InterGame discovers the perfect recipe for a successful pizza/play franchise in the US comes in the form of America's Incredible Pizza and that coin-op is a major ingredient

IN the six years since the husband-wife business team launched its first, flagship store in the US town of Springfield, Missouri, America’s Incredible Pizza franchise has grown and grown. With 15 US locations, one in Mexico and a further three US sites set to open, the brand will house 19 separate outlets by the turn of the year, with another 80 franchise locations already sold.

The Incredible Pizza name is founded on large sprawling buildings that not only house the food that the company was originally built on but also offer a wide range of family-based activities. Go-karting, mini-golf and bowling bumper cars join over 100 slot-machine games as the key features to a complete entertainment experience, under one roof, and saw their Memphis location receive IAAPA’s 2008 Family Entertainment Centre award.

The company is currently defying industry trends, making over US$80m in revenue last year and posting "one of the most profitable quarters in recent memory." It is a testament to the growing trend to utilise different forms of entertainment in one space. According to founder and CEO Richard Barsness, it is the company’s ability to adapt to the situation that has been the root of its success.

"Of course, the obvious answer is the ‘e’ word but you can’t chalk up the economy as an excuse for failing to meet your objectives," he said. "We choose to focus on what we can control rather then fret over what we can’t. This attitude has enabled us to find additional places we can trim expenses without endangering the customer experience."

The success of Incredible Pizza has only served to stress the role that coin-op machines can play in all areas of the entertainment industry, helping to create an atmosphere that supports the ideas that formed the foundations of the business model.

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The company has also been quick to react to changes that have occurred within the coin-op industry: "We see more focus on redemption games than video games now. We’ve been out front with the redemption games, so we haven’t had challenges with converting from coin-op," added Barsness. "Redemption games offer instant gratification. Games that mimic things in society, like the Deal or No Deal games, are hugely popular - consumers like to feel like they are actually on the game show. The new attractions like the Dance Heads have also been a huge hit."

Such is the importance of coin-op amusement games to the success of the America Incredible Pizza concept that the operator has formed strong relationships with some of the major manufacturers in the US, including Bob’s Space Racers, Bay Tek Games, Sega Amusements, Dance Heads, Triotech, Brady Distributors and Skeeball to name just a few.

Bob’s Space Racers currently supplies numerous games to the pizza group including its six-player Water Blast 2 game, Whac-A-Mole, Dog Pounder, Comet Catcher and its newest redemption game Bongo Beat.

"Bongo Beat was originally introduced as a group game for amusement parks," said Jack Cook, president of Bob’s Space Racers. "When Incredible Pizza learned of the coin-op version it wanted to be first on the list to be a test site - it is all about being fresh for the customer and offering a variety that they can’t find in other venues. The coin-op Bongo Beat has proven to be a great extension of the park game.

"Incredible Pizza is an innovative company striving to provide quality food and entertainment to its guests," continued Cook. "Therefore it naturally took to expanding the game play experience for its guests. The FEC water race has been very successful in separating Incredible Pizza from the other pizza fun centres in the US.

"The combination of food and play has become a successful formula. Not everyone succeeds - we believe that quality food products are critical and Incredible Pizza has not forgotten it is a restaurant first," said Cook, "therefore it strives to provide taste and value in its menu. When it comes to entertainment we are happy to be part of the Incredible Pizza formula by providing games that people like to play."

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Further evidence that the food/game combo is a great way to get customers through the doors is in the success of Bay Tek’s Big Bass Wheel redemption game. According to the company’s Holly Meidl, the game is performing so well that Incredible Pizza has doubled up in some locations.

"Locations such as Incredible Pizza offer the complete family entertainment package," said Meidl. "There is food and fun for the whole family. It is a clean, comfortable and safe environment allowing hours of family interaction to take place.

"The food/play combo works great. What do we do when we get together with family and friends? We eat…why not go out somewhere together and have unique entertainment value combined with great food to maximise time spent together? Redemption games offer fun for the whole family as they offer value on different levels to offer a little bit of something for everyone."

The Incredible Pizza Company’s growing success and the support it gets from key manufacturers is a sure sign of the role that combining food with coin-op entertainment can play in creating the recipe for business success.