Pizza dreams getting smeared with grease

The shadier side of the franchise industry is getting some glare this week, as the man behind the 3 For 1 Pizza & Wings chain, Reza Solhi, had what a judge called his “deliberately dishonest” dealings – practices compared in one ruling to piracy on the high seas – detailed on page A1 of the Toronto Star. This disgraced fast food mogul has been subject to a string of lawsuits from newcomers to Canada who threw large sums of money toward hopes of profitably satiating the appetite for getting three pies delivered to one’s door at once, undercutting the two-for-one pizza trend of the late-’80s. Those kind of freakonomics don’t extend to the courtroom, however, and Solhi is currently on the hook for nearly all of the $1.2 million he’s been ordered to pay back disgruntled franchisees – although, given how Ontario law is more sympathetic to franchisors, he’s hoping for his own payday from other cases. What’s made these tales of bullying, misrepresentations and fraud even more confusing is that 3 For 1 Pizza has all but ceased to exist – fewer customers presumably seduced by the idea of inhaling the vastest possible quantity of carbohydrates – and the infamous founder’s interest was funnelled into a new chain called Pizza One. But the promise of thin crust, pesto sauce and sun dried tomato toppings – along with a head office decorated with Persian carpets, leather furniture and dark oak trim – haven’t helped Pizza One get far off the ground, compared to the 90 stores once boasted by 3 For 1. A big newspaper article connecting the chain to the shattered hopes of immigrant entrepreneurs won’t help, although the 3 For 1 legacy now extends to a new concept called Anthony’s Kitchen – a more ambitious “food theme park” similar to the Richtree Market idea – in addition to seeking investors for wood-burning ovens at the obvious Pizza One spin-off, Anthony’s Pizza Uno. (The Star story mentions how, while Reza Solhi isn’t listed as the owner of these post-3 For 1 ventures, he admits to calling himself “Anthony”.) Based on current adverts in the publication Business Exchange, however, opportunities to funnel your life savings into a reliable fast food trademark in the big smoke are becoming fewer and farther between. The next big things would appear to be debit card terminals, inkjet cartridge refill stations, and high-margin vending machines where a handful of gourmet candy costs a buck.

Caught in a franchise fiasco [Toronto Star]