PMQ Pizza Magazine Jan/Feb 2019

PIZZA MAGAZINE THE WORLD'S AUTHORITY ON PIZZA | PMQ.COM | PIZZATV.COM

January/February 2019

As is the case with most regional pizzas, there’s a bit of mystery surrounding who first began serving the unique Quad Cities-style pizza, which spans two states.

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WATCH THE VIDEOS ON PIZZATV.COM OR ROKU TV

Business-Boosting Video 64

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THE RECIPE

Master the POS-sibilities 44

THE HISTORY

Museum of Pizza 56

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January/February 2019

PIZZA MAGAZINE

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | Volume 23, Issue 1

January/February 2019

THE WORLD'S AUTHORITY ON PIZZA | PMQ.COM | PIZZATV.COM

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

As is the case with most regional pizzas, there’s a bit of mystery surrounding who first began serving the unique Quad Cities-style pizza, which spans two states.

PAGE 34

WATCH THE VIDEOS ON PIZZATV.COM OR ROKU TV

Business-Boosting Video 64

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THE RECIPE

Master the POS-sibilities 44

THE HISTORY

Museum of Pizza 56

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AS SEEN ON PIZZATV.COM SLIM & HUSKY’S PIZZA BEERIA Clinton Gray, Derrick Moore and Emanuel Reed have combined two of their passions—pizza and music—in a single concept that’s bringing high-quality food and new jobs to an underserved section of Nashville. With its ’90s-era hip-hop and R&B theme, Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria has struck a chord in the neighborhood in which the childhood friends grew up. Smart branding, local ingredients and the owners’ dedication to social entrepreneurship make Slim & Husky’s one of Music City’s standout pizza operations.

P I Z Z AT V. CO M / V I D E O/ P I Z Z A B E E R I A

If you’d like to contribute to PizzaTV.com and our Roku channel, send links to your best video content to info@PizzaTV.com.

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SHOULD YOU RAISE YOUR PRICES IN 2019?

TOURING PIZZERIAS IN THE ALOHA STATE

With minimum-wage hikes looming in some states and consumers seeking a more artisanal pizza experience, many pizzeria operators face rising costs in the new year. And if your expenses are going up, it might be time to raise your prices, too.

It’s hard work, but somebody has to do it: PMQ’s Liz Barrett Foster went on a whirlwind pizzeria tour in Hawaii. From Flour & Barley in Waikiki to Nawiliwili Tavern in Lihue, Kauai, Foster learned that Hawaiian pizza is about a lot more than pineapples and ham.

P M Q . CO M / P R I C E I N C R E A S E

P M Q . CO M /A LO H A S TAT E P I Z Z A

HOW TO LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR PIZZERIA

5 ESSENTIAL TIPS FROM THE DOUGH DOCTOR

Although most independent pizzerias don’t have the hightech capabilities of Domino’s or Pizza Hut, Scott Gittrich, founder and president of Toppers Pizza, explains how they can remain competitive by becoming students of emerging technologies.

From finished dough temperature and mixing tricks to solving your pizza dough’s bubble trouble, Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann shares five must-know tips for managing your dough and making better, more consistent pizzas.

P M Q . CO M / D O U G H D O C T O R T I P S

P M Q . CO M / P I Z Z AT E C H

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IN THIS ISSUE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY FEATURES ON T COV HE ER

34

The Quad Cities region of Northwestern Illinois and Southeastern Iowa is home to a distinct pizza style which is gaining popularity, and not just in the Midwest.

32

Recipe of the Month

44

Master the POS-sibilities

50

Awesome Sauce

P I Z Z AT V. C O M / M U S E U M O F P I Z Z A

Museum 56 The of Pizza

Tips for 64 Four Better Videos

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IN THIS ISSUE

28

Chef’s Corner: Panini Pete’s Lemon Jubilee Beignets

PMQ.COM/LEMONBEIGNETS

In Lehmann’s Terms: Dough Dilemmas

18

Think Tank: Design of the Times

20

Tips From the Team: Building Your Oven From Scratch

Pizza Hall of Fame: Bruno’s Little Italy

30

98

P I Z Z AT V. C O M / V I D E O / B R U N O S L I T T L E I TA LY

IN EVERY ISSUE 6

Online @ PMQ.com

68

Product Spotlight

12

From the Editor

69

Idea Zone

14

From the Inbox

70

SmartMarket

16

Marketing Calendar

72

Pizza Without Borders

22

Moneymakers

82

The Pizza Exchange

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

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

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FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR

Bill DeJournett Managing Editor

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME Hello again, pizza nation, and happy new year! As we ring in 2019 and turn our calendars ahead, keep in mind some important upcoming pizza dates: Our crew is looking forward to attending the Mid-America Restaurant Expo in Columbus, Ohio, on January 13 to 14—don’t forget to stop by our booth and say hello. Also, mark your calendars for February 9, National Pizza Day. But, as I write this, the year is coming to a close, so naturally I’ve been doing some reminiscing. They say you can’t escape your roots, and this is especially true when it comes to pizza.

I went to high school in a small town called Americus, in rural southwest Georgia. At that time, there was only one locally owned pizzeria—a cozy little spot called Pat’s Place. They served more than just pizza, but that was their specialty. They had a dining room and kitchen in the front, and a back room where patrons could play pool. I spent many evenings at Pat’s when visiting home from college, catching up with old high school friends, playing pool and, of course, eating pizza. I recently reached out to Pat’s and found they are still there, serving great food and good times to the people of Americus.

Now that I’m a part of the pizza industry myself, I appreciate their staying power even more—and look forward to returning on my next visit back!

Meanwhile, across the country, the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa offer up other small-town pizzerias with a very unique style. On the cover of this issue, we feature this region and delve into the lesser-known Quad Cities-style pizza.

Following a visit to the area by our traveling team of Heather Cray and Blake Harris, Liz Barrett Foster gives us the lowdown on this singular style, which is gaining popularity (and not just in the Midwest). Tracy Morin explains how to integrate social media with your POS system, and in another feature explores the endless varieties of an essential pizza element—sauce.

Finally, our social media maven, Heather Cray, takes us on a tour of the pop-up Museum of Pizza in New York.

Here’s to the start of a great new year. Happy 2019 from all of us at PMQ!

PIZZA MAGAZINE THE WO RL D'S AU THO RITY O N PIZZA | PMQ.CO M | P IZZATV.CO M

January/February 2019

ON THE COVER: The Quad Cities region of Northwestern Illinois and Southeastern Iowa is home to a distinct pizza style which is gaining popularity, and not just in the Midwest. Cover by Sarah Beth Wiley.

As is the case with most regional pizzas, there’s a bit of mystery surrounding who first began serving the unique Quad Cities-style pizza and it spans two states.

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WATCH THE VIDEOS ON PIZZATV.COM OR ROKU TV

Business-Boosting Video 64

A Publication of PMQ, Inc. 662-234-5481 Volume 23, Issue 1 January/February 2019 ISSN 1937-5263 Publisher Steve Green, sg@pmq.com ext. 123 Co-Publisher Linda Green, linda.pmq@gmail com ext. 121 Managing Editor Bill DeJournett, bill@pmq.com ext. 130 Editor at Large Liz Barrett Foster, liz@pmq.com Senior Copy Editor Tracy Morin, tracy@pmq.com Consulting Editor Rick Hynum, rick@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 Social Media Manager Heather Cray, heather@pmq.com ext. 137 Video Editor Blake Harris, blake@pmq.com ext. 136 Chief Financial Officer Shawn Brown, shawn@pmq.com Test Chef/USPT Coordinator Brian Hernandez, brian@pmq.com ext. 129

THE RECIPE

Master the POS-sibilities 44

THE HISTORY

Museum of Pizza 56

ADVERTISING

PMQ INTERNATIONAL

Sales Director Linda Green, linda.pmq@gmail com ext. 121

PMQ China Yvonne Liu, yvonne@pmq.com

Senior Account Executive Tom Boyles, tom@pmq.com ext. 122

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Account Executive Chris Green, chris@pmq.com ext. 125

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

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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 9, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-9953.

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.

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Meet Donatella at the Galbani Booth # 2159 at Pizza Expo!

What's my Italian Inspiration? Creating luscious

bites that people feel good eating. A great pizza is all about three things: the dough, the sauce, and the cheese. I chose the cheese for my famous Chicken Piccata Pizza in a blind taste test.

When I found out it was Galbani®, I wasn’t surprised. It tasted like the summers I spent at my grandfather’s olive farm in Italy. Prova Pizzabar is a success because of the choices I make. And I’m proud to choose Italy’s favorite cheese.

—DONATELLA ARPAIA, CHEF/FOUNDER, PROVA PIZZABAR

©2018 Lactalis American Group, Inc., Buffalo, NY 14220. Galbani is a ® of Egidio Galbani S.r.l. All Rights Reserved.

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FROM THE INBOX

THE KETO CRAZE

ROCKSTAR PIZZA

DAN BUSLER PHOTOGRAPHY

I just came across your story, “Keto Is Neato,” in the November issue. I own a pizza restaurant in Southern California and have been in the pizza business for 36 years. I started selling keto crusts in early 2016. Like the gluten-free craze, I have seen the keto craze this last year. My main concern is all of the cauliflower crusts that have entered the market on a commercial level. The general consumer sees cauliflower and assumes it’s low-carb.

My findings show that a lot of these crusts are nowhere near the mark to be considered keto-friendly. I have been educating all of my customers about the difference. I am amazed at how many people are shocked at the amount of carbs some of my competitors have in their crusts. As it stands, I have been running out of my cauliflower crusts a lot faster and can’t seem to keep up with the demand. A follow-up article would be great to better educate the pizza shop owner and their customers.

Thanks—it was a great article!

I must first thank PMQ for all of the help and support over these many years, from perfecting my dough with advice from The Dough Doctor to the business strategies from Big Dave to all of the early posters back in the day. Now I have found that knowledge learned from PMQ has allowed me to help others achieve their dreams to start a pizzeria, or survive today’s issues after being a veteran pizza shop owner for 40 years. As they say, knowledge is king, and PMQ equals knowledge.

Bob Richardson My Buddies Pizza Lake Elsinore, CA

Wow, that is such a high compliment, John!

Thank you for being a loyal reader and becoming a valuable contributor to the pizza world!

KNOWLEDGE IS KING

John Pontrelli Pit Stop Pasta Escondido, CA

Thanks for reaching out about the keto pizza story, Bob! A lot of folks falsely assume that cauliflower crust is keto-friendly. As with any food product, it’s important to read the labels. Those on the keto diet often look online and seen cauliflower crust recipes, where only natural ingredients that do not contain carbs are used. However, in a commercial setting, crust manufacturers often add cornmeal or corn flour to help the crusts get crispy or keep them from falling apart.

