Primanti's expanding nationwide (Pittsburgh, Greensburg, North Versailles: buying, to eat, rank)

[TheYO]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

I don't like this idea at all. Primanti's is something that should be exclusive to Pittsburgh. Taking it around the country will make it less unique.

I say why not take it national? Someone already said, and I can attest that bars and restaurants across the country are already making knockoff versions of the sandwiches. Might as well expand the brand and give the rest of the country the original. Plus, it could help build the Pittsburgh brand, and make the Strip location a bigger tourist draw as people want to visit the original location.

[gg]

Originally Posted by East of Eden

Unless Mancini's is part of the expansion it'll be doomed.
Even the suburban satellite stores aren't nearly as good as the one in the strip.

Mancini's went WAY down hill. Don't fall for their hype, believe me. I would rank them about as low as it gets for bread of any kind around here.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by TheYO

Plus, it could help build the Pittsburgh brand

People these days call things a brand which, strictly speaking, aren't a brand. In Pittsburgh's case, it's a city.

The instance that brings this to mind is an article about Jimmy Kimmel's show moving to 11:35 p.m. and Nightline moving to 12:35 a.m. In the article, two of ABC's executives justified moving Kimmel's show because he is a brand. I thought he was an entertainer, one who has a show. Is it a brand, also?

WTF are you all talking about?

[AnneWest]

IMO, even the various Primanti's scattered around Pittsburgh aren't as good as the original Strip location.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by AnneWest

IMO, even the various Primanti's scattered around Pittsburgh aren't as good as the original Strip location.

Good to know. If I ever eat "a Primanti's," I'll do it in the Strip.

[TheYO]

Originally Posted by jay5835

People these days call things a brand which, strictly speaking, aren't a brand. In Pittsburgh's case, it's a city.

The instance that brings this to mind is an article about Jimmy Kimmel's show moving to 11:35 p.m. and Nightline moving to 12:35 a.m. In the article, two of ABC's executives justified moving Kimmel's show because he is a brand. I thought he was an entertainer, one who has a show. Is it a brand, also?

WTF are you all talking about?

Sorry. That's my advertising degree and job coming out. In this day and age everyone and everything is a brand. You and I are our own personal brands. It's basically your identity, how you present that identity and how others perceive it. If you really want to know more, Google "branding yourself". There are countless articles on personal brands.

Jimmy Kimmel is a brand. I'm not particularly familiar with his show, so I can't tell you his brand identity.

Pittsburgh is also a brand. Rich, strong history that has reinvented itself for the 21st Century (there's obviously a lot more to Pittsburgh's brand than that, but I've only been here six months, so I'm still learning about the city).

Primanti's is as synonymous to Pittsburgh as the inclines and the Steelers. That's why, IMO, expanding Primanti's outside the region won't cheapen it or make it seem less unique. Instead, it will bring a little piece of Pittsburgh to other parts of the country. When people visit (and apparently they will as a top travel destination of 2013) they can go to the original Primanti's to see where it started.

The closest thing I can think of comparing it to is Uno's Pizza. They took something uniquely Chicago and brought it to the rest of the country. It hasn't made deep-dish pizza any less synonymous with Chicago. It brings Chicago to the rest of the country. I spent some time in Chicago interning at an agency there, and I can tell you that the original Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due across the street are always packed. And just like people here already say that the original Primanti's in the Strip is the best, those two Unos are the best as well. People still flock to the original to see where it all began.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by AnneWest

IMO, even the various Primanti's scattered around Pittsburgh aren't as good as the original Strip location.

Originally Posted by jay5835

Good to know. If I ever eat "a Primanti's," I'll do it in the Strip.

I went to the Primanti's in Robinson once for a quick bite. It all tasted the same to me.

[sskink]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

The best part of Primanti's sandwiches is the mancini's bread, and I don't see how their West Park facility will be able to handle such a large increase in orders.

Different strokes. When my wife-to-be first took me, a New Englander, to Primanti's in the late 90s, my comment after eating the kielbasa sandwich was, "What the hell was that bread, it was awful."

To me, you could put tofu, rattlesnake, emu or moose on a Primanti's sandwich and because they throw the slaw and fries on top, it'll all taste like slaw and fries anyway. Which I suppose is why adding an egg to any order is an improvement.

I could understand the original intent of giving a truck driver a meal they could eat with one hand. But I never understood the appeal to the general public.

Primanti's will go over HUGE in Tulsa.

[Debbie1125]

Please open one in Philly

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by sskink

But I never understood the appeal to the general public.

I always thought that the appeal was in it being "drunk food." Lots of bread, fries and grease to soak up the alcohol in your stomach before bed. (Plus I always got the double egg and cheese, so it was like an early breakfast.) Other than going there with an out of town friend, I mostly went there in my 20s and 30s after 2:00am.