CPCo. is CLOSING - 9/08/2008
This is not a test-- Christopher has decided to close the Christopher Pizza Company.
After 5 years of keeping the lights on, we will be closing the doors for good in a few short weeks. The last day you can get pizza is itself still undetermined because it depends on how fast we go through our remaining inventory (and I don't listen very well at staff meetings). I am told that music will continue for some time after food service stops, but check back for more details. Alas, now is the time to come in for one last pizza, one last beer, and one last laugh. Believe me, it hurts me too.
I have to admit that I had sensed something was wrong before Christopher broke the news to the staff this last Wednesday. I'm not psychic or anything, but there were signs that day-to-day operations were not running with their usual amount of dysfunction. Things that should take days to fix (and would normally take weeks to fix) were taking months to fix. More than anything, I could tell the boss had changed. Normally, I chalk most stuff up to Christopher being Christopher, but of late, his heart just has not been in it. In any independent venture (especially a restaurant) there has to been at least one person who lives and dies for it-- without him, you're dead in the water and we've been belly up.
The question most people have asked me is: why close? I'm not sure I ever got a straight answer from Christopher on that one. My own personal (and by no means official) theory is that Christopher had the choice to renew his lease with jerk landlords (who are raising rent) and he declined. If you factor in sky-rocketing food costs, the economy in general, and lost business due to the fact that our (jerk) landlords are going to destroy the nice free parking lot across the street with a huge construction project, it starts to make sense to me. It appears that the powers that be think that if they turn this block into another Green Hills (gag) it will make them a boatload of money and if they have to kill or maim anything that stands in the way of that pursuit, then so be it. Consider us the deceased.
Maybe I am alone in this, but I like the fact that this block had some locally-owned businesses, instead of the same stupid chains every other city has. Sometimes I feel like the only Nashvillian who doesn't want every part of his city to be "posh" and I feel like I want to smack every Nashvillian who uses the word "posh." I guess I just have to accept the fact that there a lots of opinions out there, but the ones that have lots of money behind them are the only ones that seem to matter...
Enough ranting.
I have also been asked the following questions a lot: What's Christopher going to do now? Is he going to re-open any time soon? Don't you have another location? Are you selling the tables/any other pieces of the store?
The answers are: I have no idea, but he mentioned Daddy Daycare as an option he was considering. I do not think he is going to re-open anytime soon, but he did not rule out ever getting back into the biz (Christopher has been dreaming about a BBQ place for some time now). No, we only have one location. And finally, there is a possibility that we will be selling/auctioning parts of the store, including the tables, but there has been no final approval of that idea, as of yet.
As for me, I'm not sure what to think. I want to let it roll off my back, but as my bitterness in preceding paragraphs may betray, I'm having a hard time with that. I have worked here for almost two years and, to me (and others out there), this place is like a second home. Where do I go from here? Though I could sense something wasn't right as of late, I'm still having a little trouble processing what has happened; just because it wasn't a surprise doesn't mean it wasn't a shock. I've never been laid off before and it won't be easy finding another job like this one. There's not another boss out there like Christopher and, though are a growing number chain restaurants in the greater Nashville area, there are no other Christopher Pizza Companies.
I remember once writing that one of the greatest things about this place was that it felt like you were in on something-- that you knew about something not everyone else was lucky enough to hear about. As I sift through the dying embers of the Christopher Pizza Company (my lone attempt at being poetic), I can't say that I feel much has changed. There was something about the 12' of space between these walls that was special. Personally, I happen to believe that it was the people who made it what it was. And of all the memories I'll take from this place-- some good, some bad, and some downright ugly-- I know that the ones of which I'm most proud involve the people who felt more like family than bosses, co-workers, and customers. Trained monkey dancing for tips that I am, I think that isn't that bad a severance package.
As for this blog, I'm not sure what will happen. Without a restaurant to write for, I guess I'll have to focus more attention on my own blog and I hope you will keep reading me. I would not be surprised if this were not the last entry. So look out for one last post next week...
