Soxy Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Thoughts? Texas-based pizza chain accepts pesos, takes heat Far from the border, Mexican dough a no-go for immigration foes By Jeff Carlton Associated Press Published January 12, 2007 DALLAS -- A pizza chain has been hit with death threats and hate mail after offering to accept Mexican pesos, becoming another flash point in the nation's debate over immigrants. "This is the United States of America, not the United States of Mexico," one e-mail read. "Quit catering to the ... illegal Mexicans," another said. Dallas-based Pizza Patron said it was not trying to inject itself into a larger political debate about illegal immigration when it posted signs this week saying "Aceptamos pesos"--or "We accept pesos"--at its 59 stores across Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California. Pizza Patron spokesman Andy Gamm said the company was just trying to sell more pizza to its customers, 60 percent of whom are Hispanic. Wal-Mart, H-E-B supermarkets and other American businesses in towns along the Mexican border accept pesos. Some businesses in New York and Minnesota along the northern border accept Canadian dollars. The difference here is that many of the pizza joints are far from the border, in places like Dallas, more than 400 miles away, and Denver, more than 700 miles away. "If people would understand that the majority of our customers are Hispanic, then it might make more sense for a company to sell pizza for pesos," Gamm said. "It doesn't make sense in Connecticut. And it doesn't make sense in North Dakota or in Maine. But it makes perfect sense here in Dallas, in Phoenix, in Denver--areas far from the border that have significant Hispanic populations." The company said it has received hundreds of e-mails, some supportive, most critical. While praising the pesos plan as an innovative way to appeal to Hispanics, a partner in the nation's largest Hispanic public-relations firm said a backlash was inevitable. "Right now there's a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric going around that could make them a lightning rod," said Patricia Perez, a partner at Valencia, Perez & Echeveste in Los Angeles. Pizza Patron proclaims on its Web site that "to serve the Hispanic community is our passion." Its restaurants are in mostly Hispanic neighborhoods, and each manager must be bilingual and live nearby, said Pizza Patron founder Antonio Swad, who is part-Italian, part-Lebanese. Many Pizza Patron customers have pesos "sitting in their sock drawers or in their wallets," Gamm said. "We're talking small amounts, where it would be inconvenient to stop and exchange on the way back--maybe 10 or 20 dollars' worth of pesos." The promotion will run through February and then be re-evaluated, Swad said. In the first week, payments in pesos have accounted for about 10 percent of business at the five restaurants operated by the corporation, Pizza Patron said. At a Pizza Patron in Dallas, Veronica Vargas bought a pizza Wednesday for her son Nathan's fourth birthday. She paid with pesos her father brought home two weeks ago after a trip to see family in Mexico. She said she is an occasional Pizza Patron customer, but came that day because she could pay with pesos. Her father wasn't going to use them because he had no plans to go back to Mexico soon. "I would mostly think a restaurant would do this in a border town," she said. "But it got me over here." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanOfCorn Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Soxy @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 09:45 AM) Thoughts? Texas-based pizza chain accepts pesos, takes heat Far from the border, Mexican dough a no-go for immigration foes By Jeff Carlton Associated Press Published January 12, 2007 DALLAS -- A pizza chain has been hit with death threats and hate mail after offering to accept Mexican pesos, becoming another flash point in the nation's debate over immigrants. "This is the United States of America, not the United States of Mexico," one e-mail read. "Quit catering to the ... illegal Mexicans," another said. Dallas-based Pizza Patron said it was not trying to inject itself into a larger political debate about illegal immigration when it posted signs this week saying "Aceptamos pesos"--or "We accept pesos"--at its 59 stores across Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California. Pizza Patron spokesman Andy Gamm said the company was just trying to sell more pizza to its customers, 60 percent of whom are Hispanic. Wal-Mart, H-E-B supermarkets and other American businesses in towns along the Mexican border accept pesos. Some businesses in New York and Minnesota along the northern border accept Canadian dollars. The difference here is that many of the pizza joints are far from the border, in places like Dallas, more than 400 miles away, and Denver, more than 700 miles away. "If people would understand that the majority of our customers are Hispanic, then it might make more sense for a company to sell pizza for pesos," Gamm said. "It doesn't make sense in Connecticut. And it doesn't make sense in North Dakota or in Maine. But it makes perfect sense here in Dallas, in Phoenix, in Denver--areas far from the border that have significant Hispanic populations." The company said it has received hundreds of e-mails, some supportive, most critical. While praising the pesos plan as an innovative way to appeal to Hispanics, a partner in the nation's largest Hispanic public-relations firm said a backlash was inevitable. "Right now there's a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric going around that could make them a lightning rod," said Patricia Perez, a partner at Valencia, Perez & Echeveste in Los Angeles. Pizza Patron proclaims on its Web site that "to serve the Hispanic community is our passion." Its restaurants are in mostly Hispanic neighborhoods, and each manager must be bilingual and live nearby, said Pizza Patron founder Antonio Swad, who is part-Italian, part-Lebanese. Many Pizza Patron customers have pesos "sitting in their sock drawers or in their wallets," Gamm said. "We're talking small amounts, where it would be inconvenient to stop and exchange on the way back--maybe 10 or 20 dollars' worth of pesos." The promotion will run through February and then be re-evaluated, Swad said. In the first week, payments in pesos have accounted for about 10 percent of business at the five restaurants operated by the corporation, Pizza Patron said. At a Pizza Patron in Dallas, Veronica Vargas bought a pizza Wednesday for her son Nathan's fourth birthday. She paid with pesos her father brought home two weeks ago after a trip to see family in Mexico. She said she is an occasional Pizza Patron customer, but came that day because she could pay with pesos. Her father wasn't going to use them because he had no plans to go back to Mexico soon. "I would mostly think a restaurant would do this in a border town," she said. "But it got me over here." FINALLY!!! A way to get rid of extra pesos when I come back from Mexico!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Its a brilliant business plan, as long as they don't get beaten up too badly in the currency risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Seems more like a marketing ploy than anything else. FWIW, you can pay with dollars at any McDonalds or Burger King in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 02:44 PM) Seems more like a marketing ploy than anything else. FWIW, you can pay with dollars at any McDonalds or Burger King in Europe. That's exactly what it is. Now everyone is talking about this place. This was all free advertising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 It's dang good pizza as well. Large one topping pizza for 4.99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 03:12 PM) It's dang good pizza as well. Large one topping pizza for 4.99. Nothing can be "good" for that cheap. Not the sauce, not the mozz, not the toppings. Edited January 12, 2007 by Controlled Chaos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 01:13 PM) Nothing can be "good" for that cheap. Not the sauce, not the mozz, not the toppings. Immigrant Labor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 03:14 PM) Immigrant Labor. It all comes so clear. Customers pay pesos, store pays cash to employees in pesos, who bring pesos back to Mexico. No more need for the cost of currency conversion. This pizza joint has an idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I have no problem with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 03:14 PM) Immigrant Labor. You don't think this will piss off INS. Trust me, they are the biggest idiots in the world if they have illegals working for them right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 13, 2007 -> 11:25 AM) You don't think this will piss off INS. Trust me, they are the biggest idiots in the world if they have illegals working for them right now. They don't have to be working directly for the pizza place to have an effect on the price of the pizza. How about the people picking the tomatoes, making the cheese, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 The latest telephone poll taken by the office of the Governor of Texas asked whether people who live in Texas think illegal immigration is a serious problem: 1) 35% of respondents answered: "Yes, it is a serious problem." 2 65% of respondents answered: "No es una problema serio." Funny how every freakin business in Mexico, except Pemex (gasoline), accepts US dollars and we think that is normal or fine. McAllen's economy recieves hundreds of millions of dollars in sales from Mexican Nationals. South Padre Island lives off Mexico tourists. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars attracting these tourists. I'm LOL at how ignorant some people are about international commerce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 14, 2007 -> 08:49 PM) Funny how every freakin business in Mexico, except Pemex (gasoline), accepts US dollars and we think that is normal or fine. McAllen's economy recieves hundreds of millions of dollars in sales from Mexican Nationals. South Padre Island lives off Mexico tourists. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars attracting these tourists. I'm LOL at how ignorant some people are about international commerce. Well there is one big difference there... The dollar is the world's currency. The Peso is barely accepted where it is minted. The only other currency that even sort of comes close is the Euro, and that is still a long way away from dollar status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 15, 2007 -> 10:51 AM) Well there is one big difference there... The dollar is the world's currency. The Peso is barely accepted where it is minted. The only other currency that even sort of comes close is the Euro, and that is still a long way away from dollar status. We process pesos so easily here. Walk into any bank, WalMart, "mom and pop" store and the will accept without hesitation. No problem. When I was working across the border I always had stray pesos in my pocket and it was never a problem using them. Why some people would assume that the only people carrying around pesos are illegals has me lmao. We spend a bunch on advertising in Mexico to get their vacation and shopping business and some people complain when a store takes the extra step and accepts their currency instead of sending them to a cambio to exhange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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