PMQ Pizza Magazine August 2013

August 2013 www.pmq.com

The X Factor

Page

26

Pizza X rules Bloomington with high-energy marketing tactics.

TRENDY TOPPINGS | Pg 36 CATERING TO VEGETARIANS | Pg 42 PIZZA OVENS | Pg 52

Scan code for video content: The X Factor

Quality Italian Style Meats, From Our Family to Yours.

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That’s the beauty of Bellissimo. From handcrafted, hand-pinched sausage toppings to traditional italian meatballs, our full line of artisan recipe meats will make the meal. delivered by our family of locally owned distributors, Bellissimo meat toppings will be the perfect addition to your signature pizza or pasta. made from all natural ingredients, Bellissimo quality italian style meats, from our family to yours.

To l o c a t e y o u r l o c a l B e l l i s s i m o d i s t r i b u t o r, v i s i t B e l l i s s i m o F o o d s . c o m o r c a l l 8 0 0 - 8 1 3 - 2 9 7 4.

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DEPARTMENT online at pmq.com

PMQ Blogs (blogs.pmq.com) Recent Videos (pmq.com/video)

Liz Barrett, PMQ’s editor at large, brings you the inside scoop on the industry’s latest trends, marketing and technology.

Recently at The Pizza Insider: Liz delves into seven ways to benefit from LinkedIn; tips on how to focus on repeat customers; and the importance of training time.

Pizza TV: X Marks the Spot Jeff Mease took inspiration from his former employer, Domino’s, when he opened his first Pizza X store on the Indiana University campus. Thirty years and four additional stores later, Pizza X remains the coolest pizza spot in Bloomington. Check out pmq.com/video to learn how Pizza X markets itself both to local families and to the hip but fickle college crowd.

From PMQ’s Paris headquarters, Missy Green, PMQ’s international correspondent, reports on pizza events, trends and curiosities from around the world.

Recently at Pizza Without Borders: Missy explores bone marrow and cabbage pizza in Sweden; exotic pies in Brazil; and breast-shaped pizzas in Australia.

Think Tank Hot Topics (thinktank.pmq.com) PMQ’s Think Tank is the only online forum for the pizza industry. With a membership of more than 2,000 and nearly 80,000 posts, you’re sure to find the answers you’re seeking. Some examples of recent posts: New Pizza Shop—Population–A father asks about the viability of a pizzeria that his son is considering for purchase. The population within a mile is just over 1,000 but jumps to nearly 20,000 at a three-mile radius.

Closing for Vacation–An operator who has been in business for 10 years is thinking of taking a six-day vacation but feeling guilty about closing the store. He asks other operators to describe their experiences whenever they’ve closed shop for a few days.

This Week in Pizza Catch up on the latest pizza industry news every Wednesday with Pizza TV’s weekly online broadcast, This Week in Pizza, with host Daniel Lee Perea.

This Week in Pizza (pmq.com/thisweekinpizza) PMQ’s weekly e-newsletter brings breaking industry news to your inbox every Wednesday. Receive it free by visiting pmq.com/subscribe.

Do you have an answer for these operators or questions of your own?

Log onto the Think Tank and take a look around at thinktank.pmq.com.

Think Tank

INTERACT WITH THE INDUSTRY DAILY ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, Pinterest and PMQ’s THINK TANK FORUM PMQ Pizza Magazine

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CONTENTS August 2013 PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE

On the cover

26

| August 2013 | Volume 17, Issue

26 The X Factor

August 2013 www.pmq.co m

6

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

Since 1982, Pizza X has combined youth-oriented marketing tactics with a Domino’s-inspired operational system to dominate the pizza delivery market in Bloomington, Indiana.

By Rick Hynum Photos by Brian Hernandez

The X Fact Pizza X rules

Bloomington with

high-energy

TRENDY TOPPIN GS | Pg 36 CATERIN G TO VEGETARIANS | Pg 42 PIZZA OVENS | Pg 52

features

36 Trendy Toppings From burrata to Brussels sprouts, PMQ talks to pizzeria chefs about some of the hottest specialty toppings in the country.

By Liz Barrett

42

Meat-Free Magic Vegetarians are deeply loyal customers, and they love pizza. Learn how to use menu design, inventive ingredients and back-of-house tweaks to turn your pizzeria into a haven for herbivores.

By Tracy Morin

52

Fresh From the Oven Experts and operators explain how to use your oven to expand your menu beyond standard pizza offerings and generate blazing-hot profits.

By Tracy Morin

58

Ovens Showcase Delve into the latest advances in pizza oven technology, from conveyors and decks to wood and coal-fired models.

62

Team of Rivals Members of the U.S. Pizza Team fed a European prince and competed with the world’s pizza making elite at the 2013 World Championship of Pizza in Parma, Italy.

By Rick Hynum

68

The Best of the NRA Members of the PMQ staff pick out their favorite products from this year’s National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago.

70

The Pizza Trainer: Sauce In the first installment of our recurring Pizza Trainer series, Dan Risner from PizzaSkool explains the tools and techniques for teaching your employees to sauce a pizza correctly and consistently.

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The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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marketing

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AUGUST 2013

Scan code for video content: The X Factor

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CONTENTS August 2013

42 Meat-Free Magic

36 Trendy Toppings

departments 18 In Lehmann’s Terms: How to Minimize Snap-Back Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann describes how lower protein content, optimized absorption, and oil or shortening can improve your dough’s pressing properties.

20 New York’s Finest:

Glazed Oranges Chef Bruno turns sweet Florida oranges into a delightful dessert.

22 Accounting for Your

Money: Per Diem Rates

and Processing Fees Mike Rasmussen shares expert tips on deducting travel expenses and dealing with credit card processors.

24

Pizza of the Month: Vegan Offering vegan pizza options can attract both strict herbivores and meat eaters looking for a tasty— and healthy—change of pace.

98 Time Capsule: Venice Pizza House After nearly 60 years in business, this San Diego pizzeria still maintains its old-school appeal while reaching a younger clientele through social media.

101 Pizza X Bonus BONUS Digital

36

Content

Check out the digital and tablet editions of PMQ for exclusive bonus content. Learn more about Pizza X’s sustainability initiative and community outreach, and peruse additional images of the company’s purebred pigs and water buffalo at Loesch Farm. Visit PMQ.com to read the digital edition or download our tablet app at iTunes, Google Play and Amazon.com.

Coming Next Month Pizza of the Month: Sausage

in every issue

Sausage: In everything from sandwiches to specialty pies, operators are making their menus stand out with this popular topping—and versatile ingredient

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Online at PMQ.com

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Editor’s Note

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Letters to the Editor

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Pizza Press

Creating an App: Apps are becoming must-have marketing tools, providing new opportunities to connect with your customers.

74

Product Spotlight

83

Advertiser Index

84

Pizza Industry Resource Guide

Online Ordering: Learn about the latest developments that are making online ordering even easier for the user and more sucessful for the operator.

10 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

98 million americans

would love a slice of milk-free cheese pizza.

You are missing more than 50% of your potential customers.

33%

Lactose Intolerant

23%

Vegan/ Vegetarian

Click Here See video interview with founder David Mintz on the PMQ Digital Edition

There are over 98 million Americans who can’t enjoy pizza because they have a milk allergy. By substituting

milk-free cheese products from Tofutti, you’ll satisfy their pizza craving while adding to your bottom-line. It’s also perfect for Vegetarians, Vegans and Kosher consumers.

Tofutti cheese products are completely dairy free and taste delizioso! Call us at 908-272-2400 or email us at info@tofutti.com. Ask about our complete line of vegan, milk-free cheese products including Better Than Mozzarella®, Better Than Ricotta®, Feta Cheese, American Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Better Than Cream Cheese® and Sour Supreme®.

MILK FREE

EDITOR’S NOTE rick hynum

Consider the “Occasional Vegetarians”

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | August 2013 | Volume 17, Issue 6

August 2013 www.pmq.com

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

The X Factor

Page

AUGUST 2013

26

Pizza X rules Bloomington with high-energy marketing tactics.

TRENDY TOPPINGS | Pg 36 CATERING TO VEGETARIANS | Pg 42 PIZZA OVENS | Pg 52

Scan code for video content: The X Factor

On the cover: With a tricked-out van, a superhero mascot and a flock of student “X-terns,” Pizza X co-owner Jeff Mease combines youth-oriented marketing techniques with big-chain operational systems to dominate the pizza delivery market in Bloomington, Indiana.

Subscribe to PMQ now!

Get your print, digital or mobile edition!

I like meat. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I do. To me, a pizza without pepperoni is like a song without a tune, like a summer without sunshine. I would add that it’s like Starsky without Hutch or like the Captain without Tennille, but that would tell you more than you need to know about both my age and my lame tastes in pop culture, and then you wouldn’t think I was, you know, “cool” anymore.

I suspect that I will go to my grave with chewed-up meat in my belly, but there is a slight possibility that won’t happen. As much as I love beef and bacon and chicken, I’m eating less of them than I used to. For at least one meal a week—sometimes even two or three—I forgo meat altogether. And I’m not the only one; recent studies indicate that about 10% of U.S. adults do the same thing, mostly for health reasons or to lose weight. Some people do it as part of the ongoing Meatless Monday campaign that has caught fire with superstar chefs and celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Gwyneth Paltrow. Others do it as part of local initiatives—Aspen, Colorado, for example, became the nation’s first official Meatless Monday community in 2011, and cities from Syracuse, New York, to Oakland, California, have since made the commitment, encouraging their residents to enjoy a weekly meat-free meal.

Meanwhile, according to a report last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), meat consumption in the United States was on track to decline by more than 12% from 2007 to the end of the 2012. So does this mean you should strike that meat lovers pie from your menu? Of course not. But it does mean that you should consider offering at least a few meat-free options for your customers because even if, as studies suggest, vegetarians account for only between 5% and 7% of the population—a number that hasn’t really changed since 1999—the ranks of the socalled “occasional vegetarians” seem to be swelling.

If you’re interested in adding some vegetarian options to your menu, we’re here to help. As Tracy Morin explains in “Meat-Free Magic” (page 42), vegetarians and vegans love pizza as much as the rest of us, and they can be passionately loyal customers.

We advise our readers to create at least one or two tasty pizzas just for them—as well as for those “occasional vegetarians” who may not be in the mood for meat—and make sure these items stand out on your menu with appropriate denotation (such as a “V” for vegetarian). Promote these specialty pies on your website and through social media, and the resulting word-of-mouth will build on itself, spreading throughout the small but dedicated vegetarian community.

I may even give your veggie pizza a try myself if you catch me on the right day.

And if you play some sappy ’70s music in the background, I may stick around for a couple of beers, too!

scan to subscribe

12 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Rick Hynum Editor-in-chief PMQ Pizza Magazine

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR rick hynum Golden Anniversary

The Hailey Dunn Case Thank you for running the article about the search for Hailey Dunn from Colorado City, Texas, who had been missing for several years (“Delivering Hope for a Missing Girl,” Pizza Press, May 2013). Being from that area, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated it and also how much I appreciate Bobcat Planet Pizza’s Kevin Goodman for caring enough to put the fliers on their pizza boxes. Unfortunately, Hailey’s body was found a few weeks ago, and it made us all so very sad. That hunt is over.

I just thought a thank-you was warranted because people like you care so much.

I liked your article on POS systems (“The Power of POS,” June/July 2013), especially since we are considering replacing our outdated POS system, which was poorly designed for delivery, customer loyalty programs and online ordering. We want to replace our POS system before we open any additional locations. Speaking on behalf of many operators, we’d like more information on all of the viable systems out there. For a future article, please consider creating a chart showing how each system compares to the others—for example, base price, the number of terminals, delivery compatibility, gift cards, etc. Next to the purchase of an oven, this is one of the biggest expenses a pizzeria has, and the more information we can get, the better.

Rick K. Drury CEO, Precinct Pizza Tampa, FL That’s a great idea, Rick. We have created such POS systems charts in the past, and it sounds like we need to do it again for our next article on this crucial subject. Thanks for the suggestion!

A P ublication of P M Q , I nc .

Winner of 5 ASBPE Awards Winner of 4 GAMMA Awards ISSN 1937-5263

PMQ, Inc. Publisher Steve Green sg@pmq.com ext. 123 Co-Publisher Linda Green linda@pmq.com ext. 121 editorial Editor-in-Chief Rick Hynum rick@pmq.com ext. 130 Editor at Large Liz Barrett liz@pmq.com Senior Copy Editor Tracy Morin tracy@pmq.com International Correspondent Missy Green missy@pmq.com Design/Production Art Director Kara Hoffman kara@pmq.com ext. 135 Designer Eric Summers eric@pmq.com Media Producer Daniel Lee Perea dperea@pmq.com ext.139 advertising Sales Director Linda Green linda@pmq.com ext. 121 Account Executive Clifton Moody clifton@pmq.com ext. 138 Account Executive Tom Boyles tom@pmq.com ext. 122 administration Chief Financial Officer Shawn Brown shawn@pmq.com Circulation Manager Sherlyn Clark sherlyn@pmq.com ext. 120 Director of Operations/ Event Coordinator Brian Hernandez brian@pmq.com ext. 129 PMQ International PMQ China Yvonne Liu yvonne@pmq.com PMQ Australia-NZ Tom Boyles tom@pmqaustralia.com Pizza&Food Gabriele Ancona gabriele.ancona@pizzafood.it France Pizza Julien Panet jpanet@francepizza.fr

Donna Click Store manager, Gatti’s Pizza Abilene, TX

Pizza e Pasta Italiana Massimo Puggina redazione@pizzaepastaitaliana.it Spain—pizzanet.es Eduard Jiménez info@pizzanet.es Brazil—Pizzas & Massas Michel Wankenne wankenne@insumos.com.br

Thank you for the update, Donna. We are saddened to hear that Hailey’s story did not have a happy ending, and our sincerest condolences go out to the Dunn family.

editorial advisors Chef Santo Bruno Tom Lehmann Joey Todaro Ed Zimmerman contributors Chef Santo Bruno Tom Lehmann Michael J. Rasmussen Dan Risner

Share your passion!

Have a complaint, compliment or suggestion about something you’ve read in the pages of PMQ? Send your letter via email to editor@pmq.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line, or mail to PMQ, ATTN: Letters to the Editor, 605 Edison St., Oxford, MS 38655. We look forward to hearing from you!

Friend us on Facebook! Visit facebook.com/pmqpizzamagazine.

Thank You to Our PMQ Think Tank Moderators Daddio: Member since June 2006 Tom Lehmann: Member since June 2006

Rockstar Pizza: Member since June 2006 ADpizzaguy: Member since January 2007

14 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Volume 17, Issue 6 PMQ Pizza Magazine 605 Edison St. • Oxford, MS 38655 662.234.5481 • 662.234.0665 Fax linda@pmq.com PMQ Pizza Magazine (ISSN #1937-5263) is published 10 times per year. Cost of U.S. subscription is $25 per year. International $35. Periodical postage pricing paid at Oxford, MS. Additional mailing offices at Bolingbrook, IL. Postmaster: Send address changes to: PMQ Pizza Magazine, PO Box 2015, Langhorne, PA 19047.

Opinions expressed by the editors and contributing writers are strictly their own, and are not necessarily those of the advertisers.

All rights reserved. No portion of PMQ may be reproduced in whole or part without written consent.

pizza press news & views

Freese Warning St. Louis Cardinals infielder David Freese has signed on to play for another homeBaseball player David Freese will town team—Imo’s Pizza (imospizza.com). celebrate his love for Imo’s Pizza as The 2011 World Series MVP will appear in spokesperson for the company.

Imo’s TV, radio, print and digital ads and make personal appearances. Freese says he loves Imo’s Pizza as much as Cards fans love his batting average. “I grew up on Imo’s Pizza,” he adds. “So it won’t be difficult for me at all to be the new spokesperson.”

Dueling Ovens Brothers Vince and Brandon Carrabba couldn’t choose between coal and wood ovens for their new Morristown, New Jersey-based Millie’s Old World Meatballs and Pizza (milliesoldworld.com), so they decided on both. “It’s almost like two different businesses—totally different recipes for the sauce and dough, and we even cut cheese differently for each,” Vince says. “People told us no one’s ever done both of these ovens successfully, but we’re perfectionists.”

