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THE MAGIC MAN Gino Rago: The Pizza-Making Wizard of the Windy City PAGE 34

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PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | January/February 2016 | Volume 20, Issue 1

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 | WWW.PMQ.COM

THE MAGIC MAN Gino Rago: The Pizza-Making Wizard of the Windy City PAGE 34

PLUS: Sweeten Your Sales With Gelato PAGE 46 The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

How to Build a Profitable Buffet Service PAGE 54

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RECENTLY ON PIZZATV.COM COOKING WITH PMQ: BISCOFF DESSERT PIZZAS Professional chef Karen Irby, a longtime friend of PMQ and member of the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team, made a guest appearance in our test kitchen and created two dessert items: a peach cobbler pizza and a s’mores cookie spread calzone, both using Biscoff Cookie Butter, a spreadable European treat made with Biscoff cookies.

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A LOVE STORY WITH FIVE POINTS David and Tara Tieman, the married owners of the celebrated Five Points Pizza in Nashville, met on a blind date. But, as Andy Knef explains, their lives really took off when David quit his job as a wellpaid tax attorney and joined his wife in opening a pizza shop, despite having no experience in the business. The result: a single-unit operation described by one local website as “more than [Nashville’s] hipster headquarters—it’s the heart of the East Nashville community.”

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STINKY FRUIT PIZZA: THE LATEST CRAZE IN CHINA As China’s middle class grows, so does its fascination with the pungent Southeast Asian fruit called durian as a pizza topping.

Repulsive to some, delightful to many, this yellow, spiky, pineapple-like topping has become the bread and butter of authentic Chinese pizza. Missy Assink explains how this weird fruit has come to dominate the culinary scene in Chinese pizzerias—even though it’s banned in some public spaces, including airplanes!

FIND US ON:

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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PMQ PIZZA MAGAZIN E | January/ Februar y 2016 | Volume 20, Issue 1

Contents

JANUARY/FEB

RUARY 2016

| WWW.PMQ.C

OM

THE IC MAG MAN Gino Rago: aking The Pizza-Mthe Wizard of Windy City PAGE 34

ON THE COVER

PLUS: Sales Sweeten Your With Gelato PAGE 46

How to Build a Profitable Buffet Service

’s Busines Industry

PAGE 54

s Monthly

The Magic Man

The Pizza

34

m | PMQ.co

As co-owner of Panino’s in Chicago, superchef Gino Rago has mastered a range of pizza styles, thanks in part to a key Old World ingredient with an almost mystical allure—Mother Yeast. By Andy Knef

32

FEATURES

30

You Ought to Be In Pictures With PizzaTV Productions, PMQ has developed a new initiative to help pizzeria operators create and implement a successful online video marketing strategy for 2016.

32

For Lovers Only Love is in the air, so here are five ideas to help you create buzz-generating Valentine’s Day promotions for pizzacraving paramours. By Rick Hynum

54

46

Creamy, Dreamy Gelato Nothing rounds out the pizza experience like gelato, and the profit margin associated with this artisan frozen dessert will warm your heart, too. By Tracy Morin

54

The Way of the Buffet Adding a pizza buffet may not be a slam-dunk, but it has the potential to jump-start your lunch business—if you’ve got the space and don’t mind the risks involved.

By Liz Barrett

64

Chuck E. Cheese Grows Up A longtime favorite with the pintsized crowd, Chuck E. Cheese’s has a new corporate chef, a revamped menu and a plan to make parents want to stick around for the food as well as the fun. By Liz Barrett

74

How the East Was Won The best-laid plans of pizza makers often go awry, but the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team still triumphed at the Chinese Pizza Championship in Shanghai.

By Missy Green Assink

PASTARIA

46 8

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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DEPARTMENTS

16

In Lehmann’s Terms: How to Achieve the Perfect Crust Edge Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann says a dough sheeter/roller may help fix problems with an overly wide edge.

18

New York’s Finest: Rice Balls with Cheese Looking to set your menu apart from that of other pizza shops in your area? This simple recipe from Chef Bruno could be the answer.

16

20

Accounting For Your Money: 4 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft Your tax refund could be delayed by at least six months if a crook files a fake return in your name. Mike Rasmussen offers a few basic tips to reduce the risk of identity theft.

26

20

Art of Marketing: 4 Ways to Win Loyalty and 5 Business Resolutions for 2016 Get off to a moneymaking start in 2016 by following Liz Barrett’s suggestions for boosting customer loyalty and expanding your marketing reach.

28

Recipe of the Month: Meat Lovers Pizza When a plain cheese pie just doesn’t hit the spot, this delicious Meat Lovers special from DeIorio’s will work wonders for hungry customers.

98

Pizza Hall of Fame: Tony’s Place

TONY’S PLACE

Several employees have clocked not years but decades on the payroll at Tony’s Place, a Valparaiso, Indiana, shop that has become a Chicagoarea touchstone.

98 Check out our digital and tablet editions for bonus video content.

PizzaTV sits down for an in-depth discussion with this month’s cover subject, Gino Rago, who talks about how he incorporates Mother Yeast into his recipes and the challenges of running Panino’s.

Visit PMQ.com/digital to view the digital edition, or download our tablet app at iTunes, Google Play and Amazon.com.

10

24 IN EVERY ISSUE 6

Online at PMQ.com

12

From the Editor

14

From the Inbox

22

Moneymakers

76

Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going

78

Product Spotlight

83

Advertiser Index

84

The Pizza Exchange

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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FROM THE EDITOR

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

A PUBLICATION OF PMQ, INC. | 662-234-5481

Make 2016 a Year to Remember

I

never make New Year’s resolutions for one simple reason: I never keep New Year’s resolutions. Instead, I make changes based on sudden whims. What can I say? I’m a weirdo. I quit smoking out of the blue one Saturday morning in September 2012—the timing felt inexplicably right, and I was tired of being a slave to Marlboro. Hairgate 2016 During a doctor’s visit last March, I gaped in disbelief at the scale, startled by my own unwieldy heft, and started eating smaller portions— and losing weight—that very night. I woke up this morning and, after taking a shower, combed and parted my hair on the right instead of the left for the first time ever. I tell ya, folks, I can be a wild man! (I’m not being facetious, by the way. I really did part my hair differently today, consequences be damned! Sadly, I look exactly the same, as disheveled and seedy as ever, so this change probably won’t last.)

I’m not much for lifestyle resolutions, but I still take planning and organization seriously on the job, as do you (I hope). With that in mind, PMQ has created its first 2016 Marketing Calendar for pizzeria operators, which comes bundled with this month’s issue of the magazine.

Our goal is to get you thinking about how you can plan and implement new moneymaking promotions throughout the next year.

We urge you to place this calendar on the wall in your office and start making plans now for the coming 12 months. Develop a written schedule, discuss it with your managers and team members, and stick with it. As we reported in last month’s Pizza Power Report, sales for independent pizzerias dropped in 2015, a trend that must be reversed quickly. Don’t lose any more ground to the big chains—get moving now! Use this calendar to create memorable themed offers, contests and fundraisers around special days every month, and use social media and direct mail to spread the word. And don’t give up if the first one isn’t a big hit. It takes time to build up a following, but if you’re smart, creative and persistent—and if you offer clear value to your customers—you can turn 2016 into a year to remember, for yourself and your customers!

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 10 DECEMBER 2015 PUBLISHER

Steve Green, sg@pmq.com ext. 123

CO-PUBLISHER

Linda Green, linda.pmq@gmail com ext. 121 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Rick Hynum, rick@pmq.com ext. 130 ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Andy Knef, andy@pmq.com ext. 136

EDITOR AT LARGE

Liz Barrett, liz@pmq.com SENIOR COPY EDITOR

Tracy Morin, tracy@pmq.com

INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

Missy Green, missy@pmq.com

ART DIRECTOR

Eric Summers, eric@pmq.com ext. 134

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Sarah Beth Wiley, sarahbeth@pmq.com ext. 135 SENIOR MEDIA PRODUCER

Daniel Lee Perea, dperea@pmq.com ext. 139 MEDIA PRODUCER

Chris Green, chris@pmq.com ext. 133 MEDIA PRODUCER

Erin Toffler, erin@pmq.com ext. 124

IT SPECIALIST

Aaron Harris, aaron@pmq.com ext. 137 CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Shawn Brown, shawn@pmq.com CIRCULATION MANAGER

Sherlyn Clark, sherlyn@pmq.com ext. 120 TEST CHEF/EVENT COORDINATOR

Brian Hernandez, brian@pmq.com ext. 129

ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR

Linda Green, linda@pmq.com ext. 121 SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Clifton Moody, clifton@pmq.com ext. 138 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Tom Boyles, tom@pmq.com ext. 122

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Anna Zemek, anna@pmq.com ext. 140

SALES ASSISTANT

Brandy Pinion, brandy@pmq.com ext. 127

PMQ INTERNATIONAL PMQ CHINA

Yvonne Liu, yvonne@pmq.com PMQ AUSTRALIA-NZ

Tom Boyles, tom@pmqaustralia.com

PMQ RUSSIA

Vladimir Davydov, vladimir@pmq.com CONTRIBUTORS

Chef Santo Bruno, Kamron Karington, Tom Lehmann, Michael Rassmussen

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | January/February 2016 | Volume 20, Issue 1

Rick Hynum Editor-in-chief PMQ Pizza Magazine

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 | WWW.PMQ.COM

THE MAGIC MAN Gino Rago: The Pizza-Making Wizard of the Windy City

ON THE COVER:

PAGE 34

PLUS: Sweeten Your Sales With Gelato

With his mastery of a range of pizza styles and his gift for experimentation, Gino Rago casts a spell on customers at Panino’s in Chicago. Photo by Sarah Beth Wiley.

PAGE 46 The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

How to Build a Profitable Buffet Service PAGE 54

12

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE

605 Edison St. • Oxford, MS 38655 662.234.5481 • 662.234.0665 Fax 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.

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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FROM THE INBOX

VIA FACEBOOK

CAN’T STOMACH MR. TUBBY In your November 25 edition of This Week in Pizza (PMQ’s e-newsletter), the picture of the man eating pizza [in a filthy tank top] will turn off many people. You all must have had a good reason for doing it, but I cannot think of what it might have been. Other than that, I enjoy getting your emails. You are all fantastic. God bless you.

Don Hunt Co-Founder Hunt Brothers Pizza We do realize the photo of the pizza eating slob in our lead story that week was a bit beyond the pale, as pizza images go. You were not the only subscriber to comment on it, Mr. Hunt (although you are certainly the most distinguished!), and we appreciate your honest feedback. For those who missed it, the newsletter article covered a recent study showing that men try to impress women by overeating pizza at Italian buffets, possibly as a demonstration of prosperity. We illustrated the article with a photo of a beer-bellied man eating pizza in a sauce-stained tank top, an image that made some readers a tad queasy. As PMQ associate editor Andy Knef later explained in his blog at pizzaperspective.pmq.com, we strive “to make dramatic impressions with our words and images … so we try to be bold.” Maybe this was one of those times when we bit off more than we could chew (so to speak). To those readers who don’t currently receive This Week in Pizza, sign up today at pmq.com/subscribe and see what we come up with next!

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: 14

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

FromtheInboxJanFeb16.indd 14

HOLE-Y PIZZA PIES, BATMAN! Hello, PMQ team. Thank you for including us in your magazine (“Stuff We Love,” December 2015). We all read your publication frequently and find it extremely useful for bringing a better pizza to market. Thank you for the job you’re doing, and please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you with your content.

Dan Yates Director of Marketing Pi Pizza and TPH Food Group Thanks, Dan. We love Pi Pizza’s unique concept, especially the “sharable centers” that fill the hole in each pizza. We look forward to learning more about your company.

E W F F U ST

ner of Bella Domenico Crolla, ow Pizza portrait artist e days. has a hot hand thes d, lan ot Sc w, go as Napoli in Gl nald Trump Mark Zuckerberg, Do de clu in s ait rtr po Recent fghan Girl,” i, but our favorite, “A nc Vi da do ar on Le and ic photo, is just c National Geograph inspired by the iconi too beautiful to eat.

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IN LEHMANN’S TERMS

How to Achieve the Perfect Crust Edge As Tom “The Dough Doctor Lehmann” explains, a combination of sheeting and handstretching can solve the problem of overly wide edges. By Tom Lehmann Tom Lehmann recently retired as the longtime director of bakery assistance for the American Institute of Baking (AIB). He is now an industry consultant dedicated to helping pizzeria operators make more money. Need more dough advice? Visit the Dough Information Center at PMQ.com/ dough.

16

Q

Our customers have complained about the overly wide edge of our pizza crusts. We’ve tried docking them closer to the edge, but that doesn’t seem to help. Any suggestions?

