Thread: Interesting fast food chain in my area

At the very least these people need to know that it is not O.K. to set-up shop just for a particular culture or nation. The name PizzaPatron is the wrong name for this business. The name "Patron" means boss in english.
It can also mean "Standard" I don't think they will achieve this in my book. They are not the boss or the standard. They are far from being any of these. Maybe Pizzapathetic, PizzaPatrol (As in "hide the border patrol is here.) PizzaPuke! I wonder if they will serve ICE cold drinks?

There are many hispanic businesses and also Pro-Illegal coalition with patiotic names and most of them mean just the opposite of what they stand for.

Pizza is an Italian dish. The Mafia won`t like that .

Originally Posted by fedupinwaukegan

]This is not a joke?! They only serve pizza to hispanic communities?! Bring in the ACLU, I feel discrimanted against.

I believe the reason he accepts the peso is because the Pizza Patron is in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood, and a lot of them were returning from spending the holiday in Mexico. And maybe newly crossed ones will have pesos also.

I mentioned this in the Pizza for Pesos thread. When I lived in South Phoenix, one of these places was built. My area was probably 90% Hispanic and probably about 1/2 of that was illegal. But the store was brand new, in a brand new building next to some coffee cafe. Looked nice and I was interested because it was 5 minutes from my house. Before, during and after their grand opening day, the big red banner out front was only in spanish. Everytime they put a sign out front it was only in spanish - I never saw a single english word in front of that store. So, I knew that this place was not for me. I can understand why people are so upset about it, but I guess I am used to it. At least they are upfront and honest about whose money they want. I think it's laughable that they sell a half a pizza - that must be for the pre-anchor baby couples that haven't hit their US jackpot yet.

the whole food industry is getting really gross. i can't go and have some 3rd world individual who can't even spell 'hygiene' let alone practice it cook my food.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_4989602




Eatery offers pizza for pesos
Chain joins Carl's Jr. in accepting currency
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
El Paso Times
Article Launched:01/11/2007 12:00:41 AM MST

Pizza Patrón, a national restaurant chain catering to Hispanics, caused a stir this week by announcing that it would take payment for pizzas in Mexican pesos.
In El Paso, paying in pesos is nothing new, but it's rarer than you'd think.

Downtown, where most shoppers come from Juárez, 70 percent of stores take pesos, according to an estimate by the Central Business Association. Farther inland, Carl's Jr. restaurants around town and as far away as Las Cruces boast "Aceptamos pesos," or "We accept pesos," in bold letters on their marquees.

"A lot of us go to Mexico and come back with pesos we can't get rid of," said Carlos Peralta, Carl's Jr. co-owner. Peralta changed his currency policy a year ago after he calculated that he was losing about 5 percent of sales by not taking pesos. The increase in sales was immediate, he said.

Peralta was a little ticked that Pizza Patrón is getting all the attention.

"And we have more locations in El Paso than they do," he said.

But the other fast-food chains and stores at the malls don't take pesos. And contrary to popular belief, Wal-Mart doesn't take pesos anywhere in the United States, not even on the border, a company spokes man said.

Pizza Patrón is probably the first chain with restaurants so far from the border in Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado to offer the option to pay in pesos, business experts said.

"Our customers travel between the United States and Mexico and sometimes have extra pesos in their pockets or in a drawer at home that they can't use. We want them to take those pesos out of those drawers and exchange them for pizzas," said Andy Gamm, director of brand development for Pizza Patrón in Dallas.

Gamm said the chain took in a few hundred pesos on the first day of the program, without any advance advertising.

The Hanks High School students who patronized the restaurant at 2000 Lee Treviño on Wednesday did not have pesos in their pockets and barely noticed the new peso sign on the counter, but they were all for the idea.

"If that's what they have (pesos), then it's good that they can pay with them," said Hanks senior Bo Wilson.

A block away, Carl's Jr. flashed an electronic sign, "Aceptamos pesos."

Pizza Patrón's peso program will last until the end of February but might be extended if it is deemed a success.

In the program's first few days, Pizza Patrón has already accomplished one goal: It created a buzz among consumers, and other restaurateurs noticed.

"We are now talking about it. It could be the beginning of a trend," said Leo Duran, owner of L&J Cafe and president of the El Paso Restaurant Association.

"They're probably gaining a big competitive advantage, even if it's purely symbolic. Most people have dollars anyway," said Mike Norwich, president of eight Jack in the Box restaurants in El Paso.

A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' El Paso branch estimated that 11.3 percent of retail sales can be attributed to Mexican shoppers.

Another study, by the Center for Border Economic Studies at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, found that 85 percent of border crossers are shoppers and that those who cross into Texas spend 10 percent of their trip's budget on dining. That's $15 from the average expenditure per person per trip.

But many restaurateurs are still burned by the memory of the 1990s peso devaluation, even though the peso is now stable.

