Pizza Fan: Stores to reopen on Wednesday – 2,500 employees to return to work

Pizza Fan is preparing to resume operations, with its stores expected to gradually reopen from Wednesday, November 11, following approximately two and a half weeks of closure and uncertainty for its 2,500 employees.

The company will continue operating under its existing ownership structure, while discussions are under way to find an investor.

According to a report by Greek public broadcaster ERT, some employees have already been informed about their return to work, while others are still waiting to hear from their employers.

“I’ll be going back to work on Wednesday for the 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift,” said delivery driver Kostas Mouzouris.

For his part, Vasilis Archimandritis, a lawyer representing the Attica Food Service Workers’ Union, stated:

“Some employees at the parent company have already started working, and we are waiting for calls from the employers of the franchise stores to find out when their staff will return to work.”

Meanwhile, another employee, Alexandros, said: “They haven’t told us anything yet. I believe they’ll notify us today or tomorrow.”

Pizza Fan’s bank accounts unfrozen

The development follows the company’s submission of amended tax returns for previous tax years and a decision by the Hellenic Anti-Money Laundering Authority to unfreeze its current accounts.

The decision allows the company to settle outstanding obligations to employees, suppliers and other business partners, paving the way for the resumption of its operations.

Pizza Fan’s legal representative, Aristotelis Merekoulias, confirmed that operations are scheduled to resume on Wednesday.

“Pizza Fan will reopen on Wednesday, November 11, and when we say reopen, we mean the entire company, both the parent company and all its branches,” he said.

Despite the company’s restart, five affiliated franchise stores are not expected to reopen immediately.

According to Merekoulias, their employees will be temporarily transferred to the parent company until the necessary agreements for reopening those particular stores have been finalised.

“All employees are part of the company, and once the agreement with the franchises in question is completed, they will return to their positions as normal,” the legal representative said.

Workers’ Demands over wages and employment contracts

Meanwhile, the Attica Food Service Workers’ Union is demanding full compliance with labour legislation, stressing that employees must also be paid for the period during which the stores remained closed, provided their employment contracts were still in force.

According to workers’ representatives, there are differences in how wage obligations are being handled between the parent company and its franchise stores.

The president of the Athens Labour Centre, Giorgos Stefanakis, stated:

“Employees at the franchise stores have not been paid the wages owed for the period during which the stores were closed through no fault of their own, up until the end of October.”

Employees also say they have received assurances from the company that practices involving the underreporting of working hours will not be repeated and that they will return under full-time employment contracts.

Pizza Fan’s reopening marks a significant development for its thousands of employees, although outstanding issues concerning wages, employment contracts and the operation of certain franchise stores are expected to remain at the forefront in the coming days.