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PROMOTIONAL IDEAS FOR THIS MONTH BROUGHT TO YOU BY LLOYDPANS.COM

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Academy Awards

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IN LEHMANN’S TERMS

DOUGH DILEMMAS Tom Lehmann provides solutions for common dough issues.

Q A

I’ve heard so many conflicting stories about mixing yeast with salt and sugar. Will doing this kill the yeast?

I can understand your confusion. This issue has seemed a cardinal rule for a long time now, but it doesn’t apply in all situations. The problem is that when wet yeast (either fresh, compressed or brick yeast), or any of the dry forms of yeast that have been hydrated/activated, are allowed to come into direct contact with salt and/or sugar, the salt/sugar has the capacity to pull the plasma material out of the yeast, thus reducing the ability of the yeast to properly ferment the dough.

In addition to this, glutathione is a part of the plasma material pulled out of the yeast cells. Glutathione is a reducing agent, much like L-cysteine, which is the active ingredient in a common dough softener/relaxer. Glutathione is so effective at softening/relaxing the dough that it is available in dry form. Adding this to the dough increases extensibility, and it’s commonly referred to as “dead yeast.”

As you can see, there’s potential for a double whammy if the yeast is damaged by contact with salt and/or sugar. The impact of the salt or sugar on the yeast isn’t immediate, as it does take a little time for the damage to occur. Many shops have routinely mixed salt, sugar and yeast together in the water and not had a problem, while others doing this have had sporadic inconsistent dough episodes that they can’t explain.

The problem begins when the salt, sugar and yeast (in wet form only) are mixed together. In this case, the damage to the yeast happens quite quickly—only a few minutes. In cases

like this, you will see the salt and sugar begin to discolor, taking on a brown hue as the yeast is dehydrated. When the salt, sugar and yeast are all mixed together in the water, it may take somewhat longer for the damage to occur, which is why the practice is so common. We might pre-stage the dough by mixing the salt, sugar and yeast into the water and allowing it to set in the bowl until we are ready to begin mixing, or we might add the flour but not mix it into the water (the flour will float on the water, leaving the underlying salt, sugar and yeast solution unaffected). This is where our problems can begin—and why there are so many conflicting stories about mixing salt, sugar and yeast together. At the very least, it adds inconsistency into our dough, so we always advise not to allow the salt, sugar and yeast to come into direct contact with each other, even when suspended/dissolved into the dough water. It just makes common sense to eliminate the potential for a problem.

When using a product like instant dry yeast (IDY), there is no problem in allowing the IDY to come into direct contact with the salt or sugar, even for extended periods of time, as long as all of the ingredients are dry. This works so well that it is a common practice in making “goodie bags,” as well as complete pizza dough mixes. Remember, though, that active dry yeast (ADY) will not work in this application, as it must be hydrated/activated in a small amount of warm water prior to use, which would take us back to the original issue of salt, sugar and yeast combining together in wet form.

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Q A

What temperature should my dough be when I begin opening it into skins after refrigeration?

As we all know, dough becomes noticeably firmer when it’s cold and can be problematic to open, so we allow the dough to warm a little after removing it from the cooler.

In most cases, we can go by time, but the time required should be determined by first measuring the actual dough ball temperature. Different dough formulations, as well as different shop conditions and different dough opening practices, will affect what dough ball temperature works best for each individual.

When determining the dough ball temperature, we must measure the internal dough ball temperature, as the surface temperature will not be helpful. Usually, the internal dough ball temperature will be at 40⁰F or lower when first removed from the cooler. I normally recommend allowing the dough balls to warm to an internal temperature of 50⁰F before opening them into skins. At this temperature, you should have a usable window of 2.5 to 3 hours for the dough balls (just remember to keep them covered). Note the time required to achieve this, and use it as a guide in the future.

Environment matters, too: Unusually cold shop conditions might dictate a higher internal dough temperature before opening, but a warmer shop will not usually benefit from a colder opening temperature. However, it will reduce the

window of time for using the dough balls, so this will need to be taken into account when pulling dough balls from the cooler, as too many dough balls sitting out of the cooler in a hot shop will just end up overfermenting, creating problems for you.

If you happen to have a shop where you want to work with the dough as quickly as possible after being removed from the cooler, I suggest preopening the dough balls early in the day and placing them back into the cooler on screens or trays in a wire tree rack (covered) for use later in the day. When the dough is managed in this manner, all you need to do is to allow the skins to temper at room temperature for about 15 minutes, then clean them up a little by restretching to full diameter, and you’re ready to dress and bake the pizzas.

Remember that hot shop I mentioned above? This is an excellent way to manage the dough under extremely warm shop conditions, or where you may not have sufficient space to store dough outside of the cooler.

Tom Lehmann was the longtime director of bakery assistance for the American Institute of Baking (AIB) and is now a pizza industry consultant.

PMQ . CO M/D O UG H

J A N U A RY/ F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 9 | P M Q . CO M

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THE THINK TANK

DESIGN OF THE TIMES Think Tankers discuss the ins and outs of hiring a design expert to spruce up their spaces.

Pizzanorth: Has anyone used an interior designer? I struggle with making decisions with colors and textures, and I’m looking for some help. Any suggestions? I’ve Googled pizza dining room images and still struggle. I’d prefer to just pay someone to help and be done with it!

Slice of Italeigh: I am in the process of designing the dining room for my first brick-and-mortar store. I am struggling on the paint scheme as well. My main colors are Kawasaki green and black, but also red and white for the Italian flag. I’m trying to do it all on a shoestring budget.

brad randall: We hired experts when we opened a dining room in a new construction. They helped us choose paint colors, wood grains, carpet patterns, tile designs, countertops and light fixtures. They also measured all of the equipment and made sure the plumbing, electricity and networking cables were all in place. Then they went and secured bids for the work. Well worth the cost! We would have never come up with something that looked as nice or modern ourselves. We’re actually paying them to integrate some of the same design elements into our delco remodel and then bid it out.

PizzaTVdotcom: Here at PMQ, we are working right now

on a story about interior design in restaurants. An interior designer can be very helpful for pizzerias. If you’re looking to hire an interior designer, you could always go to the closest university—students are always looking for design work to add to their portfolio. One tip from a designer we recently met in New York: Make sure to incorporate enough space for your guests’ jackets, purses, etc., to keep the flow going and so that employees do not bump into anything. Also, feel free to mix design elements from different decades for an eclectic look!

Get answers to your most perplexing problems and swap tips and ideas with the experts in PMQ’s Think Tank, the pizza industry’s oldest and most popular online forum. Register for free at thinktank.pmq.com. (Member posts have been edited here for clarity.)

T HI N KTAN K.P M Q.COM

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MONEYMAKERS

O CHRISTMAS TREE! Porta, with restaurants in Philadelphia and Jersey City and Asbury Park, New Jersey, made picking out a Christmas tree a lot easier with a one-of-a-kind date-night offer: two pizzas, wine or beer, and a Fraser fir to go. Depending on the location, couples could choose between a limited selection of two or three pies, a carafe of wine or a pitcher of craft beer, and trees of varying sizes. At the Asbury Park store, pricing started at $40 for the package with a small tree and went up to $60 for a large tree. The company even threw in a free ornament featuring the Porta logo. The promotion has become a tradition since the Asbury Park location first offered it in 2013.

Holiday shoppers could also purchase a tree without ordering pizza—but what fun is that?

“Come with an appetite, leave with a tree” is the slogan for a holiday promotion that started at Porta in 2013.

QUICK TIP 1

BE A BOOSTER If your Facebook posts aren’t getting much traction, the new year might be a good time to rethink your strategy. You can reach a larger audience for as little as $5 by boosting your Facebook posts to users in a designated geographic area. To spend the money wisely, boost posts that promote new seasonal menu items, upcoming fundraisers, events and special offers.

CELEBRATING UNSUNG HEROES Every small town has its unsung heroes. In Diamondville, Wyoming, they’re getting the recognition they deserve, along with free pizza, thanks to the Pizza Forward campaign at Rosie’s Pizzeria and Sports Bar. The promotion started when the Kemmerer High School Class of 1978 held its 40-year reunion last summer at the pizzeria. After Rosie’s owner Phillip Viviano waived the rental charge for the event, the organizers were touched by the gesture and wanted to pass it on. Class members and others in the community prepay for the pies and choose recipients who are known for their good deeds. When Rosie’s staffers make the deliveries, they shoot photographs and post them on the restaurant’s Facebook page to keep the campaign going. Recipients have included school janitors and cafeteria workers, emergency room personnel, single parents, senior citizens and friendly neighbors who pitch in during tough times.

No good deed goes unrewarded in Diamondville, Wyoming, thanks to the Pizza Forward campaign at Rosie’s Pizzeria and Sports Bar.

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Bellissimo distributors are the exclusive source for Vantaggio D’Oro. Visit www.vantaggiocheese.com to learn more.

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MONEYMAKERS

THE GOOD GUYS OF THE WILD WEST When David Goldy took over the struggling Westside Pizza eatery in Lompoc, California, in 2013, he transformed it into a brand with almost universal appeal: Wild West Pizza and Grill. But don’t let the cowboy hats and the gunslinger motif fool you: Goldy is no hard-boiled outlaw. For National Bullying Prevention Month in October, he helped spread an anti-bullying message to local elementary schools and taught kids to “Be Nice for a Slice.” Thirteen classes took part in the promotion’s door-decorating contest—judged by local city officials and Goldy himself—to spread anti-bullying awareness, with three classes winning free pizza parties and likely becoming fans of the Wild West brand in the process. The pizzeria is well-known for supporting local school clubs, civic organizations and churches and feeds the schools’ football teams for free after every home game. Wild West also runs a program in which teachers give away certificates for free pizza to kids who make positive choices.

David Goldy, owner of the Wild West Pizza and Grill, threw free pizza parties for two fifth-grade classes and a kindergarten class as part of the “Be Nice for a Slice” promotion during National Bullying Prevention Month.

QUICK TIP 2

CLOSED FOR THE DAY? When winter storms strike, pizzerias sometimes have to close their doors. Losing business for a day is bad enough, but you can also lose customers if they show up only to find you’ve shut down without warning. Use social media, email, text messaging and your phone system to quickly spread the word.

FRATELLI PIZZA GIVES THE GIFT OF LIFE Blood donations go down during the holiday season in Arizona, even as the demand goes up. Hoping to address the problem, Fratelli Pizza, with three locations in Flagstaff, teamed up with Vitalant, a network of community blood centers, to give the gift of life in December. Blood donors in Flagstaff, Grand Canyon and Tuba City received vouchers for a free pizza slice and a soft drink that could be redeemed at any Fratelli location. Donors also received 700 “Hero in Me Vitalant” rewards points, which earned a $10 movie certificate. The promo, which ran throughout December, garnered coverage in the Arizona Daily Sun.

Chef Cacho Gutierrez shows off a signature pizza slice at Fratelli Pizza, where customers who donated blood received free food during December.