With its diverse pizza menu, three-generation-old meatball recipe and homemade mozzarella, the pizzeria pays homage to Old-World dining traditions in a decidedly modern space. “We don’t hold anything back, and we know what great food should taste like,” Vince says. “Since opening in February, business has been even better than expected.”

From the Orangeville Topper’s Pizza, store manager John Stackhouse (left) and franchise partner Christine Meyer (right) congratulate Chris Fryer, winner of the Topper’s Pizza Making Genius contest.

Marketing Genius Topper’s Pizza (toppers.ca), with 35 stores in Ontario, Canada, tapped into customers’ creativity for the 2013 Pizza Making Genius contest, for which the public was asked to submit ideas for a winning specialty pie.

Winner Chris Fryer scored free pizza for a year thanks to his Greek-inspired combination— feta cheese, boneless chicken marinated in Topper’s Famous House Dip, Kalamata olives, red onions, diced tomatoes and a creamy garlic-and-tomato sauce. The pie will be offered on the pizzeria’s menu and featured in its summer advertising campaign.

But the real winner is Topper’s: The contest promotes customer interaction, drives social media and helps the company find out more about its fans’ tastes. “It lets our customers feel like they’re part of the Topper’s Pizza team—and, most importantly, they chatted about it often on our Facebook page,” notes Keith Toppazzini, president of Topper’s Franchise Company.

To Catch

(Clockwise from top) Millie’s utilizes Old-World ovens in a modern environment; Brandon and Vince Carrabba show off their char-marked pizzas; meatballs are created from a three-generation-old recipe.

16 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

a Thief

After an arm ed man rob bed a Pizza store in Sp R okane, Wa shington, th ita (pizzarita.com) $10,000 rew e chain ha ard—or 1,0 s offered a 00 free pizza formation le s—for inading to th e thief’s arre conviction. st and The store h as been rob times in th bed three e past thre e years.

in lehmann’s terms tom “the dough doctor” lehmann

How to Minimize Snap-Back Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann offers tips for creating the perfect dough for a press.

By Tom Lehmann

QUESTION: We have been pressing out dough skins, but they keep snapping back. What are we doing wrong?

ANSWER: In order to form a pizza skin using a dough press, you must have a very soft and relaxed dough. For starters, if you are using a high-protein/high-gluten flour, you might want to change over to flour with a lower protein content, between 11.5% to 12.8%. The lower protein content will help reduce the memory characteristics of the dough, thus reducing snap-back after pressing. Second, to get the desired soft dough characteristic, the dough absorption should be optimized (this refers to the maximum amount of water that you can add to the dough while still retaining acceptable handling properties). Finally, the fat (oil or shortening) that you add to the dough helps lubricate the dough structure for improved pressing properties. I’ve found that a fat content of 3% to 5% results in the best pressing properties for dough.

Once these steps are taken, if you still experience excessive snap-back, you will need to add a reducing agent to the dough. There are several options, but agents based on L-cysteine or dead yeast seem to work the best. Be careful when adding any type of dough relaxer, however, as an excessive amount can literally

turn an otherwise good dough into soup!

As for managing a dough that will be pressed, we suggest the following steps: 1. Scale and ball the dough immediately after mixing.

2. Place the dough balls in plastic dough boxes and wipe the top of the dough balls with salad oil.

3. Cross-stack the dough boxes in the cooler for at least two hours before down-stacking the boxes.

4. Allow the dough to remain in the cooler for 24 hours, then remove it from the cooler and allow the dough balls to temper at room temperature for about two hours, or until the temperature of the dough balls reaches 50°F.

18 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

5. Carefully transfer the dough balls to the press platen and lightly oil the platen as well as the top of the dough ball (a can of spray oil works well).

6. Place the dough ball onto the platen and press with a holding time of about five seconds, using a press temperature of about 250°F. If you follow these steps, you should be able to eliminate or at least minimize snap-back or shrinkage in your dough skins.

Tom Lehmann is the director of bakery assistance for the American Institute of Baking (AIB). Need more dough advice? Visit the Dough Information Center at PMQ.com/dough.

“You gotta start with quality if you want to end with quality.

Joe Calcagno Owner, La Bella

When you’re a third generation pizza maker, what you serve matters, it’s a part of who you are. That’s why at La Bella’s, Joe Calcagno insists on using tomatoes with the BEST FLAVOR—he insists on Escalon Premier Brands. Our canned tomatoes are packed fresh and steam peeled with no added citric acid and deliver CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE every time.

To sample a better tomato today, call 1-888-ESCALON or visit www.Escalon.net.

©2013, Escalon Premier Brands.

New York’s Finest Chef Bruno

Glazed Oranges Chef Bruno whips up a taste of sweet Florida sunshine with oranges, butter, currant jelly and arrowroot.

By Chef Santo Bruno

‌W

You’ll Need:

4 large navel oranges Directions: hy am I providing a recipe 3 tbsp. butter for glazed oranges this month?

Remove the thin outer peel from three of the ¾ c. currant jelly As most of you know, I live in oranges with a peeler. Cut the peels into very ½ c. orange juice Tampa, Florida, not too far from Tropithin slivers and place in a small saucepan.

1 tbsp. arrowroot cana, the maker of Florida orange juice Add water to cover orange peels and cover 2 tbsp. cold water and many other juice products. When you with a lid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat drive along Route 41 South, you can see and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and put 20 or 30 tractors pulling trailers loaded peels to the side. with oranges on the way to Tropicana’s processing plant.

Cut remaining peel and white membranes (rinds) from all Even better, you can smell the wonderful aroma of the or- four oranges. Now put butter and jelly in the cooking pan of anges from miles away. a chafing dish. Place the oven on low heat and stir gently until Of course, everyone knows oranges are good for you, es- melted. Stir in the orange and peels. Reserve some on the side pecially as a source of vitamin C. But, according to a CNN for garnish, if desired. Place oranges in sauce. Cook for five report, oranges are also rich in pectin, a dietary fiber that pro- minutes. Spoon the sauce onto the mixture. Occasionally mix tects the colon and reduces blood cholesterol levels, plus an in the arrowroot with cold water to form a smooth paste. Stir antioxidant called naringenin, and other healthy flavonoids. into the sauce. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens, One day recently, after watching the tractors hauling or- approximately five minutes. When done, serve the oranges anges down Route 41, I came home with the idea for this warm. Sprinkle with peel for garnish. recipe. I told my wife to get out of the kitchen, and I started to play around. I made six glazed oranges with different flaChef Bruno is PMQ’s culinary advisor, with more than 40 years of international pizza experience. He is the corporate chef for Marsal & Sons vors and tested them on my neighbors the next day. They and the culinary coach of the U.S. Pizza Team. were delicious!

20 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Build A Better Pizza

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call 1-800-331-MEAT. Ask for Jim Dorgan.

Accounting For your Money Michael J. Rasmussen, CPA

Per Diem Rates and Processing Fees Mike Rasmussen offers tips for covering travel expenses and getting a better deal on credit card processing.

By Michael J. Rasmussen

QUESTION: For overnight trips to my various stores, can I deduct a daily travel per diem rate?

ANSWER: As the restaurant owner, you may pay a per diem allowance in lieu of reimbursing actual expenses for lodging, as well as meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) incurred or to be incurred by an employee. This includes reimbursement to owners for away-from-home travel. The amount that will be treated as a substantiated expense for each day (or part of a day) will be the lesser of either the per diem allowance or the amount computed at the federal per diem rate for the locality being visited that day. Incidental expenses include only fees and tips given to porters, hotel staff, etc.

A new calculation for substantiating travel allowances is the simplified (high-low) method. It can be used for per diem amounts paid for lodging plus M&IE during travel within the continental United States. If the regular federal per diem option isn’t used, the restaurant owner may reimburse up to $242 for high-cost localities ($177 for lodging and $65 for M&IE) and $163 for other localities ($111 for lodging and $52 for M&IE).

QUESTION: How can I get a better deal from my credit card processor?

ANSWER: You can start by shopping around. If it has been six months or more since you last received a quote from your current merchant service provider, you should take a little time to reach out and contact other providers. As most of you have experienced, it won’t take long before some aggressive salesperson will turn up and promise you the moon.

22 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

To get started, compare your rates and fees on a transaction category basis. For example, card-present transactions incur a lower fee than corporate cards. To ensure accuracy, the provider will need copies of your merchant’s statements from the past three months for the purpose of comparison; ask specifically for an annual savings calculation. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that you familiarize yourself with your current provider’s termination fees in case you decide to make a switch, and make sure you fully understand the new provider’s termination fees before making your final decision.

Of course, you’ll also want to make sure that your equipment is compatible with the new provider’s requirements. Finally, ask the new provider if you will have the ability to view your daily transactions online, batch by batch; using this approach, you will be able to monitor your merchant fees as you go along rather than having to wait until the end of each month. In this era of “big data,” you have every right to receive your data from the provider in a timely manner that allows you to keep a close watch on it.

Have a question for Mike? Send it to editor@pmq.com.

Michael J. Rasmussen is the owner of Rasmussen Tax Group in Conway, Arkansas. Visit rasmussentaxgroup.com for additional insight into restaurant-specific tax strategies and technology programs.

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Pizza Month: Vegan of the

Summer Salad Pizza Recipe provided by Teese Vegan Cheese Photo by Kara Hoffman 16 oz. pizza dough ½ c. vegan pizza sauce (no dairy added) ½ zucchini, thinly sliced 6-8 portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 handful fresh spinach ½ tomato, thinly sliced ¼ red onion, thinly sliced 1 handful black olives 10 oz. vegan mozzarella cheese, shredded Fresh basil, for garnish

Roll out the pizza dough to form a crust.

Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the crust. Layer zucchini, mushrooms and spinach directly onto the sauce. Cover with the vegan cheese. Layer thinly sliced tomatoes, red onions and black olives on top of the cheese. Bake at 500° for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil.

Click here to see video demonstration of Teese Cheese

24 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The Vegan Effect

When it comes to eschewing animal products in their food, vegans mean business—and their business can mean big bucks for your business. According to recent polls, about 5% to 7% of Americans consider themselves vegetarians—they never eat meat, fish, seafood or poultry—and about half of these are vegan, also rejecting dairy, eggs and animal-derived products such as honey. Meanwhile, a full one-third of Americans go meat-free for many of their meals. In other words, offering vegan options can attract both strict herbivores and meat eaters looking for a tasty—and healthy—change of pace. It’s no wonder that more pizzeria operators are adding vegan items to their menus, as evidenced by these examples of vegan pies around the country: All items are vegan and certified kosher at Blackbird Pizzeria (blackbirdpizzeria.com) in Philadelphia; the Popeye is topped with wilted spinach and olive oil, pumpkin seed pesto, green olives, roasted garlic and crispy shiitake mushrooms.

Seattle’s Pizza Pi (pizza-pi.net) lights up customers’ lives with its Sunny Day pie, featuring sun-dried tomato cream sauce, spinach, potatoes, black olives and cashew ricotta.

Mohawk Bend (mohawk.la) in Los Angeles serves meat lovers and vegans alike, but the latter prefer such selections as the Vegan Bahn Mi, an Asian-themed pie topped with marinated tofu, pickled carrots and daikon, jalapeños, herb salad and sriracha aioli.

Vegans get a menu of their own at Brooklyn’s Vinnie’s Pizzeria (vinniesbrooklyn.com) in New York. The Black Bean Taco is loaded with black beans, pico de gallo and vegan ground beef, mozzarella and cheddar, then spiced up with Frank’s Hot Sauce.

August 2013

pmq.com 25

feature story Pizza X

26 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

x

THE

FACTOR

Youth-targeted marketing tactics and an emphasis on simplicity and consistency have made Pizza X a Bloomington favorite for 30-plus years.

By Rick Hynum Photos by Brian Hernandez

S

tudents at Indiana University (IU) love pizza almost as much as they love beer pong and basketball. And just as the Hoosier name is synonymous with college hoops, the locally owned Pizza X (pizzaxbloomington.com) has been synonymous with great pies in Bloomington for more than 30 years. With four stores around the city and one location situated conveniently on the IU campus, Pizza X co-owner Jeff Mease has focused on a few core business principles—simplicity, speed, consistency and efficiency— to build his own diverse mini-empire, under the corporate name One World Enterprises, that also includes a brewpub, a line of handcrafted beers and a catering business, not to mention a sprawling farm stocked with water buffalo and a whole bunch of high-price pigs.

“We were originally a very university-focused business aimed at the college crowd,” recalls Mease, who was a sophomore at IU when he started in the pizza business at a local Domino’s.

“Our first store was right across the street from several large dorms. We opened at 4 p.m. and stopped taking orders on the weekends at 4 a.m.”

But youth is fleeting, and even frat boys grow up one day.

“It’s always natural—and probably very healthy—to sell to the

kind of customer that you are yourself,” Mease says. “You can understand them. And as our customers got older and settled down with families, we began to open more stores in residential areas. I think it was very natural for us to grow with our customer base.”

A Debt to Domino’s For a proudly independent pizzaiolo, Mease owes at least some of his success to the world’s second-largest pizza chain—and he’s not embarrassed to admit it. He was still in his teens when he worked part-time as a delivery driver for Domino’s. And he learned as much from company founder Tom Monaghan’s business model as he ever gleaned in his classes at IU. “Domino’s had two stores in Bloomington at the time, and they just ran circles around everyone else,” Mease recalls. “They’d designed a brilliant ordering and paperwork system—it was just a great operation. Several of us at the time felt we could borrow from those systems but create a local company and be in a good competitive position.”

Mease and partner Lennie Busch broke away from Domino’s to create Pizza X, then called Pizza Express, in 1982. They borrowed liberally from the Domino’s system, emphasizing August 2013

pmq.com 27

PIZZA X

(Clockwise from left) Pizza X’s Xpress Man, currently portrayed by Tevyn Bell, has been rescuing Bloomington from bad pizza since the late 1980s; every Pizza X order is delivered with at least two Tootsie Rolls as an added treat; a pair of “X-terns” mingle with locals at the annual Taste of Bloomington festival.

freshness of ingredients and consistency. They also adopted the megachain’s policy on speedy delivery, Mease says. “Across the company we still have a 22-minute delivery average to the customer’s door. Nobody else can touch that.”

Of course, it didn’t hurt to have a location on the IU campus, just up the street from Fraternity Row. “I was still a student myself at the time, so we were able to connect with other students.

We did a lot of student-focused marketing that Domino’s and the other chains couldn’t do as a large enterprise.”

As the business began to expand off-campus, Mease and Busch added a commissary to ensure consistency and quality.

But even as demand for their pizzas grew, the owners stuck to their stripped-down—and Domino’s-inspired—business model: delivery and carryout only, with a relatively simple menu that emphasized quality over quantity.

“I have tremendous respect for Domino’s Pizza and Tom Monaghan and what they accomplished during their first 25 years,” Mease says. “Monaghan revolutionized the business and demonstrated what was possible. Many of us, from me to John Schnatter and everyone in between in the delivery business, owe our livelihoods to him.”

Connecting With the Customer Mease may have copied Domino’s operational systems, but his approach to marketing reflects a hipper, fresher style that’s all his own, the mark of a lifelong hippie—he describes himself as a “dirt-worshipping tree hugger”—who has remained young 28 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

at heart. “An independent cannot and does not need to market like the big chains market,” he insists. “The independent also has many more opportunities to create fans than a large corporation does. We look for opportunities to connect with our customers. For a long, long time, we have had one person in the company dedicated to marketing and PR. We keep a lot of young people involved in our marketing department, and we listen to their ideas. We don’t let the older people in the organization make all of the marketing decisions—and by that I mean people over 50, like me.”

One of Mease’s most successful and enduring marketing campaigns first rolled out—literally—in the late 1980s.

The Pizza X van is a multicolored, star-spangled billboard on wheels, decked out with the company’s logo and slogan (“Pizza to the People”) and an illustration of the Xpress Man, a superhero character clutching a handful of breadsticks. “We got the idea from local radio stations which, at that time, used a similar tactic to get out into the community and get seen,” Mease says.

