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ZOLAS

RESTAURANT Winners of the Saputo Foodservice Pizza With Purpose Award

Volume 22 Issue 3 June 2016

ZOLAS FOR THE WIN-WIN This Ottawa-area pizza and pasta spot has picked up the Saputo Foodservice Pizza With Purpose award for its feel-good, creative collaborations

RETHINKING DELIVERY If pizzerias are still delivering direct to consumer, are they still adding value?

PULSE PIZZA INNOVATION With help from the pizza industry, two N.S. university students have developed a pizza dough that contains 25 per cent pulses

20 DEEP CLEANING 18

AND PEST CONTROL Keep in mind the “doughs” of deep cleaning as part of an integrated pest management program

www.canadianpizzamag.com

Photo by Kelly Hotte

COVER: The team at Zolas Restaurant do a dizzying amount of good in the Ottawa area, and they are the first to say they don’t do it alone. Find out what these busy Pizza With Purpose award recipients have been up to starting on page 12.

DEPARTMENTS 6

editor’s desk

pizza bites

the pizza chef

making dough

marketing insights

new product

guest column

JUNE 2016 pizza 3

from the editor’s desk June 2016, Vol. 22, No. 3

The fifth P of marketing C

hances are when marketing your pizza and restaurant you turn to the traditional four Ps: product, price, promotion and place. Consider adding a fifth P to your marketing mantra – one that stands for politeness, personal service or people. Putting time and effort into training your staff in providing great customer service makes good business sense. It costs five times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an old one, as food service consultant Jeff Dover told the audience at our last Canadian Pizza Show. It also makes sense as a way to set your pizzeria apart. “Everything is marketing,” Diana Cline writes in her column this issue. Everything you do reflects on your brand whether you realize it or not, and it behoves any business to make sure the word of mouth is on the positive side. Independents excel at keeping things personal. Customers love it when you remember their name or their usual order. They prize and are willing to pay more for a satisfying experience that only superior attention to detail can deliver. Good service is important, but how do you improve it in your store? One method is to steal shamelessly from the playbook of the most successful businesses. Managing editor Laura Aiken put me on to the magic of Nordstrom’s almost legendary interest in the well-being of their customers. One of the highfashion department store’s strategies is to empower their staff to make things right when customers are dissatisfied, simplifying employee guidelines into one rule: “Use good judgment in all situations.” It may not be practical to give all staff the power to make on-the-spot decisions when a customer is unhappy. Certainly it helps to have guidelines for different situations, and younger workers in particular have expressed a desire to have

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expectations spelled out for them. But giving employees the freedom to turn a bad experience into a great one tells them you trust their judgment, helps them develop problem-solving skills and possibly gives you more time to do other tasks. As Nordstrom’s strategies demonstrate, great customer service doesn’t have to cost a lot. While you might not be able to afford the latest technology, the service itself doesn’t have to cost anything beyond the time it takes to properly train people and build a culture of service. Here’s a pizza-world example that illustrates empowerment and empathy rolled into one gesture. The Consumerist reported an employee at a take-out pizza store rushed a pizza out to a customer who was planning to forgo his order so he could catch his bus. The surprised customer got a free pizza for the inconvenience of waiting and the store got a customer who is likely to return, to tell his friends and to tip generously. The employee made good on a promise, confident he would not get into trouble with his boss. There is always a time and a place for the extraordinary gesture. If you and your staff make an effort to know your customers, you’ll naturally empathize with them and find ways to make them smile – a smile that translates to priceless word-of-mouth endorsement. As you may have guessed, marketing is our focus this issue, and our writers have stellar tips on how to do it better. It is also the focus of an exciting panel Canadian Pizza will host at the Canadian Pizza Show on Oct. 17 (see page 8 for details). Join us and bring your ideas, questions and sample material from your favourite campaign. See you there! •

@CdnPizzaMag

Managing Editor Laura Aiken laiken@annexweb.com 416-522-1595 Editor Colleen Cross ccross@annexweb.com 519-428-3471 ext. 261 Publisher Christine Livingstone clivingstone@annexweb.com 519-429-5173 888-599-2228 ext. 239 Account Coordinator Shannon Drumm sdrumm@annexweb.com 888-599-2228, ext. 219 Media Designer Alison Keba Circulation Manager Anita Madden amadden@annexbizmedia.com 416-442-5600 ext 3596 Group Publisher Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexweb.com Director of Soul/COO Sue Fredericks Mailing Address P.O. Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT #40065710 Printed in Canada ISSN 1203-6838 Published seven times per year (Jan/Feb, Apr/May, Jun, Jul/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov, Dec) by Annex Business Media Circulation email: lmalicdem@annexbizmedia.com Tel: 416-442-5600 ext. 3547 Fax: 416-510-5170 Mail: 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Subscription Rates Canada – 1 Year $ 19.00 (+ applicable tax) Best pricing (Can/USA/foreign) available online at www.canadianpizzamag.com Occasionally, Canadian Pizza Magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.

Annex Privacy Officer privacy@annexbizmedia.com Tel: 800-668-2374 No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2016 Annex Publishing and Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. www.canadianpizzamag.com

pizzabites Food services outlook mixed: Conference Board

Rob Federici of Ciao Roma in Woodbridge, Ont., competes in the Chef of the Year competition at the Canadian Pizza Show in 2015.

s Canadians deal with weaker growth in disposable income and high levels of household debt, the national food services industry is expected to face challenging times in the near future, yet the effects will vary across the country and our low dollar could lead to a boost in foreign and domestic tourism spending, says a report from the Conference Board of Canada. The report, “Industrial Outlook: Canada’s Food Services Industry– Winter 2016,” suggests growth in consumer spending on dining out varies greatly by province. Alberta’s pessimism about future job prospects has led to a decline in per capita spending on food services, and Quebec, weighed down by an aging population and poor economic growth, has experienced only modest improvements in food services spending per capita. The report suggests that a weak Canadian dollar is encouraging international tourism while also making Canadians rethink travel abroad, a situation it says should promote spending at food service operations. The report predicts Canada’s food services industry will benefit from innovations such as food-ordering apps. As cost growth outstripped revenue growth in 2015, pre-tax profits fell to $1.6 billion. Industry profits should improve starting this year, rising to $2.1 billion by 2020. However, profit margins will remain steady, averaging around 2.8 per cent over that period.

