By Gabby Carlson | Echo
TOPPIT Pizza, officially closed its doors in June 2017. The third owners of the pizza parlor, John and Cyndi Inman, released an official statement on the TOPPIT website stating their reasoning for closure.
The Inmans have owned the business for six years, and previous to August 2016, their sales margins have steadily increased. However, August 2016 did not bring the usual sales flux that comes with two thousand students arriving in town. In fact, the decrease continued as the year progressed, according to the statement.
John and Cyndi did not know what was causing this until they made their way onto campus one day and toured the new LaRita Boren Campus Center.
"We visited the new Campus Center (in January of 2017) that was, coincidentally, introduced to students in August 2016 (the same month our numbers began to free-fall) and we noticed that they had opened a pizza shop on campus. After this visit we realized what was most likely happening and the puzzle began to take shape," John Inman wrote.
The Inmans do not blame Taylor University for their decline; they only saw it as a business matter. And since Emma and Charlie's can be paid for with Dining Dollars, the business move was hard to compete with.
TOPPIT has been a part of first the Upland community, and more recently the Gas City community, located at 6696 Amy Way Drive, Gas City, IN 46933, since 1989. The Inmans were the third owners of the business after purchasing it and were planning to sell it before reaching the ultimate decision to close their doors permanently. The decision to close after six years of ownership came with the determination that their profit margins have doubled since they purchased the business and would only deplete if they continued.
A new pizza restaurant is coming to town later this fall, according to special assistant to the president, Ron Sutherland. Greek's Pizzeria started in 1969 with Athanasios Chris Karamesines. The pizzeria serves several locations, including one in Muncie near Ball State University. They will be neighboring Joe on the Go when they open the doors to their Upland location.
For more information on the business closing, visit the TOPPIT website or the TOPPIT Facebook page to read the full explanation.