“We take the van to a wide variety of community events. By itself, it acts as a billboard for us, but we’ll often staff it with several of our marketing ‘X-terns’—IU students looking for marketing experience—and hand out Pizza X swag, such as cups, pens, T-shirts and other goodies.”

Xpress Man, the Pizza X mascot, began as an illustration for an ad campaign in the 1980s. “Someone had the idea to ask the IU theater department to make a costume and bring the character to life,” Mease says. “We’ve had Xpress Men from

“We don’t let the older people in the organization make all of the marketing decisions—and by that I mean people over 50, like me.” —Jeff Mease, Pizza X

Used and reused by IU students and locals alike, Pizza X’s stadium cups are one of the company’s most important marketing tools.

PIZZA X

nearly every race, color and creed, sometimes with a mohawk, a ponytail or muttonchops. Sometimes Xpress Man isn’t even a man.”

Xpress Man and the Pizza X van have become familiar sights at IU sports events. “At every home soccer game, the van takes a slow lap around the field and ends up with Xpress Man jumping out and delivering a pizza to a random fan in the stands,” Mease says. “On some nights we do Pump-N-Thump, where we take the van to frat parties or to the downtown area when a lot of people are out and about. We’ll stop the van, and the X-terns will distribute swag and make friends.”

The Pizza X logo also makes the rounds in a simpler form— the popular stadium cups that IU students and locals alike use and reuse for everything from dinnertime refreshments to,

well, more adult-oriented libations. “We’ve been doing these cups for about 25 years,” Mease says. “If you just compared the Pizza X cup to a bottle of Coca-Cola or a Styrofoam cup in terms of packaging costs, you could never justify it. Or you can say, this cup will cost me 15 cents or more, but I can charge enough for it to make sense, and all of a sudden there’s a stack of these things in our customers’ cupboards. That does make sense. They’ll last forever, and they can get used hundreds of times. So red Solo cups can go to hell.”

Available in a wide—and ever-rotating—range of colors, the Pizza X cup also figures into one of the company’s social media promotions, Fun Photo Friday. “We go out and stash a cup somewhere in Bloomington, take a picture of it and post it on our Facebook page,” Mease says. “The first person who can identify the location of the cup gets a free pizza and breadsticks.

The cups are a tremendous marketing tool for us.”

Creating Value, Not Gimmicks

Pizza X co-owner Jeff Mease dislikes periodic discounting “gimmicks,” preferring to offer three regular “value meal deals” instead.

While most pizzerias’ menus grow larger and more complex as the company expands and adds units, Mease has resisted the urge to stray from what Pizza X does best. “All we sell is pizza, breadsticks and soft drinks,” he points out. “We’ve stayed away from wings and sandwiches—they really complicate your operation, and they can make your core product seem less important to the staff, resulting in lower quality.”

He has also built up immunity to the discounting disease to which so many restaurateurs succumb during economic downturns. “You can’t stay in business for 30 years selling $4.99 pizzas and doing gimmicks,” Mease says. “I don’t like gimmicks.

We look for other ways to create value that will work over the long term. Why do others do it? It gives them a hook so they can sell other more expensive things—like wings and sandwiches—but we don’t have those more expensive things to sell.”

Instead, Pizza X has offered the same three value meal deals for years. The Big X Bargain, featuring a large one-topping pie, an order of breadsticks and two soft drinks for $13.95, makes up a large chunk of daily sales, while breadstick devotees go for the Little 500 Deal, consisting of one order of breadsticks, two dipping sauces and a 22-ounce soda for five bucks. Finally, large parties cash in on the Volume Deal, which offers large one-topping pies for $8.99 each with an order of between two August 2013

pmq.com 29

PIZZA X

Local school groups cash in on Pizza X’s ongoing Proof of Purchase (POP) promotion, redeeming POP tabs from pizza boxes for 25 cents apiece; the Bloomington Brewing Company, owned by Pizza X’s parent company, makes handcrafted ales, porters and ambers.

and 10 (additional discounts apply for even larger orders).

Meanwhile, local school groups take advantage of the ongoing Proof of Purchase (POP) promotion. Every Pizza X box comes with a proof of purchase tab, each of which can be redeemed for 25 cents. Once a group has collected a large number of POP tabs, they turn them in to Pizza X and receive a hefty check. About 20 organizations are registered for the program, ranging from elementary and middle school PTO groups to Edgewood High’s Speech Team and Bloomington High South’s Amateur Radio Club.

Keeping It Local Over the years, Mease and Busch have become more than

30 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

just pizzeria operators. Even as they continued to open Pizza X locations around Bloomington, they also created Lennie’s Restaurant and Brewpub, which serves gourmet pizzas, salads and sandwiches, and Bloomington Brewing Company, which makes handcrafted ales, porters and ambers for Lennie’s and other area restaurants, all under the One World Enterprises umbrella. The company’s purchase of the historic Loesch Farm, located west of Bloomington, is part of a plan to create a “farmstead restaurant,” complete with organically grown crops as ingredients. The farm also grows hops for the brewery as well as heritage breed pigs and water buffalo.

It’s all part of Mease’s commitment to Bloomington, a town he truly loves. He prides himself on keeping Pizza X as “local”

as it can be. “We aren’t carpetbaggers,” he says. “We live here, and it affects the way you operate a business when you live next door to your customers and your employees. So we look for ways to make sure our dollars stay here, too. We support the local food bank and the local soup kitchen. We support the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation, which produces the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. We like to support those events and organizations that make Bloomington special and unique.”

Although One World Enterprises will continue to explore new business opportunities and causes, don’t expect any big changes at its Pizza X stores; Mease believes his customers prefer consistency over the long term. “A business comes to hold a space in the customer’s mind, and if the business is wellmanaged, it can own that space,” he says. “Through a lot of hard work, we’ve been fortunate to pretty much own the pizza delivery market in Bloomington. It’s ours to lose. One sure way to lose it would be to get too creative within our four walls. I’m big on keeping things as consistent as possible over time. Customers like to have the same experience every time they come in. You might be able to change and keep those customers, but you might just shoot yourself in the foot.”

For bonus content on Pizza X’s sustainability program and community involvement, check out PMQ’s digital edition at PMQ.com.

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

32 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

With five locations throughout the Bloomington area, including the Pizza X South store pictured here, the company’s logo has become virtually synonymous with pizza in Hoosier country.

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feature story Toppings

ALYSSA VINCENT

36 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

One of three signature pizzas at Pizzeria Seven Twelve featuring hand-pulled mozzarella, this pie is topped with chives and sun-dried tomato romesco.

Trendy

Toppings

By Liz Barrett

Pizzeria chefs and operators discuss some of the hottest specialty toppings being offered around the country.

E

verybody knows that pepperoni is America’s No. 1 pizza topping, but it’s far from the only topping. There are a growing number of items that consumers simply cannot resist when they spot them on a pizzeria menu. And as more ingredients become available through local suppliers and Italian exporters, the list of toppings continues to grow, to the delight of pizza consumers everywhere.

With that in mind, PMQ has scoured dozens of menus to find some of the hottest toppings being offered across the country. We also asked chefs and operators how quickly the pies made with these specialty toppings are flying out of their ovens.

You Say Potato It’s hard to resist a potato-topped pizza, especially when today’s chefs are getting so creative with their topping methods: thin-sliced, fried, tater tots, au gratin, mashed, and more.

La Bella Pizza Bistro (labellapizzabistro.com), located in New Paltz, New York, has been offering

its Potato Au Gratin Deep Dish pizza—featuring mashed potatoes, caramelized onions, cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese—for 15 years, according to owner Maria Lisanti. “We were just playing around in the kitchen one day, trying different toppings that would fill a deep-dish pie,” she says. “The mashed potatoes were a perfect fit.”

Because the pizza takes 45 minutes to bake, Lisanti says she sells the decadent pies mostly by the slice, which some customers top with bacon, broccoli or sour cream. “We go through about five pies a day, which equates to 210 slices per week,” she says.

Hand-Pulled Mozzarella Most would agree that pizza isn’t pizza without mozzarella. So when you heighten the experience by swapping out traditional shredded mozzarella for the fresh, hand-pulled variety, it gives your pizza an entirely new taste and appeal.

Owners Colton Soelberg and Joseph McRae spotlight simple local foods at Pizzeria Seven Twelve (pizzeria712.com) in Orem, Utah, including their

August 2013

pmq.com 37

“When you combine cauliflower, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and roast it in the pizza oven, the cauliflower becomes crispy and produces a nice charred flavor.” —Matt Culbertson, Radius Pizza

Radius Pizza in Washington, D.C., has been offering cauliflower-topped pizzas for the past eight months and sells around 30 per week.

RADIUS PIZZA

hand-pulled mozzarella offered on three of the pizzeria’s signature pizzas, one of which is finished with tomato sauce, garlic, ricotta, Grana Padano and red pepper flakes. Chef Stephen Lott says the pizzeria team decided to start making their own hand-pulled mozzarella when they weren’t able to find a supplier for buffalo mozzarella. “We sell around 500 pizzas per week topped with the hand-pulled mozzarella,” Lott says. “The customers love it, and hand-pulling the mozzarella doesn’t really take a lot of extra time.”

Cauliflower Power Everyone has seen broccoli on pizza, but now a growing number of pizzerias have added cauliflower to the topping lineup.

In fact, you may be surprised at the interesting flavors you can pull out of this vastly underrated vegetable when a pizza oven is allowed to work its magic.

At Washington, D.C.-based Radius Pizza (radiuspizza.com), where two of the 10 specialty pies feature cauliflower, co-owner Matt Culbertson says he chose to add it as a topping because it’s one of his favorites. “When you combine cauliflower, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and roast it in the pizza oven, the cauliflower becomes crispy and produces a nice charred flavor,” he says. “It’s a healthy addition to our pizzas and adds a nice texture.” After eight months on the menu, Culbertson estimates that patrons purchase approximately 30 cauliflowertopped pies per week.

100 miles for it.” The specialty pie is topped with hot sopressata, Cajun sausage, hot Italian sausage, pepper jack cheese, jalapeños, green olives, fresh serrano chilies and green onions; Bennett says the combination is uniquely tasty, with the green olives adding just the right bit of saltiness, and the heat level is customizable according to each guest’s taste.

The Incredible Edible Egg There’s something about egg on a pizza that just seems so right, no matter what time of day it happens to be. The yolk blends perfectly with melted cheese, a savory sauce and an airy crust, making its growing popularity on pizzeria menus no surprise.

Soleto Trattoria and Pizza Bar (soletorestaurant.com), a chic Italian restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, has been serving its Potato, Bacon and Egg Pie since the restaurant opened in

The Potato, Bacon and Egg Pie at Soleta Trattoria and Pizza Bar has been a dream of its executive chef for the past 20 years.

Whether it’s spicy sausage, hot sauce, red pepper flakes or hot peppers, you can always count on some customers craving a little added heat with their pizzas. Pizzerias have been quick to answer the call with plenty of tongue-burning, tear-inducing pies for fans of the flame.

The Sunburn pizza at Slyce Pizza Bar (slycepizzabar.com) in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, was inspired by other restaurants’ menu items that promised to be hot and spicy but fell short of the hype, say Slyce co-owners Ken Gillespie and Jack Bennett. “We sell 60 to 70 of The Sunburn pizzas per week,” Gillespie says. “In fact, some of our customers drive more than 38 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

MICHAEL GARDNER

Fans of the Flame

LA BELLA PIZZA BISTRO

MOTORINO

(Left to right) The Potato Au Gratin Deep Dish pizza at La Bella Pizza Bistro bakes for 45 minutes; Motorino sells 1,000 Brussels Sprouts pizzas per week.

July 2012, according to executive chef Sascha Lyon. “The Potato, Bacon and Egg Pie has been on my mind for 20 years,” Lyon reflects. “The first time I experienced it, in the true Sicilian fashion, was in the basement kitchen of one of my best friends’ parents’ house in Queens, New York, at about 2:30 a.m. on a New Year’s Eve. His mother was making potato pizza for the New Year, as was tradition. Her pizza was simple, comprised of fluffy, yeasty Sicilian pizza crust, potatoes, onion and oregano.

In my version, I add bacon and egg to make it particularly indulgent and more my style.”

While Lyon says the pie may not be as popular as some of the more mainstream options, Soleto still sells about 100 Potato, Bacon and Egg pies per week to its hungry fans.

A Surge of Sprouts Cover the kids’ ears for this one: You’ve probably noticed a surge of Brussels sprouts on restaurant menus in the last few years as this oft-disparaged veggie is now enjoying its moment in the limelight. It was only a matter of time before they made it onto the pizza menu, and for good reason—they taste great!

August 2013

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SLICE PIZZA BAR

Some heat seekers have driven more than 100 miles for the spicy Sunburn pizza at Slyce Pizza Bar.

At Motorino (motorinopizza.com), with locations in New York and Hong Kong, owner Mathieu Palombino was looking for something different when he opted to include his Brussels Sprouts pizza on the menu. “Everyone loves Brussels sprouts in New York, especially ladies,” he says. Motorino sells about 1,000 per week of the pizzas, which are topped with Brussels sprout leaves, fior di latte, smoked pancetta, Pecorino, extra-virgin olive oil and garlic, says Palombino. “It

takes hours of work every day to cut the bases and separate all of the leaves individually,” he says. “But it’s very fresh, with a light snap; paired with the other ingredients, it becomes one big, juicy flavor.”

It’s Better With Burrata Once someone has experienced burrata, the Italian cheese filled with mozzarella and fresh cream, there’s really no going back. Slicing it open to reveal the decadently creamy interior and enjoying it with a little olive oil and cracked pepper or atop a fresh-from-the-oven pizza is many a pizza lover’s dream come true.

“I first had burrata in 2002 and lusted after it until I finally had it in my hands,” says Brad Kent, executive chef at Olio Pizzeria & Café (pizzeriaolio.com) in Los Angeles. “Since then, it has been a love affair that I believe will last a lifetime.”

Kent has been using burrata on pizza since 2002 and has had it as a staple on Olio’s signature pizza, the Margherita Plus, since Olio opened in 2010. The pizzeria sells approximately 200 burratatopped pizzas per week, he notes. “Burrata is not difficult to find locally, since we are lucky enough to have two exquisite burrata cheese manufacturers in Los Angeles,” says Kent. “The local product we use has a shelf life of about five days, and we choose to use all of our fresh cheeses, including fior di latte mozzarella and locally made ricotta, within three days of manufacture for the brightest and sweetest dairy flavor.”

Nuts About Nutella Nutella has been a popular staple in Italy since the mid-1960s, and its delicious combination of chocolate and hazelnut can be enjoyed on everything from toast to fruit to pizza. Pizza chefs in the United States have only recently caught on to its delectable versatility, but, as the number of Neapolitan-style pizzerias have grown, so have the number of Nutella-topped pies.

Sharon Ardiana has been utilizing Nutella at her San Francisco-based pizzerias Gialina (gialina.com) and Ragazza 40 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

“Nutella is one of those classic Italian products that I knew I wanted to incorporate into the dessert menu in some way. I tried about 10 different combinations and knew immediately when I had the winner.”

—Sharon Ardiana, Gialina and Ragazza

The Nutella pies at Gialina and Ragazza were inspired by an ice cream cone in Siena, Italy.

(ragazzasf.com) since they opened in 2007 and 2010, respectively. “Nutella is one of those classic Italian products that I knew I wanted to incorporate into the dessert menu in some way,” she says. “I tried about 10 different combinations and knew immediately when I had the winner.”

The pizza, which combines Nutella, mascarpone and Amaretti (an Italian almond-flavored macaroon), generates about 50 orders per week at Gialina and 20 per week at Ragazza. As for the inspiration behind the unique combination of toppings, Ardiana explains, “I remembered an ice cream cone I had in Siena, Italy. The inside was swathed with gianduja (hazelnut chocolate), the cone was the crunch, and the ice cream was the creamy part.” Since she didn’t want ice cream melting on the pizza, Ardiana swapped out the ice cream for mascarpone,

GIALINA/RAGAZZA

which she fashions to resemble soft-serve vanilla, and adds Amaretti—one of her favorites—for crunch.