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Chef of the Year competition to feature Napoletana division T

he Canadian Pizza Show, set for Monday, Oct. 17, at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont., has added a Pizza Napoletana division to its chef competition. Competitors in Canadian Pizza magazine’s Chef of the Year competition, sponsored by Saputo Foodservice and Moretti Forni, may now vie for top honours through one of two divisions: Pizza Napoletana and Open. Competitors may sign up for either category, with 12 spots available in each for a total of 24. Division winners will go head to head in a final showdown to determine who will be named Chef of the Year. The winner and runner-up of the finale will both win trips to Las Vegas and spots to compete in the International Pizza Challenge. All chefs, including past and present champions, may compete if they meet eligibility requirements. Competition registration opens Monday, June 13, and is on a first come, first served basis. The Junior Chef of the Year Division for chefs 14 to 17 years of age has eight spots

available, and the Great Pizza Box Fold-Off for staff 14 years and up has 10 spots. Canadian Pizza is honoured to welcome Ettore Pugliese, co-owner of Vesuvio Pizzeria and Spaghetti House in Toronto, to our judging panel. An all-star marketing panel of experts will take centre stage during a break in the competition action to tackle the question of “How to get more bang for your budget.” The panel, moderated by Canadian Pizza, will provide advice from independent pizzeria marketers and sales professionals on how to build pizza sales through smart strategies and tools that can work for any budget. All attendees are eligible to win prizes and encouraged to take in product talks on the trade show floor, which will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The annual event is sponsored by Saputo Foodservice, PizzaMaster distributed by Alfa Food Service and Stanislaus Food Products. For details, rules and photos, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com/pizzashow.

pizzabites

U.S. pizza industry shows growth, demand for unique ingredients

Italian Chamber of Commerce plans ‘Made in Italy’ events

izza consumption in the United States is trending at its highest level in four years and showing growth for pizza-focused concepts, according to a report from research firm Technomic. To maintain this momentum and stay ahead in the competitive pizza space, operators must innovate and adapt to consumers’ evolving demands for unique, high-quality and better-for-you pizza ingredients and add-ons, Technomic said in a news release. “Today’s consumers are less beholden to their standard pizza orders, as emerging players push the envelope of what’s expected on a pizza menu,” said Deanna Jordan, manager of consumer insights at Technomic. “New chef-designed specialty pizzas positioned as customizable thought-starters will serve to convey kitchen skills and allow for the personalization these consumers increasingly expect.” The report indicates U.S. consumers average 4.0 pizza occasions per month, up from 3.4 in 2014; unique toppings are increasingly important to them; and 32 per cent say it’s important to know the nutritional content of the pizza they eat.

he Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario (ICCO) has scheduled several educational events to promote food products made in Italy through a campaign called The Extraordinary Italian Taste Project. The events are meant to educate and inform Canadians about the difference between authentic Italian and imitation Italian-sounding food products, the ICCO said in a news release. Scheduled is a food tasting at the Cheese Boutique on June 25 and Italian Week at Centennial College’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts from Nov. 14 to 18. During this week, an Italian master class series will see Italian experts from the AICG Food Consortia come to Canada to offer intensive classes to Centennial students on topics relating to the #MadeinItaly program. Four notable Italian chefs will work with Centennial staff and students to create menus using specific Made in Italy products. The chefs’ efforts will be filmed and streamed digitally, allowing audiences to see the process at different stages. CentITALIA, an Italian food symposium will bring prominent chefs, food and wine experts, restaurateurs, influencers, educators, journalists, and foodies together for a day of food education, inspiration and celebration, the release said. A series of panel discussions, a keynote speaker and food demonstrations will serve to answer the question: How can authentic Italian food products remain relevant and accessible in an increasingly competitive globalized economy? It is estimated Canadian consumers spend $950 million annually for genuine Italian food exports compared to $3.6 billion for what it calls “Italian sounding” food products – items that appear to be a product of Italy by the name, label, or graphics but are not produced in Italy. Such products, as well as counterfeit and mislabelled products, affect the reputation of excellence and quality that defines genuine “Made in Italy” goods, the ICCO said. “ICCO’s goal with this project is to help Canadian consumers identify DOP (Protected Designation of Origin), IGP (Protected Geographical Indication), and DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) products when they buy their groceries,” said Corrado Paina, executive director at the ICCO. “At the same time, we want to reach food industry experts, chefs, as well as the general public to offer suggestions on how to prepare dishes that enhance all their unique properties and characteristics.”

For more news updated daily, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com > Industry News

JUNE 2016 pizza 9

the pizza chef

Everything is marketing Diana Cline

he greatest challenge for any independent pizzeria is getting the word out, also known as marketing. Most of us think that as long as we make a great pizza and provide friendly service, customers will come back again and again – and tell their friends and families. But that’s not a marketing plan: that’s a company mission statement. A marketing plan consists of new customer acquisition, lost customer reactivation and customer retention strategies, to name just a few elements. The vast majority of independent and chain pizzeria owners don’t have a clue about how to attract a customer in the first place and know even less about how to keep them coming back. We put all the responsibility on the customer to come back to see us. Most independents will copy the chain restaurants, send out thousands of glossy flyers with coupons and hope that sales will follow. The best-case scenario for unaddressed ad mail is a three to four per cent response rate with 96 to 97 per cent waste. That’s not what I’d call an efficient sales strategy. It’s more like a lot of wasted money. As an independent pizzeria owner, your job is to make sure your customers remember you. With their busy family and work schedules it is very easy for them to forget you. Customers have lots of choices of where to eat and where to spend their money. Why should they choose you over any one of those options? That’s the big-money question: why are you special and what can you offer your customers that other pizzerias can’t or won’t? The answer to that question is your unique selling proposition, or USP. If you