A

This is a common problem for inexperienced pizza makers who stretch their dough by hand. They tend to stretch the center section of the dough excessively rather than stretch across the entire dough skin. Improper stretching can also cause the pizza to go soft or limp soon after baking; in severe cases, the center of the pizza appears so soft that it looks underbaked, and the presence of a gum line across the entire center section may reinforce that impression.

Unfortunately, stretching your dough uniformly across its entire diameter is harder than it sounds. Starting out with a dough sheeter/roller may be the solution. You’ll want to adjust the sheeting rolls to provided a sheeted dough piece that’s between 65% and 75% of the desired final diameter, using no more than two passes of the dough through the sheeter. For example, if

you’re making a pizza skin with a 12” diameter, adjust the sheeting rolls to give a finished diameter of 8” to 9”. Then place the sheeted dough piece on a floured surface and hand-stretch it to the full 12”.

This process also helps yield a nice puffy edge on your pizzas. If you use a dough sheeter to form the dough skin to full diameter, it degasses the dough, so there’s not enough gas left for proper leavening during the first two minutes of baking. Sheeting the dough to a lesser diameter leaves enough gas in the dough to expand during the early stage of baking, giving you the desired light, raised crust edge. (Another way to get a puffy edge is to increase your dough absorption rate to yield softer dough. Softer consistency provides better expansion properties during the early stage of baking, resulting in a more defined, light, raised crust edge.)

O

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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NEW YORK’S FINEST

Rice Balls With Cheese This Italian staple could be a new signature item on your menu for 2016. By Chef Santo Bruno

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H

ello, my readers! I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. I wanted to help you get the new year off to a great start by sharing this recipe with you. If you’re looking for a new signature item that will set your menu apart from other pizza shops in your area, this could be the one for you.

These cheese-stuffed rice balls, also known as arancini in Italian, taste so good, they can be addictive. You can prepare rice balls in many ways, but this recipe requires just a few simple ingredients. Even better, it isn’t hard to prepare. Just get into the kitchen and start rolling!

Chef Bruno is PMQ’s culinary advisor, with more than 50 years of international pizza experience. He is the corporate chef for Marsal & Sons and the culinary coach of the U.S. Pizza Team.

MY

INGREDIENTS: 1 box premade risotto with cheese 3 eggs ⅔ c. mozzarella cheese, diced Vegetable oil Plain breadcrumbs Flour

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DIRECTIONS: Cook the risotto-and-cheese mix according to package directions in advance and let it cool. Beat 2 eggs into the risotto mix. Using your hands, shape the mixture into small, round balls. Spread out some flour and roll the balls in the flour, coating them on all sides. Crack open and beat the remaining egg in a deep plate.

Roll the flour-coated balls in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs.

Finally, poke a hole into the center of each ball and fill the holes with a few cubes of mozzarella cheese. Close up the hole again.

Heat the oil to 360°F and test it by dropping in a breadcrumb—if it sizzles, the oil is hot enough. Drop the balls into the hot oil and fry them until they’re golden-brown. Drain on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. Serve them hot.

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ACCOUNTING FOR YOUR MONEY

4 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft A stolen Social Security number can lead to grief with the IRS, especially if you’re waiting for a tax refund. By Mike Rasmussen

Q A

How can I protect myself from identity theft?

Identity theft is a growing problem in the United States. Criminals steal personal information to commit fraud and other crimes.

According to the IRS, some thieves swipe a taxpayer’s Social Security number and use it to file a phony tax return and claim a fraudulent refund.

Then, when the taxpayer files his legitimate return, the IRS rejects it. The taxpayer must work with the IRS to correct the situation, obtain his refund when applicable and repair his records. This requires a lot of time and effort. In the best-case scenario, the taxpayer must wait at least six months to get his refund.

There are several ways to reduce your risk of identify theft, including: 1. File your tax returns early. Identity thieves generally file early in the season to ensure that the IRS will process their fraudulent returns and distribute the refunds before the legitimate taxpayer has the chance to file. The earlier you file in the season, the harder it will be for a crook to assume your identity and file first.

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Eyenalyze (eyenalyze. com), a company that Never purchase any product from a website if provides real-time the URL does not begin with https://. Never profit analysis for send an email with the word “password” in the restaurant owners. subject line—hacker programs scan subject lines for specific words in order to swipe this kind of info.

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Also, check your credit reports regularly with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion if you’ve fallen victim to identity theft.

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MONEYMAKERS

Who Ordered the Clam Chowder Pizza?

Kids were the judges as eight independent pizza shops in the Dover area competed for top pizza making honors and raised money for the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire. The PizzaFest event featured a culinary contest with multiple categories and unusual recipes, such as Shepherd’s Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, Clam Chowder and Big Mac. The kid-composed panel of judges chose Papa Jay’s Pizzeria as their favorite, while a panel of adult judges gave the nod to Terra Cotta Pasta Company.

Other participants included Strafford House of Pizza; Mikey’s Wicked Good Pizza; Kendall Pond Pizza; River Bend Pizza, Subs & Ice Cream; La Festa Brick and Brew Pizzeria; and Thirsty Moose Taphouse.

Kids were the judges as pizzerias like Mikey’s Wicked Good Pizza competed in a culinary contest as part of PizzaFest, a fundraiser for the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire.

Making Singles Feel Sexy

Sometimes it pays to be a loner. Minsky’s Pizza, with locations in Kansas and Missouri, marketed to unmarrieds during its International Singles Day celebration, which actually ran for five days, from November 9 to 13. Customers who told servers, “I’m single,” qualified to buy any small gourmet pizza and a beverage for $11.11, and they could add cheesy breadsticks for a buck extra.

Minsky’s Pizza—the pizzeria from which pop star Katy Perry ordered during a 2014 concert in Kansas City—showed single people some love in a recent promotion.

Quick Tip 1: Hold a Tongue Twister Contest Col’Cacchio Pizzeria, a chain in South Africa, offers a gift certificate for free pizza to the Facebook fan that comments with the best tongue twister. It’s a fun way to build fan engagement and challenge your customer’s creativity. Our favorite Col’Cacchio entry: “Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread.”

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You Gotta Hand It to Home Slice

Home Slice Pizza really knows how to draw a crowd. The single-unit Austin, Texas, shop hosted its 10th annual Carnival O’Pizza in midNovember, with contests for free pizzas, raffles of prizes from local businesses, carnival-inspired games, a photo booth, fortune tellers, music and dancing. One highlight was the Hands On an Eggplant Sub contest. Five participants stood for nearly 22 hours with their hands on a 3’ sub sandwich (with occasional 10-minute bathroom breaks). The last person standing won free pizza from Home Slice for a year. The event raised funds for Austin Bat Cave, a nonprofit that helps children and teenagers develop their creative and writing skills.

The last person standing in Home Slice Pizza’s Hands On an Eggplant Sub contest won free pizza for a year. This year’s contest lasted for nearly 22 hours.

Quick Tip 2: Yuk It Up! Humor is a powerful marketing tool, especially with younger customers. A 2013 study found 80% of millennials remember ads and promos that made them laugh. But the jokes should fit with your personality and brand—millennials will roll their eyes and turn away if the humor comes across as forced or disingenuous.

Extra Pepperoni for Papa-to-Be

A customer’s special request led to impressive social media engagement for Mario’s Pizza in Northampton, Pennsylvania. In honor of a father-to-be, Mario’s pizza makers created a pie with the words “Future Dad” spelled out in pepperoni slices. When posted to the company’s Facebook page, the image earned more than 445 likes and 14 shares, plus immeasurable goodwill expressed in fan comments.

This piece of pizza art earned hundreds of Facebook likes for Mario’s Pizza.

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MONEYMAKERS

Making a Joyful Noise

Employees at Anna’s Pizza & Pasta spread joy to the world—or, at least, to neighborhoods in Winnebago, Illinois—by singing Christmas carols to raise funds for Toys for Tots in December. Led by 18-year-old employee Zach Brierton, Anna’s carolers went house to house, accepting donations while belting out holiday tunes. In addition to generating seasonal goodwill, the carolers caught the attention of the Rockford Register Star, which ran a feature on the carolers. “It’s

been incredible,” owner Brian Weavel told PMQ in December. “There isn’t a day that goes by that these kids aren’t recognized by someone.”

Anna’s celebrated its 20th anniversary on December 19 with celebrity pizza makers—mostly members of the local media—and their tips were also donated to Toys for Tots. “We are having a lot of fun around here,” Weavel said, with a laugh.

How to Build a Permanent “Brand”

Branding is everything in the pizza chain business, and no one understands that better than &pizza in Washington, D.C. The company, which has grown to 13 stores since its founding in 2012, even brands its employees, offering them free tattoos bearing the company’s distinctive ampersand mark. According to the Washington Post, 15 employees recently got inked for the cause. &pizza even promises free tattoos to customers once they’ve spent $1,500 at the store.

Quick Tip 3: The All-Star Team Create an “All-Star Team” for high-achieving students in your community. This strategy, used by chains like CiCi’s Pizza for years, incentivizes local kids to eat at your restaurant. All-Star cards for free pizza can be awarded to students, selected by their teachers, based on grades, community involvement or sports accomplishments.

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THE ART OF MARKETING

41

WAYS to win LOYALTY

Give Them What They Want. Most retailers never ask what customers actually want from a loyalty rewards program.

Discounts? Free delivery? Exclusive invites to store events? The short answer is, they want relevant rewards that are tailored to them. The only way you’ll know for sure, however, is by asking them—either during the sign-up process or through email and social marketing polls.

2

Know Your Members. Today’s POS technology lets you gather important information about your customers— up-front and on an ongoing basis— that will help you with future sales, promotions, and even ordering.

Want more sales and marketing tips? Check out Liz Barrett’s weekly blog, The Pizza Insider (thepizzainsider.pmq.com)!

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Communication Is Key. For a loyalty program to succeed, it’s imperative to follow up with your members. Whether that means sending periodic emails, mobile alerts or a note dropped in the mailbox, your customers need to be reminded why they are being loyal to you and not the pizzeria down the street.

Take It Mobile. The ability to tie a loyalty membership number to a mobile phone dramatically increases customers’ participation and enhances the data you can collect about them.

Plus, the customer has constant access to the loyalty program, benefiting you and them.

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Looking for more marketing ideas and insights? PMQ has you covered! By Liz Barrett

Tips&Tricks 5 Business Resolutions for 2016

PLAN AHEAD. Quit flying by the seat of your pants! Start planning meetings, events and promotions further in advance. You’ll be amazed how much time you save in the long run—and how good it feels to be organized!

TRY THIS!

can channel that e u n e v re a ady is Catering you don’t alre If . e n li m o tt e of boost your bo who’s in charg ff a st n o e n o make have some ering orders, at c g n li d n a h d promoting an 16.

0 2 it a goal for

JOIN A NETWORKING GROUP. Join a civic organization with like-minded business professionals and swap moneymaking ideas. You may even find new partners for mutually profitable cross-promotions.

GIVE MORE. Customers enjoy supporting businesses that help their community. Start donating surplus food to nearby shelters, running canned food drives, or donating a portion of proceeds for the night (or week or month) to a charity you care about.

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES. If customers see you’re making the effort to purchase fruits and vegetables from a nearby farm or getting milk and butter from the dairy in the next town, your love for the local community is instantly reinforced.

DO MORE DELEGATING. Imagine how much you could achieve if you passed just a few of your routine tasks to someone else. Life won’t end if something isn’t perfect the first time around. Correct any mistakes, and move on. The free time you’ll gain for other, more important tasks is priceless.

THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE Now is the time to start promoting your Valentine’s Day specials for this year. For delivery customers, create a knockout recipe for a heart-shaped pizza and a signature dessert, such as cheesecake or gelato.

For dine-in couples, dream up a romantic dinner special, including appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert with wine.

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DEIORIO’S

RECIPE MONTH of the

Meat Lovers Pizza INGREDIENTS: 20- to 24-oz. dough ball 5 oz. pizza sauce 8 oz. mozzarella, shredded 4 oz. Italian sausage, browned and sliced 4 slices bacon, sautéed and cut into 2” pieces 3 thin slices prosciutto 8-10 black olives 5-6 basil leaves DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 550°F. Toss, stretch, roll or press pizza dough into desired shape and spread with tomato sauce. Sprinkle 7 oz. of mozzarella onto the sauced dough. Place sausage slices around the surface, then place bacon pieces between the sausage. Drape torn pieces of prosciutto between gaps of bacon and sausage, covering the surface with all three meat varieties. Break the black olives and place on pizza. Sprinkle the remaining 1 oz. mozzarella on top.

Bake in the oven until the mozzarella begins to bubble and bubbles show a hint of brown.

Remove from the oven and let pizza sit for 4 minutes. Break up fresh basil leaves over the pizza just before slicing and serving.