“It’s not a single-size dessert,” Ardiana adds. “It’s a commitment that the whole table must make. But, like regular pizza, it’s also great the next morning!”

Liz Barrett is PMQ’s editor at large.

August 2013

pmq.com 41

feature story Catering to Vegetarians

ANGEL McVAY

42 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Zaza Fine Salad + Wood-Oven Pizza Co. (zazapizzaandsalad.com), with two locations in Arkansas, caters to vegetarians through pizzas such as the Green + White, with Fontina, mozzarella, goat cheese, spinach, caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms, extra-virgin olive oil and lemon.

Meat-Free

Magic

Use proper menu design and operational tactics to reach the growing—and famously loyal—vegetarian or vegan segment.

By Tracy Morin

V

egetarians aren’t the only ones selecting meat-free meals from menus across the country. Even Mario Batali—known for his pancetta-slinging prowess and old-fashioned mega-meatballs—helped publicize Meatless Mondays a few years back. According to a 2008 study

by Vegetarian Times and a 2012 Gallup Poll, 5% to 7% of American adults consider themselves to be vegetarian (including the still-small, but fast-growing, vegan group), while 10% of U.S. adults say they follow a largely vegetarian-inclined diet, and nearly half eat at least one meatless meal per week.

The bottom line: If you’re not actively catering to vegetarians, you’re missing out. Pizza is a natural eating-out option for

this segment, since there are plenty of vegetable-based specialty pizzas and the opportunity for design-your-own customization.

Chances are, even without making any changes to your core menu, you can do more to woo this group—and, much like gluten-shunning customers, vegetarians make an extremely loyal bunch when they know their needs are being considered.

“Vegetarians and vegans continue to be on the rise in America, and it’s important to have options for them, because they tend to be very passionate and loyal to places that give them options,” says Dan Reed, director of marketing at Chicago Vegan Foods, based in Chicago. “Vegetarians are always on the lookout for new and inventive dishes made with fresh ingredients, and pizza has always been a great food choice for them.”

August 2013

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“The most important part about catering to vegetarians is to make sure you do it with authenticity and integrity. Don’t throw a few options on your menu simply because you feel obligated to.”

—Vaughan Lazar, Pizza Fusion

Take these tips from experts on how you can use menu design, inventive ingredients, staff training and back-of-house tweaks to turn your pizzeria into a haven for those who crave meatless meals.

Mind Your Menu Your pizzeria probably already offers the typical vegetarianfriendly pizzas, such as a Margherita or one simply (if not cleverly) called “Veggie” on the menu. But why not try adding a few unique vegetarian toppings or putting some thought into a specialty combination that competitors don’t have? If there’s one thing vegetarians get tired of, it’s the same-ol’, see-themeverywhere vegetarian options on menus, so thinking outside the box will give you an edge. “The most important part about catering to vegetarians is to make sure you do it with authenticity and integrity; don’t throw a few options on your menu simply because you feel obligated to,” advises Vaughan Lazar, CEO of Pizza Fusion (pizzafusion.com), based in Boca Raton, Florida. “Just like carnivores, vegetarians are die-hard food lovers and know good food, so they expect quality and creativity.”

At Lilly’s Pizza (lillyspizza.com), with two locations in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, vegetarians have a plethora of options, with half of the menu comprised of meatless items. “We offer 70-plus toppings, including some unique ones, like organic roasted chilies, and just the availability and choices create a community awareness that we’re interested in serving this group,” says owner Jon Garrison. “As a former vegan and vegetarian, I know how difficult it can be finding places that can serve you, so we’ve always catered to them.”

But don’t simply put your vegetarian (or vegan) items on the menu—call them out. A vegetarian customer likes to be able to scan the menu for a symbol (Garrison uses a green “V”) that denotes a meat-free item. Or, if you have a lot of vegetarian options, you can have a special vegetarian menu or a section of the menu that lists all of these items in one place. “Calling out specialty menu items that are vegetarian or vegan is huge,” Reed notes. “Vegetarians are a very vocal group and like to spread the word when they’ve found something special, so having inventive toppings—from dairy-free cheese and mock meats to unique vegetable combinations—is key.”

Finally, if anything on your menu isn’t vegetarian but could be construed as such—say, if you use chicken stock in your marinara—put a note on the menu saying so. Make sure it’s noticeable and placed in a prominent area, such as at the top of the list of your vegetarian pizzas. It’s a vegetarian customer’s 44 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Pizza Fusion

Pizza Fusion utilizes creative combinations and fresh vegetable toppings in its successful selection of vegetarian pizzas.

worst nightmare to later find out he has unintentionally consumed an animal-based product. Of course, you can avoid this step by clearly marking vegetarian- and vegan-safe menu items outright.

Mock Debate Some vegetarians have no desire for mock meats, preferring to eat items that have no resemblance in taste or texture to real meat. But a lot of your vegetarian customers will welcome the opportunity to order the range of pizzas their meat-eating friends can get, so consider offering meat substitutes at your pizzeria. Meanwhile, for vegans, you’ll probably want to offer a dairy-free cheese option.

Luckily, there are plenty of meat substitutes on the market— for seafood (crab, tuna, calamari), beef (crumbled hamburger, meatballs), pork (ribs, bacon, pepperoni, sausage), chicken (breaded or “naked,” in cubed, patty, breast or strip form) and more. In fact, even health-conscious meat eaters might choose them over the real thing. “Meatless proteins provide the chef with endless creative possibilities,” says Russell Barnett, vice

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Vegetarian Vocabulary Vegetarians can be split up into subgroups, in ascending order of strictness:  Flexitarians follow a mostly plant-based diet but may still eat meat occasionally.  Pescatarians eat fish but not other meat products.  Ovo-lacto vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products, but no meat.  Lacto vegetarians shun eggs and meat but consume dairy products.  Vegans do not eat any animal products, including meat, cheese and even honey.

Pizzeria Paradiso

Pizzeria Paradiso’s vegetarian Bosco pizza combines tomato, spinach, mozzarella, mushrooms and red onions.

president of marketing at Gardein in Los Angeles. “They are operationally friendly and can be used as a substitute for beef and chicken in any recipe. A meatlike taste and texture gives the guest all the sensory experiences of eating foods they know and love, often with the nutritional and health benefits of clean, protein-packed, sustainable food.”

When it comes to vegan cheese, Reed suggests finding one that’s tasty and has a great shelf life. “The vegan cheese market has come a long way in the past few years, and more pizza

venues are picking up on this, but shelf life of the product is the key to sustainability,” he says. “You may not be serving up a huge percentage of vegan pizzas, but you need to have that option when it arises and still minimize any loss in unused product.” Meanwhile, for mock meats, Reed advises that pizzeria owners look for something that’s not going to dry out too quickly in the high heat of a pizza oven, because vegan items aren’t as fatty as meat-based sausage or pepperoni, for example.

Garrison feels that many mock meats aren’t well-seasoned,

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“Vegetarians and vegans continue to be on the rise in America, and it’s important to have options for them, because they tend to be very passionate and loyal to places that give them options.”

—Dan Reed, Chicago Vegan Foods Salad-topped pizzas are a great option for both vegetarians and customers seeking a healthy alternative.

Tracy Morin

so he uses an in-house seasoning blend to infuse flavor. “We get unbreaded mock-meat products because our vegetarian customers might not know what’s inside a breaded product, and it looks like real meat,” he notes. “We also use sauces, like our homemade Thai Curry sauce, to spice up less flavorful ingredients, such as tofu.”

Experiment with the different products on the market and try them out yourself—both on their own and in practical applications. Ask vegetarian or vegan friends for their opinions, or host a vegetarian sampling night to solicit feedback.

There has been an explosion of meat and cheese substitutes in recent years, so you’ll need to find what will work best for your customers and recipes. “We always look for high-quality products with good flavor profiles, but you can’t simply offer these products; you have to offer the products people will want to order,” says Cindy Wahl, “marketing chick” at Uncle Maddio’s (unclemaddios.com), a fast-growing build-your-own pizzeria chain based in Atlanta. “One of our most popular offerings in the vegan community is vegan cheese—and not only do we provide it; we don’t upcharge for it. That’s a rarity for this product.”

Finally, feel free to get creative with your vegetarian ingredients. At Pizza Lucé (pizzaluce.com), with seven locations in Minnesota, mock meat is used liberally, as is dairy-free mozzarella and ricotta. Though vegetarians can order familiar faves—such as a “meatball” Parmigiana or a “chicken” sandwich—the pizzeria doesn’t rest on its mockmeat laurels. To wit: The Rustler specialty pie, topped with mock duck, pineapple, banana peppers, red onion, cheddar, mozzarella and barbecue/red sauce, is a testament to the pizzeria’s willingness to put just as much thought into its vegetarian pies as its meat-based selections.

Staff Solutions To be prepared to field questions from this generally wary group, your front-of-house staff should have a clear idea of how all menu items are prepared—including training on 48 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

which items often have “hidden” animal-derived ingredients (some top offenders: Caesar dressing, Worcestershire sauce, marshmallows, meat-based stocks and gelatin). “There’s nothing worse than having special food requests, allergies, etc., and asking a server for some help navigating the menu, only to get a confused stare in return,” Lazar says. “And the best way to make a vegetarian feel welcome is to start out with the old saying: ‘How may we help you?’ You might even train staff to ask up front about food allergies or dietary restrictions.”

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At Slice Pizza & Brew (slicebirmingham.com), the White Shadow pizza features garlic, caramelized onion, portobello mushrooms, feta and Parmesan, finished with truffle oil.

“Our staff has a comprehensive understanding of all of our food options that meet the needs of our customers with special dietary requests, whether they’re allergyrelated or a lifestyle commitment,” says Sara I. Gunter, director of business administration for the three-location D.C.-based Pizzeria Paradiso (eatyourpizza.com). “This understanding starts with our training and testing program prior to their first serving shifts. Our staff’s knowledge of the toppings we offer and the ingredients included in all of our recipes are stressed repeatedly and often.” Pizzeria Paradiso’s staff is also required to participate in in-house continuing education training and intermittent random testing that reinforces the importance of this knowledge—which helps staff adequately meet customers’ needs and demands, says Gunter.

However, creating good back-of-house habits are equally important. Garrison makes sure to train staff on avoiding cross-contamination of utensils and using separate containers on prep tables so that meat doesn’t touch vegetarian toppings, for example. Though he admits constant vigilance may be required for newer staff members, longtime employees won’t think twice about these efforts, which will gain you a loyal following with vegetarian customers.

“The biggest part is education in regards to cross-contamination and separation,” Reed agrees. “For safety and ethical reasons, you’re not going to want meat and mock meats/veggies or dairy-based and nondairy cheese coming into contact through improper handling or sharing the same utensils.” Reed adds that mock meats can look very similar to their animal-based counterparts, so it’s important to have everything clearly marked and separated. And since building trust with these customers is a top priority, thorough training is a must. Finally, it won’t hurt to include this commitment in writing on your menu and marketing materials—customers usually can’t see inside your kitchen, but they’ll feel better knowing about your painstaking practices.

As far as marketing your new status as a vegetarian and vegan safe haven, you can put the word out through the usual channels—your social media accounts, website, advertising and menus—or offer (as Pizza Fusion does) Meatless Mondays specials on vegetarian and vegan items. But, when you thoroughly follow the steps outlined above, you’ll likely be a beneficiary of the greatest marketing of all—word-of-mouth.

“When you get the word out that you care, offer a safe product and are interested in this segment, I think you’ll get people talking,” Garrison says. “And, with vegetarians and vegans, once that word-of-mouth starts, it’ll quickly replicate.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

August 2013

pmq.com 49

Where the Industry Unites

Find us:

PIZZA VILLAGE

JOIN OUR SECTION OF THIS MEGA SHOW!

Looking for trends, ideas and opportunities for your pizza business? It all comes together at the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) this October. IBIE has everything you need to boost sales, increase ROI and stay ahead of changing consumer tastes. Shop advancements in automated dough and handling equipment, batch mixers, conveyor ovens, packaging, toppings and more.

The Pizza Village Features: Pizza Industry Exhibits Exciting new moneymaking products and services.

PMQ Information Center Meet the PMQ staff and pick up your informational packet about IBIE 2013.

U.S. Pizza Team TrialsThe American Pizza Championship The industry’s top pizzathletes compete for a spot on the U.S. Pizza Team and trip to the 2014 World Pizza Championship.

For more information or to register to compete in the American Pizza Championship or the U.S. Pizza Team Trials, please visit pmq.com/uspt-registration or call Brian Hernandez at brian@pmq.com or 662-234-5481 ext 129.

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Show Floor Demonstrations: Watch, learn and do at the Amoretti Demo Theater on the show floor. Featuring FREE daily demos from celebrity chefs and bakers—including Buddy Valastro of TLC’s “Cake Boss,” the demos provide creative ideas and practical tips that can be applied immediately to enhance and improve your own retail offerings.

More than 70 education sessions featuring expert speakers, including:

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For more information about the Educational Program visit www.IBIE2013.com/education/.

REGISTER FOR IBIE TODAY & SAVE: www.IBIE2013.com Exhibitors: To exhibit at IBIE in the Pizza Village call 662-234-5481.

Clifton Moody at ext 138, Linda Green at ext 121 or Tom Boyles at ext 122

feature story Ovens

52 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Fresh

Oven from the

Make sure your oven earns its keep in the kitchen by exploring the full range of moneymaking menu items it can produce. By Tracy Morin

Y

our oven is one of the most important—and expensive—pieces of equipment in your pizzeria. And, while it’s a given that you’ll be churning out mouthwatering pizzas with this vital device, you also want to make sure that you get the most out of your investment by broadening its output. Luckily, when whipping up mouthwatering appetizers, hearty entrees or tantalizing desserts, today’s ovens prove incredibly versatile, whether you have a conveyor, deck or wood-fired model. We chatted with oven experts and operators alike to gather ideas about how you can use your most essential piece of machinery to expand your business’ menu—and generate blazing-hot profits.

Start and Finish When patrons need a prepizza snack (or a postpizza finisher), you’ll want to offer them both creative and familiar options, but don’t be afraid to think outside the deep-fryer. “Appetizers and desserts are a great way to diversify your menu and increase check averages, and if you can do that in your pizza oven, all the better,” says Pam Burisky, ops/training specialist for Dallas-based Ovention Ovens. “You can bake a wide variety of items, especially when you have the flexibility to adjust temperatures, top and bottom heat, and time.” For example, she says, a versatile impingement oven can cook appetizers such as macaroni-and-cheese bites, stuffed ravioli, spinach-andartichoke dip, stuffed mushrooms, roasted vegetables, pastries and more.

August 2013

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Varasano’s Pizzeria Varasano’s Pizzeria

At Varasano’s Pizzeria, Jeff Varasano cooks a range of menu items in his ovens, including house-made bread for bruschetta and sandwiches.

Indeed, temperature flexibility has been a great asset for Jeff Varasano, owner of Varasano’s Pizzeria (varasanos.com) in Atlanta. He utilizes a three-deck electric oven with controls for adjusting top versus bottom heat. And because he typically uses no more than two decks for pizza, the third deck can be set to a lower temperature for nonpizza items.

“We make so many meatballs that it’s not practical to pan-fry them anymore, so we bake them in sheet trays in the oven,” he explains. “The same goes with our sausage. For dessert, we bake dark-chocolate orange brownies and the occasional cake for a special occasion. I’ve even been known to pop in a few trays of Popovers for special brunch guests, and they’re amazing!” Varasano also uses the ovens for dough-based nonpizza items: oblong loaves of bread (used for grilled sandwiches, French toast, crostini and croutons), hero rolls, pocket breads and calzones.

Meanwhile, Jason Hague, owner of Bada Bing! Pizzeria (badabingpizzeria.com) in Springfield, Ohio, has found that his traditional deck oven allows him to cook a variety of items—in fact, it’s the only piece of cooking equipment he has in the kitchen. “Other than pizza, we bake our garlic knots, grinders, pastas, chicken wings, calzones, pepperoni rolls and garlic cheese sticks in the oven,” he says. “We also bake our own bread for our grinders, and we bake cookies in the oven right after we fire it up.”