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are unable to answer that question then just one upset customer who isn’t well your customer really has no compelling taken care of can easily tell hundreds or reason to spend their money at your thousands of others about it through social establishment over another. After all, if media and damage a stellar reputation. you as the owner don’t know what sets You really need to think of everything as you apart, why should the customer? marketing if you want to be successful in Give customers a bunch of reasons this business. to visit you. Do you make your dough New customer acquisition strategies on site and prepare everything fresh? If and lost customer campaigns are importso, it’s important to let your customers ant but customer retention can make know that, especially if your competi- or break you. It costs eight to 10 times tion is mostly large chains that prepare more money to attract a new customer very little product on site. than it does to reactivate Do you offer a gluten-free a lost one, and in comparor vegan option on your ison, very little to keep If you as the menu? Are you open for your existing customers lunch or late at night? coming back again and owner don’t Do you offer catering? Do again. Marketing isn’t just know what you have a take-and-bake one or two or three differoption? Is your chicken sets you apart, ent things: marketing is whole muscle while everything you and your others are using chopped why should the staff do in your shop and and formed chicken? how you interact with customer? Do you make and blend each customer. It’s a daily your marinara yourself battle that you must win if while your competition you want to survive in this uses sauce from a can? Do industry. you use 100 per cent dairy cheese while If you give customers valid, compelthe other guy uses a soy cheese? Is your ling reasons to continue to order from mozzarella low fat? you, and if you make things right in the Everything inside your store is a event that someone does drop the ball, potential marketing strategy: even simple then you’re certain to stay on the winning things like having a uniform for your staff side. • and maintaining a spotless restaurant are marketing strategies. Your level of custom- Diana Cline is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine er service is vitally important as well. Do Chef of the Year champion, internationally recognized gourmet pizzaiolo, owner of Diana’s Cucina & Lounge you treat each and every customer as in Winnipeg and a director for the CRFA [now Restauyou would like to be treated? Better yet, rants Canada] from 2009-2013. In addition to creating does your staff? All it takes is one bad em- award-winning recipes, Diana is also a consultant to other pizzeria owner/operators in menu development, ployee to sabotage your business and cost creating systems to run a pizzeria on autopilot, along you thousands of dollars in future sales. with marketing and positioning to help operators How you handle complaints is another grow their business effectively and strategically. She is available for consulting on a limited basis. For more marketing strategy. Mistakes happen, and information, contact her at dianaslcline@gmail.com.

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JUNE 2016 pizza 11

cover story

Zolas for the win-win This Ottawa-area pizza spot has picked up the Saputo Foodservice Pizza With Purpose award for its feel-good, creative collaborations BY COLLEEN CROSS

he team at Zolas Restaurant do a dizzying amount of good in their community, and they are the first to say they don’t do it alone. Zolas picked up this year’s Pizza With Purpose award sponsored by Saputo Foodservice for their many creative and collaborative community projects. The popular pizza and pasta spot, which is approaching its 30th year in business, clearly has a strong and valued relationship with its community and surrounding businesses. Located in Bell’s Corners, a suburb of Ottawa with a population just below 10,000, the restaurant serves a wider market that includes Ottawa and Kanata, each about 15 minutes away. The warm, fun-loving brother and sister team of Tony and Gina Vacchio lead a team of 20 staff. Tony and Gina proudly refer to their staff as “one of the best service teams in Ottawa.” Several employees have been with the business for more than 15 years. Owner Tony is the talented chef behind Zolas’ innovation. He has been having quite a year, first competing in the Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year competition in

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Toronto, then impressing judges with his charcoal-infused “Vega” pizza at the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas. Zolas began life as Zolas Restaurant and Fresh Pasta Shop when Tony and a partner went into the business in 1986. He took sole ownership of the business in 1993. Tony has many years of hands-on experience, having started in the restaurant business at age 13. He worked under several inspirational mentors, including the chef for former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Gina, who as general manager handles marketing and administrative functions, submitted the restaurant’s contest entry. “Our family owned and operated establishment continues to grow and appreciates the practice of ‘win-win’ and partnership with our community’s objectives and goals,” she said in her entry. That concept of win-win sums up beautifully the team’s philosophy and ambitious activities. Now hold on to your hat as we give you a taste of their recent efforts. For the past two years, they have partnered with local groups such as Ladies Who Lunch to host donation drives for

Ottawa’s homeless population and shelters, setting up a drop-off area in its parking lot for gently used clothing and new toiletry items for those in need. They put up tents, provided water and invited those who donated items into the restaurant. Inside, they rewarded donors with free live jazz, local wine and beer samples, and had a buffet set up to make it easier for all to dine if they wished. “The event was a tremendous success,” Gina said in her contest entry. “We assisted in obtaining enough items to fill four storage units.” Last Christmas they supported and worked with local businesses and hundreds of volunteers to provide 30 families and five women’s shelters – more than 200 people in total – with hot meals, gifts for every member of the families and dry hamper goods.

Gina and Tony Vacchio of Zolas Restaurant near Ottawa accept their Pizza With Purpose award from Saputo Foodservice sales representative Raymond Lavictoire (left) and sales/branch manager Chris Di Labio.

Photo by Kelly Hotte

The project continued until Valentine’s Day when they distributed 80 backpacks filled with gift cards, new warm outerwear and toiletries for those living on the streets. Ladies Who Lunch is a social club Gina joined three years ago that now boasts 12,000 members. It exists to help women support other women in day-to-day life and work through referrals. But its reach is often wider. One of the group’s recent projects involved sending musical instruments, sporting goods and cards of support to the youth in Pimicikamak Cree Nation, also known as Cross Lake, Man., where youths in both areas have been taking their lives or attempting suicide at an alarming rate and leaders in both communities have declared states of emergency. “Give us a task and we execute it,” Gina says.

In addition to helping meet essential needs, Zolas supports its artistic community by providing a setting where visual art and music can thrive. “Artists do struggle,” Tony says, adding that they pay 30 to 50 per cent to rent space to exhibit their work. “We’ve got these walls,” he says. Their restaurant walls provide a showcase for local and Canadian artists. As part of their art program schedule, artists showcase their work on the restaurant’s walls for one month at a time, Gina explains. “During that month we support and market them. Each artist has agreed to pay 20 per cent of all sales and those funds are then gifted to a charity of our choice.” Their current cause is a campaign called “Life of Lucas.” Zolas and another local business provide financial assistance

to a family in the area to help them pay for autism therapy for four-year-old Lucas. Over the years, they have supported organizations that focus on helping children, among them the Sunshine Foundation, Dreams Take Flight and the Max Keeping Foundation. This focus extends to local youth as well. They are partners with their local Catholic schools, providing many students an opportunity for co-op job placements and work experience. The co-ops have been successful, with many students over the years being hired during their placements. “One of our students earned the title of youngest line cook here at Zolas,” Gina says. “She proceeded from here to Europe and is now quickly working to secure and brand herself as a five-star chef.” They also participate in classroom career and entrepreneurship programs, providing students with encouragement and objective employment direction. Most of Zolas’ good works involve collaboration with other groups, including larger groups like the Snowy Owl AIDS Foundation, whose Continued on page 23

