. No one wants to stand for 40 minutes waiting for their pizza. Definitely agree about the bar. Brewers is a joke. The place is snobbish and the owner is a j/a. Somerset needs a real pub/tavern. Even a sportsbar there would roll. Imagine what a BWW would do in Somerset.

Black Market would definitely do a lot better if they had twice the space with a real bar with beer on tap...some TVs for watching sports, add better appetizers to the menu. Also, their pizzas LOOK awesome in person. It always surprised me that they never had pics on their online menu.

[Ms3r4ISU]

Just wondering: Where is mplscyclone when you need 'em?
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/...lace-ames.html (New Pizza place in Ames)

[CycloneErik]

They started a Nevada location, too? Holy rapid expansion, Batman!

[bugs4cy]

BTW, Black Market posted Monday afternoon on Facebook that they are going to keep the Ames store open, and focus on service quality.

The Nevada location was shut down a couple months ago (I think it's been that long).

I love the Chicago style and realize it takes a long time. So, we call ahead and its ready when we get there. Bazinga - long wait-time solved!

And it appear this maybe unpopular with everyone else here, but I'm willing pay more for a product that I like. If I want a cheap pizza, it's Little Caesars. If I want something different like the Chicago style or sweet potato crust, then I'm willing to cough up for 'dough'.