Obviously, versatility is a top selling point for modern ovens, and infrared models can be used to cook just about anything, 54 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

according to Jim Chapman, vice president and business unit manager at Prince Castle in Carol Stream, Illinois. “Infrared ovens blow no air, keeping ingredients moist and crisp; you can even cook frozen appetizers inside,” he notes. “With infrared technology, time is more important than temperature, so you simply fluctuate the time according to what you’re cooking.”

Romano Moretti, inventor at Remco Specialty Products in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, agrees that infrared ovens quickly and thoroughly cook a variety of appetizers, including some bestselling American mealtime accompaniments. “You can cook raw, fresh chicken wings in five minutes, without using any fats or oils,” he says. “Most French fries are 80% cooked, so you can simply finish them in the oven without frying for a healthier product.” Baked goods, including bread, rolls, cakes, pies and muffins, are additional infrared options. Moretti simply advises that chefs test-cook their different items and chart timing in order to forecast cooking cycles, while features such as built-in ventilation can prevent cross-contamination of odors (meaning you can safely bake a cake next to a piece of salmon).

For keepers of the flame, of course, nothing beats a woodfired experience. However, since these ovens can require more tending than other types, smart planning is a must. “At The Roosevelt New Orleans, chefs use rotating wood-fired ovens to prep ingredients, and they love the equipment because they can do everything—baking bread in the morning, roasting peppers and meats, and caramelizing onions,” says Peter deJong, president of Fired Up Kitchens in Bedford, New York. “During prep, the ovens run at lower temperatures so the products don’t dry out—and then, during business hours, the ovens run at higher heat just to finish products as they’re ordered. I would recommend that if you’re running a full menu out of one wood-fired oven, prep at one temperature and later finish off at another.”

Wood-fired ovens are also ideal for bread making. Scott McMiller, owner of Fire Pie Oven Company in Troy, Ohio, regularly caters parties and has found that breads are best cooked

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with a wood-fired oven at 300° to 350°—a warm, not hot, temperature—so he’ll put in loaves as his parties are winding down. For simple appetizers, he’ll roast entire bulbs of garlic until the cloves can spread on bread like butter, or cook shrimp and garlic in a ceramic dish that withstands high heat. For dessert, he’ll cover a pizza pan with a dozen graham crackers and marshmallows, then top the cooked result with broken bits of chocolate. “The first human way of cooking was with fire, so you just need to tame it and learn through experience,” he advises. “When you know the basics of cooking, the bottom line is common sense!”

Fortunately, some ovens on the market help eliminate human error through technology. “Making adjustments for nonpizza items has always been a big challenge; it requires a lot of trial and error, depending on recipes, and close attention of skilled labor,” says Burisky. With some modern ovens, she adds, “Now you can preprogram a touch screen for your product menu, and you don’t have to think about adjusting the temperature or position. And, with the right design, you can adjust from a set temperature instantaneously—so the oven can have a set temperature of 465°, and then you can cook a product up to 50° higher or lower by entering the cook settings, without any downtime.”

Enter the Entrees If you’re pressed for time during a dinner rush, fast-cooking ovens can be crucial, and Moretti notes that infrared ovens

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are great for cooking typically time-consuming meat-based entrees. “You can cook 12-ounce steaks, fish filets and chops in a few minutes, or try chicken breasts and ribs,” he says.

“You can also steam vegetables for sides by putting a perforated insert on top of a pan with water, which doesn’t leach out their color like other methods might.” Roasting, poaching, blanching and grilling (with the aid of a grill plate) are also possibilities—or, for sandwiches, use panini grill plates or toast Philly cheese steaks.

Wood-fired ovens can also be used to create main-course magic. McMiller often whips up “steak on a stone”—heating a slab of soapstone, which withstands high heat, and placing a steak on top; the stone gets hot enough to actually cook outside the oven (in fact, it’s still cooking when he serves it). His other favorites include cedar plank salmon with capers and white sauce; hamburger patties stuffed with cheese and onion; fried chicken in a skillet; and even Thanksgiving turkeys. “I haven’t found anything it’s not good for cooking—just whatever your mind can create,” he says. “I use a heat gun to determine the floor temperature of the oven, and after time, just by feeling the radiant heat, you begin to learn when to add more wood as you cook.” McMiller starts with smaller pieces of wood to build up a bed of coals, and the oven reaches temperature in about 45 minutes.

Though wood-fired ovens can be “a go-to for most menu items,” says Randie Hovatter, marketing director for Marra Forni in Beltsville, Maryland, “some foods need to be placed in a pan to heat, rather than directly on the oven deck.” She offers clients this additional advice: Because some brick ovens have fast cooking times, keep the oven’s heat source on the same side of the oven as the prep area, so that an employee can always be at the correct viewing angle to monitor what’s cooking in the oven as he manages other tasks.

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High heat can be temperamental, especially with deck and wood-burning ovens that reach temperatures of more than 600°, concedes Tom Lehmann, director of bakery assistance for the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas.

Tips From the Dough Doc Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann may be elbow-deep in dough every day, but as an industry consultant and director of bakery assistance for the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas, he also knows his way around an oven. Try some of his ideas for prepping common nonpizza items:  Breadsticks, garlic knots, focaccia: Cook in the oven (just a little more than parbaking), then cool and store in a bag or on a covered tray; product will keep at room temperature for three to four days.

Heat and serve with marinara, ranch or balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Pasta: If pasta dishes don’t heat up thoroughly in your oven, put each in the microwave for 1½ minutes. Then add cheese on top and finish off in the oven so the top browns for enhanced presentation.

Or try frozen prepared pastas; add sauce and send to the oven.

VARASANO’S PIZZERIA

Decadent desserts can be easily whipped up in a variety of oven types.

“There are also hot and cold spots in the oven, so you have to be more careful,” he adds. “But it definitely doesn’t limit your possibilities.” Other heat-controlling options: Use double pans to create an insulating layer or put the item on a screen on the oven’s deck to create an air gap underneath.

For a more controlled cooking environment, many operators turn to conveyor ovens, which also offer plenty of versatility.

Mike French, co-owner of Dunbar, Pennsylvania-based MF&B Restaurant Systems, manufacturer of Edge Conveyor Ovens, has seen them work in everything from Tex-Mex restaurants to bagel chip manufacturing facilities. “You can cook just about anything, as long as it meets height requirements; something that rises higher than 3”, like a large bread, wouldn’t work,” he explains. “Otherwise, everything is possible—cookies, pastas, seafood, steaks. When you have a varied menu and are serving hoagies, for example, the conveyor is great.”

For example, if you’re cooking pizzas at a standard six-minute time, you can heat a hoagie and take it out at three minutes through a side window; or you can maximize production by running two belts set at different timings with a split conveyor belt oven.

As our experts illustrate, no matter what kind of oven you currently own—or are looking to buy—there are few limits to your potential as an operator, and it’s worth the effort to explore all of the possibilities. After all, your oven can increase your efficiency and ultimately make or break your business— and it’s not only about having the right oven; it’s about utilizing it to its fullest potential.

 Sandwiches: Brush both sides of a hoagie bun with garlic butter, add meat and veggies (except lettuce), then add cheese. Run through the oven open-faced. Or you can wrap it in parchment paper and bake it for your full pizza bake time for a toasty sandwich; unwrap and it’s ready to serve.  Fresh veggies: Put into a foil pan with 1 ounce of water; top with foil and steam in the oven.

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

VARASANO’S PIZZERIA

Creating inventive appetizers in your oven helps expand menu selection and boost profits.

August 2013

pmq.com 57

OVENS

Showcase Bakers Pride The Il Forno oven’s open-hearth front allows customers to watch pizzas being baked, while the rear booster burner gives the gas-fired, thermostatically controlled oven the appearance of a wood-burning oven.

Available in three sizes, it can be used as a stand-alone or stacked on a matching deck oven for twice the capacity. NJ Restaurant Equipment Corp. will offer special pricing on floor model units to PMQ readers through August 31, 2013. 888-770-4479, njrecorp.com

Edge Ovens Edge conveyor ovens are available in four models. The Edge 60 model can be stacked up to three ovens high, boasts a 60”-long baking chamber, and comes standard with a burner that modulates both gas and combustion air, making the oven extremely energy-efficient and quiet. All modulating Edge ovens are designed to be user-friendly and easily serviced and include a five-year parts-and-labor warranty.

888-480-3343, edgeconveyorovens.com

Delta Equipment Delta Range builds top-of-the-line equipment made with the highest-quality materials, parts and features—including pizza ovens, charbroilers, griddles, convection ovens, fryers, custom cooking lines, sinks, work tables and dish tables. Distributed

by Delta Equipment Distributors, Delta Range can help you design the perfect kitchen. 800-607-0450, deltaequipdist.com 58 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Earthstone Wood-Fired Ovens The efficient, versatile 130-PAGW provides cooking characteristics of both wood and gas, offering baking, grilling and roasting. A 4” to 6” refractory stone ensures consistent and even heat retention and distribution, while direct wood and/or gas heat intensifies cooking speed and flavor.

800-840-4915, earthstoneovens.com

Fired Up Kitchens Fired Up Kitchens offers a one-stop solution to meet any pizzeria’s wood-fired cooking needs. Its flagship Italian-made Pavesi oven line is available with a traditional fixed floor or a rotating deck for high production with quality control assurance. All ovens come with a 10-year warranty and easy installation. 914-733-2845 (East Coast) or 707-953-0567 (West Coast), firedupkitchens.com

Fish Ovens In today’s challenging marketplace, providing your customers with consistent, quality pizzas is more important than ever. Fish Oven’s mechanical revolving-tray ovens provide a true, consistent hearth bake for all pizza types with no moving or turning, even during peak production. Fish Oven’s insulation also helps keep kitchens cooler and saves energy. Production capacities range from 40 to 277 pizzas per hour. 877-526-8720, fishoven.com

Marsal & Sons The SD Series includes a 2”-thick cooking surface, along with an exclusive left-to-right burner system, ensuring even baking—without the need to spin or rotate items around the oven. The ovens are now available with a brick-lined ceiling. 631-226-6688, marsalsons.com

Marra Forni Marra Forni gas-fired brick ovens reach temperatures up to 900°F, guaranteeing a perfectly baked pizza in 90 seconds or less. Marra Forni’s refractory brick decks do not crack from everyday use and create perfectly cooked pizza, helping your restaurant become Neapolitan in 90 seconds!

888-239-0575, marraforni.com

New York Brick Oven Company Thinking about a brick oven? Consider this: New York Brick Oven Company’s revolving ovens can cook up to 200 pies per hour. You don’t need a skilled professional to cook pizza. This wood-burning and gas combination features a patented heated revolving floor with adjustable speed and requires only one person to operate it, potentially saving you $30,000-plus per year in labor. 800-683-6053, brickovensforsale.com

Ovention Ovens Boost productivity and expand your menu into profitable new items you never thought possible with a ventless, countertop accelerated cooking oven. Honored in the National Restaurant Association’s 2013 Kitchen Innovations Award program, the programmable Matchbox oven offers advanced precision impingement convection, allowing for maximum speed and versatility. 972-239-2000, oventionovens.com

Picard Ovens With an emphasis on energy efficiency and quality in all of its products, Picard Ovens has been making stone conveyor tunnel ovens for more than a decade. With a maximum temperature of 575°F, the company’s LP-200 oven can cook up to 120 pies per hour and saves 50% on energy. Pizzas can be cooked directly on stone for hearthbaked results. 800-668-1883, picardovens.com August 2013

pmq.com 59

Roto-Flex Ovens

Peerless Ovens The C131 countertop oven is versatile and costeffective; by removing the decks, it can also be used for roasting. For more capacity with limited space, the oven can be double-stacked for up to eight decks and can be equipped with casters for easy moving.

800-548-4514, peerlessovens.com

Roto-Flex Ovens offers one-, two- or three-door configurations, 1,000 watts of light, 24” glass doors and simplicity of use. Its stone decks ensure every pizza is cooked to perfection at the same rate as a traditional deck oven, while dual gas systems ensure no downtime. 877-859-1463, rotoflexoven.com

Turbo Chef Ovens The Turbo Chef High H Batch 2 oven offers high-quality, full baking capabilities up to five times faster than traditional cooking equipment, achieving conveyor-type results in a compact, energy-efficient, ventless package. Other rapid-cook ovens are also available through Northern Pizza Equipment. 800-426-0323, northernpizza.com

Wood Stone The Fire Deck 8645 lets you create stone-hearth quality within a deck-oven space and can cook six 16” pizzas in three to five minutes while burning gas, wood or a combination. It has high-temperature cooking capability, an infrared burner option, a 4”-plus-thick floor and dome, and a space-saving rectangular footprint. The oven can be built into a facade or is available with a partial stainless steel or galvanized exterior. 800-988-8103, woodstone-corp.com

WOW! Ovens The Middleby Marshall WOW! 2 Oven (PS655) received the National Restaurant Association’s 2013 Kitchen Innovations Award for cutting-edge technology that lets operators control bake temperatures, conveyor speed and the amount of air flow to the top and bottom air impingement ports—allowing for a faster and more consistent bake performance on various food products and leading to expanded menu flexibility. 877-346-8367, wowoven.com 60 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

XLT XLT’s new Version D ovens boast new features, including an optical UV flame sensor; a stainless steel fitted gas line; a sealed sandwich window; extended front panels in a variety of colors; a redesigned igniter; and an added shelf and drawer for manuals. The 3270 and 3870 models are available in a single-burner configuration, while the 3270-2B and 3870-2B models are available in a dual-burner configuration. 888-443-2751, xltovens.com

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Start Your Ovens...

Culinary Competition October 6th: Best Pizza (Gluten Free) October 7th: America’s Best Pizza

Compete in Culinary American Pizza Championships or the Acrobatic U.S. Pizza Team Trials for a chance to win a paid trip to compete in the 2014 World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy.

Las Vegas Convention Center October 6-9, 2013.

Acrobatic Competition October 8th: Largest, Fastest, & Box Fold October 9th: Freestyle Acrobatics

For more information or to register to compete contact Brian Hernandez at 662-234-5481 ext 129 or visit USPizzaTeam.com

THANKS TO OUR U.S. PIZZA TEAM GOLD SPONSORS:

THANKS TO OUR U.S. PIZZA TEAM SILVER SPONSORS:

feature world pizza championship wrapup

Team of

Rivals

Members of the U.S. Pizza Team made pies fit for a prince and earned global acclaim at the 2013 World Championship of Pizza.

By Rick Hynum

L

eonardo Giordano already had a lot on his mind when a stranger in stylish threads stepped up to his prep table at the recent World Championship of Pizza in Parma, Italy. As part of the Pizza for Two competition, Giordano, owner of Mona Lisa Pizzeria & Ristorante in Staten Island, New York, was busily preparing the Delizia al Samone, a gourmet pizza, with his contest partner and fellow U.S. Pizza Team (USPT) member Greg Spaulding, manager of Puccini’s Smiling Teeth (puccinissmilingteeth.com) in Lexington, Kentucky, when he noticed the handsome, nattily dressed man hovering nearby. “I looked up for a second, and there was this gentleman staring at me,” Giordano recalls. “He said, ‘Wow, that looks amazing. I’m impressed. Make sure I get a piece.’”

The stranger questioned Giordano for several minutes about the pie before moving on. Only later did Giordano learn that the man who’d shown such keen interest in his pizza was an honestto-goodness, real-life European prince—Emanuele Filiberto, the only male-line grandson of Umberto II, the last king of Italy, and undisputed heir to the throne (if the throne still existed).

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DANIEL PEREA

USPT competitor Leonardo Giordano inadvertently found himself making gourmet pizza for an Italian prince at this year’s World Championship of Pizza in Parma, Italy.

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pmq.com 63

DANIEL PEREA

Members of the U.S. Pizza Team, along with delegates from China and PMQ staff members, pose for a photograph while seeing the sights in Parma, Italy.

After the contest judging was done, Giordano wasted no time in making sure the prince got his desired slice of pie— made with smoked salmon, caviar, stracchino cheese and chive onions, topped with a drizzle of honey. “Since my roots are in Italy, it was my honor to meet a man that I had only heard about before,” he says. “My nerves were shaky while I answered all of his questions, which had taken me totally off-guard. With all that was going on at the venue, this man, the Italian prince, took an interest in my pizza. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime. That was the best prize that I could take home. And my family and friends in Italy were going crazy.”