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feature

Rethinking delivery If pizzerias are still delivering direct to consumer, are they still adding value? BY MICHELLE BRISEBOIS

hen it comes to delivering restaurant food directly to customers, few industries can boast the pedigree of the pizza industry. For over half a century, delivery has been a key means by which consumers obtain pizza. For years, we’ve had the “on demand” piece of the market cornered, but there’s been a seismic shift in the dynamics around food delivery. Technology has turned the act of delivery into the art of logistics, raising a question: if pizzeria operators are still delivering direct to consumer, are we still adding value? From the industry perspective, getting into the delivery business has always had its pros and cons. It’s a means of getting the product to the customer but it’s not our core competency: our core competency is making great food. If you are a small to large chain, you may have your own vehicles and hire delivery team members. There are insurance and employee safety considerations to factor in. Fleet maintenance is an additional cost, and if you accept payment on delivery, there may be some loss due to bogus orders. Staffing appropriately is another challenging task, as you’ll need a good handle on your business flow to have enough boots on the ground to get those pizzas to people quickly. The industry has shifted to adding a small delivery cost to defray the operational expenses, but it’s still a diversion of operator focus. Customers desire a variety of foods, served hot and fresh, on demand and to suit their needs at any given meal. Consumers were giftwrapped the answer to this wish with the advent of smartphones. There has been an increase in online

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For years, pizzerias that deliver have had the “on demand” piece of the market cornered, but there’s been a seismic shift in the dynamics around food delivery.

pizza ordering in recent years, and robust technology has allowed operators with deep pockets to enhance their delivery experience. Apps (short for software applications) are software programs that you use online or on mobile devices. You access this software while using your browser instead of installing it permanently on your computer. Apps can have a very narrow purpose or a broad range of functionality, but they typically have a narrow focus that allows them to excel at what they do. Many such apps have taken the delivery experience to a new level. Pizza Hut has developed connected car apps that allow the consumer to track the pizza’s progress from creation to delivery via a global positioning system (GPS). Domino’s has introduced apps for smartwatches, a Siri-like ordering assistant on a platform that works on voice commands and a feature that allows customers to place an order by texting an emoji (a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication). Online ordering and delivery of perishable food items on a national level has always been a tricky proposition. We are the second largest country by land mass with a relatively small population. Grocery stores are serious about perfecting the logistics of online ordering and delivery, and Amazon in the U.S. is getting into the grocery delivery game too. It’s a very crowded landscape. So where exactly does the small- to medium-sized pizzeria operator fit in? There is strength in numbers. When a variety of food service operators are bundled together digitally, it creates a cyber food court of sorts that draws some serious traffic. Companies such as Just Eat and UberEATS are two of the larger players offering the technology to promote the menu, the ability to secure and take payment for the order and the infrastructure to deliver it. Typically, the operator pays a transaction fee for each order. On the surface, farming out order taking, payment and delivery may seem like giving away your profit, but that depends on how you use the service to grow your business. Giorgio Taverniti, owner of Frank’s

Pizza House in Toronto regularly lever- is this a 30 per cent higher spend than the ages such services as Just Eat, UberEATS average phone-in order, but the customer and Door Dash to grow his business. “At also orders more often. On average, first my accountant wasn’t crazy about the one order represents approximately 2.2 idea [of using these types of services] but customers won,” says Daniel Tallon, interwhen he crunched the numbers, he said, national marketing director of Just Eat. “Actually, you’re Taverniti says his saving money,’ ” pizzeria receives Taverniti says. He more orders via looks at the cost of apps than over the carrying another phone. “In 50 to employee, shelling 60 per cent of the out vacation pay, cases, the average scheduling and cheque is higher providing staff (than through meals and calcutraditional order lates the return channels),” he on investment of says. these costs to grow Some operators delivery service. are concerned that A cost-benefit by outsourcing analysis works the delivery piece when the costs are they may be low and the benelosing some brand fits high. Taverniti control in terms With the advent of smartphones, consumers were gift-wrapped the answer to their wish sees third-party of service quality for a variety of foods, served hot and fresh, delivery services and contact with and on demand. as a way to extend the customer. “Just his geographic Eat champions the reach outside of the range he currently customer experience. We work alongside delivers to with his own team. The service our restaurant partners and provide a dediactually complements his existing infra- cated customer care team seven days a week structure; it doesn’t replace it. to ensure that every customer loves their “I’ve extended my reach by another takeout. Moreover, when an order is placed five kilometres. I was getting about 10 to at a restaurant, the owner is provided with 12 calls per day outside of my delivery the customer’s name and contact details, as radius,” he says. He also uses app-based well as a summary of the customer’s order delivery services to speed up delivery frequency. In addition to this data, we times within his own delivery area when provide our restaurant partners access to a he gets a rush of business activity. “If a system called Partner Centre where they are customer wants a pizza right away and able to track their customer database and it’s really busy and the wait time is longer order history in more detail,” Tallon says. than they want because my delivery is the “We always have the ability to contact bottleneck, I tell them go order through the customer directly,” Taverniti says. one of these services and they can get it As companies like Just Eat, UberEATS sooner,” he says. and Door Dash expand their local Proponents of these services also cite marketing efforts, the value to operators higher average cheques as an upside of should continue to grow. The technology outsourcing online ordering, payment and delivers the order to the operator and the delivery. Many sectors see a larger average logistics deliver the food to the customer. sale with online ordering, and food service You get to focus on making great food, appears to be no exception. “The average which in the end is what you do best. • Just Eat customer is between the ages of 25 and 35, and when they place an order they Michelle Brisebois is a marketing professional with experience in the food, pharmaceutical and financial usually spend upwards of $40. Not only services industries. She specializes in brand strategies.

