This article was previously published on EloraFergusToday.
MOUNT FOREST — There's no shortage of pizza in Mount Forest.
All located within a 950-metre stretch of Main Street, the town of 5,040 is currently home to five pizza shops: Tito's Pizza, Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut, Mount Forest Pizza and Scott's Pizza Burger.
The town's sixth pizza shop, a Pizza Pizza on Main Street, recently announced it would be opening its doors on Nov. 4 and its seventh, a Prime Pizza, also set up shop on Main Street in the spring, although it hasn't announced an opening date.
Pizza shops' attraction to Mount Forest is an age-old question for residents, who aren't sure why they keep choosing their town but don't deny they've noticed a trend.
"I honestly have no idea why we have so many," said resident Lyndsay Smith. "It's ridiculous considering it's a small town and all the pizza places we have, I think there's too many."
"Obviously there's a business for them because they keep coming," said Darlene Rheubottom. "When I heard that Pizza Pizza was coming I was like 'Oh my gosh.' But clearly, people are buying pizza ... I guess there's a lot of pizza eaters in Mount Forest."
"This place is just filled with them," said Scott Holmes. "Honestly I think it's just because pizza's popular."
Scott Young, the owner of the town's oldest pizza shop, Scott's Pizza Burger, said he believes there are so many because "it's pretty simple" to have a small pizza menu and the shops don't require a lot of staff.
"We're a little more extensive with our menu but if you find a little spot that's easy to pop up a pizza place, it doesn't take too much," said Young.
Born and raised in Mount Forest, Young said there were only three places in town when the store opened in 2004. The other two eventually closed.
The shop uses recipes from Young's partner's family, who owned Olympic Pizza, the first pizza shop in Mount Forest formerly located at 103 Main St. N.
"I just don't know why they think pizza is the easy thing to do when you're kinda' taking some of your own business away by opening where there's so many," said Young. "The market has shrunk."
According to Bruce McAdams, an associate professor of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph's School of Business, pizza franchises typically have lower start-up costs, "very low" franchise fees and "minimal" square footage needed compared to other quick service restaurants.
Pizza shops can "easily" open without a franchise as pizza has "less brand loyalty" than burgers- not to mention they require less equipment and storage space because the menu is "limited and simple," said McAdams.
Labour costs are also low as there is "no skill level involved" and food costs usually run around 20 to 25 per cent as ingredient costs are lower.
"This is why we often say you are 'buying a job' as you can operate (the store) yourself or as a family business," said McAdams.
Despite his close competition, Young said there's still plenty of pizza to go around and he hasn't felt any effects, although several other pizza shops have opened and closed over the years.
"I just hope everybody can do well in town with this many places," said Young.
When asked what they'd like to see instead of pizza, several residents said they would love to see another sit-down restaurant, like a Swiss Chalet, come to town.
Some suggested more ethnic food spots and others looked outside the food industry, requesting a Giant Tiger.
"I'd like to see some more variety like a burrito place," said Smith. "Not necessarily a McDonald's or anything, but a little more variety than just pizza."
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