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Sponsored by DeIorio’s

Meaty Treats When a plain cheese or pepperoni pie just won’t hit the spot, a Meat Lovers special can work wonders for hungry customers. But choosy guests may crave something beyond the standard pepperoni and hamburger toppings. That’s why many operators are turning to more artisanal meats to create unforgettable specialty items that often command a higher price point. Here are some tasty takes on this carnivorous classic: Customers never want to say bye-bye to the Meat Lovers special at American Pie Pizzeria in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The pizza is topped with Genoa salami, ham, sweet sausage, pepperoni and smoked bacon, all smothered in mozzarella.

Linguica, a spicy, smoky Portuguese sausage, helps make the Pike’s Peak stand out on the menu at Mountain Mike’s Pizza, with locations in California, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. This flavorful all-meat pie also features mounds of sausage, pepperoni, salami, beef and ham.

At Riviera Pizza & Pasta in Pittsburgh, the Meat Lover’s Pizza comes loaded with gyro meat, capicola, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham and salami, plus fresh garlic, provolone and mozzarella.

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You Ought to Be In Pictures Ready for your close-up? PMQ can team pizza operators with professional content producers to create TV-quality videos for their pizzerias.

P

MQ publisher Steve Green spends a lot of time thinking about how to help independent pizzerias compete against big-budget chains like Papa John’s and Domino’s. You might call it his mission in life. And a big part of the solution, he believes, can be found in online video.

No, we’re not talking about footage of cute babies and startled cats turning somersaults at the sight of a cucumber.

For restaurateurs, online video has become serious business in the past three years. It’s quickly turning into the gold standard for marketing, the must-have content that’s dominating the Internet while re-energizing businesses. Now PizzaTV Productions, a new initiative developed by Green for independent pizzerias, will help you create and implement your own online video marketing strategy for 2016.

Nearly everyone’s watching online video these days.

Video will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic by 2019, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index. And it’s proving to be a powerful marketing and advertising medium. A Demand Metric survey last year found that 74% of businesses say video content outperforms other content types in driving sales and conversions. As marketing consultant Tyler Lessard wrote on MarketingProfs.com recently, “Organizations that use video are seeing revenues grow almost 50% faster each year than their video-averse counterparts do.”

Percentage of smartphone users who watch videos under 5 minutes every day on their devices

36%

58%

Source: Adobe

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PMQ and PizzaTV are ready to help pizzeria operators enhance their brands through the power of online video marketing.

Green wants to help PMQ’s readers seize this moneymaking opportunity. “The chains know that video images of fresh, hot pizza have immense marketing power, and they’ve always been able to pay millions for national TV exposure and enjoy a huge advantage,” he notes. “But the Internet—especially Facebook and Youtube—has changed everything. Paired with social media and websites, online video allows independent pizzeria operators to reach a large audience of consumers affordably and efficiently. And for those who don’t know how to get started, PMQ stands ready to help.”

Percentage of smartphone users who watch videos longer than 5 minutes every day on their devices

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$

“Organizations that use video are seeing revenues grow almost 50% faster each year than their videoaverse counterparts do.”

—Tyler Lessard, MarketingProfs.com

PARTNERING WITH PROFESSIONALS PMQ has developed a relationship with StudioNow, a company that pairs pizzeria owners with professional video content producers around the country. PMQ and StudioNow will help you find talented video production vendors—including directors, videographers, even actors and voiceover talent—in your market. “Working on your schedule, these experts will come to your pizzeria and help you craft your message and tell your story in high-impact pictures and words,” Green says. “After the first cut, you can review and make changes as needed. After two rounds of edits, your video is ready to be released to the world.

Best of all, the final product can cost as little as $1,000.”

The video can be featured on your website and social media. It can be pushed out to your fans on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to your mobile followers and to loyalty program members via e-newsletters. It can even be aired on local TV stations.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a thousand pictures,” Green says. “Video is the single best way I know to convey your pizza message, with emotion and passion, instantly. Video is the obvious medium of choice. The only remaining question is, what message do your future customers need to get to become full-fledged customers?”

The Power of Video Marketing

1.8 million words The value of one minute of video

Source: Forrester Research

85%

Percentage of companies that say video has helped them achieve their marketing objectives Source: Ascend2

52%

Percentage of marketing professionals who say video content offers the best ROI of all content Source: Invodo

100 million The number of Internet users who watch online video every day Source: videobrewery.com

33%

Contact Anna Zemek at anna@pmq.com for video estimates.

Percentage of tablet owners who watch one hour of video per day on their devices Source: Invodo

1 hour, 16 minutes The average amount of time U.S. adults spend watching video on their digital devices Source: eMarketer.com Video is now considered the most powerful tool for driving sales.

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FOR

LOVERS

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ONLY

All you need is love, great pizza and a sense of humor to throw a moneymaking Valentine’s Day promotion in 2016. By Rick Hynum

I

f the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, pizza ought to win anybody’s love. It may not be typically associated with romance, but it’s sharable, saucy and even kind of sexy. That’s why more and more pizzerias are cashing in on Valentine’s Day with special promotions and deals for lovers. If you’re stumped for ideas, we’re happy to help. Here are six Valentine promos that your customers can’t help falling in love with:

1

BREAKING HEARTS Valentine’s Day has become one of the biggest sales days of the year for Papa Murphy’s, thanks to the chain’s heart-shaped “Heartbreaker” pizzas, offered from early February through Valentine’s Day. This promo may feel cliché by now—many pizzerias around the country do it every year—but it still works. You can even jazz it up by giving away cute, corny, kid-size Valentine cards, like the ones you swapped in third grade, or free Hershey Kisses with each order.

2

POPPING THE QUESTION Fazoli’s, the Italian-American chain with more than 200 locations nationwide, earned oodles of free publicity last year with a sweetheart deal for lovebirds: Anyone who got engaged at a Fazoli’s store on February 14 won free spaghetti for a year. The happy couples also entered a contest for $500 worth of catering for their wedding reception, rehearsal dinner or bridal shower. And what do most people want even more than free spaghetti?

Free pizza!

3

A KISS AND A PIE Bring out budget-conscious couples with a “buy one, get one free” promotion. But there’s a catch: The customer has to give someone a great big smooch to get the deal. It can be a spouse, a date, a best pal, even a willing stranger, but some slobber has to get swapped!

4

THE SOUL OF A POET Tap into your social media fan base, and you could discover the next Lord Byron or Elizabeth Barrett Browning. OK, probably not, but Pizza Hut Australia made national headlines when it held a cheesy love poem contest on Facebook and awarded pizza-themed nail polish packs (“Poppin’ Pepperoni,” anyone?) to 35 entrants. Of course, you probably don’t have Pizza Hut’s vast resources, so forget the weird nail polish. Just ask your followers to write and post their original pizza-inspired love poems— the cheesier, the better—to your Facebook page during Valentine’s Day week and reward random poets with free food. Want to extend the promo to Twitter? Ask for short and sweet love haikus.

5

VALENTINE’S DATE NIGHT Prefer to keep it simple? Develop a one-night-only menu that pairs your tastiest specialty pizzas with Italian wines. Set an amorous mood with romantic music and create atmosphere with dim lighting, white tablecloths and candles at each table.

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

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B ETH W ILEY

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SARAH

Gino Rago, with the help of his Mother Yeast, makes magic happen with flour and dough, whether the end result is artisan bread or his diverse menu of pizza varieties.

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c i g a MMAN THE

With his Mother Yeast dough starter from Italy and an alchemist’s knack for experimentation, Panino’s Pizzeria co-owner Gino Rago is a pizza making wizard in the Windy City. By Andy Knef

F

or Gino Rago, the multitalented chef and passionate proprietor of Panino’s Pizza in Chicago, pizza magic starts with the dough. Not just any dough, but a mystical elixir of flour, water, salt and lievito madre, better known as Mother Yeast. A hallowed tradition in Italy for hundreds of years, Mother Yeast is the key ingredient that transforms Rago’s pizzas, artisan breads and appetizers into some of the best-loved dishes in a town where devotion to authenticity runs as deep as the deep-dish crust Chicago is famous for.

“It all started eight years ago during a family vacation to Naples,” recalls Rago, who co-owns and operates Panino’s three locations in the Chicago area and the single-unit Via Pizzeria 1-2-3 with his brother Lenny Rago and cousin Bruno Brunetti. “I was on my third trip to my favorite Neapolitan pizza place. This Italian pizzaiolo says to me, ‘Every time you come in here, you’re watching me like a hawk, so I know you run a restaurant. I’m going to give you a very special gift.’”

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DANIEL PEREA

Rago consults with his Groupon U.S. Pizza Team colleague and Italian paisan Lenny Giordano at the World Pizza Championship in Parma, Italy. Giordano is owner of Mona Lisa Pizza in Staten Island, New York.

This gift—a sample of Mother Yeast from the Italian’s personal culture—had kept on giving for about 200 years before Rago took possession of it. Enchanted, Rago took it home and set out to better understand it. “He told me how to bring it back to life,” he says. “Later, through my research in PMQ Pizza Magazine and with the help of my friend, Tom Lehmann, I learned how to store the Mother Yeast in my garage—in a Styrofoam box rigged with a light bulb, dimmer switch and a peephole.”

Soon, Rago was acting as wet nurse to this yeast beast, regularly feeding it warm water and sugar. “I fed it every day, and one morning I was astounded to find it had activated,” he recounts. “It was spilling over the box like a volcano, and that’s when I started making the pizza crust that today supports a $6-million-annual business.”

Thanks in part to the Mother Yeast, Rago has earned fame as a pizza making wizard in the Windy City. A living organism that must be fed and nurtured to survive, this fungal gold continues to conjure up a little bit of Italy as the sourdough starter for some of the most deliciously airy, slightly tart pizza dough that’s ever crossed the Atlantic. And Rago has never forgotten the generous Italian pizzaiolo who first shared its secrets with him. “He’s my paisan,” he says, fondly.

FROM CHICAGO TO ITALY AND BACK Italians have often passed cultures of Mother Yeast down to family members, friends and other loved ones. The 36

“I fed [the Mother Yeast] every day, and one morning I was astounded to find it had activated. It was spilling over the box like a volcano.”

—Gino Rago, Panino’s Pizzeria Boudin Bakery in San Francisco reportedly uses a Mother Yeast starter first developed during the California gold rush in the mid-1800s. With its evocative name, which conjures images of ancient goddesses and fertility cults, Mother Yeast is seen by many as the key to soft, extremely tasty dough, and customers at Panino’s would likely agree.

Rago, a dedicated chef who has mastered a variety of cuisines, serves several pizza styles at his shops, including Chicago Deep Dish, East Coast Thin Crust, Neapolitan and Grandma styles—along with a large menu of appetizers, pasta, traditional Italian specialties, artisan breads and desserts. “I believe we’re the only pizzerias in Chicago offering all of these diverse pizza varieties under one roof,” Rago says. But many think the Neapolitan style is the highlight of Panino’s menu. In fact, Chicago food journalist and TV host Steve Dolinsky declared Panino’s the best Neapolitan pizzeria in the city.

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ANDY KNEF

The Burrata Boat, made with Rago’s house-baked bread, Burrata cheese and Roma tomatoes, is one of Panino’s most popular appetizers. It’s built on a 150-year-old Mother Yeast foundation that Rago brought back to Chicago after a vacation in Sorrento, Italy.

$

“I think it’s fine that good bartenders, servers and cooks receive more than the minimum wage. But is it right that a kid right out of high school makes $15 an hour answering phone calls? I’m against that.”

—Gino Rago, Panino’s Pizzeria 38

Rago prepares his Panzerotti in PMQ’s test kitchen. The fried calzone is another menu item that powers Panino’s thriving dining-in, delivery and catering services.

ANDY KNEF

Rago, a Groupon U.S. Pizza Team member, admits that the size of his menu—which also features baby back ribs and pot roast—and his time-consuming old-school methods challenge his employees, but he believes they feed off his family’s commitment to excellence. “We have a great bunch of guys who share our passion for artisanal creativity,” he says. “They’re proud that we make our own Italian fennel- and pepperoni-flavored sausage and hand-make our Altamura-style breads. We use our leftover Mother Yeast pizza dough to bake bread and serve as the foundation for our Burrata Boat and Gino Roll appetizers and the bread bowls for our soups.”

Rago’s own experiences in Italy began when he was still an infant. He was born in Chicago but moved to Italy with his parents at six months old. As a kindergartner, he

modeled an oversized, bowtie-blaring blue suit—a snapshot that invites friendly ribbing for the self-confident, leather jacket-sporting pizza don he is today. After kindergarten, he and his family moved back to Chicagoland, but the family returned to Italy each summer until Rago was 12. Love for Italian cuisine and respect for hard, honest labor were already circulating in the wide-eyed boy’s bloodstream. When Gino and Lenny were teenagers, their dad, who worked in the food distribution business, routinely dropped the eager entrepreneurs-in-training off to work at local restaurants. In these hectic kitchens, the youths soaked in pizza knowledge from the saucestained ground up. “I love pizza; I dream about pizza,” Gino says without a trace of irony. After high school, he cross-circuited briefly into electronics trade school, but, he adds with a shrug, “It didn’t connect.”