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feature

Pulse pizza innovation With help from the pizza industry, two N.S. university students have developed a pizza dough that contains 25 per cent pulses BY COLLEEN CROSS

wo students at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax have developed an allergen-free pizza flour that contains 25 per cent pulses and is scalable for commercial pizzerias. Their innovation, dubbed “The Pulseible Pizza,” earned them third place in Pulse Canada’s Mission Impulse-ible competition for the Atlantic region in 2015, an event that challenges students to come up with an innovative use for pulses to make them more visible and accessible in the market. Andrew Hamilton and Landon Brown’s pizza flour contains hand-milled raw chickpeas and white beans combined with sorghum, oats, potato and cornstarch, sugar, salt, yeast, guar gum and water. Two slices of pizza made with the dough contain 12 grams of protein, seven grams of fibre and 25 per cent of the daily value of iron. Although the dough is not yet commercially available, the story of how it came to be is an interesting one that contains lessons for those working with pulses. Hamilton and Brown are students in the applied human nutrition program at Mount Saint Vincent University, which is a four-year program designed to prepare students for careers in nutrition or dietetics by combining nutrition and basic food

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science with business courses. Brown came up with the concept by posing the following question: “What if we made a pizza dough for commercial kitchens that would essentially meet their existing standards for preparation?” “We wanted to incorporate the idea into something people are already eating a lot of and to create something that was allergenfree to meet Health Canada requirements and to fit as many applications as possible,” Brown said. The flour is designed for commercial pizzerias and food service operations. “That was the idea. How do we formulate a recipe that we can then standardize for pretty much any company that would want it and that would fit their existing operation so they wouldn’t need to retool, retrain – anything like that,” Hamilton said. To ensure their product would be practical, they went straight to the pizza industry. The pair developed their pulse pizza with the help of a local Pizza Delight where Hamilton had once worked, and Rugova’s Pizza, an independent business next door to Brown. “Pizza Delight gave us the inside scoop, [advising us] this is the amount of water we add, this is the mixing time we use in the mixer, this is how we roll out and how long

TOP: Andrew Hamilton sinks his teeth into a pizza he and fellow student Landon Brown made using a flour mix that contains hand-milled raw chickpeas and white beans. BOTTOM: The pulse flour pizza has a similar texture to wheat flour pizza, but a slightly different look and taste, according to its developers.

we let it stand,” Hamilton said. “Rugova’s did the toppings and baked the pizza for us,” Hamilton said. “We had to make sure the dough would hold up in the time and the temperature. We could test it at home but it wouldn’t get hot enough.” The students shared details with operators about pulses and about how to select ingredients so you can remove all the allergens. “They didn’t offer pulse pizza, so they were really interested in that. They thought it would have value,” Brown said.

up with the dough – literally. “We ended up using white bean flour. I just happened to have a grain mill,” Hamilton said. “We couldn’t find one anywhere in the city, so we had to grind it ourselves. It probably took us an hour and 45 minutes to grind enough for two pizza crusts. “It was a process – definitely something you don’t want to do every day,” he said with a laugh. White bean flour is now commercially available, but it wasn’t readily available at the time, he added.

THE COMPETITION The Pulse Canada competition, which took place in spring 2015, went smoothly. “We had to present the product but also the business model: what would production look like, what would advertising look like, as well as the nutritional characteristics,” Hamilton said. “We made the doughs very early using our standardized formula, let them sit for the standardized amount of time. Then we went to Rugova’s, where they topped them, cooked them, boxed them, and we brought them to the competition that way,” he said. “That was part of the process. We wanted to show that this is not a product available to the general public. But to meet that test, it actually had to work in a commercial kitchen.”

TEXTURE SIMILAR TO WHEAT FLOUR It turns out their pulse formula had a texture very similar to that of wheat flour – once cooked. While working with the raw dough, however, the differences between pulses and wheat were clear, Brown said. “When we worked with it, it was slightly more fragile.” They added guar gum to form a sticky dough and were able to use a large mixer to make the process more efficient. “You have a similar texture but it’s not quite the same before it’s cooked, but after it’s cooked it has the same consistency and mouthfeel,” he said. “It had a sweeter taste. Not sweet as in putting more sugar in your coffee, but sweet as in if you were to eat a sugar snap pea – that kind of sweetness.” Using raw pulse flours helped cut down on the “bean-y” flavour, he said. “We wanted to have it taste similar and have a similar flavour and 25 per cent turned out to be the number where people didn’t notice a difference. We tried a lot of different ratios to get to that though.”

Photos by Landon Brown

THE CHALLENGES Although the developers set out to do something different, their overriding goal was to make their product look and taste the same as what pizza eaters are used to. “If you go to any store or restaurant, when you order the healthier option, you don’t want it to look different, because healthier food generally isn’t tastier,” Hamilton said. “You see the different profiles in fat content, the carbohydrate content, the starch content and the protein content, across different pulse sources. So we wanted to go with something that looked as similar to a wheat-flour dough as we could as well as increasing the fat portion because that improves mouthfeel.” But the biggest challenge was coming

TASTE-TESTERS ‘SUPER EXCITED’ The competition went smoothly and reaction to the pizza was positive. “You could definitely tell there was something in it. The most telling reaction was that people in general said it tasted like a healthier crust but not in a bad way,” Hamilton said. When told about the difference in the nutritional characteristics, including the increase in fibre and protein fractions in the dough, taste testers were enthusiastic. Continued on page 24

JUNE 2016 pizza 19

guest column

Deep cleaning and pest control Alice Sinia, PhD

hen you think about it, ovens are a major source of income for pizzerias. Without ovens and other tools of the trade, you would have no product to sell and your customers wouldn’t enjoy your secret family recipe. Your oven and other kitchen equipment often provide pests with the food they need to survive and thrive. To help protect your food, reputation and bottom line, consider using an integrated pest management (IPM) program. An IPM program is the most effective and environmentally conscious approach to pest management. It focuses on proactive sanitation, habitat changes and facility maintenance, reducing the need for reactive treatments. It’s important to remember an IPM program is not a one-time event but rather an ongoing process. That means a deep cleaning is needed periodically to ensure a healthy environment for your customers. When tackling this job, keep these items in mind – the “doughs” of deep cleaning.

KEEP DOCUMENTATION As far as health inspections go, if something isn’t documented, then it didn’t happen. Keep up-to-date records of all facility maintenance and sanitation steps. Some pest control providers offer digital record keeping of pest sightings, treatments and other key data points. You should also keep you own records. CONSIDER USING ORGANIC CLEANERS Consider using an organic cleaner that breaks up the grease and grime that pests like flies can feed on and breed in. These cleaners use naturally occurring enzymes and beneficial micro-organisms

20 pizza JUNE 2016

to break down the trapped dirt, muck and food particles that can attract flies and provide breeding grounds. In fact, the areas hardest to clean are often the most conducive to pests’ needs. These areas include floor drains, sink drains, equipment footing and grease traps.

washer area, dry storage, staff lockers and under prep counters.

