Cicis Pizza — Restaurant in Gastonia

I was excited to hear about CiCis re-opening as I ate at this location quite a bit in the early 2000's. After reading some reviews, I was skeptical about trying it, but decided I needed to see for myself. After dining there, I figured I should post my own experience.

I went with my wife and dad on a Monday (10/23) around 12:30. There was already a small line at the register, but we were greeted with the classic "Welcome to CiCis" upon entering the door. The line moved quickly, even though the person in front of us tried to cause a fuss with the cashier because she wanted some item she used to get years ago when it was CiCis and the cashier tried to explain they did not offer that now. The cashier (I believe I heard someone call her Sabrina) did a great job of handling it and getting a manager for help. After paying for our meals, we found a nice booth near the arcade that had recently been cleaned. The woman who was working the dining room (cleaning, picking up plates, helping customers) brought us a stack of napkins and some after dinner mints. She was constantly clearing used plates off tables and throwing away trash, along with restocking forks, straws, and cup lids. She was also extremely personable and made our dining experience very pleasant. I counted at least 7 employees working and they were constantly bringing out new pizzas and keeping the bar stocked and fresh. I made several trips the bar and there was not a single time that there was an empty space on the bar. There were at least 10 pizzas to choose from, plus dessert pizzas. All of the pizzas I tried were very good and cooked perfectly. The dessert pizzas were amazing! I did not try the pasta and salad, but my wife did and she was pleased with both. The employees did a great job of communicating with each other about what pizzas needed to be made to restock the bar and usually a fresh pizza was out when there were still 1-2 slices left of the old one. All this while the restaurant was quite busy, at least 25 people dining and a constant flow of 2-3 new customers every 5 minutes.

All that being said, I did not experience any negatives from my first trip back to CiCis. All of the employees were friendly and helpful. The buffet was constantly stocked with hot, fresh pizza, and the dining room was spotless thanks to the woman floating around (I hate that I did not get her name). I also checked the bathrooms and they were very clean as well. I would definitely recommend this CiCis location and would not hesitate to go back myself and invite others. It seems that most of the reviewers are expecting a 5-star steakhouse atmosphere, which is unfair. It is CiCis, an affordable, family-oriented, pizza buffet.....Nothing more, nothing less. Just go, have some good pizza, and stop...

UPDATE: originally two weeks ago I gave this location 1 star as we had an AWFUL experience (see below) but as stated we decided on a 3 strike rule, and tonights experience leaves us in a tie. Next visit will be the tie breaker. This time around, drink machine is still out of a lot of things, and ice machine still broken. HOWEVER they were so much better this time around with getting things out quickly and also the cleanliness. They were cleaning the bar between additions, a crew member was sweeping and clearing tables consistently. They kept the cheesy bread coming out. All of the pizza was MUCH better and not burnt and crusty as last time. Employees were friendly and doing a good job communicating on the needs of the customers. Good job cici's, I hope our third visit plays out in your favor.

As a person who frequented pizza plus buffet, I know many in Gaston county were excited to hear that cicis was coming back. We gave them a week or two to settle in before giving it a try. We got here at 7 on a Sunday evening and it was not overly crowded. The price went down upon cicis return THANKFULLY because it Is not worth the old price. The place was filthy, understocked, and the workers look clueless. The lady cleaning tables passed the same 2 dirty tables twice and didn't even look. They were out of coke, diet coke, and even the ice wasn't refilled. Almost all of the pizza offerings were burnt, or looked very sloppily assembled. They don't even appear to be cleaning the bar in between putting new stuff out. I SURE HOPE this evening was a fluke because otherwise I do not see myself coming back here....

Being married to a previous manager at the original CiCi’s that was at this location years ago, there were numerous things wrong at this location. First of all, the young lady at the front was delightful and friendly. This sadly is the only good experience we had here as a family of four with two young children. The BBQ pizza was burnt, the pizzas slices were not cut to proportion. Pizzas were mixed with each other. Slices were not cut all the way through making it difficult to get a piece. The salad bar was actually not bad. We didn’t bother with the dessert bar, which is saying a lot when your children won’t touch it. The ice machine did not work properly. The marinara and Alfredo sauces were burnt and had not been changed as you can tell from the burnt rings. We requested a specialty pizza and he did not take our name or give us any type of marker or number. When our pizza was done, we weren’t told and the pizza was just placed on the bar with all the other pizzas. This happened to the table beside us also. Took our young daughter to the bathroom and there was water all on the floor on the way there but no wet floor sign. Bathrooms needed to be cleaned. Did not see the manager speak to any guests the entire time we were there. In conclusion, our 10 year old got sick a few hours after eating there. Not sure if we will be visiting again, I know our 10 year old says...