A PIZZA FAMILY In August 1999, Gino and Lenny put down stakes on their shared dream of opening an Italian restaurant with the authentic dishes that first captured their imaginations as boys in the Old Country. They launched Panino’s in Evanston, Illinois, home of Northwestern University. In 2006, they expanded their culinary territory by partnering with Brunetti and opening a new Chicago location. Today, the pizza family operates three sites in the Chicago area. “We’re

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all different—my brother is the business guy who handles daily financial operations, while Bruno is in charge of employees,” Gino explains. “I’m the menu guy who’s always coming up with new items and perfecting our recipes. I love being creative with food, and I’m sure I learned

it watching my grandmother and mother make magic in their kitchens and visiting Italy so often. The smells from my grandfather’s farm and the Sorrento fish markets still play in my dreams.”

Rago’s wife, Tina, toiled at Panino’s in the early days but now works

Proudly made in the

40

for a doctor’s group, while their two daughters pursue careers outside the pizza universe. But Rago can’t imagine doing anything else—he even brings his work home with him each day to the Chicago suburbs. In fact, he parks it in the garage. That’s where he keeps the brick pizza oven he built himself. It serves as the focal point for parties, football watching and, most importantly, pizza experimentation.

“Tina said I was making too big of a mess in the kitchen coming up with new recipes,” he says. “Playing with my pizza oven in the garage, trying new flavor combinations—this is where I like to hang out on my off days. And I love to invite my buddies over to taste my research.”

THE RISE IN MINIMUM WAGE Passione and fantasia are two words that Rago pronounces fluently in melodic Italian and understands in his gut. And he’s willing to pay many of his employees, some of whom have worked for him as long as 18 years, a higher wage because they embrace those same ideals. “I believe we’re successful because Panino’s operates like a big family,” he says. “We all have each other’s back, and that’s why our people stay.”

But as the minimum wage rises in Chicago—it’s now at $10 an hour and will rise incrementally to $13 an hour by 2019—Rago knows his business will feel the effects. “People in the food industry have to pay bills, too, so I think it’s fine that good bartenders, servers and cooks receive more than the minimum wage,” he says. “But is it right that a kid right out of high school makes $15 an hour answering phone calls? I’m against that.”

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Rago is already planning to raise his prices to cover soaring labor costs. “As a restaurant owner, my challenge is to build gradual price increases into our operation so customers aren’t scared off by menu items going from $10 to $13 overnight,” he says.

THE THRILL OF VICTORY This pizzaiolo-on-the-go has another family he cherishes: his teammates on the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team.

Rago competed at the World Pizza Championship in Parma, Italy, in 2014, but illness grounded him from the 2015 event. That didn’t stop his teammates from sending him a get-well video message from the steps of a Roman ampitheatre in Verona. “Competing on the team is a fun time and a serious time,” he says. “It’s fun to be together with some of the best pizza chefs in the country, traveling together, shopping together for ingredients and comparing techniques on pizza making.

It gets serious quickly when you hit the arena and you’re suddenly on stage with competitors from 30 other countries as you represent the U.S.” Rago has numerous culinary competition wins and best-ofChicago titles under his belt. His latest victory: the Competitor’s Choice Award 42

ANDY KNEF

Panino’s famous Grandma Pie honors Rago’s proud Italian heritage and family roots. It’s a traditional pan pizza with green peppers and a homemade sausage blend.

Rago recently prepared it as an awardwinning entry at the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team Trial competition in Cleveland.

for his Grandma’s Stuffed Green Pepper and Sausage Pie at the Groupon USPT Trials event, held October 26 in Cleveland. But world titles have proven elusive for the Americans, despite numerous trips to Italy. “The answer to better results with Italian judges in Parma is greater simplicity,” he says. “The judges are looking for thinner, rustic-looking pizza with fewer toppings, classic sauces and cheeses that aren’t so strong. Competitors should pretend they’re going to a pizzeria in Naples when they plan their entries.”

Back home, meanwhile, Rago hopes to keep his own winning streak alive with branded products for homebased pizza makers. The product line includes Via Pizzeria 1-2-3 Neapolitan-Style Pizza Sauce, Focaccia Dough Mix and Neapolitan-Style Crust Mix. “My initial motivation wasn’t to make millions; it was to help all the customers who came in and asked to buy dough balls for their wood-burning ovens in the backyard,” he says. “We finally thought, instead of selling dough, why don’t we package the ingredients in one bag? Customers just add water and a little olive oil, and they can enjoy artisan bread and Neapolitan crust with the convenience of making it at home. Since then, we’ve moved on to sauces, and we hope to market a frozen pizza crust in the future.”

OLD-SCHOOL FLAVORS While Rago focuses on perfecting menu quality, he’s well aware that a strong online presence is vital for continued growth. “Young people want to be able to use their smartphones, and that’s why our top priority is

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ANDY KNEF

delivery and takeout,” he says. “We’re too big. It takes three days to very active on our website, with sportsmake our sausage in-house. When related coupons and online discounts someone wants extra-authentic for our college student customers.” old-school flavors, they have to go Every Panino’s store offers online to a mom-and-pop pizzeria. That’s ordering and a fairly extensive caterwhere the passion is.” ing menu. Overall sales for the And pizza makers don’t get any stores are rising 5% percent annumore authentic—or passionate— ally, Rago says. About 50% of those than Rago. He is commitment in Chicago-style deep dish is just one style featured on Panino’s menu, along with Grandma sales come from delivery, followed motion, and his dedication shows style and East Coast thin crust pies. by 25% from carryout, 15% from in every deep-dish or East-Coastdine-in and 10% from catering. style pizza he makes, every new “My food costs and labor costs both run about 35% product he launches, every competition he enters, and because I’m willing to pay a little more for great ingredi- every smile he shares with his close-knit families at home ents and great employees,” he adds. and at work. It’s part science and part magic—just like his Rago insists that his family’s restaurants offer something Mother Yeast. It’s the life he was born to live. the pizza chain giants can’t duplicate. Again, the conver- Andy Knef is PMQ’s associate editor. sation circles back to passione and fantasia. “What we’re doing, Domino’s can never do,” he says, simply. “They’re

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Pastaria in St. Louis has begun wholesaling its housemade gelato to local grocery stores, boosting both profits and brand recognition.

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Dreamy CREAMY GELATO

This quintessential Italian dessert is a low-cost profit-maker, but a successful gelato program requires both commitment and creativity. By Tracy Morin

G

PASTARIA

elato, on the surface, seems simple; at its core, this creamy treat (the Italian word for “frozen”) contains only a few basic ingredients.

Look a little deeper, though, and there’s more to this European mainstay than meets the eye. Like pizza itself, its simple base allows for endless flavor combinations, from traditional to cutting-edge. Its image remains impeccable, with Italian roots helping solidify its reputation as an artisan, homemade, more natural alternative. And its healthier perception is well-deserved: Gelato boasts a lower butterfat content than ice cream—6% vs. 16%, according to Malcolm Stogo, president of Ice Cream University in West Orange, New Jersey.

Heck, it’s practically a health food in some parts of the world. “When I traveled to Sicily, I noticed that gelato was considered natural and nutritious, not an indulgence or guilty pleasure,” notes Anne Croy, executive pastry chef at Pastaria in St. Louis. “It’s high in protein, lipids, and vitamins E and B2. It can combine high-quality ingredients—local products, hormone-free milk, high-grade chocolate—and its dense and creamy texture makes it more satisfying in smaller portions. It’s the ideal simple, light dessert after a carb-heavy pizza or pasta meal.”

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GRAI

SAM & GREG’S PIZZERIA GELATERIA

At Sam & Greg’s Pizzeria Gelateria, the housemade gelatos require cooking and storage space, but they bring in healthy profits.

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PASTARIA, JONATHAN GAYMAN

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS With a home country in common, gelato makes a sensible addition to pizzerias and Italian restaurants. But for operators minding the bottom line, it also offers substantial profits. Stogo estimates that in-house, made-from-scratch gelato can register an average 22% food cost, though it requires significant up-front investment for equipment.

Premade options bring in less profit, with a 37% percent food cost, he adds, but some companies will provide a display freezer to help defray initial costs. Or you can look into premade bases to which you add your own flavors.

Initiating a housemade gelato program requires some hefty expenditures. Croy estimates costs for her equipment: spinner, $23,000; 12-flavor display case, $12,000 to $15,000; large-capacity mixer, $30,000—plus a blast chiller and dedicated freezer for storage. Her gelato rakes in a 70% to 75% profit margin, so she estimates it takes about 1 to 1.5 years for an operator to recoup those and Craigslist, snagging an old Maggie Moo’s display for investments. But today, gelato is an expansion driver for $11,000 (compared to $20,000 new). “As long as the Pastaria, which has started wholesaling to local grocery equipment is clean and in good working order, you can stores, boosting both profits and brand recognition. cut your costs in half,” she says. “When we first opened, Samantha Hathorn, owner and “big dipper” at Sam & we weren’t exactly bustling, so it took a couple of years to Greg’s Pizzeria Gelateria, with two locations in Huntsville recoup our investment, but by the third year, our gelato and Madison, Alabama, estimates product started to bring in much an average 30% food cost, dependmore money.” The gamble paid off— Toppings and garnishes can help elevate your gelatos—and your price point. ing on the flavor (plain vanilla is gelato now brings in one-third of cheaper to make than exotic avothe entire operation’s income. cado). She sells by the ounce (3 to But money isn’t the only issue; 3.5 for small, 5.5 for medium, and housemade gelatos also require 7.5 for large), training employees sufficient space for cooking and on portion control, and by gallons storage. Croy recommends a fair and liters so customers can preorder amount of cooktop space to make their favorite flavors for parties. bases from scratch, while Stogo Fortunately, Hathorn saved on suggests setting aside 100 square initial investment by purchasing feet for the display case. At the first used equipment on sites like eBay Sam & Greg’s location in Hunts48

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Pastaria has offered more than 100 gelato flavors, which are often incorporated in creative desserts.

ville, one-third of the tiny kitchen space was devoted to gelato, and the tight quarters (about 6’-by-12’) dictated that gelato was produced in the morning, before pizzeria production began. When the Madison location opened two years ago, Hathorn invested in a large stove and freezer for expanded demand. “We underestimated the amount of room we needed, especially if you intend to grow the business,” Hathorn admits.

Of course, with better-quality premade products crowding the marketplace, you might decide to order gelato from a third party (and possibly brand with your logo). “If you find a gelato you feel is a good fit in terms of quality and price, start there,” Croy suggests. “It’s much less expensive, and you can do plenty with standard, popular flavors.”

The bottom line: When you’re considering adding gelato, look at both cost and space considerations—then do the math to pinpoint exactly what you’re willing to invest.

“If you find a [premade] gelato you feel is a good fit in terms of quality and price, start there. It’s much less expensive, and you can do plenty with standard, popular flavors.”

—Anne Croy, Pastaria 50

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A FINE ART Once you’ve committed to a gelato program, the fun begins—it’s time to experiment with flavors and find enticing ways to display and utilize your new menu mainstay. Croy, who has introduced 100-plus flavors over the last three years, uses her gelato in an impressive range of applications. In addition to the traditional serving scoop, she has created gelato pops; sandwiches (housemade chocolate chip cookies filled with vanilla or salted caramel gelato); gelato-filled Italian donuts and donut sundaes for brunch; gelato-filled tarts, pies and cakes; and even Geloni, chocolate-dipped cannoli shells filled with gelato in lieu of the typical cream.

One of Pastaria’s most popular desserts has been Camping in the Ozarks, featuring 4 Hands (a local St. Louis brewery) Chocolate Milk Stout chocolate gelato, layered with toasted sage marshmallow gelato and sprinkled with Missouri whole-wheat mini Graham crackers.

Croy’s Breakfast of Champions infuses gelato with farro pureed with cinnamon and butter, and currants plumped in brandy. Other ingredients may include fresh coconut slivers, dried apricot bits rolled in chocolate, or salted pistachio dust. “Our recipe doesn’t use eggs, which creates more pronounced flavors, and we use less sugar than the typical recipe—we’re not interested in supersweet desserts, but in flavor and texture, so we cut back, and people have really responded to it.”

For added inspiration, it pays to shop locally. Hathorn sources organic strawberries from Hunstville farms and browses farmer’s markets to find homegrown apples or in-season rhubarb. She also partners with local breweries

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

12/18/15 4:02 PM

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to create beer-infused gelato. The signature Sam & Greg’s flavor is rich avocado-olive oil, but other top-sellers range from spicy hot chocolate with cayenne to vanilla and cookies-and-cream (in mint or traditional). “We want to have the basics, but we also want to offer things you can’t get anywhere else,” Hathorn says. “In our 12-compartment display, at any given time, we’ll offer half traditional, half more unusual flavors.”