INSPECT THE PERIMETER OF YOUR RESTAURANT While it is important to focus on your kitchen, you should also inspect your building’s perimeter. Limit the vegetaESTABLISH A DETAILED tion and trim tree branches that may SANITATION PLAN have grown against your building. By Again, IPM is not a one-time event but creating a vegetation-free barrier of at rather an ongoing process that requires least one metre, you can keep foliage from the effort of your entire staff. Your plan providing cover and hiding potential pest should define specific entry points. Additionally, roles and responsibiliyou can help deny pests ties to establish a routine. entry by sealing all cracks A deep For example, you can and crevices in the walls, build a checklist of duties floors and pavement with cleaning to be conducted before weather-resistant sealant. It is needed leaving every night. Staff is also important to empty training on how to look and clean your trash cans periodically for evidence of pests and and dumpsters regularly. to ensure report pest sightings is We often overlook also beneficial – some pest pests until there is an a healthy management providers infestation or crisis. A environment offer training at no extra strong, deep cleaning can cost. help reduce your risk, but for your an IPM program is the best customers GET EVERY way to protect yourself. SINGLE INCH Work with your local pest While this might seem like control provider to set up a no-brainer, you should a program that is specific make sure that your efforts aren’t under- to your facility, local pest pressures and mined by cut corners. Clean behind the other outside factors. • oven. Check under the fridge. Rodents need only a few drops of water to survive, and roaches are experts at finding hidden Alice Sinia, PhD, is the resident entomologist, regulatory/lab services, for Orkin Canada focusing on governfood particles. ment regulations pertaining to the pest control industry. IDENTIFY HOT SPOTS No two kitchens are alike, but they share common pest hot spots and entry points. Examples of hot spots include the dish-

With more than 10 years of experience, she manages the quality assurance laboratory for Orkin Canada, and performs analytical entomology as well as provides technical support in pest and insect identification to branch offices and clients. For more information, email Alice Sinia at asinia@orkincanada.com or visit www.orkincanada.com.

making dough with Diane

Start mastering your marketing with a plan Diane Chiasson

aving a marketing plan for your restaurant is essential. You probably know a lot about what is happening around your pizzeria, what your competition is up to, general trends in demographics and the community you service. Your marketing plan allows you to put all the information you have gathered into a systematic plan of action you and your staff can follow. Here are some key tips to keep in mind when developing or updating the marketing plan for your pizzeria.

1. KNOW YOUR MARKET, CUSTOMERS AND COMPETITION It is important to know where your business comes from. Is it the local community, children from nearby schools or half the city? Get postal codes from customers and information that enables you to categorize them. Are they singles looking for home meal solutions or families with a weekly pizza night? You will want to market differently to these different groups. And then there is your competition. Systematically collect information about competing businesses and chart it for easy comparison with your restaurant, so you can see where you have a competitive advantage or where your competition may be doing better. Compare hours of operation, prices, menu selections, menu specials and events they might have or hold. 2. DETERMINE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO ADVERTISE You need to advertise and promote if you want to get more customers into your restaurant. There are many advertising solutions – print, radio, TV, and digital – but which you choose depends on your budget.

As you know, social media should also be an integral part of your marketing plan. It’s an ideal way to connect with your customers, vendors, friends and family members through interactive communication, promotion, polls and reviews. Consider using sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp and Google+, which are among the most popular social networking sites. They are also free. You should also have a good website containing your hours, address, telephone number, menu, email address, gift cards or certificates, and testimonials. 3. IDENTIFY PRICE POINTS IN YOUR MENU ITEMS Some things on your menu will have price points associated with them. At a certain price your customers will buy, but above that point they won’t. Try to identify what these are for, say, your salad offerings, gourmet pizzas or even your basic slice offerings. Selling these products at just below the price points can help you maximize both the number of sales and your revenue from those sales. Price too high and you might not sell enough to cover your basic costs! Price too low and you might not make enough revenue to cover the costs of producing the item. 4. DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO ‘UPSELL’ YOUR PRODUCTS Having your staff consistently offer a special gourmet pizza to customers for a little more money can help boost your sales. Ensuring all your patrons have a drink with their meal is another way to help sell more to your existing customers – the ones who have already decided they want to buy what you have to offer.

Take a look at your pizzeria’s menu items, identify other opportunities to upsell and make sure you and your staff are fully versed in making these “upsells” happen. 5. EVALUATE YOUR PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP AFFILIATIONS People are likely to do business with those they are familiar with. Joining your local chamber of commerce can help you meet with local business owners, potential customers and the community at large. Whatever professional associations you find to help you network, make sure that as part of your marketing plan you evaluate how well they help you to promote your pizzeria. 6. DECIDE HOW YOU MIGHT ATTRACT ADDITIONAL CUSTOMERS You’ve done your research well and understand your current customer base, but are there other related groups not dining with you when they could be? Say you are big with the office crowd nearby for lunches, but you are only getting the staff and not the managers. Develop menu items and market them to the more professional and executive crowd. Never stop trying to improve your marketing. It is so essential to the growth of your business and nothing aids it more than a good plan to take what you know and can do and put your best foot forward. • Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 25 years by providing innovative and revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns and much more. Contact her at 416-926-1338, toll-free at 1-888-926-6655 or chiasson@chiassonconsultants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com

JUNE 2016 pizza 21

marketing insights

Experience wanted Michelle Brisebois

ociety is obsessed with decluttering, or at least obsessing about needing to declutter. The baby boomers who entered adulthood in the 1980s and ’90s accumulated stuff – lots of it – and now they’re re-evaluating their priorities. In his groundbreaking book Stuffocation, James Wallman speaks to the importance of experiences over things. “We have to transform what we value. We have to focus less on possessions and more on experiences. Rather than a new watch or another pair of shoes, we should invest in shared experiences like holidays and time with friends,” Wallman writes. Dining lends itself beautifully to experiential enhancement, but few restaurants execute it well. It’s an important opportunity because a unique experience is worth paying more for. When it comes to how we approach the steps of service, are we adding the sizzle or going through the motions? High-end restaurants have known for some time that offering an elevated experience equates to charging a premium price. Winery restaurants in Ontario’s Niagara region, British Columbia and Napa Valley in California all offer experiential dining events that allow for an increased price of 30 to 50 per cent. Often these experiences involve an educational component. As estate manager at Trius Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., I see our “Black Glass” dinners sold out weeks in advance. The Black Glass experience allows groups of 12 to 20 people to start with a guided tasting to learn how to detect wine notes. This quick seminar allows a group of strangers to make a connection and is followed by several courses of gourmet food paired