24 PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | THE WORLD’S AUTHORITY ON PIZZA

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MONEYMAKERS

MIKE HAUKE KNOWS HIS NOODLE CRUSTS It’s hard to keep the items on Tony Boloney’s “secret menu” a secret when they’re so innovative—and sometimes downright wacky—that they make headlines. Chef Mike Hauke rolled out a signature pie with a ramen noodle crust earlier this year, earning coverage from Business Insider, MSN.com and Thrillist, to name a few. Now he’s back with the equally weird and wonderful Papa Charlie’s Spaghetti Pie. The plus-sized pizza’s crust features fresh, housemade spaghetti and a cheese sauce mixture that combines grated Pecorino, mozzarella, shredded provolone and scamorza cheeses, plus eggs, heavy cream, melted butter and olive oil. Once the crust is baked, Hauke drizzles it with a spicy vodka sauce featuring Calabrian chiles and tops it off with fresh burrata and torn basil leaves. Featured on Today.com, NBCNews.com and other sites, the final product has a crispy, goldenbrown crust and guaranteed Instagram appeal.

The Papa Charlie’s Spaghetti Pie at Tony Boloney’s features a crust made with fresh, housemade spaghetti and a mix of four cheeses, eggs, cream, butter and olive oil.

QUICK TIP 3

SHOW YOUR SERVERS SOME LOVE January is Be Kind to Food Servers Month, creating a perfect opportunity to showcase your front-of-the-house team on social media. Tell their individual stories with photos and video on Facebook and Instagram and show your customers that you genuinely care about your team.

(FOOD) BANKING WITH BARRO’S Barro’s Pizza, an Arizona chain with 40 locations, raised more than $250,000 for the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance in a single day with its 7th annual Doran Barro Holiday Hunger Fight. Barro’s set aside December 4 for the promotion, with proceeds from all sales at every location going to St. Mary’s. The event raised $255,000, which, according to St. Mary’s, will provide 1.8 million meals to hungry people.

Since Barro’s started the annual promotion six years ago, the company says it has raised $950,000—worth 7 million meals—for the nonprofit.

“This is dear to my heart because this was my mom’s vision, so now it carries on,” said Barro’s co-owner Mike Barro. “We lost my mom a few years ago, so this is really special to our family.” Last June, Barro’s also raised more than $60,000 for the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children by donating proceeds from its lunch specials at all 40 stores.

Arizona chain Barro’s Pizza raised $255,000 in a single day for the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance with a company-wide promotion Dec. 4.

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THE CHEF’S CORNER

PETE BLOHME | PANINI PETE’S

Wa Herna tch Brian ndez’s in-dep interv th with P iew ete at PMQ.c om/b lohme

Serving up beignets, paninis and patriotism in Alabama’s French Quarter, Panini Pete’s fries up a taste of Southern hospitality with these delightful sugar-dusted puffs. | By Brian Hernandez The term “French Quarter” usually conjures up images of New Orleans, Bourbon Street and Cajun food. Most of us don’t realize that there is a French Quarter in Alabama as well. And, nestled in the picturesque little town of Fairhope, also lies one of America’s hidden gems. Among a handful of local vendors, one of Fairhope’s main culinary attractions is Panini Pete’s, known for its Southern comfort food, paninis, and the treat no one can beat: beignets.

Owner and entrepreneur Pete Blohme has his hands in several culinary ventures in Alabama: Panini Pete’s, Sunset Pointe and Ed’s Seafood Shed. But dealing in seafood and Southern cuisine wasn’t enough for Blohme. He has also found a unique way to give back to our troops in the form of the Mess Lords, an elite group of celebrity chefs that travel to U.S. battleships, airbases and Army posts around the world to take over mess halls and give our protectors a real culinary treat.

Mess halls serve meals morning, noon and night to our front lines, serving a very important role, and are often overlooked.

Blohme and his crew of culinary soldiers try to bring a little fun and excitement to the fuel that feeds our troops by teaching the mess crew tips and techniques to take regular “chow” and make it “wow.” Blohme is a busy man, but when he is not feeding the troops or visiting one of his many restaurants, he can usually be found milling around the kitchen at the Fairhope location of Panini Pete’s. Blohme was kind enough to visit the Chef ’s Corner and share the recipe for his benchmark item, Panini Pete’s Lemon Jubilee Beignets.

“Military food is not bad; it’s just basic. But basic does not have to be boring. That’s what the Mess Lords like to bring to the troops and the mess staff—a way to brighten their day through good, fun and delicious food. Oh, and nothing beats a beignet.”

—Pete Blohme, Panini Pete’s

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PANINI PETE’S LEMON JUBILEE BEIGNETS YIELDS APPROXIMATELY 24, DEPENDING ON SIZE INGREDIENTS: 1 c. self-rising flour 4 eggs ½ tbsp. vanilla 1 c. water ½ tbsp. granulated sugar ½ tbsp. kosher salt ¼ lb. unsalted butter Oil for fryer (canola is preferred) Confectioners’ sugar Fresh lemon wedges

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook about 8 minutes in a fryer basket, then release the beignets from the fryer basket, setting them loose into the hot oil. Move the beignets around the fryer, using tongs or a slotted spoon, and fry until golden brown, ensuring the insides are cooked through.

Strain the fried beignets and transfer into a bowl. Sprinkle immediately with confectioners’ sugar.

Serve with lemon wedges.

For more information about Blohme, and his restaurants and adventures in the Mess Lords, visit PMQ.com/blohme to read or watch the fulllength interview, or visit paninipetes.com or facebook.com/messlords/.

Place a sifter in a medium bowl. Measure the flour and then sift it into the bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until blended and add the vanilla. Set aside.

Bring the water, sugar, salt and butter to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat. Add the sifted flour and stir with a whisk to combine and form a dough. Add the egg mixture in three stages, blending well with a wooden spoon between each stage.

Heat the oil to 360°F. Using a 1-oz. scoop, scoop the dough into balls, then place into the fryer basket. Submerge in the hot oil.

Brian Hernandez, a longtime pizzaiolo, is PMQ’s test chef, U.S. Pizza Team event coordinator and a host on PizzaTV.

R E L AT E D V I D E O LEA R N H OW TO MA KE PA N IN I PET E’ S LEMO N J UB ILEE B EI G N E TS IN OU R EXCLUSIV E R ECIPE V ID EO AT PMQ . CO M/LEMO N B EIG N ET S

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TIPS FROM THE TEAM

P H OTO S BY A S H L E Y S A M O S K Y

BUILDING FROM SCRATCH United States Pizza Team veteran Jason Samosky guides us through the ins and outs of building your own wood-fired oven. By Brian Hernandez Jason Samosky, of Samosky’s Homestyle Pizzeria in Valley City, Ohio, has been a member of the U.S. Pizza Team (USPT) since his first competition and win in 2005 at Pizza Pizzazz in Columbus, Ohio. Jason recently built his own wood-fired oven to serve his operation. Here, Brian Hernandez, PMQ test chef and USPT coordinator, asks him about the details behind incorporating this new piece of equipment.

Brian Hernandez: Why did you build an oven vs. buying one?

Jason Samosky: I figured, if I’m getting one, I might as well build it. It will be more authentic. There’s a piece of me in that oven. Plus, it was an interactive experience for the customers as well. They watched the whole process.

That actually helps sell the pizzas. They were there for the test pies, and that got them really excited.

Hernandez: How do you source parts and materials?

Samosky: It was difficult, because you had to deal with the health department.

They just don’t understand the wood-fired part of the industry. They are really just looking for that NSF [National Sanitation Foundation] sticker. I sourced NSF-approved materials, but it wasn’t stamped. I gave

them a stack of papers from my research to let them know that it’s food-safe. I should have just bought some NSF stickers!

I started taking schematics from everywhere I could find, just to get ideas. I picked out what worked for me, then I developed my plan. Luckily, I know people who can weld, so they welded the stand and the door. I pulled in local people at almost every step to help me—welders, masonry guys and so on. But most every step I found on the internet and followed that. I probably put $4,000 into it, including the $100 or so in pennies on the surface. I don’t do anything easy. I wanted to put the time in and be able say, “I did it.”

Hernandez: Why keep the oven outside?

Samosky: My kitchen is really packed, plus when you go inside, you have to think about ventilation. That’s going to add about $7,000 to $10,000.

Hernandez: Any tips on using an outside oven?

Samosky: Source your wood. Make sure to get your best value. With it being outside, in the cooler months, it will take more wood to maintain temperature. You don’t want to be burning expensive wood. I’ve used

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Ashley Samosky puts down the finishing touches on their penny-covered handmade oven.

hickory and cherry. Your fruit woods are good but expensive. They’re dense and burn long and hot.

Hardwood is a better bang for your buck, though.

Craigslist is a good resource to find local sources of wood. Also, proximity to your kitchen: You can’t be too far away for this type of pie. It needs to get to the customer fast. In fact, we let them know their pie will come right out when done, like an appetizer. It won’t wait for all the other entrees. You just have to educate the customers. You can also wait to start cooking to time it for the other entrees, but that requires good communication between the outside oven and the inside kitchen.

Hernandez: What special items do you need for a wood-fired oven?

Samosky: Wood-fired peels. You need a good rectangular peel to build on and load into the oven, preferably perforated, to allow the excess flour to fall through, so you don’t burn it in the oven. You also need a round peel for rotation of the pie in the oven. There are also tools just for wood and ash. A good digital thermometer and ingredients are also important. You need some San Marzano tomatoes, “00” flour, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil and sea salt—the six basics of making a classic Margherita pizza. Past that, you need unique, fresh ingredients—but keep it simple. I only put a few toppings on these pies, and no customization. This is how I want you to have these pies. Most of my customers have grown to trust me, so they’ll give it a try, but you do have to train some of them about what a good woodfired, Neapolitan-style pie is. But, as I said earlier, by building the oven onsite, I got them involved early, so they were excited to try some of the new pies.

Hernandez: Did you create a new menu for this oven?

Samosky: I do wood-fired a couple days a week right now, with just a few items on the menu, and that menu will rotate. I am building to a full-time menu, but I want to keep it small: four to six pizzas, plus maybe a rotating special. It’s a specialty item in my shop. I only want to have a few high-quality ingredients for this menu so that it’s something special for the customers and not overwhelming.

Hernandez: What is the benefit of adding wood-fired to your menu?

Samosky: You’re giving your customers something they might have never had before. A lot of people cannot get out of the country, or even the state, to try these types of pizzas. Some of my customers live culinarily and vicariously through me. Also, pride, customer involvement, and the story. Good restaurants have stories. With this oven, it’s, “This is what I’ve seen in my travels competing abroad. I want you to try it the way it was meant to be.” If I start it that way, it’s a lot simpler. I’ll start it my way, and if I want to add customization, I can.

You can’t start with customization, then take it away.