Stogo agrees operators should mix it up with lessexpected varieties, such as coffee, tiramisu, or ricotta with fig. But more familiar flavors will often reign supreme. For by-thescoop servings, Croy’s most popular options include vanilla bean, chocolate, pistachio and toasted hazelnut; her bestseller is salted caramel.

Finally, don’t neglect your displays; place them in plain view and ensure gelato flavors are colorful and beautifully presented. “We put the gelato case up front, because we want people to know

right away what we’re about,” Hathorn notes. “Gelato is a very visual kind of dessert; people want to see those flavors when they walk in.”

At Pastaria, customers may wait up to an hour for service, so many amuse themselves by perusing the gelato flavors and picking out what they’ll order for dessert.

“It’s a good conversation piece and point of interest for customers,” Croy explains. “And, because we try to be supercreative with flavors, it’s a great way to get feedback on the product.”

Whether you craft your own or buy premade, gelato is a no-brainer partner for pizzerias—and with the proper push behind your program, this humble dessert can actually become a defining product of your brand. “As people have gotten more interested in it, we’re able to draw customers in with new flavors, and it’s a great item to expand on,” Croy concludes. “It’s been a huge success as part of our restaurant.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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PIZZA RANCH

Buffet customers at Pizza Ranch choose between 14 different types of pizza and can even put in a request for gluten-free crust.

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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Developing the right menu mix and price point are keys to a profitable pizza buffet service. By Liz Barrett

WAY OF THE

P

izzerias have been struggling to grab a slice of the lunchtime crowd for years. Adding sandwiches and salads has helped, but many consumers still consider a visit to the pizzeria too timeconsuming—and expensive—for a quick lunch. Enter the pizza buffet. Budget-friendly and convenient for customers, buffets and pizza tend to go hand in hand.

But buffets aren’t for everyone. If you don’t want to be open for lunch, invest in buffet equipment or coordinate your staff to monitor stations, you may want to stop right here. “It’s important to enter into something like buffet service with your eyes wide open,” advises Allen Wachter, vice president of marketing for Omaha, Nebraska-based The Amazing Pizza Machine, which offers more than 100 items on its buffet. “There will be busy and slow times of the day. We may see 100 people during a slow time and 1,000 during a busy Saturday. Ask yourself whether you can afford the waste if no one walks in for the buffet one day.”

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Grab-and-Go Displays Not ready to offer a buffet? Start with a grab-and-go display.

Everyone is in a hurry nowadays, and many appreciate the convenience of grab-and-go items in a refrigerated case. You can even repurpose one of your existing glass-front fridges to save on cost while testing the concept. Package a variety of salads, sandwiches, soups and desserts that are ready to go and promote the new offering on your website and social media. You may be surprised to see how many guests stop by before lunch or add items to their carryout orders.

If you don’t mind taking that risk, a buffet could jumpstart your lunch business. David Goldy, owner of Wild West Pizza in Lompoc, California, has been offering a $6.99 lunch buffet since he opened two years ago. “Lunch is often a difficult segment for the pizza industry if you don’t have a ready-now option,” Goldy notes. “We offer the buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., seven days per week. It includes all-you-can-eat pizza, salad, soup and soda, and we sell about 50 buffets per day.”

People like the idea of instant dining, Wachter adds.

“Our customers enjoy variety and versatility, especially within families,” he says. We’re open all day, but our busiest times are evenings, weekends and when the kids are out of school.”

Ready to go all the way with buffet? PMQ inquired at buffet establishments of various sizes—small, medium and large—to find out what it takes to set one up.

BARE NECESSITIES First and foremost, you’ll need space in your building for a buffet. Depending on your pizzeria and your customer base, this could mean a 5’-by-5’ space or one-quarter of 56

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“We may see 100 people during a slow time and 1,000 during a busy Saturday.

Ask yourself whether you can afford the waste if no one walks in for the buffet one day.”

—Allen Wachter, The Amazing Pizza Machine

your dining room. “Our restaurant seats over 700,” Wachter says. “If you offer a buffet, you’ll need to have enough seats to accommodate the crowd.” Ideally, Wachter says, your buffet service should offer items that appeal to a wide range of ages, including cheese pizza, a salad bar and changing protein options.

“A lot depends on the size of your building, the number of seats you’re going to have, and how much kitchen space you need,” says Cody Pierce, vice president of marketing for Orange City, Iowa-based Pizza Ranch, with 194 locations in 13 states. “We have two or three different sizes of buffets that hold eight to 10 pizzas and what we call a two-well, three-well, four-well chicken system. So it depends on the projected volume of the restaurant and several other factors.”

MENU OPTIONS Choosing a menu mix for your buffet will depend on its size, customer demand and demographics. “We have a lot more than pizza,” Wachter says. “Along with 14 different pizzas, we have pasta, salad, soup, nightly specials and more.”

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

12/18/15 4:03 PM

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No one likes cold pizza, so you have to monitor your buffet closely and switch items out after a predetermined amount of time to keep the food fresh.

t

Myth Buster Will customers eat you out of your profits if you offer a buffet?

Cody Pierce, vice president of marketing for Orange City, Iowa-based Pizza Ranch, says no. Pizza Ranch doesn’t go through any more food than a regular pizzeria, he says. “We don’t have higher food costs because people are eating more,” he says. “We know how much food we’re going to go through, and that doesn’t change much.”

The most successful buffets, like the one at Pizza Ranch, have something for moms, dads and the kids.

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PIZZA RANCH

“We always feature four pizzas at once—usually pepperoni, Hawaiian, veggie, and a chicken selection,” Goldy adds. “We also have a small but plentiful salad bar and three soups daily.”

Pizza Ranch, meanwhile, offers a “limited buffet,” according to Pierce. “We have a pizza buffet, a hot buffet with chicken and sides, and a salad bar. We offer everything for carryout and delivery, but 80% of our business is buffet.”

Pierce adds that Pizza Ranch always has a limitedtime-only offering that’s featured for about four months alongside staples such as Cheesy Ranch Stix with cheese and pepperoni. They also rotate one- or two-topping pizzas and a selection of 14 specialty pizzas. “On the hot bar, we always have fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and then usually vegetables and potato wedges,”

says Pierce. “On the salad bar, we always have a fresh green salad and a limited-time-only salad, along with 30 various salad bar options.”

SPECIAL REQUESTS While buffets typically offer a little something for everyone, some customers will undoubtedly put in special requests. With this in mind, Pizza Ranch offers the Buffet Your Way program. “If a guest doesn’t see what he wants [in the pizza bar], he just lets us know what it is, and we bring out as many slices as he’d like and put the rest on the buffet,” Pierce says.

Not all pizzerias can accommodate special requests all of the time, though, especially when they have a small buffet or a very large buffet with many choices. “We will take some requests, space permitting,” Goldy notes. “However, if there are four full choices already available, we do not take special requests.”

Wachter agrees, adding, “We have 14 different types of pizza on the buffet. The only special request we usually take is for gluten-free crust.”

PRICE POINTERS Consumers expect good value from buffet service, so while you need to cover your food costs, try not to price yourself out of the market. Depending on your offerings and your labor costs, you may consider a lower cost for lunch and a higher price for a dinner buffet, if you decide to offer the latter.

The lunch buffet at Pizza Ranch is typically $1.50 less than the evening/weekend buffet price. “Setting a price starts with understanding your labor rates and how much

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

12/18/15 4:04 PM

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AMAZING PIZZA MACHINE

The Amazing Pizza Machine offers more than 100 options on its buffet, which is priced at only $8.99 for adults and $5.99 for kids.

labor you’re going to use at the buffet,” Pierce says. “Check out local competition; that will help guide your price.

You already know your food cost. So taking those three things into consideration, that’s where you’ll be able to price your buffet for lunch and dinner.”

“Our buffet is value-priced at $6.99, and thus we try to limit it to more basic pizzas, but we also use it as a vehicle to sample new offerings,” Goldy says. “Our price was really based on our competitive environment. As the new guys on the block in our town, we have it priced a bit lower than our competitors.”

With more than 100 options on the buffet at The Amazing Pizza Machine, you might expect a higher price point. But the pizzeria also uses games, rides and attractions—purchased in packages or a la carte—to bring in customers and drive revenue, allowing them to keep the buffet price down. Adults pay just $8.99, while kids ages three to 12 eat for $5.99.

“Buffets aren’t easy, or everyone would be doing them. You have to make sure you’re monitoring your product and delivering hot, fresh and full buffets all the time, or you run the risk of people being upset.”

—Cody Pierce, Pizza Ranch 60

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STOCKING AND MANAGEMENT One thing your buffet-loving guests cannot abide is a depleted tray or empty well. “There’s nothing worse than running out of pizza on the buffet,” Goldy says, but a little smart planning and structure can help avoid that problem. “Pretop pizzas so you can drop them right into the oven,” he recommends. “You should also create a rule, such as ‘one new pizza dropped for every two buffets sold.’

And you should have a system to time individual pizzas so you can replace them on the buffet after a specific time period.”

Wachter says it’s often easier to run a buffet when it’s busy than when it’s slow. “You have to be very conscious about the portions you’re putting out,” he advises. “When you have more customers, you need more staff in order to divide up the responsibilities. Watch the portions and constantly communicate with the kitchen staff.”

“We have our kitchen set up so we have pizza on one side and chicken on the other,” Pierce says. “One side has the pizza ovens and make tables, and the other side has the chicken fryers—they meet in the middle. Then we have staff stationed at the pizza, chicken or salad bar; their sole job is to maintain those buffets and report back to the kitchen regarding what’s needed. It’s our job to time everything so we’re never out of anything. Keeping a full, hot, fresh buffet all of the time is very important for guest satisfaction.”

In the end, buffets aren’t a get-rich scheme or a way to cut down on food or labor costs. In fact, as consumers worry more about their health and weight, buffet sales have declined slightly in the United States. According to the online statistics portal Statista.com, food and drink sales of buffets and cafeterias were expected to reach $8.34 billion in 2015, a small drop from 2014’s figure of $8.43 billion. You should do your research and offer buffet service only if you’re sure it’s the right solution for your specific demographic.

“Buffets aren’t easy, or everyone would be doing them,” Pierce concludes. “You have to make sure you’re monitoring your product and delivering hot, fresh and full buffets all the time, or you run the risk of people being upset.

People are coming to a buffet because they want choice, so making sure you have that is really important.”

Liz Barrett is PMQ’s editor at large and author of Pizza: A Slice of American History.

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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MASTER PIZZA PERFECTION AT NAPICS ‘16!

NAPICS Features: Exhibits

In its thirteenth year,

the North America Pizza & Ice Cream Show is the pizza tradeshow for Midwestern operators.

Created by pizzeria owners, NAPICS’ goal of building up pizza pros and their businesses remains its core cause. That mission continues in 2016 as we deliver a dynamic and wide-ranging speaker and seminar lineup including discussion of broad topics such as dining trends, team building and social media, and focused but significant topics such as gluten-free crust recipes and Detroit-style pizza making.

The NAPICS exhibit hall will be as packed as ever with a broad array of all the equipment and ingredients you’ll ever need to operate a profitable pizzeria. Expect lots of products and exhibits designed to help you broaden your pizzeria menu with frozen desserts as well.

0 $15c,a0s0h

NAPICS ‘16 will feature 175 exhibiting companies supplying anything you need to run your pizzeria and more. Our right-sized regional show is larger and more packed than distributor events, yet smaller than massive national shows.

That means NAPICS ‘16 is ideal for single-day browsing and quick decision making. And since your admission cost covers both days, come shop Sunday and Monday!

Education Sessions NAPICS ‘16 kicks off with a rousing presentation on team building from Ohio State football legend Archie Griffin, and it continues with our first-ever Consultants’ Corner, where attendees get free, 30-minute one-on-one problem solving advice. And as always, you can expect hands-on seminars on recipe development, dough and cooking techniques.

Networking Opportunities The always enjoyable NAPICS Happy Hour returns on Jan. 24, and this year we’ll host our first Craft Beer Tasting on Jan. 25.

Pizza Pizzazz The battle for the “Best of the Midwest” is back! This year’s contest will be limited to 100 pizza makers baking their best to earn a share of the $15,000 cash pie! Pizza Pizzazz’s proprietary blind-judging format is used to evaluate pies made in Gourmet and Traditional divisions, held Sunday and Monday respectively. Pre-registration is required. Please visit www.napics.com for contest rules and registration.

in prizes!

