Pirmanti's Might be Expanding outside of Pittsburgh PA

 
 
This would be welcome news for expat Pittsburgh and Pirmanti Sandwich lovers outside of Pittsburgh!
From KDKA News:
 
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – You may soon be able to order your favorite Primanti’s sandwich even if you are far away from Pittsburgh.
The chain has 18 locations in Western Pennsylvania, and three more for snowbirds who fly south to Florida. Now it appears the restaurant could be expanding even more.
In a statement, Primanti Bros. announced an investment from Catterton Partners, a private equity firm.
 
It reads in part, “Catterton has significant experience in the restaurant industry, where they have achieved great success with well-known, iconic companies such as Baja Fresh, P.F. Changs, and Outback Steakhouse. Catterton will enhance Primanti Bros. growth and brand development and support the expansion of the Primanti Bros. concept to help take our company to the next level.”
In addition to the mountain of food squished between two giant slices of bread, is the restaurant’s genuine admiration for the city of Pittsburgh, and its proud sports traditions.
Matt Shepard is one of thousands of customers who have been piling fries, and slaw onto their sandwiches for as long as they can remember.
Shepard says, “people treat you good you know. Food’s good. No arguments. No fights. That’s a good part in the life today.”
Perhaps very soon, that tradition could be spreading to other parts of the country.

I read this yesterday.  MH and I hope they open one in the Columbus area!!  But no location could compare to the original in the Strip.  It is truly a food gem.

Are they expanding by Franchising or will they be company owned?

I dunno...now that an equity firm's involved will quality be sacrificed for the sake of the bottom line?

Yes

Homogenized, Pasteurized, Sterilized, and Neutered.

Wintahaba is absolutely right..... and his prediction is inevitable.
We live in ironic times.
Our very own love and devotion to the Mom-and-Pop, having given birth to the RF cult, which became a movement, then a tv special, then a series, then a cable channel, has turned spots like Pirmanti's, Pepe's, Thurman's et al. into celebrities.....and be it the first, second or third generation...those hard-working owners of celebrity locaitons, are stalked by food biz parasites with big check books and bigger promises, who can seduce the mom and pops in minutes.
The parasites are smart. They know that the kids are the ones who have had to grow up in a food-service family...and although we, as roadfooders, worship that perfectly seasoned grill as an altar of unbridled joy, they see it as nothing more than a cast-iron prison, that will keep them forever chained in an endless cycle of cleaning, cooking, and drama-laden employee hassles....rendering the, heretofore unthinkable, surrender of the closely-guarded, pefectly-seasoned, lovingly-prepared, third-generation chili recipe, a small price to pay for achieving the NEW American dream.  
So ironicaly, in a small way, we have ourselves to blame when another icon goes corporate....a second generation sells out.....or a perfect RF joint goes Hollywood...
But that blame is far from enough to stop me or, I'm certain, you...from continuing our never-ending quest for that unflickering beacon of down-home perfection, where consistency is obsession, it's always people before profit and quality before cash, and our own American Dream waits for us to be seated...at the counter, booth or table.... 
 
 
 
 

The Ft Lauderdale locations are good...the beach location I
think is open 24 Hours
 
mike

Stalked by food biz parasites.

Oh Brother.

Damn Skippy....parasites....they exist in every business...They produce nothing. They create nothing. They improve nothing. Their only expertise is creating profit for themselves, with other people's money.....on the backs
 of still other people's ideas.....parasites........

Who are you talking about?

Who the heck is Skippy???
We will be eating at the original Primanti's in the Strip on Thursday.......can't wait!

CC, I think wingmanBBF is referring to an investment company pairing up with Primanti's and taking an already established concept and making a profit off of it.  Maybe it'll work but sometimes an outside source doesn't have the heart & soul to truly "know" what makes a restaurant so special to its loyal customers and that can get lost in translation with new branches.  I wish the best for all involved.
lleechef, "damn skippy" is a phrase that people sometimes use to emphatically agree with someone.  Frank Pepe's has great apizza, you say?  DAMN SKIPPY!!!

I thought Skippy was the kangaroo sensation that sold-out to....the man.
 
                                                                  

Primanti's has 18 locations going in to this partnership.

Thank you, BillyBoy. I apologize. "Damn, Skippy" means exactly what you say. CC Sunstitute, "Absolutely."
It's a very old expression that dates me.
And though i do have a tendency to the dramatic, the point is still the same. It's my understanding that Pirmantis 18 locations are still operated by the original family...sometimes a success...sometimes a failure....but the addition of any outside capital, be it venture, private equity or public offering, shifts the focus from devotion to the original flavors to EBITDA...the bottom line...nothing more.
The logical strategy is to grow geographically...add more units...and when you add more units, you move to other parts of the country...where customer taste is different.....so you homogenize your product to fit every customer...and you end up with Campbell's soup....and what made your concept work, no longer exists...so you come up with some other way to make the business work...and it seldom includes anything that's attractive to roadfooders or any seeker of a pure and original experience....... 

There are no victims or villains here. This is business. With business in the current landscape sometimes it's grow your business or close. Take a look at some of the very successful businesses pulling in a great deal of money (at a single unit) and see how far they are teetering on the edge...when they close at the first factor that tips.

You don't build 18 locations without knowing a great deal about business. So they should get a great deal of credit for that...as well as benefit of the doubt that the standards of any/every location are the standards they will set. If not it's dance with the one who brought ya.

The original location is still there to enjoy. Who knows if that would be the case if not for additional business revenue.