Hernandez: Thanks for all the great info, Jason.

Samosky: Of course. See you at the next U.S. Pizza Team event!

For more great info and to listen to the unabridged interview, check out the podcast on Pizza Radio, available on iTunes. For more information on the U.S. Pizza Team, visit uspizzateam.com, or contact Brian Hernandez at brian@pmq.com or 662-234-5481, x129.

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RECIPE OF THE MONTH

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Top pizza crust with barbecue sauce, pulled pork and shredded cheeses. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Finish with diced onions and fresh cilantro.

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TINKERING TRADITION WITH

I N

QUAD CITIES

eo he vid See t .com/ Q at PM iespizza cit quad

TH E

Quad Cities pizzerias are an eclectic mix of traditionalists and tinkerers who crave change.

By Liz Barrett Foster

You don’t see it too often, but sometimes a pizza style from a specific region will start to transform into a new creation. As new pizzeria owners enter the scene, new toppings pop up, healthier recipe tweaks and specialties may take hold, and chefs even rethink their ways of cutting the pizza (in the case of some Quad Cities pizzas, going H E AT H E R C R AY

from strip cut to triangle).

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

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H E AT H E R C R AY

At Frank’s Pizza, open since 1955, small pizzas are cut in triangles and large pizzas are cut in strips.

THE ESSENTIAL QUAD CITIES PIE

“You either love or hate the Quad Cities style,” says Dean Creech, who got his first pizzeria job at 16, working at Harris Pizza, one of the early purveyors of Quad Cities-style pie.

Creech now owns Uncle Bill’s Pizza in Davenport, Iowa, which he purchased from the original owner in 2002. “If we served someone from New York this pizza, they’d say, ‘What’s this?

It’s cut wrong, and the toppings are under the cheese.’ It’s nothing like a New York-style or a Chicago-style pizza. It’s its own thing, and if you love it, you really love it.”

Creech explains that Quad Cities-style pizza features dough made with malt and molasses; toppings that include finely ground, lean sausage; thick sauce with a bit of a bite; and real

BLAKE HARRIS

Let’s look at what traditional pizza in the Quad Cities looks like—before we discuss how it’s slowly been changing.

You may be wondering where in America the Quad Cities are. They’re a group of five (yes, five) cities running along the Mississippi River, including Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois, and Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa. According to Jessica Waytenick, marketing and public relations manager for the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, people toyed with the idea of changing the name to Quin Cities when Bettendorf was added, but the name never stuck.

And, unlike more popular New York and Neapolitan styles, there’s a good chance you’ve never stumbled across a Quad Cities or QC-style pizza on a menu unless you’re from, or traveled through, the area.

Quad City-Style Traits What makes the Quad Cities style stand out? Here are just a few of the style’s unique traits: • Dough that contains malt and molasses • Finely crumbled lean sausage laced with fennel • Thick sauce with a bit of a bite • Enough Midwestern mozzarella cheese on top of the toppings to ensure “gooeyness” • A dusting of cornmeal on the pizza peel • Cooked in a rotating deck oven for about eight minutes at 500˚ • Traditionalists cut the pizza with cooking shears • Cut into strips instead of triangles

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H E AT H E R C R AY

cheese covering the toppings. “The malt and molasses in the dough adds a bit of sweetness, along with the flavor of the malt,” Creech says. “It also gives the crust a good crunch and color when you cook it.”

Beyond the sausage and malted dough, the oven is one of the most important ingredients in a pizza from the Quad Cities, according to Creech.

A rotating oven, which ensures an even bake in eight minutes without the need for turning, is Creech’s go-to kitchen appliance. “You can get the rotating oven dialed in just right,” he says.

“Other ovens don’t cook the pizzas like these do.”

The Pizza TV crew recently visited several pizzerias in the Quad Cities region to experience the locale’s unique pizza style.

A PIZZA WITH A PAST

As is the case with most regional pizzas, there’s a bit of mystery surrounding who first began serving the unique Quad Cities-style pizza. Many who live in the region credit Harris Pizza as being the style’s originator. However, records indicate that while Harris Pizza opened in 1960, Frank’s Pizza opened five years earlier, in 1955.

And, to further complicate the matter, research shows links to a very similar pizza recipe that began 200 miles away, in 1943, in the town of Calumet City, Illinois. Brothers Tony and Frank Maniscalco came to the Quad Cities (specifically, Rock Island, Illinois) from Calumet City, separately, in the early

1950s (according to Tony’s son, Tony Jr., in a newspaper’s letter to the editor in January 2007).

We spoke with Phil Bacino, co-owner (and grandson of the founder) of Original John’s Pizzeria in Calumet City, which opened in 1943, and confirmed that Tony did work at Original John’s.

So we wanted to know: Did the Quad Cities style actually originate in Calumet City?

Bacino told us he has never been to the Quad Cities to taste its pizza, but he did note several similarities between the Quad Cities style and his pizza—or how it would have been when Tony worked at the pizzeria. “We’ve never had any kind of spiciness in our sauce,

Th in an pr

EF FR EA

Scissors vs. Knives Seeing someone cut pizza with scissors may seem odd today, but Italian street vendors, as well as those serving pizza al taglia, have long been known to use scissors for serving pizza. Many Quad City pizzerias have nixed the shears for rocker knives, while others keep the shears around for nostalgic reasons.

SO

Th

MAD

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H E AT H E R C R AY

Finding QC Pizza If you look hard enough, you will discover traditional Quad Cities pizza outside of its native region. Here are a few examples: • Roots, Chicago, IL • Fat Jack’s Pizza, Peoria, IL • QC Pizza, Mahtomedi, MN • Knuckles Pizza & Sports Bar, Dunlap, IL

but we do use a rotating deck oven, and we used to use malt and molasses in the dough, but we don’t anymore,” Bacino says. “We make our own fennel-based sausage, forming it into loaves and cooking it to get the grease out before we grind it into crumbles. We also used scissors to cut the pizza up until the 1990s.”

Tony apparently brought his skills from Calumet City to Rock Island, Illinois, in the early 1950s and took a job making pizzas at The Paddock Club. The gig eventually led to him to open several restaurants, including Tony’s Club Capri in

Moline, Tony’s Pic-a-Pizza in Rock Island, and Tony’s Pizzeria in Davenport.

He later sold his business and recipe to Mama Bosso Pizza (a frozen pizza manufacturer) in 1964, and, for the most part, left the pizza business.

But local legend says that Tony taught the original owner of Frank’s Pizza his recipe, and an employee of Tony’s taught those at Harris Pizza.

As with most pizza legends, we’ll probably never know for sure what really happened. What we do know is that the Quad Cities ended up with a very unique style of pizza, and one that is beginning to transform for the modern consumer.

MODERNIZING THE TRADITIONAL

The majority of pizzerias serving Quad City-style pizza throughout the region stick to traditional recipes and serving methods. However, some believe that tradition can use an upgrade every now and then.

The biggest difference between the original techniques and today’s versions is the elimination of cooking shears to cut

Taco Night H E AT H E R C R AY

Taco pizza is a popular specialty pizza in the area, one that most credit to Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream launching in the 1970s. Go to almost any pizzeria in the Quad Cities, and you can order a taco pizza.

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Ben Harris, general manager of Uncle Bill’s Pizza, shows off his Quad City-style pie.

the pizza. Some traditionalists use the scissors for nostalgic reasons, but most have moved on to knives and rock cutters to slice their pizzas. “Knives are faster and safer than shears in every way,” Creech says. “I’ve taken the tip off my middle finger three times using scissors.”

Kathy Rashid, co-owner of Treehouse Pub & Eatery in Bettendorf, says, “We’re changing Quad City pizza. We wanted to bring in a healthier version of America’s favorite food. We use wholesome toppings, and it’s not gobbed down with cheese, so you can taste all of the authentic ingredients.”

Joe Schilling, owner of Saint Giuseppe’s Heavenly Pizza in East Moline, is bringing a Gen Z approach to the Quad Cities.

Schilling took over management of the family pizzeria when he was 18 and his dad, Bobby, went into politics. He avoids the “Quad Cities” term and employs a variety of unique marketing tactics to stand out. Schilling airs daily Facebook Live videos with his staff and has also run specials on the weekend instead of during the week. “Everyone else was running their specials during the week,” Schilling says. “I was able to take business from other pizza places by running my specials on the weekend.”

H E AT H E R C R AY

Schilling is also shaking up tradition by removing “Quad Cities” from his vocabulary. “I think ‘Quad Cities style’ is an old wording; I’d prefer to just call it really good pizza,” he says.

“I don’t want to strive to make my pizza like anyone else.”

Whether sticking to tradition or embracing change, the Quad Cities offer a plethora of unique pizzas for those who take the time to explore the region.

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

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POSsibilities

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POS systems offer more options than ever for connecting with your customers. Are you taking advantage of their wide range of benefits? By Tracy Morin

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DANIEL LEE PEREA

THE TIES THAT BIND

The Expert: Kevin Myers, chief marketing and information officer, Donatos Pizza, Columbus, OH The Donatos POS system is integrated with our new loyalty platform. It connects the things we want to learn about a customer, including their visits and products purchased, with learning more about them—such as favorite flavor profiles, dining habits and social media handles. This all starts at the register when we ask for their telephone number.

With our rewards program, Donatos Pizza Love Rewards, a customer earns points as he completes his profile. Once we receive a customer’s telephone number—which is linked to the rewards program—it kicks off a series of events that allows us to learn more about them and their purchases, and tells us how we can reward and interact with them on social media. We reward customers for not only their purchases, but by telling us more about themselves, which can include their social media handles.

We also reward them for referring other people to us through their own unique code link. If someone is invited to and joins our rewards program, the person who made the

Brands like Domino’s and Donatos are tapping POS systems to offer delivery tracking to customers.

referral earns points once the new member places their first order. Additionally, another feature will be enabled after a customer provides their social handle: When they do any storytelling that involves our brand, pizza or meal moments that are tagged to us, they will earn points. Ultimately, we’re moving away from transactions to customer interactions by integrating POS, loyalty and social media.

Looking ahead, we will be able to achieve greater time savings by extending the point of sale to delivery drivers with routing and tracking. This will allow us to track delivery drivers and determine when to start making the next order so that it’s ready as the delivery driver arrives back at the store. We can also track how long it takes our delivery driver to get to the customer and back, while allowing customers to see where their pizza is.

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FEEDBACK FRENZY

SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY

The Expert: Sastry Penumarthy, co-founder and VP of marketing, Punchh, San Mateo, CA

The Expert: Ben Hanzel, chief editor of the POS vertical, BestCompany.com, Pleasant Grove, UT The possibilities of integrating your POS with social media include the ability to monitor social activity. You’ll be notified every time a customer tweets, posts or checks in at your location.

This saves a lot of time on having to keep tabs on all of your various social media platforms. By tracking all social interactions in a central location, you’ll be more organized—and you’ll be better able to develop a game plan moving forward.

