30-year-old pizza chain closes all restaurants except one

• The pizza category has been struggling overall.

• A number of chains has closed locations.

• Rising costs have forced chains to raise prices or shut down.

While pizza remains a popular and affordable option for Americans opting to eat out or get takeout, competition in the space has never been tougher.

Consumers have the option to get cheap pizza from chains like Domino’s, Papa John’s, and Marco’s, which puts pressure on pizzerias that offer a more traditional full-priced experience.

In addition, the overall economy has not helped.

“In the last 5 years, food and labor costs for the average restaurant have each gone up 35%. The other expenses for running a restaurant – the building, supplies, credit card processing fees – are also going up quickly. Restaurant owners generally try to keep menu prices as low as possible – making an average of 3-5% pre-tax margin,” the National Restaurant Association shared.

Pizza Marketplace also shared some data from a recent Restaurant365 study.

“Food cost increases also surpassed expectations, with 91% of respondents reporting a rise, up from the 82% who had expected increases at the start of the year. More than half of those coping with food cost inflation this year are seeing a 1% to 5% increase,” according to the study.

That has led to an unfortunate side effect that could contribute to customers staying away.

“In response to rising food costs, 56% planned to increase menu prices,” the study showed.

It’s a combination of negative operating factors that have led to a number pizza chains closing locations, or even shutting down altogether.

Now, The Rock Wood Fired Pizza has closed all of its restaurants except one.

The Rock Wood Fired Pizza came from founders Don Bellis and Jay Gigandet.

They started the concept after enjoying wood-fired pizza in an establishment in a small New England coastal town. Both felt that Washington could use a wood-fired pizza establishment of its own.

“The duo insisted that their pizzas would be made from scratch, with only the freshest ingredients. While they were hard at work in the kitchen, their favorite Rock n’ Roll classics would accompany their pizza creations,” the chain shared on its website.

Over the past 30 years, the chain grew to seven locations, but six of them are slated to close.

“After 30 amazing years serving our communities, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our Rock restaurants at Renton, Covington, Federal Way, Puyallup, Tacoma, and Lacey,” Bellis shared on the company’s Facebook page.

“This choice did not come easily — each restaurant has been part of countless family dinners, celebrations, and everyday moments shared with friends.”

More Restaurants 

Owner Don Bellis shared the reason for the shutdown with the Kent Reporter.

“With the rising minimum wages, the rising commodity costs, increases in rent, it’s very difficult to survive in business,” he said.

• Domino’s Pizza: Closed nearly 300 stores globally in the first half of 2025, with many closures in international markets.

• Pizza Hut: Its UK dine-in franchise operator entered administration, leading to closure of 68 dine-in restaurants plus 11 delivery hubs.

• Papa Johns: Announced closures of underperforming North American stores.

• MOD Pizza: Among chains scaling back or closing locations in 2025 as part of restructuring.

• Bertucci’s Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta: Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2025 and immediately shuttered six locations.

• Shakey’s Pizza: Closed its Renton, Washington, location in January 2025, leaving only one remaining location in that region.

“In 2024, the pizza segment struggled significantly, with Technomic’s Top 500 Restaurants data showing 61% of pizza chains experienced declining sales. Only one pizza brand — Fort Worth-based pizza buffet chain, Mr. Gatti’s Pizza — managed to achieve double-digit growth. This downturn in pizza sales contrasted sharply with the super-competitive coffee segment, where 88% of chains saw positive sales growth,” Nation’s Restaurant News reported.

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Nov 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Restaurant section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.