An Awe-Inspiring Moment

DANIEL PEREA

USPT member Bradley Johnson competes in the largest dough stretch category at the World Championship of Pizza.

You never know whom you might meet —and make pizza for—as a member of the USPT. The World Championship of Pizza, held annually in Italy, brings together hundreds of elite pizza makers from across the globe to compete in culinary, acrobatic and dough stretching categories. The USPT represents the United States at the event every year and won the Team Acrobatics competition in 2011. Team members qualify for the trip by competing in regional contests

64 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

around the United States throughout the preceding year.

In a very real sense, the USPT is a “team of rivals.” Pizza makers and pizzathletes vie against each other in trial competitions throughout the year, jockeying for a limited number of spots on the squad. But once the final USPT roster is settled and the team heads to Italy, members work together as compatriots, rooting for each other, providing offstage assistance and swapping tips for success.

Bradley Corbin, co-owner of Sloopy’s Sports Café (sloopyspizza.com) in Lakeside, Ohio, earned his USPT spot by winning the 2012 American Pizza Championship in Orlando. No stranger to competitive pizza making, he has also won in the Gourmet category of the Pizza Pizzazz event in Columbus, Ohio, for the past two years, an unprecedented feat in the contest’s 15-year history. He and his Sloopy’s partner, Matt Mangan (winner of the 2012 Pizza Pizzazz’s Traditional category), made their first trip to the World Championship of Pizza this year, and the event lived up to their expectations. “Being on the grand stage of pizza, presenting our product and representing America, PMQ and the USPT—it was an awe-inspiring moment,” Corbin says.

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BRIAN HERNANDEZ

BRIAN HERNANDEZ

USPT teammates and business partners Bradley Corbin and Matt Mangan created a specialty pie called Paige’s Delight for this year’s competition; Wilhelm Rodriguez shows off his flashy moves in the dough spinning category.

“Italy is a gorgeous country. We were able to take some small side trips and view some beautiful parts of the country.”

Mangan says the competition was “nerve-racking, especially adjusting to the different types of ovens in Italy, and exciting at the same time. We love competing and proving that we produce top-quality pies.”

Bradley Johnson, a manager at Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Mellow Mushroom (mellowmushroom.com), finished eighth in the world in the Freestyle Acrobatics category. Introduced by the judges as “King Bradley,” Johnson dazzled the audience with his show-stopping Blues Brothers routine, complete with white shirt, black tie and dark sunglasses. “One of the highlights for me was competing in front of that large crowd and having them cheer louder for me than for any other competitor,” Johnson says. “I’ll remember that forever.”

The USPT’s other top performers included Wilhelm Rodriguez, owner of Papa’s Pizza in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, and Patrick Maggi, owner of Pasquale’s Deli (pasqualesdeli.com) in Damascus, Maryland, who took seventh place in the Pizza for Two category, as well as Dave Sommers of Mad Mushroom Pizza (madmushroom.com) in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Frank Baird of Franco’s Pizza Plus in Chardon, Ohio.

One Big Happy Family After years of making pizzas for American consumers, Mangan thinks the trick to winning the culinary competition in Parma is to target European taste buds. “It was a very different style than we are used to,” he says. “It seems that, to compete against the Italians or the French, you should somewhat adapt yourself to their style of pizza.”

Patrick Maggi puts toppings on one of his own specialty pizzas.

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DANIEL PEREA

(Top to bottom) USPT member Dave Sommers stretches a piece of dough; USPT members were grateful for assistance from the staff at the Hotel Maria Luigia and Ristorante Maxim’s. (Top row: Matt Mangan, Frank Baird, Bradley Corbin, Greg Spaulding, restaurant chefs Cristian Corda and Marco Aveta, hotel general manager Ferdinand D’Esposito and Patrick Maggi; bottom row: Bradley Johnson, Brian Hernandez, Dave Sommers, Jinfei Zhou, Leonardo Giordano and Wilhelm Rodriguez); USPT members shopped for ingredients in this scenic area of Parma.

Corbin agrees, adding, “You have to cook for the country you’re in. The pizzas we created were really outside the norm.”

One unusual recipe was the Hibachi Pizza, made with Japanese white sauce, chicken, shrimp, fried rice, sesame seeds, oyster/soy sauce and various sautéed vegetables. Corbin and Mangan also created Paige’s Delight, featuring chicken, applewood bacon, onion, a sweet glaze made from strawberry puree and balsamic reduction, fresh strawberries, cilantro and chili sauce.

The team stayed at the Hotel Palace Maria Luigia in Parma, where the management went to great lengths to accommodate its needs, says Brian Hernandez, PMQ’s operations director and organizer of the trip. “Our guys had to do a lot of advance work to prepare dough and sauces before each day’s competition started,” Hernandez explains. “The hotel bent over backward to help us, and the restaurant within the hotel, Ristorante Maxim’s, opened its kitchen to us. We were able to use their stoves and ovens and accomplish a lot of prep work. We were very grateful to Hotel Palace Maria Luigia and to Ristorante Maxim’s for their generosity and helpfulness.”

Meanwhile, Giordano notes that a strong team spirit prevailed throughout the competition. “I was very impressed by how everyone worked together as a team, not as competitors, even though we were all competing individually,” he says. “We all helped each other out, whether someone needed ingredients or a translator. It amazed me. I got to work with some of the finest—and nicest—people as part of the U.S. Pizza Team.”

Meanwhile, Johnson enjoyed meeting dough spinning competitors from other nations. “Throughout the three days, we were able to mingle and interact with the world’s top pizzaioli, and all of them were friendly and willing to trade tricks with one another, which was great,” he reports. “I was able to see the different styles and combinations of tricks that people use, and it will help me come up with a new arsenal of my own tricks. All of this gives you the opportunity to figure out ways to get better and become a stronger competitor.”

Even better, Johnson adds, the camaraderie between USPT members ensured that “there was never a dull moment.” He adds, “My fellow teammates could not have been any better.

They were all so supportive, not only of me but of everyone else. It really was like one big happy family.”

DANIEL PEREA

DANIEL PEREA

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

August 2013

pmq.com 67

Best NRA

Show Recap NRA

the

of the

PMQ staff members review some of the most innovative products at the 2013 National Restaurant Association Show.

MY PICKS:

Steve Green Publisher

Counter Finger

The Spinach Ball Company

Every pizzeria owner has lost money on counterfeit bills. This thumb-sized gizmo can solve that problem—just rub it on any bill, and the magnetic ink reader will instantly tell you if it’s fake or not. It also uses LED light to check the bill’s security strip. You can attach it to your register or wear it on a lanyard around your neck.

415-999-3775, counterfinger.com

These spinach balls have a terrific flavor, and I immediately thought they’d make an easy, readyto-use specialty pizza topping. The recipe was originally developed for an appetizer or side dish at the Herb Garden Restaurant in Fremont, Indiana. The spinach balls come in a variety of flavors, including feta, Monterey Jack and Spicy Jack, and some are available in gluten-free versions.

260-415-4572, spinachball.com

Top 1 Auction

Talk to the Manager

This is already a proven concept in Europe. Restaurant owners put their special deals, such as a two-course meal for two, up for auction. Customers can decide how much they want to pay and place their bids during a set time period. Once the time expires, the highest bidder wins the deal.

This is a great way to bring in new customers— including couples on a date night—who might not otherwise come through your doors.

312-380-0900, top1auction.com

Think of how much important feedback you may be missing because your customers don’t want to appear overly picky or confrontational. With this service, your customers can send you anonymous text messages that tell you what they really think about your service, your food or your staff. They can even send the texts while they’re still in the store, giving you a chance to respond and resolve the issues then and there, before the customer leaves unhappy.

425-321-0314, talktothemanager.com

MY PICKS:

Clifton Moody a cc o u n t e x e c u t i v e

Click Here to See Video Interview 68 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

SnapNWin

M Y P IC K S :

I like this because it’s a card, it’s a magnet, and it’s an instant win—all in one! SnapNWin from Green Bee Promotions is an integrative magnetic card used for marketing campaigns to get new customers while boosting sales. Each card consists of three elements: a full color card; a snap-out, magnetized retention piece; and a hidden message that’s revealed when the magnet is snapped out, such as PIN code, message, discount or QR codes, etc.

877-257-3777, greenbeepromotions.com

Tom Boyles account executive

The Smoki Smoke Zapper For pizzerias using wood-fired ovens, smoke, heat and the cost of maintaining chimneys are all concerns, and this new product is the perfect solution. The Smoki Smoke Zapper puts an end to potential chimney fires and prevents back flow of smoke into the restaurant. It eliminates soot and grease particles discharged through the flue, and it’s also ahead of safety and emission codes.

914-733-2845, firedupkitchens.com Click Here to see Video Interview

Waver Costumes This company has an extensive line of mascot- and food-related costumes, including a pizza costume! They can make customized mascots and even put your logo on any of their stock costumes.

When schools or athletic teams ask for a donation, you can offer to provide them a customized mascot with your logo on it and keep the exposure coming all year long.

855-928-3780, wavercostumes.com

August 2013

pmq.com 69

feature story Saucing a Pizza

The Pizza

Trainer:

Sauce

Dan Risner from PizzaSkool offers tips and tools for teaching your employees to sauce a pizza correctly every time.

By Dan Risner

L

ike the temperature of porridge in the Three Bears’ house, the amount of sauce on a pizza needs to be “just right.” To some extent, of course, this Goldilocksworthy portion is a matter of personal taste, so different pizza makers have varying definitions of “just right.” But for the better ones, the common thread is consistency. The most successful pizzeria operators develop tools and techniques that make it relatively easy for their employees to deliver consistency day in and day out. Venture behind the scenes at any nationally branded pizza concept, and you’ll see at least some of these tools and methods in action.

While a consistent amount of sauce may not matter to the person doing the saucing, it matters a lot to the customer. To determine if he likes less sauce or more sauce on his pizza, he needs to have a starting point. Whenever the customer orders a certain pizza, it should always contain the same amount of sauce so that he can begin to judge for himself whether he’s happy with it. If the patron determines that the prescribed portion of sauce is not enough, he can ask for extra sauce. If many guests ask for extra sauce, it’s quite possible that you’re doing something wrong and need to adjust your recipe accordingly.

Teaching your employees to apply sauce in a consistent manner—for every single pizza made in your kitchen every single day—is paramount. In this article, we’ll discuss the tools and techniques required to ensure sauce consistency across the board.

70 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Visual Aids Memory is a funny thing. Scientific studies suggest that our memories are not nearly as reliable as we think they are, and what actually happened in the past and what we remember happening are often very different. So you probably won’t attain a desired level of saucing consistency by expecting your pizza makers to simply memorize sauce portions. That’s where the first tool comes in: a strong visual aid.

Create a poster that offers easy-to-understand illustrations depicting what a perfectly sauced pizza looks like—with both sauceless border widths and the correct portions—and place it in a prominent area of your kitchen. With this visual aid nearby, one quick glance by the pizza maker can help quickly determine the correct portion.

In addition, every pizza maker should be provided with a detailed chart that covers the following key questions: qq What tools should always be used to ensure correct portioning? qq What are the prescribed portions for all pizza sizes? qq What are the prescribed amounts for light sauce and extra sauce? qq How much of a sauceless border should the pizza have?

Pizza making trainees can learn to prepare a consistent pizza by consulting a detailed portion chart that outlines the required amounts of sauce for all sizes.

Saucing by Angles When it’s time to apply the prescribed amount of sauce, many operators prefer to use the spoodle, a flat-bottom ladle that helps you portion out the sauce and spread it evenly over the pizza dough. Others may start out using a scale until they learn what each portion of sauce should look like. Unfortunately, many will soon quit using the scale and try to sauce by eye instead. This isn’t such a good idea, since it often leads to mistakes.

Fortunately, there is a highly effective method for acquiring the right amount of sauce every time without using a scale.

It all starts with the right spoodle size and a method called “saucing by angles.” It has been determined that, when ladling out sauce with a three-ounce spoodle, the angle at which you insert and remove the spoodle will produce the same amount of sauce each and every time. Let’s say your sauce portion for a small pizza is three ounces. Dipping a three-ounce spoodle into and out of the sauce bucket at a 60° angle will produce this desired amount. Four ounces of sauce for a 12” pizza calls for a 45° angle. Six ounces for a 14” pizza requires a 15° angle (resulting in a heaping spoodle), and eight ounces calls for using a 45° angle twice. Using a scale to test this method proves it to be accurate. (If your pizzeria uses different portions of sauce than listed above, you would simply adjust the degree of the angles to fit.)

Spreading the sauce around the dough calls for a little finesse.

Keeping the spoodle flat and without pushing down, the pizza maker should work the sauce to the outside edge, using a spiral motion. With experience, a person can sauce a medium pizza in just two to three spirals around the crust. He should strive to leave the desired sauceless border while spreading the sauce consistently across the crust. There should be no large bare spots or heavy ridges of sauce.

A Matter of Scale To achieve better portion precision, some operators use the scale-centered method of saucing. They employ a basic portion chart to determine the correct amount of sauce for the size of the desired pizza. The pizza maker puts the pizza crust on the scale and zeroes out the scale. He then dips the spoodle into the refrigerated bucket of sauce and gets a full scoop of sauce. He dumps the sauce into the center of the pizza until the desired portion registers on the scale—for example, four ounces for a 12” pizza. He empties the remainder left in the spoodle back into the sauce bucket. Then, using the spoodle, he spreads the sauce across the crust while it’s still on the scale. He uses the spiral method of saucing, moving the sauce to the outside edge of the crust. The goal is to maintain a sauceless border with a width of two fingers, or about 1½”, because the sauce will spread more as it heats up.

August 2013

pmq.com 71

To ensure sauce consistency, teach your employees to use the method called “saucing by angles” and evaluate their performance.

The most successful pizzeria operators develop tools and techniques that make it relatively easy for their employees to deliver consistency day in and day out.

Not every pizzeria uses spoodles, of course—many pizzaioli still prefer a plain old spoon for spreading the sauce around the crust. But if you choose to distribute sauce using a spoodle, many opt for the round-bottomed variety rather than the flatbottomed type.

Not surprisingly, technological advances have led to the development of automated sauce dispensers, which can save time and labor costs. These machines distribute the sauce according to preset requirements. An automated saucing machine frees your employees to work on other tasks and speeds up the production process. One manufacturer claims its device can dispense sauce accurately to within 1/10 of an ounce and can sauce up to 350 pies per hour.

Determine the desired width of the sauceless border, create a portion chart with the correct sauce portions, design a poster that illustrates the portion rules and sauceless border requirements, and develop a technique that is quick and easy to use for spreading the sauce consistently across the crust.

Meanwhile, if you’ve got a unique saucing technique that ensures both quality and consistency of product, I’d like to hear about it. Please drop me a line at dan@pizzaskool.com.

Dan Risner is president of PizzaSkool, a fully hosted e-learning solution for all pizzeria employees’ training needs. PizzaSkool’s video-based program provides training, testing and certification for driver, order taker, pizza maker and manager-in-training positions. Training courses cover customer service in the store and at the door, upselling and all aspects of pizza making and safe delivery. Visit traintogreatness.com for more information.

Consistency Is Its Own Reward There is no perfect solution for the problem of sauce portioning and consistency. Using a scale yields better accuracy, but it takes more time. Saucing by angles isn’t quite as precise as the scale method, but it’s faster and frees up the scale for weighing more expensive food items. Whatever method you use, we recommend developing a system by which your trainers can rate a new employee’s pizza saucing abilities and provide feedback. This will take a little extra time in the early stages of the employee’s training, but it will ensure that the fledgling pizza maker recognizes and learns from his own mistakes, ultimately leading to increased efficiency in the long run.

Consistency in pizza making is its own reward. Your customers will know exactly what to expect every time they order a pizza from your establishment, creating a sense of trust and loyalty. It’s simply a matter of training your employees in the tools and techniques of saucing by following a few simple rules: 72 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The round-bottomed spoodle is the preferred tool for dipping and spreading sauce on a pizza crust.

