Last local Panago franchises to shutter

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This article was published 09/08/2018 (2594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been a slice, Panago Pizza.

At one point, there was a handful of franchises in Winnipeg — part of the leading pizza chain in Western Canada — but that number has dwindled. Last month, the restaurant on Portage Avenue near Young Street closed. And now, the only two locations left — one in St. Vital and one in Rivergrove — are closing Aug. 27.

The owners of the chain’s two remaining franchises in Winnipeg confirmed to the Free Press Tuesday their locations are closing at the end of the month.

Cheng Tang, who owns the store at 1504 St. Mary’s Rd., said an employee from Panago’s head office came by his store in April and told him — without prior notice — he had 90 days to close up shop. The timeline was extended to allow him to operate until the end of summer, he said.

The corporate headquarters declined a request for comment.

The other franchise owner also declined to comment, for fear of reprisal from the corporate office.

“I was just so shocked. I really didn’t know what to do at the beginning. I didn’t want to sell the store or close the store,” Tang said.

However, he said those were the only options he was given — even after he offered to renovate his store on his own dime.

Tang took over ownership of the St. Vital franchise five years ago, after years of working at an independent Chinese restaurant and chain restaurants such as Subway and Cultures. There were five Panago locations in Winnipeg when Tang first took over the business.

“Our sales were not enough,” he said, adding that every year, he was told the sales made at Winnipeg franchises didn’t meet the national average.

Tang said the St. Vital pizza joint received between 30 to 40 orders every day, Monday through Wednesday. The daily count increased about three times Thursday through Saturday, reaching as high as 90 orders per day, he said.

“Hockey nights, hockey games, we have lots of orders, but in the summertime, it’s not as busy. I don’t have school orders or business orders as much,” he said.

The head office said the reason behind shuttering operations in Winnipeg is their desire to expand in Toronto, Tang said, adding that he’s heard some stores in the Ontario capital receive 100 orders every day.

The leading pizza chain in Western Canada has opened multiple restaurants in Toronto over the past few years. Today, there are 18 stores in the GTA and dozens of others spread across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland.

Since Tang didn’t want to leave his shop, he said he plans to open an independent pizza store in the former south Winnipeg Panago location the day after he closes the franchise. Panago signs and logos will be peeled off and replaced with new ones advertising Pizza Gong — Tang’s independent Asian-style pizza restaurant — on Aug. 28, he said.

Another independent pizza shop will replace the other Panago at 2595 Main St., too.

Tang moved to Winnipeg from China as an international student in 2002; he stuck around after completing his business degree at the University of Manitoba. While he said his new restaurant will continue to serve classic pizzas and vegan options, he also wants to incorporate Chinese flavours into his food.

“I will make pizza the traditional, western way, but I will switch the toppings,” he said.

One of the menu items will be the Classic Gong: a pizza made with spicy ranch sauce, rice noodles, red peppers, hot Chinese peppers, green onions and mozzarella cheese.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @macintoshmaggie