REGISTER FOR NAPICS TODAY AND SAVE AT WWW.NAPICS.COM EXHIBITORS: TO EXHIBIT AT NAPICS, CONTACT DEBRA SEIPLE AT 877-265-7469

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NORTH AMERICA PIZZA & ICE CREAM SHOW

JANUARY 24-25, 2016

Greater Columbus Convention Center | Columbus, Ohio

www.NAPICS.com

175+Exhibitors, Including: *NEW EXHIBITORS IN RED

A CUSTOM POS ALFRED NICKLES BAKERY ARROW POS ARVCO CORP. B & B CREATIVE MARKETING BILL'S LEMONADE BAUER MARKETING GROUP BAY STATE MILLING COMPANY BURKETT RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT CARETEK CELLONE'S BAKERY CHOCOLATE SHOPPE ICE CREAM CONAGRA FOODS CONCORD FOODS COUNTRY PARLOUR ICE CREAM CO. DAIRYMENS MILK COMPANY

DINGMAN'S DAIRY DIPPIN DOTS DIPPIN' FLAVORS DTT E. RUFF & ASSOCIATES EAST COAST CHAIR & BARSTOOL EDGE CONVEYOR OVENS GRANBURY SOLUTIONS GRANDE CHEESE CO. HARBORTOUCH HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS HOBART CORP. HOODMART AMERICAN HOOD SYSTEMS HOSHIZAKI AMERICA INC. KAPPUS COMPANY KLOSTERMAN BAKING CO. LLOYD PANS

MAMI'S GELATO MIDDLEBY MARSHALL OVEN CO. ORDERSNAPP, INC. PALAZZOLO MANUFACTURING CO. PATRICK CUDAHY, LLC PEERLESS OVEN PIZZA CLOUD PIZZA SAVOR PIZZA SOLUTIONS, LLC PJ'S CORRUGATED INC. POS EXPRESS PRESTO FOODS RDP FOODSERVICE REITER/ TRAUTH DAIRY INC. REMAGEN, INC. RESTAURANT EQUIPPERS SHOPKEEP

SIGNATURE SYSTEMS/PDQ POS SOFO FOODS SOFT TOUCH FURNITURE SPEEDLINE SOLUTIONS/PURE POS SUGAR CREEK FOODS INTERNATIONAL - HONEY HILL FARMS TOMANETTI FOOD PRODUCTS TPC FOOD SERVICE UNITED DAIRY FARMERS VELVET ICE CREAM CO. VOLUNTEER ENERGY WASSERSTROM CO. WB MARKETING XOIKOS INTERACTIVE BUSINESS SYSTEMS YOHO FOOD SYSTEMS, INC.

Education Sessions Featuring Expert Speakers, Including:

Archie Griffin

Michael Shepherd

"Big Dave" Ostrander

Jeremy Galvin

Tom "The Dough Doctor" Lehmann

For a complete list of education seminars, visit www.napics.com.

www.NAPICS.com NAPICS â&#x20AC;&#x2122;16 LEARN. EARN. SUCCEED. EVERYTHING YOU NEED.

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The Cali Alfredo Thin & Crispy pizza, with an Alfredo sauce base and toppings such as chicken, sausage, spinach and mushrooms, is just one of Chuck E. Cheese’s new grown-up menu options.

GROWS

UP PMQ talks with Chuck E. Cheese’s corporate chef Gregory Casale about the chain’s new adult-friendly menu and rebranding campaign. By Liz Barrett

I

f you’re a pizzeria aiming for a share of the kids market, it’s hard to compete with a singing mouse and a cheerleading chicken that plays the tambourine. Now Chuck E. Cheese’s (chuckecheese.com), a longtime favorite with the pint-size crowd, has its sights set on the moms and dads that pay the check.

After undergoing a change in management, Chuck E. Cheese’s, now owned by Irving, Texas-based parent company CEC Entertainment, is growing up fast, with a new corporate chef, a revamped menu and a new strategy to make parents want to stick around even when the little ones are all tuckered out.

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Chuck E. Cheese’s corporate chef Gregory Casale is dedicated to enticing moms and dads with creative new menu options.

“We will always be an entertainment restaurant and a place where there’s lots of games and fun, but we have to elevate food as being a part of that experience.”

—Chef Gregory Casale, Chuck E. Cheese’s

For starters, 10 Chuck E. Cheese’s locations in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area surprised moms in July with impromptu spa treatments, including massages and manicures, along with samples of new menu items fresh from the kitchen. “We’ve been talking directly to moms, and they’ve given us a lot of great ideas to improve the Chuck. E. Cheese experience,” said Tom Leverton, CEO of CEC Entertainment, in a press release earlier this year. “Chuck E. Cheese’s has been giving families a safe place for fun, great food and lasting memories for almost 40 years.

With these new additions, now it will be even better for parents and children alike.”

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PMQ sat down with corporate chef Gregory Casale to talk about how his laser focus on quality is helping to update—and upgrade—the chain’s offerings to attract the hungry kid inside of all of us.

PMQ: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES HAPPENING AT CHUCK E. CHEESE’S RIGHT NOW? Chef Casale: Our biggest change is our new menu, which came out in early 2015. It includes not only some new pizzas, but a new pizza crust type, sandwiches and a couple of new desserts. Most importantly, the menu is geared toward adults, because we’d like the adults to enjoy their visit to Chuck E. Cheese’s as much as the kids. So the new items have been specifically geared toward adults with their tastes in mind, and specifically to Mom, whom we know to be the CEO of the household. Moms make a lot of the decisions about where the family will spend its dinner and entertainment dollar.

Millennial Mom today is a busy person, often taking care of a family, a job and a social life. We’d like to be that oasis for families to go and enjoy a night out and not have to sacrifice great food quality and variety of choices.

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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2016 PMQ

MARKETING

CALENDAR

LOOK INSIDE FOR • SUGGESTED PROMOTIONS • GOVERNMENT, MILITARY & SSI PAY DAYS • INDUSTRY EVENTS • MAJOR SPORTING EVENTS • MAJOR TV EVENTS • RECIPES, AND MORE!

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We need YOUR help because PMQ readers are the most knowledgeable pizza marketing experts in the industry by a long shot. Perhaps you’re the marketing genius or you hired a marketing genius. Either way, we’d love to hear from you about what marketing efforts you’ve made or are about to do.

Please submit your ideas, thoughts, suggestions, case studies or video remembrances to marketing@pmq.com. Each month, PMQ will release a marketing update with ideas, suggestions, interviews and material that can help a busy pizza operator plan and implement a local marketing campaign in a timely and practical way. Would you be open to being interviewed?

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“[Our new menu] items have been specifically geared toward adults with their tastes in mind, and specifically to Mom, whom we know to be the CEO of the household.”

—Chef Gregory Casale, Chuck E. Cheese’s

PMQ: WAS THE CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO CUSTOMERS ASKING FOR MORE CHOICES? Chef Casale: I think it’s definitely something that’s in the restaurant marketplace across the board. I came to Chuck E. Cheese’s in November of 2014 after the acquisition of a Peter Piper Pizza concept. A new CEO took over about a year ago as well. With that new blood, we’ve definitely changed our focus to include food. As a matter of fact, I’d say we talk about food at just about every meeting now, so it’s becoming more a part of our culture and who we are.

PMQ: HAS THE FOCUS TURNED AWAY FROM ENTERTAINMENT AND MORE TOWARDS FOOD? Chef Casale: We will always be an entertainment restaurant and a place where there’s lots of games and fun, but we have to elevate food as being a part of that experience.

I don’t know if it was ever as elevated before.

Cinnamon bread sticks (above), apple pizza and churros round out Chuck E. Cheese’s dessert menu.

and stretched it to the same size as a large and put it on a rectangular screen to give more of a flatbread appearance.

We wanted to achieve an artisan hearth look, although we do cook it in a conveyor oven. We added two pizzas that are highlighted on the new Thin & Crispy crust—our BBQ Chicken and our Cali Alfredo. And you’re able to choose the Thin & Crispy crust on any of our specialty pizzas or a build-your-own pizza.

PMQ: HOW HAS THE NEW PIZZA CRUST GONE OVER SO FAR? Chef Casale: We held a blind independent study in eight cities across the country with a significant amount of people, and we were preferred over Pizza Hut for our thin-crust pepperoni pizza.

PMQ: HOW MANY CRUST CHOICES DO YOU NOW OFFER? Chef Casale: We essentially have two crust types, both starting with fresh dough—our Traditional, which we use a dough sheeter for and which I’d characterize as American traditional style, and our Thin & Crispy, which is hand-stretched into a rectangle.

The Mac Cheesy Pizza, the first of many limited-time-only promotions at Chuck E. Cheese’s, is already a hit, according to chef Casale.

PMQ: TELL US ABOUT THE NEW PIZZA. Chef Casale: We changed our dough formula, but we utilized what we had. We scaled our dough ball size down

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we also have a cinnamon breadstick, which is more like a strudel; it has cinnamon and streusel crumbs on the inside, and then it’s topped with more cinnamon sauce and streusel and then baked and topped with the white chocolate sauce.

Chuck E. Cheese’s wings, available in traditional or boneless styles, come in a variety of size combinations and with a choice of Buffalo, BBQ or Sweet Chili sauce.

PMQ: HAVE YOU SEEN SALES INCREASE SINCE YOU ADDED THE NEW MENU ITEMS? Chef Casale: Yes, the response has been terrific. In fact, I did some blogger events where I met face-to-face with moms, and the response has really been over the top.

They appreciate the fact that we’ve considered their needs, and they really loved the Cali Alfredo pizza, with its fresh ingredients.

PMQ: HOW HAVE YOUR NEW SANDWICHES BEEN FARING SO FAR? Chef Casale: I think we’re selling more sandwiches than we were before, but people know us for pizza, and that’s always going to be our core item. I think that when people walk in the door of any pizza concept, they’ve already made a certain decision about what they’re going to eat, but millennial moms like variety, and we want to provide that variety as well.

PMQ: MOMS LIKE SALAD, TOO. WERE THERE ANY CHANGES TO THE SALAD BAR? Chef Casale: Our salad bar is still very popular. We did some experimenting earlier this year and are now focusing in on improving the salad bar with enhanced quality products and a new look. Something I’m going to try with some stores in the Dallas area is posting gourmet salad recipes onto the salad bar sneeze guard so they can see examples of how to build something high-end using the ingredients at the salad bar.

PMQ: ARE THERE ANY NEW DESSERTS? Chef Casale: We have a new churro, which comes with a salted caramel sauce and a white chocolate sauce. And 70

PMQ: CHUCK E. CHEESE’S HAS INTRODUCED LIMITED-TIME-ONLY (LTO) SPECIALTY ITEMS FOR THE FIRST TIME. TELL US ABOUT THOSE. Chef Casale: Our first LTO, the Mac Cheesy Pizza, was launched in early October. We’ll be running an LTO every quarter, with the next one being a pretzel dipper that has 3” soft pretzels alongside cheddar cheese sauce. I want our LTOs to reflect our brand—fun and family-friendly.

Every kid loves mac and cheese, and every adult secretly loves mac and cheese. As for the pretzels, we’re utilizing something that’s trending right now and making them interactive for the family. The LTOs will also provide our stores something new and fun to talk about on a regular basis.

PMQ: DID YOU BRING THE LTO IDEA WITH YOU WHEN YOU CAME ON BOARD? Chef Casale: I came from a Peter Piper Pizza concept that was acquired by Chuck E. Cheese’s. Prior to that, I had been working for Panera as the corporate chef for the Paradise Bakery concept. Both concepts use LTOs on a regular basis. When I came to Chuck E. Cheese’s and found that they had never done LTOs, I was like, well, we do them now! What we’ll find over time is that there will be some special LTOs that people really love and that they can expect to come back around at least once during the year. It’s those LTOs that can drive traffic.

PMQ: ARE WE TALKING ABOUT A GENERAL REBRANDING OF THE COMPANY? Chef Casale: I think that’s implicit in what’s going on here. We’re exploring lots of new things with the new management team. We have Wi-Fi for the first time in our stores and new and refreshed looks inside the stores. There are several stores here in the Dallas area that have been remodeled. I think we’ll find the things that are working, and those will become our new rebranding model to roll out nationally.

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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PMQ: WILL THE MOUSE CHANGE AGAIN? Chef Casale: Not that I know of. I think he’s pretty cute now.

PMQ: HOW DOES CHUCK E. CHEESE’S DIFFERENTIATE ITSELF FROM COMPETING CONCEPTS? Chef Casale: At the end of the day, they’re kind of Chuck E. Cheese knockoffs. We’re the leader in the category. I think our position is that we’re going to take that leadership position and continue to lead—we’ll be the ones that other concepts like that will follow. There’s a lot of energy around here at Chuck E. Cheese’s lately, and I think it’s going to translate into the country seeing Chuck E. Cheese’s reemerge as the iconic brand that it is.

PMQ: WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM CHUCK E. CHEESE’S IN 2016?