You’ll also boost efficiency through multi-platform integration. If you have specials that are changing depending on the day, this is the easiest way to keep your customers in the loop, without having to spend an hour updating every day on each platform.

The absolute best thing a pizzeria owner can do to help with their social media reach is to post quality content, and post it often. If there’s a new item on the menu, post about it. If there are renovations made to your location, post about that as well.

Interesting content gets you a following, and consistency will keep them around.

DANIEL LEE PEREA

The point of sale provides a great opportunity for brands to get guest feedback—and convert loyal guests into brand advocates by enabling guests to share their feedback on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. However, brands need to think first in the context of how they want to deepen customer relationships and loyalty, before figuring out how POS and social media platforms can be utilized.

Store owners should leverage these technologies and social platforms to gather customer feedback, so they can immediately act upon it. Loyal customers are far more likely to make in-store visits, and if a restaurant really has their game on point, loyal customers will likely recommend the brand to their friends on social outlets.

We typically find that when a customer makes a purchase, they’re quick to post to the website’s feedback mechanism.

Our data shows, on average, three to four times more reviews than on Yelp for the same store. So smart business owners are ones that reward these high-volume customers on social media, while amplifying these experiences, leading to better feedback and photos across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Companies that have a strong social media presence are ahead of the game in terms of brand perception, which means they will have a lot of great feedback data to sort through and collect. This, in turn, will enable businesses to continually create the best guest experience possible.

If a store manager receives social feedback, they should be able to provide customers with an immediate response and thank them for that feedback. They should also provide them with discounts to encourage more social engagement. This helps improve overall service and food quality, and lets them keep in touch with customers over the long term.

Ultimately, pizzeria owners and managers should be implementing the latest technologies that allow them to collect feedback in real time, incorporating software that lets them categorize customer feedback into topics and analyze sentiment automatically. This includes integrating real-time feedback systems into mobile apps so customers don’t have to be annoyed by waiting for a call center. Managers should have a detailed understanding of what their customers are talking about, and it’s critical they identify him by name so that customers aren’t dealing with anonymous feedback.

Having solid back-end features will ultimately lead to happier customers who will be singing your restaurant’s praises across the social stratosphere.

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SIGNS OF THE TIMES

The Expert: Hakeem James, president, Scroller Media, Cleveland, OH DANIEL LEE PEREA

Working with POS, social media and digital signage, owners can now follow engagement that happens at the table. New software technology is designed to interact with menu boards, so when customers use the pizzeria’s hashtag, the software will upload those customers’ images directly to the screen in the store— while making sure only the authentic and best images are being used. Therefore, owners can know how clients are enjoying the pizzeria in real time—like Yelp, but with positive images only.

The software scrubs Instagram, Twitter and Facebook through the pizzeria’s hashtag.

For the next generation of this technology, integration with POS systems can help understand demographics and hence push the content to their screens that’s most relevant. So, for example, if an owner sees pepperoni pizza is popular on that day, they can promote that item on in-store signage. Or, using information from a loyalty program (tied in with a member’s social media account), the software can use a combination of geo-fencing and geo-tracking to get important information

to the pizzeria owner. For example, if one of your influencer customers is coming in, you want to make sure you treat them right, because they reach a lot of people with their social media reviews—good or bad.

The bottom line is, the more you know about your customers, the better you can serve them. You want to know who they are, and you want to know their net promoter score.

Using old-school methods, it can take weeks or months to track down what people think about your business, and the more businesses you own, the harder it can be to access and monitor that feedback. By the time you find out people are badmouthing your business or have had a negative experience, it can be too late.

Everyone’s on their phones and on social media, and we know it’s only increasing. So instead of running from it, businesses need to run with it and toward it. Closing that feedback loop lets you know in real time what people are thinking about you—and, most importantly, who they are.

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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Awesom From marinara and pesto to nacho cheese and gravy, pizza insiders share the secrets behind their most successful sauces. By Tracy Morin

Experts agree: Sauce can make a pizza sing.

That simple layer of liquid atop your crust helps make even plain cheese pies stand out—or, when combined with the perfect

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MY PIE

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most successful creations.

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The Nashville Hop Chicken at TailGate Brewery forgoes traditional marinara and instead pulls flavor from the crispy chicken’s spicy, hopinfused sauce.

TA I LG AT E P I Z Z A

TOP TOMATO

Red sauce—can any pizzeria live without it? But a great base can consist of the simplest of components; in fact, many operators believe basics are best, staying true to taste with only a few select ingredients. “Our fresh-made marinara that goes onto standard pies is made with care to be complementary, but not overwhelming, to the dough and toppings,” notes Wesley Keegan, owner and brew master, who developed the gourmet pizza menu at his three TailGate Brewery outposts in Nashville, Tennessee. “Our house tomato sauce is simply crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, a touch of Italian seasoning and salt. Sauce needs to be simple, and a good sauce can make an otherwise OK pizza a great pizza. Those bright flavors should come through the cheese and toppings.”

Josh Jacobsen, executive chef at Peel Handcrafted Pizza, a Neapolitan-inspired restaurant in Frederick, Colorado, with a forthcoming second location in Loveland, agrees that the ideal tomato sauce should be designed to balance out a pizza—not overpower it. “A heavy or too-spicy sauce can be too much,” he says. And Chuck Sillari, co-founder (with Sebastian Fricia) of Mortadella Head in Somerville, Massachusetts, believes chefs can’t go wrong with a simple recipe, such as ripe, hand-crushed San Marzano or California tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of grated Pecorino cheese.

Good Measure You have the perfect sauce—but can pizza makers add too much of a good thing? When seeking the proper sauce portion, operators agree that striking the right balance often comes down to the crust: “Personally, every time I go out for pizza, I ask for extra sauce—pizza is one of those foods where excess is a good thing! For TailGate’s pizza, it would be easy to say, ‘put on a lot,’ but we needed to find the right balance to fit our dough, which you could describe as artisan or craft. Our dough is basic in terms of feel, but the texture and flavor combines sweet, salty and buttery.

The baked result is fluffy with just a little heft, so it’s easy to pull apart. We want customers to enjoy all of the layers of flavors, right through to the sauce and toppings.” —Wesley Keegan, owner and brew master, TailGate Brewery, Nashville, TN “The amount of sauce depends on the type of crust.

The thinner the crust, the lighter you go with the sauce.

That’s why our Roman-style pizza al taglio gets a heavy dose of sauce, to balance out the sturdy and crispy crust.” —Chuck Sillari, co-founder, Mortadella Head, Somerville, MA

MONTHLY DISH-SPIRATION

The team at TailGate Brewery isn’t afraid to think outside the box with sauce bases like nacho cheese (perfect for mac-andcheese and taco pizzas), ranch dressing and even gravy, used for its Thanksgiving-themed pizza of the month last November.

Meanwhile, in December, the pizza of the month was the Nashville Hop Chicken, which ditched a traditional sauce base and instead pulled flavor from the crispy chicken’s sauce: butter blended with cayenne, garlic, black pepper, sugar, salt, paprika and Styrian Golding hops to emulate Nashville’s famed hot chicken.

“We specialize in Neapolitan-style, so it’s all about balance throughout the pizza. In determining the amount of sauce, you must also consider the intensity and structure of the sauce. Typically, we sauce about three ounces for most of our pizzas if we want it to have a similar consistency to a classic red sauce. For oil-based or runny-style sauces, we go considerably lighter.” —Josh Jacobsen, executive chef, Peel Handcrafted Pizza, Frederick, CO

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M O RTA D E L L A H E A D

The pink vodka sauce on Mortadella Head’s ricotta and meatball pie can be cross-utilized by tossing with some pasta and fresh basil.

Peel Handcrafted Pizza crafts its tomato sauce with simple ingredients to complement, not overwhelm, its Neapolitan-style pies like the Pepperoni Rustica.

PEEL HANDCRAFTED PIZZA

“The way we determine the sauces to use—especially when we’re doing a departure from normal tomato sauce—is by being inspired by classic dishes and turning them into pizza: Reuben sandwiches, Thanksgiving dinner, lasagna, tacos and, most recently, Nashville hot chicken,” Keegan explains. “TailGate favorites include sauces like pesto, ranch and nacho cheese, and our ever-changing pizza of the month allows us to get really out-there with sauces, using things like Russian dressing and turkey gravy. If it spreads, we’ll put it on a pizza!” When crafting those exotic pizzas of the month, chefs appreciate the freedom to run a bit wild—while less adventurous customers can remain firmly in their comfort zones with the more traditional favorites on the main menu.

CREATIVE CULTURE

At Denver-based Parry’s Pizzeria & Bar, sauce experimentation is a year-round delight—but can come into even sharper focus when tied with specially themed events and promotions. For example, when the pizzeria hosted its first-ever Dogfish Head Tap Takeover last October, memorable dishes were made to match, including Shrimp Scampi Pizza with an Alfredo sauce base, and Poncho Pizza (a take on the taco) with a tomatillo and avocado base. “We asked our guests for feedback on the special menu, and they overwhelmingly loved these creative pizzas,” enthuses Vanessa Clark, vice president of marketing for Parry’s. “They even asked us to put them on the menu all the time, so we’re working on it!”

Spicy Gochujang Sauce Provided by Peel Handcrafted Pizza 4 oz. gochujang paste 50 oz. tomato sauce 1 oz. garlic powder .5 oz. yellow onion

20 oz. water 1 oz. kosher salt .2 oz. fine black pepper 6 oz. orange juice

Sauté the onions and garlic powder until the onions are translucent. Add the gochujang paste and mix. After the mixture comes to temperature, add the water. Add all remaining ingredients. Cook for 20 to 40 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat and blend until smooth.

Season to taste.

Clark adds that thinking fresh and local in terms of ingredients clearly sets the pizzeria apart, right down to its sauce selections.

With roots in Colorado, the team makes a concentrated effort to incorporate that culture into its menu, experimenting with ingredients like green chilies, as well as looking to other regions—for example, by incorporating Buffalo-style hot sauce into dishes. “Some of our favorite pizzas are totally outside the box, like our New Mexican Yankee, with a green chili base, or The Pearl, a white pie using an oil base with ricotta cheese and sausage,” Clark says. “The key to finding the right sauce for our pies is to align the flavor profiles and not be afraid to create a totally new sauce that’s unexpected. Some pizzas are all about the sauce, and for others you don’t even want to notice it, so be intentional with your choices!”

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MIX AND MATCH

“Fresh-casual” franchise My Pie, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, doesn’t skimp on its sauce collection; after all, the concept requires perfect pairings with more than three dozen toppings.

The seven options, made fresh in-house from signature recipes, were passed down from the owner’s grandmother, who loved unique pizza sauces—and, accordingly, they offer a flavor rainbow: Pizza Sauce, Spicy Fra Diavolo, Marinara, Alfredo Cream, Savory BBQ, Garlic and EVOO, and Pesto.

