Well… after I just announced on the news that Lou Malnati’s has been my favorite Deep Dish, not even a week later, there has been an announcement that Lou Malnati’s has been sold to a private investment firm.
They were sold to a Firm called “Meritage Group” and prior to the sale the Malnati chain was said to have been worth about 500 million.
According to reports, Malnati’s are going to hold a stake in the business, but I’m not too certain what this means for the future of the Lou Malnati chain. Since the business was sold, it’s unlikely the Malnati family will hold a controlling stake. This means the Investment Firm will have all the power to call the shots and lets be real, it’s unlikely they’ll value the integrity of the chain as much as the Malnati’s did.
As it stands, I personally believe Lou Malnati’s is the least chain-like pizzeria out here. However, as we all know, Ingredients can easily make or break a pizza. Look at Rosati’s for example. You can try one on one side of town and it’ll taste fantastic, then try another a few miles down and it’ll taste of much lower quality and almost like a completely different pizza. This is a common problem many local chains suffer from.
Now, considering this is a firm who’s primary language is likely dollar signs, I’m assuming someone is eventually going to go “you know what.. I think we can switch sausage suppliers. Oh, it looks like we can cut some costs on cheese too. I don’t think they’ll notice the difference”… and just like that, The greatness of Lou Malnati’s is a thing of the past.
While I am hopeful everything will remain the same, realistically I can’t say I believe that’ll happen.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you think the future looks like for Lou Malnati’s after this news!
UPDATE: Word got around after the articles appeared online and the Malnati’s have now confirmed there was no major sale and they are still the majority owners. Our deep dish pizza is safe for now!