Chef Casale: It’s an ongoing project with quality improvements wherever I can find them. Anything is on the table, so I’m looking at wings and even a new sauce.

What you’ll see over time is Chuck E. Cheese’s quality getting better and better.

Liz Barrett is PMQ’s editor at large and the author of Pizza: A Slice of American History.

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As depicted in this set of photographs, Groupon U.S. Pizza Team members Dave Sommers, Rick Mines, Michael LaMarca and Jane Mines helped construct China’s largest pizza and wowed judges at the Chinese Pizza Championship in Shanghai; even PMQ’s senior media producer Daniel Lee Perea got into the act, playing guitar and singing for the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Green family and friends explored the Chinese pizza scene at local shops like LaCesar.

T

he best-laid pizza making plans often go awry, especially when you’re an American competing for culinary honors in China. But members of the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team still managed to steal the show at the 10th annual Chinese Pizza Championship in Shanghai and took home several trophies.

It required frequent improvisation with ingredients and equipment, not to mention resorting to pantomime to communicate with non-English-speaking event organizers at FHC China, that country’s largest food and beverage trade show. “The minute we got off the plane, we realized we were in a very different place,” LaMarca says. “Many of the products we brought in were deemed illegal and had to be tossed out before we got out of the airport.

[Several teammates] had trouble bringing in meats and cheeses. That meant that three-fourths of our team had to start fresh when they arrived.”

The challenge was on.

INGREDIENTS THAT WIGGLE AWAY PMQ China has co-sponsored the Chinese Pizza Championship for several years, but this was the first time that 74

Groupon U.S. Pizza Team members competed in the event. They included Michael LaMarca, owner of Master Pizza in Cleveland; Rick and Jane Mines, co-owners of Nima’s Pizza in Gassville, Arkansas; and Dave Sommers, owner of Mad Mushroom in West Lafayette, Indiana.

To replenish their confiscated ingredients after arriving in Shanghai, team members headed to the Metro supermarket, which LaMarca describes as “like a Costco but a place where a lot of the things you can buy look back at you and sometimes wiggle away.” Crustaceans, reptiles and amphibians lined the brightly lit walls, and some customers fished for their dinner with a net and a plastic bag. The supermarket, in fact, had just about everything you could think of—except for the specialty cured meats and cheeses that the Americans were looking for.

As seasoned competitors, however, they got creative and made changes on the fly. Rick Mines altered his recipe for a meatball and red pepper pizza by substituting

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how the

EAST won was

Members of the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team shine in Shanghai, earning top honors at the Chinese Pizza Championship

By Missy Green Assink

chorizo sausage for the meatballs. Jane Mines turned on the charm at a local pizzeria, LaCesar, and finagled a handful of pepperoni for her entry, then picked up mozzarella from an FHC exhibitor. Sommers found an Italian cheese exhibitor who was willing to part with some Gorgonzola. Meanwhile, LaMarca, the only American who breezed past Chinese customs agents with all of his ingredients, happily shared his cheese with his teammates.

“If I’m fortunate enough to win,” he says, “I want to know that everyone went in with their best pizza. I don’t want to win because of some technical failure, like they were missing an ingredient. We help each other out.”

A THREE-WAY TIE FOR THIRD In the end, all of the Groupon USPT members earned high honors, including a three-way tie for third place. Jane Mines took second place with a pizza featuring pepperoni and mushroom caps rimmed with hickory-smoked sea salt. Her husband Rick tied for third place with a pizza topped with roasted red peppers sautéed in Tuscan herb olive oil and sliced chorizo sausage; Sommers shared third place with his entry featuring a creamy

Gorgonzola fondue sauce, roasted asparagus and panseared beef tenderloin, while LaMarca also shared third with his Orange Crush pie, made with a base of orange zest oil and topped with Parmesan, asiago, mozzarella and provolone cheeses, honey-cured bacon, dried cranberries, arugula, sliced oranges and tomatoes, candied pecans and fried orange peels.

A three-way tie for third place may sound odd, but judges apparently had just as much trouble settling on a first-place winner. That was a three-way tie as well between Anatoliy Surkov, Zhang Xu and Cai Zhichao.

All in all, the American teammates say they enjoyed the experience and hoped to return next year. “China is alive and breathing—there’s a buzz,” LaMarca said, as the FHC event wound to a close. “I can’t wait to bring more people back next year. When I first started cutting pizzas as a kid 25 years ago, I never would have guessed I would travel the world, making pizzas at international competitions. But here I am, a small-town Ohio boy, standing in Shanghai!”

Missy Green Assink is PMQ’s international correspondent.

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ON THE ROAD WITH PMQ

�

Where We've Been

PMQ’s Pizzamobile is alw ays on a mission to unco ver new moneymaking milestone events in the ideas and document pizza industry. If we ha ve n’t been to your town yet, time. Learn more abou it’s only a matter of t where the PMQ staff has been and look out for where we’re headed next.

(Left to right) Rick Mines, Dave Sommers, Michael LaMarca and Jane Mines show off their awards from the 10th annual Chinese Pizza Championship in Shanghai.

SHANGHAI—FHC CHINA Accompanied by PMQ staffers, four members of the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team explored Shanghai and competed in the 10th annual Chinese Pizza Championship at this year’s FHC China, the largest food and beverage show in the country. Jane Mines, co-owner of Nima’s Pizza in Gassville, Arkansas, earned second place in the competition, while her husband, Rick Mines, tied for third place with two other team members, Dave Sommers of Mad Mushroom in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Michael LaMarca of Master Pizza in Cleveland.

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE— GROUPON U.S. PIZZA TEAM TRIALS PMQ’s Brian Hernandez and Daniel Lee Perea joined the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team for a trip to scenic Chattanooga in search of the best pizza makers in the Southeastern U.S. Jason Samosky of Samosky’s Homestyle Pizzeria in Valley City, Ohio, took first place in the Gourmet division, while Gino Rago of Panino’s in Chicago won the Traditional category. Other contests included Fastest Pie Making, Fastest Box Folding and Largest Dough Stretch.

Gino Rago of Panino’s took first place in the Traditional category at the U.S. Pizza Team Trials, earning a spot on the Groupon U.S. Pizza Team and a chance to compete at this year’s World Pizza Championship in Parma, Italy.

GRETNA, LOUISIANA—BUCA DI BEPPO PMQ editor-in-chief Rick Hynum spent an extended Thanksgiving holiday with friends in New Orleans. Rick mostly gorged himself on gumbo and jambalaya, his favorite nonpizza foods in the world.

But he also dropped in for a few slices of the Spicy Arrabiata at Buca di Beppo, the family-friendly Italian-American chain owned

by Planet Hollywood, and felt blessed to visit the Pope Room, featuring statues, busts and photos of popes throughout history.

Parties of up to 18 people can book the Pope Room at Buca di Beppo in Gretna, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans.

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�

Where We're Going

An attendee samples specialty cuisine at the Fancy Food Show.

SAN FRANCISCO THE FANCY FOOD SHOW How we produce, sell and eat food is changing quickly, as customers demonstrate a growing preference for snacking and single-serve products. The Specialty Food Association’s Winter Fancy Food Show, to be held January 17 to 19, will present a full slate of seminars delving into these changes. Members of the PMQ staff will be there, too, looking for the hottest, most innovative new products and moneymaking ideas on the market. One of the highlights of this year’s show: the Specialty Food Pitch Competition, in which first-time exhibitors will pitch a new product to a panel of buyers in a live competition before an audience of attendees. Meanwhile, multiple James Beard Journalism Award winner Corby Kummer will deliver a keynote lecture on sustainability.

COLUMBUS, OHIO NORTH AMERICA PIZZA & ICE CREAM SHOW The one-of-a-kind North America Pizza & Ice Cream Show (NAPICS) returns to Columbus on January 24 to 25. The event features the popular Pizza Pizzazz Best of the Midwest competition, as many of the country’s finest pizza makers square off for cash prizes totaling $15,000. Competing in two categories, first-place winners take home $6,000.

The event has gotten so large that organizers had to cap the number of entries at 50 each for the Gourmet and Traditional categories.

Will Shaw was the first place winner of the 2015 Pizza Pizzazz Gourmet category and took home bragging rights and a check for $6,000.

January/February 2016 pmq.com

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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Design, Marketing, Planning & Strategy Experts January/February 2016 pmq.com

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79

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE BULLETIN BOARD

Allied Metal - 68 Years Of Manufacturing Quality Cookware

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business Monthly

BulletinBoard_JanFeb16.indd 80

12/18/15 4:13 PM

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BulletinBoard_JanFeb16.indd 82

12/18/15 4:13 PM

ADVERTISER INDEX JAN/FEB 2016 Advertiser

Phone Website

24-7 Pizza Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941-328-8303 . . . . . .

Allied Metal Spinning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718-893-3300 . . . . . .

AM Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219-472-7272 . . . . . . .

Bacio Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885-222-4685 . . . . . .

Bay State Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-553-5687 . . . . . .

Bellissimo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-813-2974 . . . . . . .

Custom Cheese Shakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844-424-5646 . . . . . .

DeIorioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-649-7612 . . . . . . .

Delivery Bags Depot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844-HOT-BAGS . . . . .

Doughmate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-501-2458 . . . . . .

Edge Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-480-EDGE . . . . .

Escalon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209-838-7341 . . . . . . .

Fontanini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-331-MEAT . . . . . .

FWE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-222-4393 . . . . . .

Galbani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-206-9945 . . . . . .

Grain Craft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423-265-2313 . . . . . .

Grande Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-8-GRANDE . . . . .

Harbortouch POS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866-286-8744 . . . . . . .

HTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-321-1850 . . . . . . iFranchise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708-957-2300 . . . . . . .

La Nova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716-881-3366 . . . . . .

Liguria Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515-332-4121 . . . . . .

Lloyd Pans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-748-6251 . . . . . . .

MailShark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-457-4275 . . . . . . .

Marsal & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631-226-6688 . . . . . .

MicroMatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866-327-4159 . . . . . .

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

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

MPP Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866-889-8745 . . . . . . .

My Pizza Protector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-766-1120 . . . . . . .

NAPICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Our Town America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-497-8360 . . . . . .

PCI Frozen Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732-707-9009 . . . . . . .

PDQ POS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-968-6430 . . . . . . .

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

Pizza Butler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718 894 1212 . . . . . .

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

Pizza Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855-289-6836 . . . . . .

Precision Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518-462-3387 . . . . . .

Somerset Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978-667-3355 . . . . . . .

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

State Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Pizza Butler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718-894-1212 . . . . . .

Tyson Foodservice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479-290-4000 . . . . . . .

Univex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-258-6358 . . . . . .

Winona Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920-662-2184 . . . . . .

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

Yamato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262-236-0000 . . . . . .

Page

24-7pizzabox.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover alliedmetalusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 ammfg.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 baciocheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 baystatemilling.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 bellissimofoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 customcheeseshakers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 deiorios.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 deliverybagsdepot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 doughmate.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 edgeovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 escalon.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 fontanini.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 fwe.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 galbanicheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 graincraft.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 grandecheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 iharbortouch.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 hthsigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 ifranchisegroup.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 lanova.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover liguriafoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 lloydpans.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 themailshark.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 marsalsons.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 micromatic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 microworks.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 wowoven.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 mppmarketinggroup.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 mypizzaprotector.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 napics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,63 ourtownamerica.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 pcifrozenfoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 pdqpos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 peerlessovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 thepizzabutler.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 pizzaskool.com/demo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 pizzasolutions.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 precisionmixers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 smrset.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 stanislaus.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 st8.fm/bizinsurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 thepizzabutler.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 tyson.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 univexcorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 winonafoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 xltovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 yamatocorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

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.

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE BAKING SCHOOLS

CHEESE

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

BAKING STONES FIBRAMENT-D BAKING STONE.....................................................www.bakingstone.com 708-478-6032 ......................................NSF approved baking stone for all ovens by AWMCO

BEVERAGES ON TAP

Made by us from our own cows’ milk!

Mozzarella & More!

We ship anywhere.. giftboxes, orders, etc.

Call- 715-286-4007 www.gingerbreadjerseycheese.com

CHEESE

Authentic Flavor for Modern Menus

CALL (800) 824-3373 OR VISIT SAPUTOUSAFOODSERVICE.COM Mozzarella I Provolone I Blue Cheese I Gorgonzola I Asiago I Romano

Winona Knows Cheese. Get to Know Winona.

Natural | Process | Portions | Specialty

Winona Foods, Inc.

BREAD

WinonaFoods.com

920.662.2184

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE Specializing in Hearth-Baked Italian Breads, Hoagies, Buns & Rolls Since 1911. www.cellones.com 800.334.8438

Mark Wutz VP National Accounts MWutz@cellones.com

Get the latest and greatest in pizza news, recipes, videos, marketing strategies and technologies at www.pmq.com!

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE, CONT.