After 5 years of keeping the lights on, we will be closing the doors for good in a few short weeks. The last day you can get pizza is itself still undetermined because it depends on how fast we go through our remaining inventory (and I don't listen very well at staff meetings). I am told that music will continue for some time after food service stops, but check back for more details. Alas, now is the time to come in for one last pizza, one last beer, and one last laugh. Believe me, it hurts me too.
I have to admit that I had sensed something was wrong before Christopher broke the news to the staff this last Wednesday. I'm not psychic or anything, but there were signs that day-to-day operations were not running with their usual amount of dysfunction. Things that should take days to fix (and would normally take weeks to fix) were taking months to fix. More than anything, I could tell the boss had changed. Normally, I chalk most stuff up to Christopher being Christopher, but of late, his heart just has not been in it. In any independent venture (especially a restaurant) there has to been at least one person who lives and dies for it-- without him, you're dead in the water and we've been belly up.
The question most people have asked me is: why close? I'm not sure I ever got a straight answer from Christopher on that one. My own personal (and by no means official) theory is that Christopher had the choice to renew his lease with jerk landlords (who are raising rent) and he declined. If you factor in sky-rocketing food costs, the economy in general, and lost business due to the fact that our (jerk) landlords are going to destroy the nice free parking lot across the street with a huge construction project, it starts to make sense to me. It appears that the powers that be think that if they turn this block into another Green Hills (gag) it will make them a boatload of money and if they have to kill or maim anything that stands in the way of that pursuit, then so be it. Consider us the deceased.
Maybe I am alone in this, but I like the fact that this block had some locally-owned businesses, instead of the same stupid chains every other city has. Sometimes I feel like the only Nashvillian who doesn't want every part of his city to be "posh" and I feel like I want to smack every Nashvillian who uses the word "posh." I guess I just have to accept the fact that there a lots of opinions out there, but the ones that have lots of money behind them are the only ones that seem to matter...
Enough ranting.
I have also been asked the following questions a lot: What's Christopher going to do now? Is he going to re-open any time soon? Don't you have another location? Are you selling the tables/any other pieces of the store?
The answers are: I have no idea, but he mentioned Daddy Daycare as an option he was considering. I do not think he is going to re-open anytime soon, but he did not rule out ever getting back into the biz (Christopher has been dreaming about a BBQ place for some time now). No, we only have one location. And finally, there is a possibility that we will be selling/auctioning parts of the store, including the tables, but there has been no final approval of that idea, as of yet.
As for me, I'm not sure what to think. I want to let it roll off my back, but as my bitterness in preceding paragraphs may betray, I'm having a hard time with that. I have worked here for almost two years and, to me (and others out there), this place is like a second home. Where do I go from here? Though I could sense something wasn't right as of late, I'm still having a little trouble processing what has happened; just because it wasn't a surprise doesn't mean it wasn't a shock. I've never been laid off before and it won't be easy finding another job like this one. There's not another boss out there like Christopher and, though are a growing number chain restaurants in the greater Nashville area, there are no other Christopher Pizza Companies.
I remember once writing that one of the greatest things about this place was that it felt like you were in on something-- that you knew about something not everyone else was lucky enough to hear about. As I sift through the dying embers of the Christopher Pizza Company (my lone attempt at being poetic), I can't say that I feel much has changed. There was something about the 12' of space between these walls that was special. Personally, I happen to believe that it was the people who made it what it was. And of all the memories I'll take from this place-- some good, some bad, and some downright ugly-- I know that the ones of which I'm most proud involve the people who felt more like family than bosses, co-workers, and customers. Trained monkey dancing for tips that I am, I think that isn't that bad a severance package.
As for this blog, I'm not sure what will happen. Without a restaurant to write for, I guess I'll have to focus more attention on my own blog and I hope you will keep reading me. I would not be surprised if this were not the last entry. So look out for one last post next week...
