Sizzle Pie closes downtown Eugene location, with company, workers citing different reasons
After nearly decade in operation, Oregon pizza chain Sizzle Pie has closed its location in the heart of downtown Eugene, leaving a hole in one of the city's most central locations at Willamette Street and Broadway.
The news came this week, with workers on Reddit saying they got laid off last week with no notification prior to the staff meeting confirming the closure.
According to a post on Sizzle Pie's website, the restaurant closed because it struggled financially. Sizzle Pie cited difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and lost $100,000 so far in 2022. It added that the lease was coming to an end and that there had been less foot traffic as of late.
"We are sad to leave this community, and especially sad to lay off our employees," the statement read.
The statement said laid-off workers would get retroactive pay increases for their previous weeks' paycheck, and severance checks equivalent to their average two weeks' pay, including average tips. When asked for added comment on the closure and layoffs, Sizzle Pie forwarded the same statement from the website, attributed to founder Matt Jacobson.
Several workers did not respond Friday to requests for comment, but some who posted on social media paint a different picture of why they think the restaurant closed.
Some said workers had recently asked for higher wages and better working conditions, and they think it led to the closure. Stressful conditions for workers were something employees have voiced for a while.
During a June visit ahead of the World Athletics Championships, employee Jada Bryant told The Register-Guard working the front of the house was "pretty overwhelming" and that it was "constantly busy."
Bryant estimated on June 7 there were more than 60 staff members at the time. The kitchen's oven for single slices of pizza was also broken at the time, which Bryant said made it more stressful with customers and mobile app delivery workers getting angry at the wait times.
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The city of Eugene's planning department has not had new tenant applications yet but it is working with the property manager to help identify good tenants, according to city spokesperson Lindsay Selser.
"It's a great location and space, so we're optimistic that there will be plenty of interest in it," Selser said in an email.
Other than the Reno, Nevada location, the Eugene Sizzle Pie was the only store outside the Portland metro area. The company is opening a location in Hillsboro soon, according to its website.
The company had two PPP loans between 2020 and 2021, with the first worth roughly $1.7 million and the second $2 million. Both were forgiven.
Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com or 541-521-2498, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Sizzle Pie closes downtown Eugene location after 9 years