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE, CONT.

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

• •

Self Serve Kiosk ordering Automated customer loyalty marketing

800.750.3947

CALL FOR A DEMO TODAY!

www.granburyrs.com

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

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

The BEST Pizza POS OS OS

877-968-6430 PDQpos.com

The Fastest POS on the Planet The Easiest to Learn & Operate Online Ordering / Rewards & Loyalty Mobile Reporting/Enterprise Complete EMV & PCI Compliance

CUTTING BOARDS - EQUAL SLICE

817.299.4500 sales@BreakawayPOS.com www.BreakawayPOS.com

Incredible Affordable Pizza POS! $

DESSERTS

Now Offering Gelato & Tiramisu Cups

908-241-9191 * Tasteitpresents.com

The POS software of choice for thousands of pizzerias over more than a decade. Detailed features and demo software available at the Point of Success web site.

599 ®

(800) 752-3565 www.pointofsuccess.com

Dessert is the last impression you’ll make on a customer

Make it count DOUGH

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE DOUGH, CONT.

DOUGH TRAYS/PROOFING TRAYS • 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

DeIorio Foods

@DeIorios

blog.DeIorios.com

DeIorios.com

DOUGH DIVIDERS/ROUNDERS

DOUGH PRESSES, ROLLERS

800.835.0606 ext. 205 | www.doughxpress.com

dough presses, dough dividers/divider rounders, dough dockers, carts and accessories

FLOUR, GLUTEN-FREE

Premium Gluten-Free Blends & Baking Mixes Since 1993 Let us simplify your gluten-free needs and create the quality your customers crave.

Tel: 310-366-7612 E-mail: sales@authenticfoods.com Web: www.authenticfoods.com

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE FLOUR, GLUTEN-FREE CONT.

FOOD DISTRIBUTORS, CONT.

BAY STATE MILLING GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA MIX ........................................... baystatemilling.com Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, Custom-blends and Co-Packing Dedicated production area for exceptional purity ..........................................................800-55-FLOUR

FLOUR

Exceptional pizza starts with exceptional flour.

Traditional Pizza Flours, Whole Grain Flours, Pizza Crust Mixes, Private Label Packaging, Proprietary Blending, Custom Development For more information call 1-800-553-5687 or visit www.baystatemilling.com

FRANCHISING

Should You Franchise Your Restaurant?

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

F R A N C H I S E C O N S U LTA N T S 708-957-2300 • www.ifranchisegroup.com • info@ifranchisegroup.com

FRYERS BE THE

KING OF

CHICKEN WINGS Full line of Flour: Pizza, Pasta, Bread, Pastries, Gluten Free, & Whole Grains Imported Exclusively by: Manzo Food Sales, Inc. Tel. (305) 406-2747.........www.manzofood.com

With AutoFry and MultiChef ventless technology you can serve hot delicious appetizers without the need for costly renovations.

Fully Automated • Convenient • Reliable • Safe • Affordable • Fully Enclosed For more information call 800-348-2976 or visit us online at MTIproducts.com • AutoFry.com • MultiChef.com Your Source for Ventless Kitchen Solutions for over 25 Years

FUNDRAISERS

M M

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Cost $1.00, Sell $2-$5, Retail $10.00, Winner for ALL

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Loyalty Member

REET

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Lunch, Dine In Equal $ BOGO,

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Carry-Ou

800-489-0048 www.idcard.com

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE FURNITURE/FIXTURES

GLUTEN-FREE PRODUCTS, CONT.

Premium Gluten-Free Blends & Baking Mixes Since 1993 Let us simplify your gluten-free needs and create the quality your customers crave.

Tel: 310-366-7612 E-mail: sales@authenticfoods.com Web: www.authenticfoods.com

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

GELATO

True Artisan Gelato

(888) 316-1545 www.stefanosgelato.com

GLUTEN-FREE W H PRODUCTS O L E S O M

E

&

MACHINERY/OVENS/EQUIPMENT

D E L I C I O U S ™

MIDDLEBY MARSHALL

OVENS WHOLES

OME & DELICIOUS

™

MIXERS

RANDELL

PREP TABLES

AMERICAN RANGE

WALK-INS

SOMERSET

PARTS SMALLWARES

1-800-426-0323

www.northernpizza.com

IMPERIAL

MACHINERY/EQUIPMENT

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE MACHINERY/EQUIPMENT, CONT.

MARKETING IDEAS

MANAGEMENT

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

MEAT TOPPINGS

BURKE CORPORATION ...................................................................................... www.BurkeCorp.com Beef & Pork Pizza Toppings, Italian & Breakfast Sausage, Meatballs and Specialty Fully Cooked Meats

Contact:Jamie Reynolds..................Sales_Info@BurkeCorp.com............................. 800.654.1152 PRESTIGE FOODS ............................314-567-3648 ........................MEATTRADER@MSN.COM Low Closeout Pricing! Call for this week’s special. For Deals That Go To Your Bottom Line.

MAGNETS

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

Precision HD-60 Pizza Mixer 7-Year Unconditional Parts Warranty on all gears and shafts in the planetary and transmission!

MARKETING IDEAS

Holdsbowl! art 80-qundles a Ha . bag 50 lb our! of fl

www.pizzamixers.com • 1-877-R-MIXERS

60 QUART—HEAVY HEAVY DUTY

Pizza Mixer

Handles 50 lb. bag of flour • Direct gear drive transmission Rigid cast iron construction • Best warranty in its class

Globe Food Equipment Co. | www.globefoodequip.com

Mixing, Dividing, Rounding, and Spinning www.univexcorp.com Tel. 800-258-6358 Fax. 603-893-1249

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE MOBILE CATERING TRUCKS/UNITS

ONLINE ORDERING

MOISTURE-ABSORBENT TOPPINGS CONDITIONER/SUPPLIES

MUSHROOMS

We don’t take a canned approach to mushrooms.

Mushrooms

Avondale, PA | 610.268.8082 to-jo.com | info@to-jo.com

OLIVES

ONLINE ORDERING PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMS

ON HOLD MARKETING

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA BOXES “The Swiss Army knife of pizza boxes”

Know a pizzeria that’s over 50 years old and a pillar of the community?

info@greenboxny.com | 212.874.0748 | www.greenboxny.com

CUSTOMIZE YOUR PIZZA BOX Doing It The American Way! TAKE YOUR IMAGE TO THE NEXT LEVEL 7” to 36” Custom Boxes and Odd Sizes Available

UP TO 4-COLORS | NO PLATE FEES* *CALL US FOR DETAILS

888.400.3455 ext.107 | www.wpackaging.net 2001 East Cooley Drive, Colton, CA 92324

PIZZA BOX INSERTS

FRESH PIE Pizza Box Liner/ Insert

Carrie Yanke-Customer Service Rep 724-657-3650 • ccd.pop@ccd-pop.com Check our our informational blogs!

www.creativecolordisplay.com

Nominate them for inclusion into the Pizza Hall of Fame!

Visit

www.PizzaHallofFame.com for more information.

Are you a pizza-making genius?

PIZZA BOX LINERS

PROVE IT!

Share your best recipes with PMQ - and the entire pizza-loving world in the Recipe Bank.

Get the latest and greatest in pizza news, recipes, videos, marketing strategies and technologies at www.pmq.com!

• Pizzas • Wings • Appetizers • Flatbreads • Entrees • Salads

• Desserts • and More!

Submit your recipes TODAY at PMQ.com/recipebank!

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS

Be Smart.

Wood is over.

Pro fe & r ssion est au al too ran ts, ls for sin piz ce z 19 erias 86 .

GI.METAL USA, INC Phone (630) 553 9134 www. gimetalusa.com info@gimetalusa.com

Metal is the right choice.

Aluminum is lighter and longer lasting that wooden peels.

Introducing the ultimate perforated pizza peel to easily sift away excess flour.

Tailored to your preferred length, shape and functionality.

100% made in Italy and available in America, close to you with the service you need.

MADE IN ITALY

JANUARY/FEBRUARY SPECIALS

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS

PIZZA OVENS, CONT.

Stone Deck, Pizza Dome, and Bakery YOUR ONE-STOP BAG SHOP • UNBEATABLE BAGS AT UNBEATABLE PRICES PRICES AS LOW AS

$13.49

$10

ATE FLAT R ING SHIPP

1-844-HOT-BAGS

Satuisafaractniotened! g

PIZZA OVENS

www.deliverybagsdepot.com

www.univexcorp.com Tel. 800-258-6358 Fax. 603-893-1249

WWW.XLTOVENS.COM TO ORDER CALL (316) 943-2751 | TOLL-FREE: (888) 443-2751 | FAX: (316) 943-2769

TRADITIONAL, FAST CASUAL, ARTISAN...

WE’VE GOT PIZZA COVERED VENTLESS IMPINGEMENT CONVEYORS, BATCH, AND ARTISAN BATCH OVENS 1-800-90TURBO | www.turbochef.com

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA OVENS, CONT.

PIZZA PEELS

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

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 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 PANS Inventor of

The Quik-Disk™

PRINTING

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

Introducing

THE

PIZZA BUTLER!

Space-saving footprintEasy storage | Versatile Function Sturdy Contruction | Customizable

Call Manny at 718-894-1212 ext. 218 Order online at www.thepizzabutler.com

AMERICAN MADE

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

PIZZA SUPPLIES

• Pizza Preparation and Delivery Products •

P.A. PRODUCTS, Inc. BAKEWARE SPECIALISTS

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

National Marketing, Inc.

www.nminc.com 800-994-4664

734-266-2222 pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

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Fax: 734-266-2121

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

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PRINTING, CONT.

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA SUPPLIES, CONT.

REFRIGERATION, CONT.

It’s All About You

Check out our variety of Pizza Holding Cabinets!

SEE US AT BOOTH

1950

sales@fwe.com

800-222-4393

www.fwe.com

PRIVATE LABELING

REFRIGERATION

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

see more at

www.marsalsons.com

Get the latest and greatest in pizza news, recipes, videos, marketing strategies and technologies at www.pmq.com!

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(631) 226-6688

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE TOMATO PRODUCTS, CONT.

SCALES

SECURITY

SPICE FORMULATION, BLENDING & PACKAGING

SUPER DOUGH BOWLS

SUPER DOUGH BOWLS

TRAINING

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

WINGS

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

GUARANTEED LOWEST INDUSTRY PRICE!

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

TOMATO PRODUCTS

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PIZZA HALL OF FAME www.pizzahalloffame.com

Tony’s Place

(Left to right) Anthony Jr. spins dough at the pizzeria; a vintage photo of Anthony Sr. working the ovens now graces the menu’s front cover; Mary and Anthony Jengo Sr. opened the town’s first pizzeria in Valparaiso.

Employees at this Valparaiso, Indiana, restaurant have clocked decades on the payroll, while customers have included Phyllis Diller and Red Buttons. By Tracy Morin

F

ortunately for pizza fans in Valparaiso, Indiana, Anthony Jengo Sr. couldn’t deny his doughbound destiny. He’d been born into the business; his mother owned a bread company in New York, delivering door-to-door. But when she passed away, he and his sister sold the enterprise, and Anthony took off for California. However, a fateful stop to visit his in-laws in Hobart, Indiana, changed his path. “He found himself a job on a bread truck, and eventually he started looking around for a building,” recounts Tami Charnas, manager of Tony’s Place. “He opened up the very first pizza shop in Valparaiso.

That was in 1955, and 60 years later, Tony’s Place is still going strong.”

After juggling the bread route and

pizzeria for seven years, Anthony Sr. gave up his “day job” to fully focus on the growing business, which found immediate success thanks to timetested recipes from his Italian family (including his mother’s beloved dough and sauce). In 1962, he moved to a larger location down the street and helmed the business for 20 years before passing it down to his son, Anthony Jr.—who, for the past four decades, has carefully guarded those traditions. “Anthony Sr. had all those recipes in him when he came here,” notes Charnas, a 34-year employee at Tony’s. “And Anthony Jr. is still the only one doing all of the cooking every day: sauce, dough, lasagna.”

The iconic recipes are a definite draw, but something less tangible

works to keep Tony’s an institution as it heads into its seventh decade of service: a sense of family. Even though the location seats 375 in its bar and family-friendly dining area, the sprawling size doesn’t detract from its decidedly personal touch. With several employees clocking not years but decades on the payroll, and customers who have been loyal since its opening year (not to mention visits by celeb fans such as Phyllis Diller and Red Buttons over the decades), Tony’s has become a touchstone in this Chicago suburb. “It’s like a Cheers place—a home, not a restaurant,” Charnas says.

“I’m always amazed at how many people have grown up here. For so many people, it’s part of their life—Tony’s is just part of them.”

2

HAS YOUR PIZZERIA BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 50 OR MORE YEARS? IF SO, CONTACT US AT TRACY@PMQ.COM. 98

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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