Pizza chain CEO slashes prices after admitting menu is 'too expensive'

When customers complained to a pizza chain that it was too expensive, you'd think the boss would fight back. But Mike Burns, CEO of &pizza, agreed, and yesterday he slashed prices and simplified the menu to win back diners. The chain, known for its oblong pies and bold branding, has dropped the price of its pizzas with unlimited toppings from to a flat $12.

That’s a drop from the previous $12.99 for specialty pies, plus $1.50 for each topping — or $13.99 for a build-your-own option that only included a few free toppings before extra charges kicked in. 'The restaurant industry has been nickeling and diming customers for years - including us,' Burns told DailyMail.com. 'We are stopping that. This is a permanent pricing strategy.'

'Previously one of our pies that was listed at $12.99 is significantly more expensive once you add additional toppings at $1.50 each. So in reality a $12.99 American Honey with, say mushrooms, was $14.49.' Knots, drinks, and cookies also got cheaper. Besides lowering prices, &pizza, which has stores in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, announced its plans to begin franchising in March.

Customers who walk into a store may notice its knots side option costing $6. Before the changes, the chain's knots were offered at various prices typically ranging between $5.99 and $6.49. 'Our knot pricing was also all over the place and I couldn't tell you a good reason why — so now they are all $6,' Burns told DailyMail.com. Their cookies are now available to purchase for $1, a 50 percent decrease from its original price.

'We were selling them for $3.49, and 'selling' was a loose term, because nobody's buying a cookie for $3.49,' the CEO revealed. The company opted to expand its price decreases for both beverages and food. While keeping the $3.49 Coca-Cola price tag, &pizza decided to bring other canned sodas down to $2. Besides price dips, &pizza introduced a $7 half cheese pie and a drink combo meal, designed to increase foot traffic. Founded in 2012, &pizza aims to have 300 units by 2030.

Its popularity in the East has inspired the chain to look into franchising locations in the DMV and Mid-Atlantic regions. 'The ampersand stands for unity and bringing communities together, and we feel like in order to do that, the owner of those restaurants has to live in those communities,' Burns told QSR . 'So if we're going to develop in El Paso, Texas, or Tallahassee, Florida, or Charlotte, North Carolina, the person should live in that market because they know the people, they know the area.' Burns credited the chain's franchising process as one of the reasons why they explored the possibility of price drops.

'We've had dozens of discovery days with potential franchisees, and across each a common question has been 'can we reduce pricing?' Or 'your pricing structure is too high.' So we listened,' Burns explained. There are no plans to open restaurants on the West Coast anytime soon, but the process itself has been moving faster than expected. 'It just shows that there's passion for the brand. We feel we're different than normal fast-casual pizza, but we hope that the people out there see that potential to grow their personal wealth,' the CEO added. &pizza's cost decrease comes after restaurant chains hiked prices for reasons such as inflation and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

The financial strains have also taken a toll on business owners, including a Pizza Hut franchisee who put 127 restaurants up for sale last year . A &pizza competitor, Pizza Hut has suffered financial hits over the years and its same store sales shrank by 2 percent in the first three months of 2025. Several fast casual restaurants who weren't at risk of closures were found to have significantly raised prices over the last 5 years. Experts discovered that Waffle House increased prices by 96 percent . Its competition has also been financially strong, including CAVA, a Mediterranean 'Chipotle' set to open between 62 and 66 US locations this year.