But the choices don’t end there. “We also encourage our customers to mix and match, such as jazzing up their Alfredo with extra garlic or doing half pizza sauce with a drizzle of pesto,” notes Ryan Mitchell, owner of My Pie. “Great sauces can really revolutionize the way a pizza lover thinks about pizza. They can help add pizzazz to standard toppings or mix up a new favorite. We also think it lends seasonality; for example, customers might want to eat lighter in the summer or enjoy a barbecue-flavored pie, while in the winter they may select something with a little heat. We truly think variations in sauce allow customers to enjoy more variety—and therefore eat pizza more often over the course of a week.”

Of course, once you’ve nailed the perfect sauce lineup, don’t forget to look for opportunities to cross-utilize them on other items, from appetizers to pastas. At Parry’s, chefs get creative

Denver-based Parry’s Pizzeria & Bar thinks locally when creating unique sauce bases and pairing them up with Colorado-inspired toppings like chilies.

PA R R Y ’ S P I Z Z A

by repurposing the green chili base used for the New Mexican Yankee pie. “It’s delicious on loaded fries as well as pizza,” Clark says. “We like to mix it up; the variety of flavors is fun and unexpected.” Similarly, Sillari likes to use pink vodka sauce both as a base for his meatball and ricotta pie, and tossed with some tagliatelle and fresh basil for a perfect pasta dish. The takeaway: Don’t simply experiment with sauce recipes; find various creative ways to use them across your menu!

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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Pizza Pizza pop culture invades New York City with a limited-time pop-up, The Museum of Pizza, giving visitors a host of Instagrammable experiences. By Heather Cray

The Museum of Pizza (MoPi), the world’s first and only immersive “Instagrammable experience” celebrating pizza, opened from October 13 to November 18 at the William Vale Hotel in Brooklyn, New York. The pop-up multisensory museum featured a mozzarella cheese cave and pizza playground— complete with a colorful papier mâché pizza beach—as well as hand-picked selections from the legendary collection of pizza boxes from around the globe.

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Scott Wiener, founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York, selected 70 pizza boxes from his personal collection for the museum. Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, Wiener boasts the world’s largest collection of pizza boxes.

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I

f you’re not up-to-date on all of the latest social media-based movements, we’ll get you up to speed: Dominating social media and growing in popularity around America, food-focused pop-ups have been cropping up around the country—everything from the Museum of Ice Cream and The CADO (dedicated to California avocados) to the Hall of Breakfast. These pop-up museums have turned into perfect opportunities for museum-goers to nab an “Instagrammable experience,” providing backdrops that lend themselves to fun pics that visitors can then post online (and thereby help spread the word on social media).

“It’s often that the simplest ideas are the best,” says Alexandra Serio, chief content officer at Nameless Network, the firm that cooked up the MoPi idea. “We wanted to use pizza’s ubiquitous appeal to get people through the door and looking at art and hearing about history in a different format.”

For $35 per ticket, museum-goers were treated to one slice of pizza and unique immersive exhibits by artists and designers, including Optical Animal, Adam Green, Signe Pierce, Emma Stern, Gazoo, Hilary Hubanks, ShawnaX, Pinky Weber, plus curated artwork by RJ Supa.

The Future Is Pizza room offered an opportunity for patrons to take pizza-oriented selfies. “It is so much fun and interactive,” said pizza fan and Brooklyn resident Dakota Delphine. “An attendant in each exhibit will help you come up with creative boomerangs for social media.” Pizza boxes sat as props in the black-lit room, leading to more than a dozen other pizza-themed exhibits. Works ranged from the Cheese Cave, created by Caleb Gilbert of production company 11th Street Workshop, inspired by the Joita Grotto, Lebanon’s largest cave, to the movie set-worthy backdrop in the Pizza Beach room by designer Adam Green.

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PR Singer/songwriter Andrew W.K.’s handpainted pizza guitar in the Psychedelic Pizza Parlor room hung with exhibits by other artists, including Jeremy Couillard, Adam Parker Smith and Hein Koh. “We gave ‘pizza’ as a subject to a bunch of artists and let them do whatever they wanted,” says Max Nelson, co-founder and chief digital officer of Nameless Network.

Weiner himself was also an “exhibit” at the pop-up: From the lobby, historical pizza timelines, celebrity quotes and other pizza facts were projected from oldfashioned 16-millimeter slides, alongside Weiner in hologram form giving a pizza history lesson.

P C

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Rooms were also dedicated to corporate sponsors, with themes including DiGiorno’s Pizza Playground, Hidden Valley’s Pizza Parlor, and Totino’s Pizza Heaven.

Brooklyn is not the only place to host a pizza museum.

The Pizza Experience in Pasadena, California, and the U.S. Pizza Museum in Chicago both have pizza-themed museums. Although they may not be exactly like MoPi, pizza professionals and fans can still plan their own pizza adventures to these destinations in 2019.

Heather Cray is PMQ’s social media director.

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Business-Boosting Video Learn four easy ways you can employ video to effectively attract attention and connect with customers.

By Bruce Irving When you go on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, you’ll often notice that video is prevalent in many posts from big pizza chains. But even if you’re running a small business, you can also use video to great effect. Use these four tips to incorporate video in your advertising in order to grow your business, engage your followers, and build better community engagement on your social media platforms.

1. Show off your food.

Demonstrate for your viewers how you make your menu items, what ingredients go into them, and how you present them when they come out of the oven. It doesn’t have to be long—a quick 10- to 20-second video is perfect.

One tool to consider is the Facebook Watch platform.

There are a few channels that produce ingredient-style videos, showing how to make various dishes—and they get over 2 million views per video! For now, Facebook Watch is an invite-only platform, but you can use it to look for content ideas. This is a great place to find out what is getting the most attention and will give you a great idea of what people are watching and looking for.

2. Tap young staff.

As restaurant owners, we’re not usually as young as our staff members, so sometimes we are not as social media-savvy. Let your younger staff members help you by coming up with creative video ideas and giving you tips on what platforms your audience is consuming information on.

Ask them questions and interact with them. Have them tell you what they are watching and what is most interesting to watch on social media so that you can incorporate those tips into your own videos. Then let them help you execute it. Give them the opportunity to help you create the content that they think is going to be best for your business on these social platforms. If you don’t use social media that much, you probably don’t know what’s working best.

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. Go behind the scenes.

Create a television-style show about a day in the life of your restaurant. You can produce one or two videos per month. Customers are not used to seeing what happens behind the scenes, and they’ll appreciate an inside look.

Here are two examples of those who are documenting the pizzeria life—and getting amazing results: Tomasino’s Pizza in Orlando, Florida, and chef Billy Manzo from Federal Hill Pizza in Warren, Rhode Island.

Tomasino’s uses videos to demonstrate what it’s like to work there, showcasing employees, customers dining, and food being prepared. They do a great job of this, and it shows with the interaction they are getting on social media.

Meanwhile, Manzo takes a slightly different approach, showing what it’s like to own and operate a restaurant—the good, the bad and (sometimes) the ugly. Consumers don’t know all that goes into running a restaurant, and Manzo is doing a great job of providing that insight.

4. Show, don’t tell.

Quality Ingredients!

Great Service!

We Our Customers!

Voted Best Pizza!

What makes you different? We posed this question on our Facebook page, Smart Pizza Marketing.

In today’s world, where people are buying is not always based on price, so we were curious to see the responses.

A lot of people said things such as, “We give great service,” “We’ve been voted best pizza,” “We really care about our quality and ingredients,” or “We love our customers.” Those are all great responses, and video can help you not only say it, but show it as well.

Video does something that text or photos can’t. It builds a connection with your customers, and that connection makes them know, like and trust you.

When that happens, they buy from you.

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Is Your POS System Optimized for Your Pizzeria?

When pizzeria owners are searching for an ideal POS system, they look for reliability, functionality and flexibility. That’s where Revel Pizza Solution comes in. Partnering with Apple, Revel Pizza Solution incorporates the reliability and user security of the iPad with state-ofthe-art software designed from the bottom up for the pizza industry.

“Apple is well-known for not having security problems, being very easy to update, and having very good user interfaces,” says Chris Lybeer, chief strategy officer for Revel Systems. “We fully follow their design standards and participate with them via their mobile partner program, where we have access to their labs. The reason they have done so well historically is that they are easy to use, and nothing ever breaks.”

The price point for Revel Pizza Solution is just a touch higher than some other products on the market, but Lybeer states this small increase pays off in the long run. “You may be paying a very small price, but at the end of the day, they’re actually costing you less per month than other solutions,” Lybeer says. “We think that this very slight up-front price uptick ultimately comes back to be a cost savings for customers, which is good for customer satisfaction.”

Pizzeria owners’ time is valuable. Most don’t have time to configure a POS system to their specific needs—Revel Pizza Solution solves this dilemma. “One of the things we do right out of the box: We make the system easy to use for pizzeria owners,” Lybeer states. “It’s delivered configured for them. They’re not getting a blank slate.” Revel Pizza

Solution can handle delivery management, such as delivery zones and driver tracking. It also features a customer-facing display—great for order confirmation, resulting in less errors. Revel Pizza Solution can route call-in and online orders directly to your kitchen, can handle customized orders such as half and quarter pizzas, and can manage inventory in real time.

When pizzeria owners call customer service, they want to speak with someone who is knowledgeable about the pizza industry, not just someone who is good with technology. “When they call us, the person who answers the phone will be someone who knows how the pizza business works,” Lybeer says. “There’s a good chance that it’s someone who used to work in the pizza business at some point. There’s a huge difference between a white tablecloth restaurant and a pizza business.

We have people who take care of this industry.”

A fixture in the pizza industry for the past eight years, Revel Systems has also developed a track record for innovation. “We are maturing and becoming the smart choice in the industry,” Lybeer says. “With that many years under our belt, we have really strong functionality. We’re growing up, too, in terms of being able to very effectively support much larger customers. I like that we are becoming the smart choice, because we’ve had enough practice to do things well for our customers.” To learn more, visit revelsystems.com or call us at 415-744-1433.

A POS built for pizza parlors to help you increase profits.

TRACK INGREDIENT-LEVEL INVENTORY

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Give us a call at +1 (415) 744-1433 or email info@revelsystems.com to connect with a Revel expert.

J A N U A RY/ F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 9 | P M Q . CO M

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Pizza Possibilities SMART MARKET

SPONSORED CONTENT

ARDENT MILLS High-quality flour is the foundation for strong, flavorful pizza dough, and at Ardent Mills, we know pizza dough. We’re proud to offer some of the most trusted flours in the pizza business, including Italian-type 00 flour for Neapolitan-style pizza, grown and finely milled in North America.