8 Comments:
Please convey the saddness of the Kendall family (now all in Colorado) to our dear friend Christopher and his staff. Express our disgust for all pizza after having his and how much we miss the wonderful creations he cared so much to create along with an AWESOME dining experience.
Oh, and tell him there's lots of opportunity in Denver and that we know his product/experience would go ape crazy out here!
I am saddened beyond words. I feel as though I've lost a loved one. Even though Craig and I now live far away, we still view Christopher's Pizza as the best pizza we have ever had and, more importantly, the people at Christopher's are among the finest we've ever known. While living in Nashville, our son and daughter would always get their choice of any Nashville restaurant for their birthday's. From the time we first discovered Christopher's (during their high school years), they never once picked any other restaurant for their celebration other than Christopher's Pizza (even if it meant a long drive from where they lived while in college). Whenever I was sick or recovering from surgery, the first food I always wanted was pizza from Christopher's. And the number of times Craig ate lunch at Christopher's is impossible to calculate.
I just want to say to Christopher, and every other member of the Christopher's Pizza family, (both past and present), that Craig and I thank you for some of the best food, most wonderful service and, above all else, the chance to get to know and love each of you. As far as I'm concerned, Nashville will have a big ugly hole in it's side once Christopher's doors have closed. Shame on you Nashville for letting this happen.
What the Heck! I will say I was having a good day till I read this post! This is like taking away my favorite toy as a little boy!
I hope you are open long enough for me to come and enjoy a few more times. I am sure whatever ventures Chris makes in the food development industry, he will do well.
I have tried to carry on for the Kendalls after their move away, as Craig and I were fairly regular in our Red Hot consumptions.
My best to all and thanks for being a great place we could all hang out and enjoy some real food!
God Bless!
This will probably be the least objective and most subjective response you will receive.....I am Christopher's mom. Like all moms, our emotions are closely tied to our children's emotions. I am sharing that roller coaster of feelings with Chris. I know he has mixed feelings, and I hope that with time and perspective, he will remember Christopher Pizza Co. with a smile and a sense of pride.
I remember Chris in college.... obsessed with learning how to make the perfect pizza. He researched and studied and all his friends became his "testers". He managed to perfect the pizza, and after a few years of trying some other occupations, he decided to open a restaurant. Of course, I worried: "How could he accomplish this?" (I am always the voice of worry and concern). He found this crazy little space (it looked like one lane of a bowling alley). He made it work...with Chris' determination, it was going to work! It became a friendly, quirky, cool, wonderful place, where almost everybody knew almost everybody's name (sound familiar?)
Maybe, under different economic times, he could have ridden the "wave of bad times" (kind of like parents of teenagers), but, unfortunately circumstances did not allow that to happen.
Whatever Chris decides to do in the future (there are a world full of children that would benefit from Chris' "daddy day care"), I know he will do it with energy (goodness knows he has lots of that), humor, creativity, exuberance, and, as he always does, with honor and respect for others.
Oh.... This is so sad! My bf & I LOVE Christopher Pizza! We loved sipping Yazoo, while I eat a Fancy Pants & he eats the Meat Eater. PLEASE open an alternate location! This is too original of a place to close!
While my coveted, one of a kind flavor is the Red Hot, I will DEFINITELY 2nd that motion. Let's vote... I vote in favor of Chris finding a new location and continuing a legacy of great pizza and incredibly customer-centric focus!!!
I'm really sad to see this. My husband and I had our rehearsal dinner there the eve of our wedding. It was the first restaurant we ate in when we moved to Nashville. Ugh. Coming back to the city is not going to be the same with Christopher's Pizza. Best wishes to you all!
I am deeply saddened to learn of the closing...what will i do to get my Jamican me Hungry pizza fix...i've been a loyal customer for a few years and i'm going to miss this place...
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