"When I was working at McDonald's, we were taking pesos but there was the big peso devaluation and I was taken for quite a bit of money. I'm still just nervous," said Alan Simpson, president of the Silver Streak hamburger chain.

Even in Downtown El Paso, store owners are not unanimous when it comes to pesos.

Sun Young Pak, owner of S&S Gifts on Mesa Street, takes only dollars.

"I don't take pesos because I'm very small. It's just me. If I had an employee that lived in Mexico, then I could give her the pesos, but I don't," she said.

Ana Garcia, owner of El Viajero Sunglasses on San Antonio Street, takes pesos.

"It's money anyway. I feel it takes 10 minutes to go to the bank and change it. It's worth it," she said.

About 10 percent of her customers pay in pesos, and many use her business as a money exchange since she gives change in dollars. For instance, they'll hand her a 200-peso bill, or about $18, for a $4.32 pair of sunglasses. Garcia said that if the exchange rate is 11.10 pesos for a dollar, she'll charge 11.50 pesos for a dollar at her store.

Pizza Patrón and Carl's Jr. fixed their exchange rates at 12 pesos to the dollar.

Pizza Patrón officials said that rate will cover the exchange fees from the bank and insure against a possible devaluation. The company will accept only peso bills, not coins. Officials offered to help franchisees change the pesos in bulk if their banks don't want to change small amounts.

Jud Phillips, the Dallas owner of the six Pizza Patrón franchises in El Paso, said that he'd have to eat some costs with the peso plan that but customers had been asking for it. "They see a benefit to it," he said.

At L & J Cafe, owner Duran was wondering about the same thing.

"I don't think we have the customer base. I may be wrong. We never had anybody ask to pay in pesos," he said. "Well, we did, but they were just kidding."

Or were they?

Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com; 546-6131.






Pizza Patrón

Founder: Antonio Swad.

Founded: 1986.

Headquarters: Dallas.

Started franchising: March 2003.

First dine-in location: May 2005.

Locations: 59 in Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, and more than 40 under development.

Privately held: Yes.

Sales: Third-quarter sales for 2006 increased about 24 percent over sales the same period a year earlier, the company said.

Information: www.pizzapatron.com.




Pesos for Pizza

Then I would expect that in order to be fair, they need to start accepting the Canadian dollarscas well, in fact, it is worth a lot more in comparrison to the pesos, they'd be doing themselves a favor.

I do know of places in Washington state that are ok with taking in Canadian currency, mainly the coins, due to their proximity with the Canadian border, but also it is because our two economies are much closer in value.

My issue with this company is their blatant racial statement about who they cater to in the communities.

Pizza Patron criticized for accepting pesos
1/11/2007 4:49 PM
By: Associated Press

DALLAS -- A Dallas-based pizza chain has been hit with death threats and hate mail after offering to accept Mexican pesos.

Pizza Patron says it wasn't trying to inject itself into a larger political debate about illegal immigration.

The company this week posted signs in Spanish saying pesos would be accepted at its 59 stores in Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California. Pizza Patron spokesman Andy Gamm says the company is just trying to sell more pizza to its customers, 60 percent of whom are Hispanic.
Wal-Mart, H-E-B supermarkets and some other U-S businesses in towns along the Mexican border accept pesos.

Many of the Pizza Patron sites are far from the border, in places like Dallas - more than 400 miles away - and Denver, more than 700 miles.

The company has received hundreds of e-mails, some supportive, but most are critic.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your ... rID=177640

Bravo, I thought I would never find peolple that agreed with me, Thank God I found you all :P I am not a hateful person and have never been Racist but it is hard to stay open minded when we are getting soooooo pushed to the side and basically not cared for. As other have said just think if we had WET(White Entertainment Television, or Whites only Collages ???? It would not happen ! I am just ready for alll the supporters to tell us Why all this is right for some Races to do and not others. What happened to ALL people being equal????

Originally Posted by PatrioticSandra

Bravo, I thought I would never find peolple that agreed with me, Thank God I found you all :P I am not a hateful person and have never been Racist but it is hard to stay open minded when we are getting soooooo pushed to the side and basically not cared for. As other have said just think if we had WET(White Entertainment Television, or Whites only Collages ???? It would not happen ! I am just ready for alll the supporters to tell us Why all this is right for some Races to do and not others. What happened to ALL people being equal????

There are millions like you PatrioticSandra!

It's just that we've been so indoctrinated with white guilt that many American citizens are afraid to speak up. But that's changing, our ranks are growing with people that are being pushed beyond their limit. All we need now is another million illegals in the street demanding their rights and we can get a few million more patriots on-board. The illegal protests do wonders four our cause.

I like this place too, lots of good people on this board. It's hard to come up with something original to post as there are many active writers here but if nothing else a little venting will sometimes do wonders.