The pizza exchange product spotlight

Deal Appeal Pizza restaurants nationwide are increasing sales and store traffic by using Peel-A-Deal Coupon Cards. Peel-A-Deal promotions, which receive up to a 40% redemption rate, can be distributed to customers in various ways, including direct mail campaigns, promotional inserts, grand openings, customized fundraising programs or in-store handouts. 877563-5654, peeladeal.com

Click Here to see video interview w/David Mintz

Soy Good David Mintz, CEO and founder of Tofutti, puts the fun back in ice cream with the company’s ice creamlike desserts. But Tofutti also makes a wide variety of other dairy-free soy-based products: Better Than Cream Cheese, Sour Supreme, and Ricotta, Mozzarella, Cheddar and Feta cheeses add a tasty, soy-enriched lift to recipes. 908-272-2400, tofutti.com

It’s in the Bag Add value to your business with the Scott Pizza Bag, a pizza carryout bag that makes it easier for customers to carry pizza anywhere they wish. Visit Indiegogo.com to contribute to Scott Pizza Bag’s funding effort; the company’s goal is to purchase 5,000 14” and 16” units from its supplier. Meanwhile, operators can purchase 12” bags today or place preorders for the larger sizes. scottpizzabag.com

Sayonara to Salt!

For pizzerias looking to offer lowsodium pizza options, Sensient can help with Sensasalt, a line of salt substitutes that delivers maximum flavor enhancement while cutting sodium by up to 50%. The substitutes are ideal for everything from meat toppings to tomato sauce to dough. 800445-0073, sensient.com 74 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Living On Sweet Street Generate more business by easily adding desserts from Sweet Street. According to Datassential, 84% of customers say they’re interested in desserts from pizza restaurants, and Sweet Street offers delicious options—including the popular Tiramisu, Chewy Marshmallow Squares, Fabulous Chocolate Chunk Brownie and Toffee Crunch Blondie. 800-793-3897, sweetstreet.com

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76 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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The Pizza exchange bulletin board

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advertiser index AUGUST 2013 Advertiser

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Menu Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856-216-7777 . . . . . . .

Merchant Capital Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866-969-7878 . . . . . . .

Meridian Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855-853-6485 . . . . . .

Microworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-787-2068 . . . . . . .

Middleby Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-34-OVENS . . . . . .

Moving Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-926-2451 . . . . . .

New York Brick Oven Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-OVEN-35 . . . . . . .

No Kid Hungry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202-478-6505 . . . . . . .

NJ Restaurant Equipment Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-770-4479 . . . . . . .

One Two 3 Print It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-800-4455 . . . . . .

Ovention Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972-239-2000 . . . . . .

PDQ Signature Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-968-6430 . . . . . .

Peerless Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-548-4514 . . . . . .

Perfect Crust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-783-5343 . . . . . . .

Petra Molino Quaglia Flour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631-804-1879 . . . . . . .

Picard Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-668-1883 . . . . . .

Pizza Skool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517-395-4765 . . . . . . .

Pizza Umbrella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Roto-Flex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-386-2279 . . . . . .

Sensient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-445-0073 . . . . . . .

Stanislaus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-327-7201 . . . . . . .

Sunray Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320-492-3017 . . . . . .

Tofutti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908-272-2400 . . . . . .

XLT Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-443-2751 . . . . . .

Page

ammfg.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 avantecovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 baciocheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 35 bellissimofoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 chicagoveganfoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 deliverybagsusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 deltarange.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 escalon.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 ezdinepos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 fishoven.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 firedupkitchens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 fontanini.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 fornobravo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 grandecheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 groupprintbuy.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 hoodmart.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 hthsigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 ibie2013.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50, 51 lanova.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4 le5stagioni.it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 lillsun.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 liguriafoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 edgeovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 marraforni.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 marsalsons.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 themenuexpress.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 merchantcapitalsource.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 meridianstarms.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 microworks.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 wowoven.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 movingtargets.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 brickovensforsale.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 dineoutfornokidhungry.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 njrecorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 123printit.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 oventionovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 pdqpos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 peerlessovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 perfectcrust.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 farinapetra.it/benvenuto/eng_petra.html . . . . . . . . . . . 77 picardovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3 traintogreatness.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 pizzaumbrella.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 rotoflexoven.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 sensient.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 stanislaus.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 sunrayprinting.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 tofutti.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 xltovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

PMQ provides this information as a courtesy to our readers and will not be held responsible for errors or omissions. To report an error, call 662-234-5481 x127.

August 2013

pmq.com 83

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide Grab a direct weblink to every advertiser in this guide at PMQ.com

advertising

Use Simple Marketing Technology to...

OR MEET BEAT 5-YEAR GOALS

You must read this!

Learn 3 EASY STEPS You Can DO TODAY!

“The Pizzaman’s

Marketing Blueprint”

computer systems: point of sale

FREE! ($75 value) + BONUS VIDEO

Sign up at:

getcustomers 4 life.com

Or Call 24/7 voicemail:

1-888-978-3117

baking schools AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BAKING..........................................................Manhattan, KS 785-537-4750.................................................................................Fax: 785-537-1493

cheese

Foremost Farms USA: Your source for award-winning, soft, all-natural Italian cheeses.

Crafted by Wisconsin Master Cheese Makers® www.foremostfarms.com.....................................................................................(608) 355-8700

WE’RE IN TOUCH WITH YOUR POS NEEDS. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Integrated Inventory Management Marketing Systems Result Mapping Online Ordering System and much more!

817.299.4500 sales@BreakawayPOS.com www.BreakawayPOS.com

All The Tech Your Pizzeria Needs Tablet and Traditional Point-of-Sale • Integrated online & smartphone ordering •

• •

CALL FOR A DEMO TODAY!

84 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Self Serve Kiosk ordering Automated customer loyalty marketing

800.750.3947 www.granburyrs.com

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide consulting

FREE POS SYSTEM

Meridian Star offers a free POS system with no gimmicks.

Included in a low-cost processing account, merchants can enjoy an all-in-one touch screen, a thermal printer, a kitchen printer, an electronic cash drawer and PC America restaurant management software, all at no cost.

As Seen in Product Spotlight!

Credit Card Processing

855-853-6485, meridianstarms.com

crusts Baker’s quality pizza crusts, inc.......................................................................Waukesha, WI Par-baked, Sheeted, Pressed and Self-Rising Crusts; Custom Crusts; All sizes. www.BakersQualityPizzaCrusts.com...........................................................................800-846-6153 Mountain harvest pizza crust co.......................................................................... Billings, MT Contact: Eric LeCaptain...........................800-342-6205......................................Fax: 406-248-7336 Sheeted Dough, Prebake Crusts, Dough Balls, Freezer to Oven, Self-Rising Crusts in Standard, Wheat and Nine Grain..................................................................... eric@mountainharvestpizza.com

cutting boards - equal slice

dough

August 2013

pmq.com 85

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide dough Cont.

dough trays/proofing trays dough dividers/rounders

• Dough Trays – extremely durable and airtight!

Outlasts All Other Dough Trays • Dough Tray Covers – designed to fit!

• Plastic Dough Knives – two ergonomic designs!

• Dough Tray Dollies – heavy duty!

Excellence in Customer service since 1955!

The preferred dough tray of the largest pizza companies in the world.

Buy direct from the manufacturer with over 25 years manufacturing in dough trays.

Call 800-501-2458 ........... www.doughmate.com ......... fax: 908-276-9483

When Dough Matters!

Eliminate racks, lids and tins with our stackable, airtight and cost effective Dough Trays.

1-502-969-2305 www.DoughTrays.com COST EFFECTIVE

STACKABLE

AIRTIGHT

DURABLE

ORDER DIRECT

4601 COMMERCE CROSSINGS DR., STE 300, LOUISVILLE, KY 40229 | p: 502-969-2305 | f: 502-810-0907

WWW.DOUGHTRAYS.COM

flour, Gluten-free Bay State MIlling Gluten-free Pizza mix............................................ baystatemilling.com 68285 1x3.5 Pizza Ad outlined.pdf Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, Custom-blends and Co-Packing 1 1/23/12 6:56 AM Dedicated production area for exceptional purity...........................................................800-55-FLOUR

dough presses, rollers

flour

86 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide flour ConT.

gelato

True Artisan Gelato

(888) 316-1545 www.stefanosgelato.com

gluten-free products

W H O L E S O M E

&

D E L I C I O U S ™

food distributors hygiene

A FLY KILLER Kills all flies, cockroaches & spiders Guaranteed elimination

888-282-3079, or 631-237-1414 www.fruitflybarpro.com

insurance

Pizzapro..............................................................Low cost pizza delivery insurance program Contact Julie Evans (717) 214-7616..............................................................www.pizzapro.amwins.com

1051 Amboy Avenue, Perth Amboy NJ

800-997-0887 or 732-346-0600 Fax:732-346-0882

Serving NY, NJ, PA, DE, CT

www.vesuviofoods.com

The

Pizza Pages

Only $99 Expires August 31st, 2013

franchising Should You Franchise Your Restaurant?

Call today to receive your free DVD on “How to Franchise Your Business” and learn about one of the most dynamic methods of expanding your business in today’s marketplace.

708-957-2300 • www.ifranchisegroup.com

Sign up for the August Special

®

FRANCHISE CONSULTANTS

Pizza industry vendors, reach the pizza owners and decision makers online 24/7 thepizzapages.com

Call Brandy at 662-234-5481 ext 127

Listing Includes: • • • •

Company Info Logo Three Catagories Two product pictures w/brief description • One Year Listing

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide machinery/ovens/equipment

88 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide marketing ideas Cont.

meat toppings

magnets

BURKE CORPORATION....................................................................................... www.BurkeCorp.com Italian, Mexican-Style and Specialty Fully Cooked Meats Contact: Liz Hertz.............................. sales_info@burkecorp.com.............................800-654-1152 Sugar Creek Packing Co.,............................... Private Label Precooked Meat Topping Specialists www.sugarcreek.com.......................................800-848-8205............................sales@sugarcreek.com

mailing services

menu boards

management mixers used hobart 60 qt. mixer for sale at US $4980.00 plus shipping.

Call Lynn at 214-552-3218.............................................................................. or e-mail tbfm@tbfm.com

keep more of your hard earned dough!

3 money saving programs:

sCheduLing • aTTendanCe • daiLy Log

FAST, PAINLESS SCHEDULING • MONITOR LABOR COSTS • REDUCE TURNOVER • NOTIFY EMPLOYEES • ELIMINATE BUDDY PUNCHING • IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS • WEB-BASED

save time and increase profits!

www.timeforge.com 866.684.7191

American Baking Systems

marketing ideas LOCALGIFTCARDS.COM...........888-494-9760.....Your pizzas are mobile – why not try mobile gift cards? Sell e-gift cards and m-gift cards on your website. No upfront costs. Simple set up.

Visit LocalGiftCards.com to get started.

319-373-5006 • www.abs1.net

• • • •

Spiral Mixers Planetary Mixers Dough Sheeters Deck Ovens and more!

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/ August 2013

pmq.com 89

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide mobile catering trucks/units

online ordering

moisture-absorbent toppings conditioner

pizza boxes

Krisp-it LTD............................................................................... 800-KRISP-IT (800-574-7748) Keep it Crisp with Krisp-It! www.krisp-it.com......................................................................................................nick@krisp-it.com

olives

pizza box liners

Pizza Training

on hold marketing

90 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza delivery thermal bags

August 2013

pmq.com 91

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza delivery thermal bags

pizza ovens Cont.

Keep Your Pizza HOT & DRY 5 Pie & 10 Pie Bags

Electric Pizza Delivery Bags 888-556-2024 • www.RediHeat.com Call or Order Online

EARTHSTONE OVENS, INC. ................6717 San Fernando Rd....................Glendale, CA 91201 800-840-4915........................Fax: 818-553-1133........................... www.earthstoneovens.com All units UI listed.

Fired Up Kitchens ...................................PO Box 698........................ Bedford Hills, NY 10507 914-733-2845.................... info@firedupkitchens.com..........www.firedupkitchens.com Fish oven & equipment corp. ....120 W. Kent Ave..........................Wauconda, IL 60084 TOLL Free 877-526-8720...................Fax: 847-526-7447....................www.fishoven.com Wood Stone CorporatioN.......................................Stone Hearth & Specialty Commercial Cooking Equipment..................................... 1801 W. Bakerview Rd.............Bellingham, WA 98226 TOLL Free 800-988-8103......................Fax: 360-650-1166............woodstone-corp.com

pizza ovens MARSAL & SONS, INC.................................................. The new standard in the Pizza Industry Brick Lined Deck Ovens • Standard Deck Ovens • Prep Table Refrigeration 631-226-6688.......................... marsalsons.com ......................... rich@marsalsons.com roto-flex oven co...............................................................................Contact Richard Dunfield 135 East Cevallos, San Antonio, TX 78204 PH 800-386-2279................... www.rotoflexoven.com.........................Fax 210-222-9007 92 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza ovens Cont.

pizza pans

Inventor of

The Quik-Disk™

The best screen replacement since 1989.

LLOYD INDU STR IES ®

100’s OF SMART PIZZA PRODUCTS ONLINE!

Buy Direct and Save $$ • www.lloydpans.com • 1-800-748-6251

AMERICAN MADE

Pizza Screens • The Ultimate in Bake Disks Pizza Pans... Round, Square, & Rectangular Sauce/Cheese Rings • Pan Covers Pizza Cutters/Knives

P.A. PRODUCTS, Inc. BAKEWARE SPECIALISTS

33709 Schoolcraft • Livonia, Michigan 48150 (734) 421-1060 • FAX: (734) 421-1208 www.paprod.com pizza peels

pizza supplies

• Pizza Preparation and Delivery Products •

The

Pizza Pages

Sign up for the August Special

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Pizza industry vendors, reach the pizza owners and decision makers online 24/7 thepizzapages.com

Call Brandy at 662-234-5481 ext 127

Expires August 31st, 2013

Listing Includes: • • • •

Company Info Logo Three Catagories Two product pictures w/brief description • One Year Listing

National Marketing, Inc.

www.nminc.com 800-994-4664

734-266-2222

Fax: 734-266-2121

Manufacturers’ Direct Pricing • Call or order online • We export

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/ August 2013

pmq.com 93

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza supplies

printing

We Will Beat Any Advertised Menu Deal Full Color Glossy TakeouT Menus

11 x 17 ~ PrinTed Full Color on BoTh sides ~ 80 lB Glossy PaPer SPECIAL # 1 (everyday)

DESSERTS

PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage PAID EDDM Retail

6 pcs. of Reg. pizza 7 - Boneless Wings 2 - Desserts and 1 - 2 liter of pop

INGREDIENTS...

$ 16.00

FULL SERVICE CATERING SUNDAY IS TRAY DAY AT G’s Mama PIZZA

ALL FOR ONLY

$ 19.95

(pick up only)

Local Postal Customer

Mama G’s Catering is a full line caterer that will come to your home, your business or you can come to us at the Greek Church ( Hellinic Steubenville where we cater. Hall ) in downtown

All food is homemade, just like Mama used to make, and we specializing in roast beef, all kinds of chicken, pork, pasta, are a full line caterer superb salads, and fantastic desserts just to name a few delicious side dishes, We can prepare anything you of our more popular items. want.

Weddings? Graduations? Baptisms?

Funerals? Business Meetings?

Parties? No matter what the Christmas occasion, let Mama do the cooking for you. From 30 over 300 people we will provide to the best of the best in food service to you at a price that can’t be beat.

THIS GOOD

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1 tray of Reg. Pizza (28 pieces) and 1 - 2 liter of pop

10,000

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ECRWSS

Our selection of delicious Sara Lee Bistro Collection Desserts vary, please ask your server for selections. $2.75 each or 3 for $7.50

ONLY THE FRESHEST

$ 16.00

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We Design & Print & You Mail Your 11 x 17 Takeout Menu for only

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Postage

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10¢ each +s&h

P FREE (EDDM) mailing permit P FREE restaurant & mailing consultation P Low Cost ~ High Quality Printing P No Postage up front P No Contracts P Pay postage as you go !!!

