Aver's Pizza raises price of 'Crazy 8' deal

Students who call Aver's Pizza wanting a late night snack could be in for a surprise after July 1. The price of the Crazy Eight deal will rise from $8.88 plus tax to $9.99, tax included. \nThe Crazy Eight deal -- a one-topping 12-inch pizza, breadsticks, and two fountain drinks -- has been extremely popular among city residents and students alike. The price of the deal has risen before. It started out at $8.00 in 1997 and then rose to $8.88 in 2001. The real price increase will only be 58 cents because $8.88 plus tax actually equals $9.41.\nVic Latigo, a Bloomington resident, expressed some of that resistance when he learned of the future price increase. "I paid $8.88 for this, and they raised the price," he said. "I'm not coming here anymore."\nAver's expected some resistance to the price increase, but with each previous price increase, business has only improved, said Brad Randall, a co-owner of Aver's Pizza.\nAver's Pizza claims they did not want to raise the price but they were forced to because of the increase in the prices of ingredients. "The price of cheese alone has jumped 40 percent," Randall said. With all of their options gone, the Crazy Eight will be renamed the Crazy Aver's Deal.\n"(The price increase) is not something we want to do. We tried to figure out a way to get around doing it, but it's just not feasible to keep it where it's at," said Randall. "We have to adjust to reality."\nRandall said the pizza franchise waited a year longer than they should have to increase the price, and their profit margin has suffered because of it. \n"We can sell lots of $8.88 deals, but if we're not making any profit doing it, we're not going to be in business very long," he said.\nGina Heupel, a Tennessee University student home for the summer, said she didn't really care about the price increase and would still buy it. \n"It's still a good deal," she said.