06/08/2026
About 16 months ago, we were blessed with the opportunity to fulfill another lifelong dream of the owners, Karon and Jon, of opening our own second Cucinellas. We jumped at the chance and dove headfirst into our new mission, carefully cloning the successful model we had built at Cucinella's in Madison. Within just a few short weeks, we brought our best recipes, products, operating procedures, and customer service standards that Madison loved to Perry.
Initial sales were slow, but we remained optimistic and believed that building a loyal customer base would simply take time.
We launched an extensive advertising campaign, giving away hundreds of pizzas and thousands of garlic and cinnamon knots, distributing menus throughout the community, and donating thousands of dollars to local schools, sports teams, and community events. Our goal was to make a positive impact and show that we were committed to being a long-term part of Taylor County. Our staff and management team were excited, motivated, and eager to serve this community.
Over the following months, however, our focus shifted from growth to constant staffing challenges. We would hire and train new team members for weeks, only to lose another and begin the process all over again. What started as a mission centered on serving great food and creating great experiences became a continuous effort to recruit, train, and retain staff while trying to maintain morale and prepare for the sales growth we hoped was just around the corner.
As the one-year mark passed, we found ourselves facing a difficult reality. Despite earning hundreds of 5-star reviews and hearing daily from customers that they would return, sales never grew. In fact, they steadily declined month after month. When comparing our first quarter of Year One to our first quarter of Year Two, the trend remained the same.
We believe many factors contributed to these challenges. Taylor County has faced significant economic hardships over the past several years, including major industry closures, hurricane-related damage, rising costs for families and businesses, and broader economic uncertainty. While the community has been incredibly welcoming and supportive, the customer volume simply never reached the level needed to sustain long-term profitability.
This realization has been one of the most difficult lessons we have faced as business owners. We gave this restaurant everything we had, invested countless hours, substantial resources, and a tremendous amount of heart into making it successful. Unfortunately, despite those efforts, the numbers never aligned with the vision we had for this location.
Our final hope was the announcement of a new factory coming to Perry that promised to bring 150 to 200 new jobs to the area. We believed that growth could provide the boost our business needed to finally gain momentum. Unfortunately, the most recent reports indicate that the project could still be nearly two years away from completion.
The reality is that we simply cannot continue operating that long while sustaining the losses we have experienced over the past 15 months. Every month we hoped things would improve. Every month we adjusted, adapted, and pushed forward believing that tomorrow would be better than today. Eventually, however, every business owner must face the numbers and make difficult decisions.
Because of that, we chose to quietly close this chapter rather than launch a large "going out of business" campaign or flood social media with announcements. We know there will always be suggestions about what we could have done differently or ideas that might have worked. While those comments are often well-intentioned, we simply do not have the heart or energy left to revisit every decision after giving this effort everything we had.
Instead, we would rather remember the friendships we made, the customers who supported us, the fantastic employees who worked alongside us, and the opportunity we were given to serve this community. While this chapter did not end the way we had hoped, we are grateful for everyone who was part of the journey.
We hope you will continue to visit and support our Madison location. Our commitment to serving great food and providing exceptional customer service remains as strong as ever, and we will continue working hard every day to earn your business. This setback will not define us. We are thankful for the opportunity we had, and proud of the effort we gave!
Thank you all! -Signed “Karon, Jon, Renee and our Perry Cucinella's Team”