Using Primo Mulino flour means never having to deal with the supply chain and cost challenges of imported pizza flours. We also have timehonored brands like Kyrol, Hummer and King Midas, and on-trend flours like Ultragrain and Simply Milled Organic. We have the industry’s largest and most reliable supply of grains and flours—including a full line of ancient, heirloom, specialty grains, and off-the-shelf and custom pizza mixes. Our options save labor and ensure dough consistency, whether your crust is wood-fired, Chicago deep dish, stuffed, or classic thin crust.

We also offer a full portfolio of whole, mixed and gluten-free grains to add nutrient density, satiety, higher protein and more fiber to dough formulations. These grains add culinary interest with varied flavors, textures and colors, differentiating crusts, adding texture to salads, and inspiring innovative ideas across pizzeria menus. For a few on-trend ways for grabbing a bigger slice of pizza action, consider how a flexible, stretchable pizza dough can transform into breadsticks, garlic knots and other appetizers, ready for dipping and sharing. More pizzerias are adding dessert pizzas in a bid to capture add-on sales.

Fresh ingredients such as seasonal regional berries, fresh basil or mint, sweetened soft cheese and citrus zest are some great flavor pairings to top a slightly sweeter pizza crust and score that wow factor. From a whole-grain salad-topped flatbread to hearty whole-grain garlic knots and berry-topped organic dessert pizzas, Ardent Mills has your pizza dough covered.

For more information or samples, contact your Ardent Mills account manager, visit ardentmills.com or call us at 888-685-2534.

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PIZZA WITHOUT BORDERS

“If you would have asked me ten years ago if I ever thought I'd travel to almost all parts of the world making pizzas, I would have said no. But getting the chance to go out and step into the competition world opened up a whole new set of doors for myself in our company to expand, grow, develop whole new concepts, bringing new pizzas to our pizzerias in our hometown.”

- MICHAEL LAMARCA, MASTER PIZZA, CLEVELAND, OH

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Visit event PMQ.com/ s dates to catch up of inte o rnatio n trad n comp e shows an al etit d event ions. Know that’s an mis Send an em sing? ail to missy @pmq .com.

COMPETITION

DREAMING Top 3 reasons to compete at lesser-known competitions abroad. By Missy Green Year after year the U.S. Pizza Team makes its pilgrimage to the World Pizza Championship in Parma, Italy. The Championship hosted by Pizza e Pasta Italiana magazine is now in its 29th edition and is the longest standing pizza competition in the world. It is considered a crucial event for high profile figures in the pizza industry and last year drew a record 773 pizza chefs from all corners of the planet to compete. For many, Parma is a grand finale finish to rounds of national pizza competitions and an international industry reunion.

But Parma, despite all its glory can feel disheartening at times. Whether it’s the language barrier, differences in taste palates or the tremendous scale of the event, our team comes home empty handed in culinary just about every year. “We wanted to try something new,” says Gino Rago, Culinary Coach of the U.S. Pizza Team. Rago pushed the idea of bringing a group to compete in Spain with this team mission in mind: “wherever there’s pizza in the world, we want to be there. We want to show them how it’s done in America and learn from them too.”

Ready to depart on a new adventure, U.S. Pizza Team members (featured left to right) Michael LaMarca, Jason Samosky, Dave Sommers and Gino Rago set off to Spain to compete in the 4th Pizza por Pasione competition in Granada organized

by Antonia Ricciardi, President of the University of Italian Pizza in the World. This time the team came back with winners.

So without further ado, here are the top 5 reasons

to compete at lesser known competitions abroad:

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1

EXPLORE THE WORLD

Traveling to different competitions frees you from seeing only one corner of the world.

Oftentimes smaller competitions last only a day, so you have more time to explore the surroundings. If you travel to certain countries, especially during low tourism season, you can have superb meals and places to stay for great prices. Southern Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, China will have you feeling and eating like royalty.

Gino Rago and Jason Samosky enjoy fresh fish on the coast of Spain.

China’s 5,000 year history offers many sites to see. PMQ China organizes a tour package for competitors who wish to compete in Shanghai. Contact Shelly Liu at marketing@fusion-intl.cn for inquiries.

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“To travel around all over the world and see different products different pizzas different styles of pizzas is amazing. It’s helped me 175 percent on what I produce out of my shop and what I make.

I never thought I’d be able to do this...The U.S. Pizza Team is the best organization and group I’ve ever been affiliated with. And I’ve been on since 2005 and I don’t have any plans on leaving, because it’s awesome.”

- JASON SAMOSKY, SAMOSKY’S HOMESTYLE PIZZERIA IN VALLEY CITY, OH

Florence is home to the Italian renaissance, Michelangelo’s David and the Italian Pizza Star competition.

The best food is always where the locals go! Just watch out for tourist prices. (Left to right) Karil Sommers, Chris Sommers, Dave Sommers, Michael LaMarca and PMQ’s Media Producer Daniel Lee Perea.

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Gino Rago took home 2nd at the “Pizza por Pasion” competition in Granada using products from U.S. Pizza Team sponsors Molini Spigadoro and Galbani cheese.

Missy Green placed 3rd in Freestyle Acrobatics.

2

INCREASE YOUR ODDS

Making the investment of time and energy to go overseas to compete with your pizza is already a strong marketing tool. It doesn’t have to be the biggest or most well-known competition, your customers won’t have heard of them anyway. Small or medium sized competitions have less people competing, so by sheer numbers you increase your chance of coming home with a prize.

Four members of the U.S. Pizza Team came home with honors in 2015. The following year Jason Samosky came in 3rd.

Winners up to 5th place receive a trophy at the Italian Pizza Star competition.

Angelo Petrone from Pizza Master Consulting and the PizzArte School in Pisa builds competitions to give recognition and status to pizza makers everywhere.

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“I came in second place [in Spain]. I missed first place by 5 points and I was very happy. I was blessed to have won with the U.S. Pizza Team and I want to say that all my guys with me had input. You know I’m making arugula pesto and I ask ‘what do you think, you know - give me your comments.’ That’s what I like about our team. We help each other out. We’re like brothers.”

- GINO RAGO, PANINO’S PIZZA, CHICAGO, IL

Mike Arvblom and Missy Green hold a photo prop trophy. Arvblom, Pizza World Champion and Organizer of Swedish Pizza Competitions believes firmly in the marketing power of awards. At each competition he designates a head judge to come up with one positive distinguishing feature of each pizza maker. So even though not everyone leaves with a trophy, everyone has a certificate they can take home which they truly deserved. Examples include Best Sauce, Best Presentation, Most Professional Pizza Maker, etc.

Michael LaMarca placed 1st in Shanghai in 2017 and 3rd in 2015. His trophies from China are his only awards from competitions outside the United States – so far.

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3

MEET DIFFERENT PEOPLE, LEARN NEW TECHNIQUES

Traveling and spending time away from the store is hard for anyone in the pizza world.

Traveling to smaller regional competitions will put you in contact with pizza makers you’ve never met before, in cultures, which are entirely different. In traveling you’ll find that select parts of the world discredit the American pizza making tradition. However, most of the world is genuinely curious about how Americans make and sell their pizza.

London, England

Enrico Famà, publisher of Ristorazione Italiana, has joined forces with his son to create a series of pizza competitions called the World Pizza Champion Games. Preselection rounds will be held throughout Italy and winners compete in London at the European Pizza Championship.

Gothenburg, Sweden

Sweden has some of the most unusual pizzas you’ll ever find, and an insatiable curiosity for how to make great pizza.

W Florence, Italy

Competitors who participated in the Italian Pizza Star competition were pre-selected from online contest where they were judged on aesthetics alone. If they made it to the finals they would have to remake the same pizza live in Florence, making for exceptionally stunning works of pizza art.

hen considering a competition abroad, remember to consider what your overall purpose is. If you want to win, think small. If you want a chance at the most prestigious prize within the pizza community, then go big! Do you want to visit a paradise or just somewhere completely different from anything you’ve ever experienced? The possibilities are many in the bustling world of pizza competitions.

Missy Green is a pizza spinning gold medalist and PMQ’s international correspondent. She currently resides in the Netherlands.

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2019 International Show Dates Month

Day

Competition

Venue / Trade Show

City

Country

Organizer

January

29-30

2nd International Pizza Passion Competition

Hotel Ottagono

Andria (Bari)

Italy

Passione Pizza Association

Feb

4

4th Trofeo Pizza D'autore

21st Hospitality and Innovation Show

Malaga

Spain

Università della Pizza Italiana nel Mondo

Feb

18-19

Regional Pizza Championship of Calabrian Excellency

Le Cicale mall

Ionadi (Calabria)

Italy

MPI Movimento Pizzaioli Italiani

Feb

26

World Pizza Champion Games

Tirreno CT Show

Massa

Italy

Pizza Senza Frontiere, Ristorazione Italiana Magazine

March

12

World Pizza Champion Games

Levante Prof Show

Bari

Italy

Pizza Senza Frontiere, Ristorazione Italiana Magazine

March

12-13

World Pizza Championship

Sicily

Italy

Malta Italy Pizza Association

April

2

Pizza a Due sponsored by Galbani

Parizza

Paris

France

France Pizza Magazine

April

9-11

The World Pizza Championship

Palacassa

Parma

Italy

Pizza e Pasta Italiana Magazine

April

26

Pizza Champion Cup

Vin & Deli

Gothenburg

Sweden

Pizza World Association

April

TBA

Tuscan Pizza Championship

TBA

Tuscan region

Italy

Pizza Master Accademy

May

TBA

9th Meisterschaft Pizza Art World Cup

TBA

Berlin

Germany

Pizza-Schule & Pizza Nationalmannschaft Deutschland

May

20

World Pizza Champion Games

TuttoPizza Show

Naples

Italy

Pizza Senza Frontiere, Ristorazione Italiana Magazine

June

5

The Latin American Pizza Championship

Costa Salguero

Buenos Aires

Argentina

APPYCE Association of Pizzeria and Empanada Houses of Argentina

June

TBA

Campionato Mondiale del Pizzaiuolo

Naples

Italy

Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani

August

TBA

Selections for Pizza Star begin

September

TBA

Pizza Star Competition

September

23-26

API 19th Italian Absolute Pizza Championship and the 15th World Pizza Team Championship

October

21-22

October

TBA

October October

online

online

Pizza Master Accademy

TBA

TBA

TBA

Fiuggi (Rome)

Italy

Pizza Master Accademy

European Pizza Championship

Host Milano

Milan

Italy

Pizza e Pasta Italiana

5th Pizza por Pasión

Sabores de Nuestra Tierra

Granada

Spain

The Universty of Italian Pizza in the World

TBA

The World Spicy Pizza Championship

TBA

Scalea (Calabria)

Italy

MPI Movimento Pizzaioli Italiani

TBA

The Best Pizza of Mallorca

TBA

Palma de Mallorca Spain

Hijos de Ramon Oliver and PizzaSchool.es

October/Nov

TBA

All Stars Pizza Antonio Mezzero Trophy

Milano

Italy

Antonio Mezzero

November

TBA

International Pizza Championship

Inter Food & Drink Show

Sofia

Bulgaria

Bulgarian Association Pizzaioli

November

12-14

PMQ Chinese Pizza Championship

FHC Food Show

Shanghai

China

PMQ China

November

13-14

European Pizza Championship

European Pizza & Pasta Show

London

England

Stay tuned for the 2019 dates on these events.