22 pizza JUNE 2016

with various wines served in an opaque black glass. The participants (who have arrived at the dining room with a group rapport, thanks to the tasting tutorial) compete in teams to identify the varietal by relying on taste and smell alone because the dark glass masks the colour of the wine. The server leads the group through the pairings and a discussion of why that particular wine pairs with the course they’re having. The “wow” factor in the dining experience comes from the interaction guests get with the food, the wine and each other. An interactive dining experience can also include customers in the design process. The term “open source” refers to a group of users collaborating to design computer software for the world to enjoy, but it can be applied nicely to a dining experience too. The Pie Five Pizza Company in Fort Worth, Texas, has leveraged pizza’s natural customization assets to create a unique and interactive experience. Customers are welcomed by “Pie-Tech Experts” (think Apple Genius Bar) who guide them through the creation and ordering process. Customers create 10-inch pizzas tailored to their personal tastes. They choose from four types of crusts, seven sauces, several cheese options and a wide variety of meats and vegetable toppings. Queen Margherita Pizza in Toronto holds Pizza Libs experiences where five teams of four guests participate in a hands-on pizza making competition. The teams collaborate to plan the toppings and then make their pizza, which is judged by the head chef. Pizza Hut is taking the open source approach to pizza design to a more literal level through its alliance with Chaotic Moon Studios to create an interactive table prototype that functions like

a giant iPad, allowing customers to play with pizza size, toppings and sides. The best and most buzzworthy interactive experiences don’t have to be high-tech, but they do leverage your most important asset: your people. Most employees love their jobs even more when they feel they’re truly adding value and their own personality to their interaction with guests. By teaching the customer about the food or wine, the restaurant team has a chance to talk about what they find exciting on the menu. An experience could be as simple as a three-course meal with beer, whisky or wine pairings where a group of guests compete in teams to choose the best pairing. If you’re lucky enough to have a team member who can toss pizza dough like a pro, why not have a dining experience that involves learning how to toss followed by topping, baking and eating their creations? Pizza lends itself to global exploration so beautifully. Perhaps a trip to Naples with the tastebuds could include a local history buff speaking about Italy during the Second World War, the agriculture, the culture and how pizza was brought home by North American soldiers who discovered it during their European tours of duty? People crave a connection with their food, with their dining partners and with the people making and serving them their meals. Look for exciting ways to celebrate your points of difference and ask your team for their input on how they could lead an engaging experience for groups of diners. In doing so, you’ll be giving your customers and employees memories they’ll cherish ... no clutter involved. • Michelle Brisebois is a marketing professional with experience in the food, pharmaceutical and financial services industries. She specializes in brand strategies.

cover story Continued from page 13 annual Taste for Life event Zolas has supported every year for 25 years by donating 25 per cent of their sales. The Alzheimer’s Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County is another group they support through sponsorship during its largest yearly fundraising event. While the restaurant’s stock in trade is high-quality pizza and pasta, it has become something of a hot spot for jazz. The Ottawa area has a strong, supportive jazz community, Gina says. Six years ago they decided to provide “a landing strip” where musicians could play to appreciative local audiences. On any given night, diners can groove to the music of local jazz musicians while partaking in Zolas’ menu. When there are no musicians booked, the restaurant pipes in their recorded music through its iPad sound system. They now get requests to play from musicians from all over. They support local sports teams, and any other organizations, in their fundraising efforts by providing gift cards toward silent auctions, promoting awareness through social media, donating fresh and frozen food hampers to those going through difficult times and free venues to those staging fundraising events. For Tony and Gina, their activities are all about the win-win. That translates to a healthy balance, Gina says. Their advice for independent pizzerias looking to become more involved in their community is deceptively simple. “The first thing you can do is listen,” Gina says. “Listen to ongoing conversations and concerns of those around you. Find out how you fit in.” “It’s like a recipe: you’re an ingredient that is part of something bigger,” she says. With low staff turnover, they have become a well-oiled machine. Each team member knows what to do when they swing into action for a cause, Gina says. They also recognize the importance of motivating staff, which they do by playing up “the fun factor” and promoting mutual respect. “If the team respects you, they will follow,” she says. “You want them to be as excited as you are. You want them to think, ‘Together, we’re going to lock this!’ ” she adds, her enthusiasm contagious. Why do they do all that they do? The energetic siblings credit their mother, Consiglia Vacchio, known by friends as Celia and by many in her family as Nonna. A retired nurse who dedicated more than 50 years to the profession, the lively 86-year-old lady loves to garden and grows fresh figs they use in the restaurant. Next up for the Zolas team is a spring Alzheimer’s Society Walk for Memory and a restaurant project in nearby Spencerville, a nearby small town they say could use a boost to its economy. Tony and Gina find it impossible to put a dollar amount on the past year’s endeavours. Gina says it best: “To be honest, it is not the reason for all that we participate in. It simply comes down to this: We recognize that ‘Together We Support’ and given our position and good standing with our neighbours we simply have the honour to collaborate.” • For more profiles, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com > Profiles

pizzabites

Munro new Restaurants Canada president and CEO A

s of June 1, Shanna Munro is the new president and chief executive officer of Restaurants Canada, the association said in a news release. Munro assumes the role from Donna Dooher, who will be reassuming her position as a Restaurants Canada director. “On behalf of the board of directors I want to extend a sincere thank you to Donna for her leadership over the past year and a half, and welcome Shanna to her new role,” said chair of the board Bill Allen. “Ms. Dooher joined Restaurants Canada in November 2014 and has played a key role in building a stronger connection between the association and Canada’s hospitality community.” A senior executive with extensive experience in the food service, retail, entertainment and financial services industries across North America, Munro first joined the association as chief operating officer in September 2015. Munro has worked in the foodservice industry for more than 25 years. She started her career with priszm Brandz, previously Scott’s Restaurants.

