Christina Martin, owner and operator of Manizza’s Pizza Parlor in Las Vegas, got a call from a customer Saturday evening. The customer was asking questions about some of Manizza’s menu items—it should’ve been a routine call. One problem: the items in question were not part of Manizza’s menu at all. Confused, Martin asked where the caller had seen these items listed.
“She found us on the Uber Eats platform,” Martin said in a video posted to the Manizza’s Pizza Instagram account. “It’s interesting—I’m not on UberEats.”
In other words, Manizza’s Pizza had apparently found its way onto the Uber Eats platform without Martin’s knowledge. While there have been reports of restaurants being added to third-party delivery apps in the past, the story of Manizza’s Pizza took an entirely different turn, according to Martin. She claims a separate rival pizzeria was posing as her pizzeria on UberEats, taking and fulfilling orders as though it were Manizza’s Pizza.
Related: Food Historian: Pizza As We Know It Originated In U.S., Not Italy
Martin said she found this out through her own shrewd on-the-ground investigating. Here’s what she did: Martin established the address of the rival shop by selecting the “pick up” option on UberEats. She drove to the location, placed a delivery order on UberEats from “Manizza’s Pizza,” and watched as a delivery car arrived at the pizzeria, picked up the order and drove away. She then followed the order to her house to inspect the food that had been delivered.
“And when I opened the box, having previously dined at this [rival] establishment, I knew this pizza,” Martin said. “There was no question where it came from.”
Martin took matters into her own hands, calling the pizzeria she believed was posing as her own and asking the owner directly what was going on. According to her, the owner insisted they knew nothing, attempting to chalk it up to a misunderstanding. Needless to say, Martin was not pleased, saying she was “equal parts flattered and furious.”
Martin wasn’t quite done with her investigation. When she woke up the next day, she noticed the Manizza’s Pizza listing on UberEats was suddenly gone. This made her wonder if the business in question was posing as other businesses in the Las Vegas community. Sure enough, she said she found fifteen other businesses that she believed are being impersonated on UberEats.
“I just couldn’t believe the lack of integrity,” she said in the video. “We’re all fighting so hard for market share and we work together in this community as small businesses trying to survive. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. And I was raging so hard in my car—I’m fuming, turning bright red, like, oh, I need to drive away.”
Martin said she wasn’t just upset with the person who she believes is ripping off other businesses in the Las Vegas area. She reserved some of her frustration for the app that was apparently allowing this type of business to be conducted.
“What the heck is Uber[Eats] doing?” she asked. “Virtual kitchens are a thing, but they really ought to… cross-reference those to make sure they’re not actual other local businesses that [the business owner in question] is now stealing from and representing himself as to potential customers.
“I can’t quantify the damage he has done to my restaurant,” she continued. “I don’t know how much business he siphoned out of us because if you asked me four days ago if I was on the Uber platform, I would have told you no.”
Another party Martin was concerned about was any customers who had ordered from Manizza’s pizza on UberEats, believing that they were getting the real thing. She said she plans to replace any order a customer has made from Manizza’s Pizza on the UberEats platform for free. It seems this is the most soul-crushing thing about this experience for Martin: that somebody would have eaten what she believes is inferior pizza, believing it was her own.
“Give us the opportunity to earn your business that you tried to give us the first time,” Martin said. “Just show us a screenshot of your order, and bring it in, and we will make you a pizza free of charge.”
