Local pizza restaurants to accept Mexican pesos

(1/08/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- A Texas-based pizza chain is branching out to serve customers who don't have any dollars. Instead stores will now accept pesos.

If you have extra pesos laying around from your last trip to Mexico you don't have to set them aside till your next trip back. This is believed to be a first of its kind program among restaurant franchises. It's called the "pesos for pizza" program.

Walk into any Pizza Patron now and you can buy an American pizza with Mexican money. All 59 Pizza Patron stores in five states are now accepting pesos in exchange for pizza. The company has six locations here in Houston.

Company spokesperson Ernesto Hernandez explained, "We figured out that a lot of people that visit Mexico, they come back with peso in their pockets ... and don't know what to do with those pesos."

Clerks are using conversion charts to calculate what the customer must pay in pesos. Change is given back in US dollars.

Customers seem to like the idea of not only being able to use the pesos for pizza, but also of benefiting by not having to change the currency elsewhere.

"There's a fee to exchange foreign money," said customer Hilda Garcia. "So if they need it to buy food, they can just exchange it for pizza."

The pizza business is extremely tough, with many companies fighting over the same customer. Pizza Patron hopes this is one way they can stand out from the competition. Pizza Patron has long catered to Latinos. They see this as a service to their customers.

Customers agree. If they couldn't use the peso here, they'd likely just hold on to them.

"I'd have to wait till next year and go back to Mexico and spend them," said customer Johnny Alonzo.

Only paper pesos will be accepted by Pizza Patron -- no coins. Company officials in Dallas say there is a small fee which they will charge for accepting the foreign currency.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

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