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JUNE 2016 pizza 23

feature Continued from page 19 Female tasters, in particular, were pleased to learn about the increase in protein, Hamilton said. “They were super excited!” The manager at Rugova’s was impressed with the dough and willing to work with the students to develop it further as an allergen-free or gluten-free pizza crust option or just as a healthier pizza, he added. “I think the most important thing for us was does the dough hold up over time?” Hamilton said. “Can you manipulate the dough and not have it crumble? Or it will be too chewy or too tough. He loved it. It cut the same. It handled the same way coming off the pans. It didn’t stick to the pans. We standardized everything: we used commercially bought pizza pans, we used the same amount of grease, the same type of grease on every pan that we did. We rolled out the dough and gave them the right rising time so that we could be sure it would meet all of the challenges of every commercial kitchen.” Brown’s reaction to the crust seems to sum up the consensus that they achieved

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what they set out to do. “One of my favourite pizzas would be one with garlic butter brushed on the crust,” he said. “When we made that pizza, honestly, I couldn’t tell there was a difference in the crust. I think that’s what we were aiming for.” FUTURE DEVELOPMENT Hamilton and Brown will complete their four-year program in 2016. Meanwhile, with no facilities of their own and full course loads, they don’t have immediate plans to take their dough to market. But development of the formula is a definite possibility. Hamilton said completing this project and making connections in the business world makes it much more feasible to develop a dough for commercial sale. “We’d have to know the requirements for each pizzeria at the development stage, but you could do this with any type of dough recipe. With the smaller-scale restaurants, you could make them a standardized mix that is easily adaptable.” •

Rose Hill sauces and seasonings spice up dishes At the Restaurants Canada Show in Toronto in March, Montreal-based Rose Hill Foods showcased some of its sauces and seasonings. The original developer of Montreal Steak Spice, Rose Hill is promoting the use of spices, rubs and soup bases as a way to appeal to ever-widening customer tastes. The line includes sriracha seasoning, Joe Beef powdered beef rub, piri piri seasoning, granulated and paste flavour enhancers for soup and bouillon, and a light poutine gravy mix. Salt content has been reduced to a minimum and many of the products are designed to complement beef, chicken, poultry, fish, seafood and vegetable dishes. www.rosehillfoods.com

HOW TO OPEN A FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL PIZZA & SUB RESTAURANT The explosive growth of pizza and sub shops across the country has been phenomenal. Take a look at these stats: Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or about 350 slices per second. Pizza is a $32+ billion per year industry. Pizza restaurant growth continues to outpace overall restaurant growth. Pizzerias represent 17 per cent of all restaurants. Pizza accounts for more that 10 per cent of all food service sales. Here is the manual you need to cash in on this highly profitable segment of the food service industry. This book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of the restaurant. This superb manual should be studied by anyone investigating the opportunities of opening a pizza or sub restaurant. It will arm you with everything you need including sample business forms, leases, and contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; sample menus; inventory lists; plans and layouts; and dozens of other valuable, time-saving tools of the trade that no restaurant entrepreneur should be without.

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Annex Bookstore ............................................24 Burke................................................................7 Canadian Pizza Show/Chef ........................14-15 Middleby Marshall..........................................27 Pizza Pioneers ................................................11 Pizza Power Page ...........................................25 Ricco Food Distributor ...................................11 Salerno...........................................................11 Saputo ...........................................................28 Springer’s Meats ............................................23 Stanislaus ................................................. 4 & 5 Viau Food .........................................................2 Use these advertiser contact numbers to find out more about a product advertised in this issue or to place an order. This index is provided as a service. Canadian Pizza Magazine is not liable for errors or omissions.

JUNE2016 2016pizza pizza25 25 JUNE

guest column

5 ways to keep your customers loyal Giorgio Taverniti

ustomer loyalty should be a priority for every pizzeria owner. In this fiercely competitive market where amazing talent emerges every day, independents especially need loyal customers not only to stay afloat financially but also to grow the baby that is their business. It’s not always easy to know how to win that loyalty. Sometimes we like to complicate things and forget that there are simple ways to keep customers coming back to you every time. These are some of the tips I apply to my business and life. They have helped me gain and retain a loyal following over the past 24 years.

1. KEEP YOUR PRODUCT SIMPLE You know what makes your spot special; it’s not the trendy new food items you added to the menu. It’s that your clients know every time they come in the food will taste the same as they remember. It’s ideal to add in a few extra items to keep your menu fresh, but it will be your food – not the latest thing – that keeps them coming back. Your speciality might be your signature family secret sauce recipe or your Neapolitan pizza cooked in an imported oven straight from Napoli. Promote what makes your product and business stand out more than any other on the market. 2. STAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS It’s not enough to just post on social media: really engage your customers. Everyone wants to go where everyone knows their name! Talk to them. Get to know them. Ask questions about their family and find out how they heard about your pizzeria. Make a real effort to know

26 pizza JUNE 2016

your clients, whether they come in every week or it’s their first time.

do you stand out in a sea of restaurants? You personalize their special occasions. Everyone celebrates an occasion, so this can apply to everyone. We offer customers a complimentary dessert or drink for a customer’s birthday. You can take it one step further and offer an appetizer, or a round of shots or coffees. Never underestimate the power of a small gesture: it goes a long way.

3. BE AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY It’s your hood! Take pride in it and be involved. Join the BIA (business improvement association), take part in local school events or donate a sponsorship to a cause you want to help. The BIA operates on a strictly volunteer basis, with no fees involved. There are monthly meet- 5. BE HUMBLE ings that provide opportunities to meet No matter how successful your business other local business owners, city council- is, always stay true to yourself. Be present lors and other community at your business and stay members who all have involved. Never be too the same goal: to improve good to tend the bar, roll up Stick to what business in the commuyour sleeves and get your you do best nity. A great perk of joining hands dirty or even clean is that often the group and continually the bathrooms. I always organizes events that help make a point of connecting make it perfect with the clients around me advertise all businesses. We donate to Repair and try to wave a hello to every time! Café, a free repair service for everyone in the restaurant local community members from the bar that overwhose goal is to reduce looks the entire restaurant. the number of unnecessary The pizza station is open items going to the landfill. I am also partici- for all to see and I engage with everyone pating in a new and exciting program spon- who drops by there to order and pick up sored by the local police division to teach their meals, even occasionally throwing a local high school students how to prepare pizza in the air for their benefit. When I’m a meal on a budget. This will potentially not pumping out orders I often serve and happen once a month with a different ask customers how their meal was. It’s a theme of cuisine each time. Overall it takes nice way to keep the business – and you about two hours of my time and the cost of – grounded. food is covered by the city. This is a great Always remember that any success, way to branch out without overextending whether little or big, is only possible yourself to too many commitments. when you have loyal customers. • 4. OFFER CUSTOMERS A SPECIAL-OCCASION PERK It’s important to keep your customers wanting to come back to you. But how

Giorgio Taverniti owns Frank’s Pizza House in Toronto, which has been in his family since 1990. A graduate of George Brown College’s culinary management and Italian culinary programs, Giorgio helped found a popular pizza-making workshop at the college and ran it for three years.

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Mozzarella is just the beginning... Saputo Pizza Mozzarella is an essential ingredient for so many great pizza recipes! But sometimes, you need to think outside the pizza box! Your customers are becoming more adventurous, so give them something new to tantalize their taste buds.

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The delicious possibilities are endless! ® ®