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Stock Design or Custom Print Paper Plates, Souvenir Cups, Plastic Cutlery, Pizza Lid Supports and Much More!!!

1 - 845 - 564 - 2609

Gray, no shading

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800-323-3547 • www.BerkleySquare.net

printing BEST CHOICE PRINT & MARKETING EXPERTS.................................................For over 25 Years Best Prices & Quality: .............................................................. Menus, Flyers, Door hangers, Post Cards Print & Mail, Menus or Postcards .................................................................... Includes postage 27.5 ea WWW.bcms.US ................................................................................................... or call 800-783-0990 The

Pizza Pages

Sign up for the August Special

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Pizza industry vendors, reach the pizza owners and decision makers online 24/7 thepizzapages.com

Call Brandy at 662-234-5481 ext 127

Listing Includes: • • • •

Company Info Logo Three Catagories Two product pictures w/brief description • One Year Listing

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/ 94 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Actual 3D Non-Vector

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide printing Cont.

Are you tired of slow summers?

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August 2013

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide refrigeration

specialty foods Castella Imports, Inc. ................................................................................... www.castella.com 60 Davids Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788.................................................................................866-Castella

spice formulation, blending & packaging Castella Imports, Inc. .................................................................................. www.castella.com 60 Davids Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788.................................................................................866-Castella

sauce ARMANINO FOODS .....................................................................................................Fine Italian Sauces 30588 San Antonio Street, Haywood, CA...........................................................................866-553-5611 Email: customerservice@armaninofoods.com................................ www.armaninofoods.com

McClancy Seasoning............................................................One Spice Road, Fort Mill, SC 29707 Contact: Dominic Damore..................................................................... dominic.damore@mcclancy.com 800-843-1968..........................................................................................................info@mcclancy.com

sticky notes

Super Dough Bowls

SUPER DOUGH BOWLS Non Stick • Easy to Clean • FDA Approved Plastic Heavy Weight • Last 10X longer than metal!

Replace your dented ones TODAY !

MADE IN THE USA Manufacturer’s Direct Pricing Free Sample Available - $15 del/hand REBATED on first order. email us at: bhausen@aol.com

Call Sid

516-546-7744 telephone equipment/supplies/service

THE ONLY PHONE SYSTEM SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR A PIZZERIA

security

• FREE Phone System • UPSELL every customer • UNLIMITED Phone Lines • REDUCE Hangups • UNLIMITED Phone Calls • INCREASE Customer Satisfaction • 60 Days of FREE Professionally-Recorded Messages • Only $199.99 per month - includes phone system and phone service

866-317-7396

www.pizzaphonesystem.com Specializing in voice and data communications service, repair, installation, sequencers and on-hold messaging.

GUARANTEED LOWEST INDUSTRY PRICE!

www.fidelitycom.com.........................800-683-5600

96 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide tomato products

ventilation

Vinyl Repair

Restaurant Upholstery Experts RepaiR Remodeling Custom Build

561.981.6200

tomato products ConT.

www.vinylrepairmaster.com

Water

ventilation

Web Apps Use Simple Marketing Technology to...

FIND HIDDEN PIZZA PROFITS You must read this!

Mobi website? Apps? TXT? FB? Costly & Confusing? NO!!

“The Pizzaman’s

Marketing Blueprint” FREE! ($75 value) + BONUS VIDEO The

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Sign up at:

Before you leave any more dough on the table...

Or Call 24/7 voicemail:

hidden pizza profits.com

1-888-978-3116

Expires August 31st, 2013

Listing Includes:

wings

• • • •

Company Info Logo Three Catagories Two product pictures w/brief description • One Year Listing

August 2013

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DEPARTMENT time capsule

Venice Pizza House This family-run pizzeria has evolved from a Sicilian immigrant’s dream to a San Diego success story.

A

fter Sicily native Salvatore “Sam” LoMedico emigrated to Detroit in 1939, he worked in the restaurant/bar biz with his brother—and knew immediately that he wanted to open his own place. Finally, after starting a family, serving in the military and migrating to sunny San Diego, he realized his dream in June 1954, opening Venice Pizza House (venicepizzahouse.com). The Italian restaurant served up a simple menu with a few pizzas, pastas and sandwiches (including many recipes culled from the family archives), and Sam worked 15-hour days alongside his wife, Prudie, making sure customers were satisfied. “They never advertised, relying only on word-of-mouth,” says Bill LoMedico, general manager and Sam’s grandson. “To this day, our advertising budget is zero.”

Sam retired after 17 years in the business and eventually passed away, but the family atmosphere of the pizzeria and an obsessive attention to customers kept business booming. Today, Bill’s father, Sam’s son-in-law, makes meatballs and homemade sausage daily (“He’s a machine!” laughs Bill) while Bill’s mother hosts and his sister regularly visits to check on the business.

Meanwhile, customers and employees alike have become de facto family; regulars make up a large percentage of the business, and many workers have been with the restaurant for more than five years. “I sincerely want to know what’s going on in our customers’ lives, and I love when they’re happy,” Bill says. “When they come in, we know their names and where they want to sit, and our portions are like you’d get at your parents’ house. Our family atmosphere always came naturally.”

Like many historic pizzerias, Venice Pizza House strives to maintain the delicate balance between tradition and innovation.

With today’s fiercer competition, Bill actively attracts a younger clientele through Facebook and Yelp while catering to regulars who have come to expect the restaurant’s quality and consistency over the decades. Meanwhile, the 60th anniversary next year will usher in a new logo and minor renovations to freshen up the restaurant’s decidedly old-school interior. “Overall, we’re just proud we’ve been able to please our customers for this length of time,” Bill says. “We don’t do anything spectacular—we just do everything well.” —Tracy Morin

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(Top to bottom) Sam (second from left) poses with his family, who pitched in during the restaurant’s early days; Tom, Joe and Jimmy LoMedico share a few laughs at work; Venice Pizza House has been drawing in customers for nearly 60 years.

Has your pizzeria been in business for 50 or more years?

If so, contact us at tracy@pmq.com.

Digital Edition Exclusive Pizza X

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The Golden Rule

By Rick Hynum

Pizza X’s Jeff Mease builds good karma one pizza at a time.

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izza X was a green company long before being green was good for business. “We recycled before it was fashionable,” says Jeff Mease, co-owner of the popular Bloomington, Indiana, pizzeria. “We recycle just about everything—all of our plastic, metal and cardboard. I feel that you should always be looking at how you can reduce your waste stream and make less of an impact on the environment.”

Mease and his partner, Lennie Busch, set up One World Enterprises—parent company to Pizza X, Lennie’s Restaurant and Brewpub, Bloomington Brewing Company, One World Catering and Loesch Farm—with an eye toward sustainable practices and local, ethical sourcing. The catering company emphasizes natural and organic foods, and the pasture-raised, heritage-breed English pigs at Loesch Farm provide pork products for Lennie’s and for other high-end restaurants. The farm is also home to several Asian water buffalo, which will eventually be milked to produce buffalo mozzarella.

Sustainability is an issue that nags incessantly at Mease’s conscience. “I don’t like waste,” he says. “I don’t like single-use stuff. Whenever I use disposable stuff, I get a little pissed off at myself.” He even frets over the ecological ramifications of pizza delivery. “It’s not the most environmentally sensitive business.

You’re driving two-pound pizzas around in 1,500-pound cars with non-renewable fuel. But that can still be more efficient than a lot of people driving their own cars to your store—we drop off a number of pies with one car and one trip. And our cups can be reused many times.”

To help keep toxin-leeching household batteries out of landfills, Pizza X has also collected tons (literally) of spent batteries from around the city over the past 20 years. “We put battery collection buckets in all of our stores, and we encourage customers to give their old batteries to our delivery drivers, who will carry them back to the store,” Mease says.

BRIAN HERNANDEZ

Good Karma Protecting the environment fits into Mease’s overall mission of good corporate citizenship, but Pizza X also takes care of its own. The company has offered health insurance to its employees for 15 years, and the managers not only share in their stores’ profits but in the overall profitability of the entire company.

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BRIAN HERNANDEZ

Jeff Mease gets a kiss from a water buffalo on Loesch Farm, which is operated under One World Enterprises; Pizza X has collected tons (literally) of spent household batteries for recycling; and the pizzeria also recycles virtually everything it uses, including plastic, metal and cardboard.

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to come in to help (many of them for free). The three-day fundraiser brought in nearly $30,851 in sales plus $12,000 in contributions and donated tips from the Pizza X staff. “We were getting donations from our food suppliers, even from our competitors,” Mease recalls. “The community response was phenomenal.”

Pizza X’s commitment to Bloomington, the environment, its customers and its employees isn’t just good for business—for Mease, it’s a matter of good karma, too.

“I think we do a pretty good job of following the Golden Rule in all of the decisions we make at all levels,” Mease adds.

“It’s often about doing the little things. It doesn’t come back to you in a way that’s quantifiable, but I know it will come back over time. People respect us, they respect the way we do business, so they want to do business with us. That’s a big part of how you give back. If a company serves its staff well, it’s much more likely that the staff will serve its customers well. So every transaction can be a way of giving back.”

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

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Mease raises heritage-breed English pigs as well as various greens at Loesch Farm.

“That makes Lennie and myself partners with our managers,” Mease notes. “That compensation strategy—putting the managers and ourselves on the same team—was absolutely the best thing we ever did, I think.”

When a Pizza X South employee, Adam Sarnecki, died from a gunshot wound after trying to foil a car theft in November 2011, Mease and Busch closed the store down for three days to give their staff some time to grieve. Upon re-opening the following Monday afternoon, they donated the next three days’ sales to a fund for Sarnecki’s surviving fiancée and three children. Lines of customers stretched out onto the sidewalk, the phone lines were jammed with call-in orders, and employees from other Pizza X stores—plus some former employees—had

BRIAN HERNANDEZ

Pizza X has offered health insurance to its employees for 15 years, and managers share in the overall profitability of the entire company.

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Digital Edition Exclusive 2013 NRA Show

THE 2013 NRA SHOW:

GREAT MOMENTS IN FOOD

By Steve Green, PMQ Publisher

PMQ’s publisher tests, tastes and talks about some of the best products from the restaurant industry’s biggest event.

The 2013 edition of the National Restaurant Show, held in Chicago in May, was just too big and offered too many great finds to cover in the print edition of PMQ Pizza Magazine. Thankfully, PMQ’s digital edition allows us to delve a little deeper, so here’s a round-up of more great products that I’d like to share with our readers:

Steve Green Publisher

VegeUSA.com Remember when you drank your first Diet Coke and thought it didn’t taste right? That really wasn’t an insurmountable hurdle, was it? As it turns out, everyone goes on a diet sooner or later, and everyone at least tries to like Diet Coke. In fact, so many people have learned to adopt it as a substitute that Diet Coke now outranks full-strength Pepsi as the No. 2 brand in the soft drink category.

Similarly, meat substitutes—such as the meat-free chicken from VegeUSA—are making in-roads with customers. The company’s appetizers come in a range of flavors; I thought the teriyaki flavor was deceptively appealing and tasted great. It’s made with 100% soy-based vegetarian ingredients and offers important nutritional benefits (high in fiber and protein) while remaining low in calories and cholesterol. It could also make a great meat-free pizza topping. 888-772-8343, vegeusa.com

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Chef Pad Pro

Trackable Business Cards

This has to be the most practical application of technology I’ve seen in a very long time. Imagine having a Chef Pad Pro—located at each important station throughout your restaurant and kitchen—with easily retrievable instructions and information for a first-day employee or with all the details that your head chef needs to run the most sophisticated of kitchens. Invented by Chef Steve Carey and IT professional Glen Fisher, Chef Pad Pro has been tested and perfected, and it’s now available for restaurant professionals. 888-737-3629, chefpadpro.com

These special business cards allow your customers to access exclusive special deals at your restaurant via unique QR codes or short website URLs. I was delighted to hear Andrew Danciu, co-founder of Trackable Business Cards, explain how restaurants are able to harness the personal powers of their employees by using these cards. Employees are incentivized to share special deals with their friends and network of associates, and when a sale results, the employee earns a fee. It’s not expensive, and it will bring in natural friends of your business who will be more likely to brag about your restaurant. 828-559-1775, trackablebusinesscards.com

Golden Fry Tech

House Foods America Shazam! Your healthy, flavorful meatless pizza dreams can come true! The soybeanbased Pepperoni Crumbles from House Foods America offer a great-tasting alternative to regular pork-based pepperoni.

714-901-4350, house-foods.com

You can reduce your oil costs by 35% to 50% with Golden Fry Tech. At first this product seems too good to be true, but if you fry food, this could be one of your greatest finds of all time. It’s a relatively new product, but it has been used extensively in Japan.

The titanium plate catalyst has been tested and proven to prolong the shelf life of cooking oil. It allows users to fry at lower temperatures while using 50% less oil. You need to be a scientist to understand the ins and outs of oil oxidation, thermal polymerization and hydrolysis, or you can just contact Golden Fry and ask them for the details. 808-848-7228, http://lthcorporation.com

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advertorial Delta Pizza ovens

Delta Range Offers Heavy-Duty But Affordable Pizza Ovens

Other key features include: • Stainless steel front, sides, top and back • Stainless steel legs on casters • Stone hearth deck • Thermostat with electronic push-button ignition • Natural gas Delta Pizza Ovens by Delta Range (www.deltarange.com) are considered by many to be some of the best-made pizza ovens on the market, offering an affordable price that won’t break the bank. Delta Range has been building quality equipment since 1944, primarily building commercial ranges, fryers, griddles, charbroilers, convection ovens and custom cooking applications. After seeing the high cost of pizza ovens in the U.S. market, Delta Range wanted to design a heavy-duty but affordable pizza deck oven. Delta’s engineers designed a pizza oven that cooks great pizzas, is simple to operate, simple to clean, and simple to move.

All of Delta Range pizza ovens come with standard features that are only offered for extra costs by other manufacturers.

Delta pizza ovens have a thermostat that is lighted via electronic ignition—simply push a button to light it—while most manufacturers’ ovens require a lighter or match. The stainless steel exterior (front, top, back and sides) is a standard feature with Delta ovens as well as stainless steel legs on casters. These are options that most manufacturers offer at an upcharge.

Also, Delta’s heavy-duty door operates similarly to the door on a range, eliminating problems and added expenses of having to periodically replace costly springs like ones used on the doors by other manufacturers.

Purchasing a Delta Pizza Oven is simple. Contact Delta’s factory-authorized distributor at 800-607-0450 or 205-6033582. Delta Equipment Distributors is headquartered in Alabama with warehouses all over the U.S. They will advise you on whom your local dealer would be and will answer any questions you may have.

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• Heavy-duty door • Ovens stack evenly • Available in single or double stacked • Pizza-60: Interior dimensions 60” x 33-1/2” x 9-1/2” height • Pizza -48: Interior dimensions 47-1/2” x 33-1/2”x 9-1/2” height

Call by August 5th for the Early Bird Discount!

Card Pack Hit Date: Oct 1st

Pizza Business Card Pack

50,000 ways to put your products in pizza owners’ hands.

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MQ’s Pizza Business Card Pack, set to arrive October 1st for a maximum impact prior to the IBIE show.

Direct mail card packs are famous for impressive response rates, and the timing couldn’t be better.

Who will get it?

50,000 Pizza professionals • Every subscriber of PMQ Pizza Magazine (a BPA audited circulation) • Top officers of the 500 largest U.S. pizza chains • Pizza industry vendors and promoters • Bonus distribution at the IBIE show

Your cost includes: • Printing • Packaging • Delivery • Priority (Space is limited in the Pizza Business Card Pack. Get in now!)

• Your ad will live online forever at www.pizzacardpack.com!

• The Pizza Business Card Pack receives heavy promotion at www.pmq.com, the highest-trafficked pizza industry business site, and in 15,000 email newsletters.

• Card Pack promoted in PMQ Pizza Magazine

Space is limited! call to reserve your card now!

Tom Boyles tom@pmq.com 662-234-5481 x122

Linda Green linda@pmq.com 662-234-5481 x121

Clifton Moody clifton@pmq.com 662-234-5481 x138