Visit PMQ.com/events for updates.

International Pizza & Pasta Championship, Romania Mexican Pizza Championship Pizza por Passion Spanish Pizza Championship, Granada Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani, Korea & Japan Brazilian Pizza Championship, Sao Paulo J A N U A RY/ F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 9 | P M Q . CO M

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pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/ 86 PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | THE WORLD’S AUTHORITY ON PIZZA

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ALWAYS WITH YOU.

Come follow us, like us, and engage with us on these social media platforms!

™

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PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE

M A C H I N E R Y/ E Q U I P M E N T

MAILING LISTS

1-800-426-0323

www.northernpizza.com

Ovens Mixers Prep Tables Walk-ins Parts Smallwares

MAILING LISTS

Reach More Hungry Customers with an Occupant List • Saturate neighborhoods with your message

MARKETING IDEAS

• Personalize for more effective campaigns • Save on postage It’s better than Every Door Direct Mail – and we’ll throw in free mailing software!

Get a Free Quote Now

www.melissa.com/hungry 1-800-MELISSA

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

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

J A N U A RY/ F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 9 | P M Q . CO M

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE OLIVES

MARKETING IDEAS

FOR MORE CHEFWARE, VISIT WWW.TASTEOFITALY.ORG (PGS 22 & 23)

THE WORLD`S LARGEST OLIVE AND OLIVE OIL PRODUCER ACORSA USA 2200 FLETCHER AVE. SUITE # 702, FORT LEE, NJ 07024 Tel. 201-944-0474 ...... Fax # 201-944-1279 enrique.escudero@dcoop.es ... www.dcoop.es We offer a full line of Green Olives, Ripe Olives and Olive Oil from Spain for private label or branded. OU Kosher and BRC Certified. Inventory stored at 11 warehouses throughout the U.S.

1-800-760-8662 | 805-473-8494

ON HOLD MARKETING/PHONE SERVICES

Pizza’s Great Storyteller

Radio-style stories to bring customers in.

Let pizza’s greatest storyteller make you a local pizza hero!

• Fully-produced 1-minute pizza stories

Hear samples at PizzaTV.com/Rix

Rix Quinn

M E AT TO P P I N G S

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.

“Consistently Delicious!”

FOODSERVICE, PRIVATE LABEL AND RETAIL PRODUCTS

847-228-7070 • Elk Grove Village, IL • www.devancofoods.com MIXERS

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

O N L I N E DATA R E P O RT S

Euromonitor International

Your Strategic Partner for Company Growth Holdsbowl! art 80-qundles a Ha . bag 50 lb our! of fl

Contact us at info-usa@euromonitor.com or visit www.euromonitor.com

www.pizzamixers.com • 1-877-R-MIXERS

Heavy Duty MIXeRS RS

2-Year Warranty

60 qt. Pizza Mixer handles 50 lb. bag of flour Direct gear drive transmission • Rigid cast iron construction

Discover all the pizza trends in the Pizza Consumer Trend Report.

312.506.4060 | info@technomic.com

ONLINE ORDERING

Globe Food Equipment Co. | www.globefoodequip.com

MOISTURE-ABSORBENT TOPPINGS CONDITIONER/SUPPLIES

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PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE

ONLINE ORDERING

PIZZA BOX LINERS

POS Integration with: Dinerware

Custom App $99 Monthly + 0% Commission imenutogo.com Online Mobile Ordering Solution (718) 554-0524

Grow Your Business

PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS

with the power of online ordering More Orders. Starting Now.

SliceLife.com/JoinNow or (844) 880-2346

PIZZA MARKETING

PIZZA BOXES

Your food. Our custom-printed boxes.

A winning combination.

Ten case minimums. Pizza, sub, slice, kids and other boxes available.

800-626-0828 | starpizzabox.com PIZZA BOXES

CUSTOMIZE YOUR PIZZA BOX SAVE $$$ on BOXES TAKE YOUR IMAGE TO THE NEXT LEVEL

PIZZA OVENS

7” to 36” Custom Boxes and Odd Sizes Available

UP TO 4-COLORS | NO PLATE FEES*

Rectangular Flat Bread Boxes Available

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

PIZZA BOX LINERS

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

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 OVENS

PIZZA OVENS

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

Stone Deck, Pizza Dome, and Bakery

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

Are you a pizza-making genius?

TRADITIONAL, FAST CASUAL, ARTISAN...

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

PROVE IT!

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

• Pizzas • Appetizers • Entrees

• Wings • Flatbreads • Salads

• Desserts • and More!

Submit your recipes TODAY at PMQ.com/recipebank!

WOOD STONE CORPORATION ...............Stone Hearth & Specialty Commercial Cooking Equipment .1801 W. Bakerview Rd ..................... Bellingham, WA 98226 TOLL Free 800-988-8103Fax: 360-650-1166.............. woodstone-corp.com

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PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE

PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS

JANUARY/FEBRUARY SPECIALS

High Qua lit y Pizza Tools

Made in Italy Since 1986

Phone 630-553-9135 sales@gimetalusa.com www.gimetalusa.com J A N U A RY/ F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 9 | P M Q . CO M

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE

PIZZA PANS

PIZZA SUPPLIES

• Pizza Preparation and Delivery Products •

National Marketing, Inc.

www.nminc.com 800-994-4664

734-266-2222

Fax: 734-266-2121

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

PIZZA PEELS

PIZZA WARMING EQUIPMENT

KEEP HOT FOODS HOT! FOOD WARMING SHELF Keep orders hot until customers arrive Phone: 800-521-0238 Email: sales@lockwoodusa.com

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PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE

PRINTING

PRINTING

SAUCE

Since 1915, The Neil Jones Food Company has been producing premium quality tomato and custom blend sauces. A family owned and operated corporation, we only pack from the freshest and finest vine-ripened California tomatoes. So whether you prefer classic #10 cans or new shelf-stable pouches, you will always get the very best in fresh packed tomato products from Neil Jones Food.

SCALES

Booth #7110

T E L E P H O N E E Q U I P M E N T/ S U P P L I E S / S E R V I C E

ALWAYS WITH YOU. J A N U A RY/ F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 9 | P M Q . CO M

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE

TO M ATO P RO D U C T S

WINGS

YEAST

ALWAYS WITH YOU.

Come talk with us on these platforms!

TA B L EC LOT H S

You Top the Pizza, We’ll Top the Tables!

Updating your dining room is easy with our easy-care vinyl table covers … always made to your specs. Fabrics are also available by the roll.

• 372 colors and 65 mix-and-match patterns • Covers are custom made within 2-3 weeks • Available with velcro, umbrella holes or elastic for a perfect fit.

• No minimums required

View and order patterns online at Americo-Inc.com

Call 1-800-626-2350 FREE SWATCHES!

601 East Barton | West Memphis, AR 72301

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PIZZA HALL OF FAME

Watch of Fam Pizza Hall PizzaT e videos on V.c NEW P om and th e izzaTV chann Roku el!

T

Clockwise from top left: Giovanni Bruno taught his children (including Jimmy, center) in his New York pizzeria, shown here in the late 1920s; vintage portraits of Giovanni and wife Columba hang at the Little Rock pizzeria; Bruno’s added an extra dining room in the 1960s; Jimmy’s sons, Gio and Vince, carry on the pizzeria today; Jimmy works in the ’60s; Jimmy and wife Ernestine take a break in the early 1950s; Jimmy tosses a pie in the early ’60s.

Has your pizzeria been in business for 50 years or longer? If so, contact us at tracy@pmq.com.

BRUNO’S LITTLE ITALY This Arkansas institution boasts a rich family heritage over generations of pizza making—and its latest location is helping revive a modern-day downtown. By Tracy Morin Just after the turn of the century, in 1903, Giovanni Bruno emigrated from Naples, Italy, landing in New York and opening a bakery with his brother, where they sold pizza. His son, Vincenzo (known to everyone as Jimmy), took fast to the trade, learning to cook pizzas at age six and within years teaching others in the city. Later, after serving as a sergeant in WWII, where he was stationed in Arkansas, he returned to the area, opening up Little Italy Cafe in Levy, eventually earning enough money to nab a building in the state’s capital, Little Rock, and opening Bruno’s Little Italy.

The business became a resounding success—even though Jimmy had to explain to locals how to even pronounce the name of this newfangled food called pizza. He remained the pizza patriarch there until his death in 1984, passing along the trade to his own sons, Gio Vanni, Vince and Jay, who all worked in the business from childhood.

But the inherited skills required went beyond recipes; it was more a mindset, a focus on great food and personal interaction with customers. “I’m a lot like my dad, walking the floor every night and talking to customers—and I love what I do, 100%,” Vince says. “No one does that anymore, so we love bringing that personal touch.”

In fact, though the pizzeria—relocated several times over the years but, since 2013, helping revive the previously desolate downtown Little Rock—has won countless awards over the years, it’s this achievement that resonates with the brothers. “The thing we’re most proud of is that everybody here has a story: We went on our first date here, got engaged here, have celebrated our kid’s birthday here every year,” Gio Vanni says. “That’s the most satisfying thing—and when I say it happens every night, that’s no exaggeration!”

Though the business is well-known to locals, a late-2018 spot on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives exploded its name (and wildly popular lasagna and toasted ravioli) across the nation. But the brothers wouldn’t think of resting on their laurels, taking a break or disappointing loyal fans. “People still come in every day saying this is the first place they had pizza, or they’ve been coming here since before I was born and it still tastes the same,” Gio Vanni says. “We take care to make things just right. I’m not an entrepreneur, I’m a proprietor. If we’re open, I’m here.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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Crispier Crusts. Quicker Times.

The official oven of the 2017 World’s Longest Pizza

Fash Asvadi, President of Italforni USA

Location: SoCalGas Food Service Equipment Center in Downey, California

The BEST finish you can imagine.

Perfect crust, no more dried-out pizza | Cut your cook time in half Perfect pizza every time.

424-364-0075 | ItalforniUSA.com See the amazing three-minute demo video at italforniusa.com/media

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ZZA EXPO

SIEST BOOTH AT PI

/joeylanova /lanovawings @joeylanova La Nova Wings

Phone: 716-881-3355 www.LANOVA.com

EAR AT PIZZA EXPO! CELEBRATING OUR 25TH Y

CONTEST CHICKEN WING EATING AT PIZZA EXPO 2019

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VOTED BEST BOOTH AT PIZZA EXPO!

12/19/18 8:59 AM

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