CCinNJ


There are no victims or villains here. This is business. With business in the current landscape sometimes it's grow your business or close. Take a look at some of the very successful businesses pulling in a great deal of money (at a single unit) and see how far they are teetering on the edge...when they close at the first factor that tips.

You don't build 18 locations without knowing a great deal about business. So they should get a great deal of credit for that...as well as benefit of the doubt that the standards of any/every location are the standards they will set.

The original location is still there to enjoy. Who knows if that would be the case if not for addition business revenue.

So following your logic, "Business" is, in itself, moral....if it makes money...it's ok.....
You misread me. I don't question anyone growing their business, adding units, or the ability of the Primantis.
My point is.....They now face a new master....a master that has bought its way in, and deserves and demands a very large say in how the business is run....and the devotion to a concept and flavors, founded by the family, will always be sacrificed if it stands in the way of growth and profit.
And...when profit and expansion are the ONLY goals...you end up with what's already happened....highly marketed fastfood chains using huge ad budgets, and marketing gimmicks to push the great Mom-and-Pops roadfooders spend so much time and effort finding........out of business.
It's been proven over and over that bad product can succeeed if marketed well....I'm sorry, but I'd take no pride at all in owning a McDonalds franchise, regardless of how much money I might make.
 

A new master?

You have no idea what the terms are of the partnership. You also don't pay the bills of the business or consider the factors that Roadfood & television celebrity may have on a business that can no longer support the increased business with the increased traffic @ the current location.

Or the factors (positive/negative) within the local community of other Roadfood businesses with the increased traffic produced with the celebrity.

Cake Boss has driven many people to <<<Hoboken>>> and has showcased countless other local Roadfood establishments that have always been there but now are on the map shining in the sun... with the attention from the show

There's also a 2-hour line that forms on a daily basis...and was not built to support the demand for it. So...the parasites that happen to also love <<<Hoboken>>> have done their part so everyone is happy.

CC,
I see that you're a restaurant consultant.
I truly respect that and your knowledge of the business. I don't pretend to challenge your knowledge....and you're right. i don't know the terms of the deal.....But I've sold a few businesses..some to individuals...some to PE firms....and I still hold a stake in a few of them...but no control......and i've seen a lot of great food business ruined by corporate greed, and virtually all of them by expansion...but I'm sure there are also many...particularly fine dining, that have been a smashing success both in bottom line and preserving the original product.
I worry for Primantis because the lineage is obvious.... Baja fresh, Outback and PF Changs, each and all...no doubt, a great financial success..but, for me, they are all soulless corporate factories that contribute nothing to the heart and conscience of community that intertwines a great mom-and-pop with the people it serves.
 

They've built 18 locations and my son was at a few of the locations (not the original) when he visited his friend in Art School. He LOVED Primanti's and I was happy they went to Primanti's.

I will give Primanti's the benefit of the doubt vs. ohhhh the sky is falling now...when I (nor anyone else here) knows that the end of the world is happening because Primanti's expanding from 18 location to ? and we just all know it's gonna be a disaster because ?

We don't know but we just know because we don't know.

I just hope that he will still love Primanti Bros, when a PE firm is making all the decisions...and they will ...because I don't know a PE firm that will come into a deal like that without contol......but as you say...time will tell.
I also hope the sky doesn't fall for the Primanti's....if it does, we'll all be diminished......

But your poor Mom & Pop while the kids are just about ready to pull the plug before they go run to the bank to cash the parasite check framework was a bit much.

It's eyes wide open and I am pretty sure that (same as always) if anyone really wants a Primanti's sandwich as they would expect a Primanti's sandwich experience to be... go to Pittsburgh. Other than that...it's their business...with the jury still out.

Like I said...i sometimes tend to be too dramatic...but the guilty emotional stew that any second or third generation legacy of a successful family business goes through is worth its own thread...some day....
now...speaking of soulless corporate marketing pablum...back to the  "Who cares without the Giants" playoffs.....
 

Most of the best Roadfood businesses in this area are family businesses through generations

They have to take into account that drastic changes have happened in the landscape of busine$$ cost factors that happen around them....operating in an area where the cost-of-living (and doing business) is so high.

wingmanBBF


CC,
I see that you're a restaurant consultant.
I truly respect that and your knowledge of the business. I don't pretend to challenge your knowledge....and you're right. i don't know the terms of the deal.....But I've sold a few businesses..some to individuals...some to PE firms....and I still hold a stake in a few of them...but no control......and i've seen a lot of great food business ruined by corporate greed, and virtually all of them by expansion...but I'm sure there are also many...particularly fine dining, that have been a smashing success both in bottom line and preserving the original product.
I worry for Primantis because the lineage is obvious.... Baja fresh, Outback and PF Changs, each and all...no doubt, a great financial success..but, for me, they are all soulless corporate factories that contribute nothing to the heart and conscience of community that intertwines a great mom-and-pop with the people it serves.

 
Great, GREAT description!
 
I watched it happen to the Chateau in Waltham, MA.  Rapid expansion=frozen calamari, need I say more?

Yes...something about Primanti's since all reports are that with all those locations they serve no frozen calamari.

I'm planning on having a pastrami, double egg, cheese and calamari sandwich at Primanti's come Thursday.

That sounds delicious!

Personally, I look forward to eating at the Primanti's in Cincy with 5-Way chili on top.  Or the Buffalo Primanti's, served on a weck roll.
 
As long as they leave the original Strip District location alone, I really don't care what they do.