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JANUARY/FE BRUARY

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INSIDE:

The 2026 PMQ DELCO Report:

Are the Chains Slipping?

PAGE 26

Rethinking Value Deals

PAGE 34

Pizza Acrobatics

PAGE 40

PAGE 1 8

School lunches, a ghost kitchen and a culture of kindness: Salvatore Reina makes it look easy at Francesca Pizza & Pasta.

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PEEL: A PMQ PODCAST

A Publication of WTWH Media, LLC

KH ANH NGUYE N/Z ALAT PIZ Z A

A 1,000-YEAR PLAN A lot of pizzeria operators talk about scaling or franchising. A few envision growing a pizza chain so big, it eventually becomes a publicly traded company. Khanh Nguyen, founder and CEO of Zalat Pizza, might be the only operator who wants to build a pizza brand to last 1,000 years. On the most recent episode of Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast, Nguyen shared a motto, of sorts, that is shaping his 30-location brand based in Dallas-Fort Worth: “Made with pride. Shared with joy. Built for a millennium.” Nguyen said the philosophy came together when he started looking at the company mission and deciding how to tweak it with the future in mind. “I’m like, yes, we want to do these great things, like make shareholders returns,” Nguyen said. “But does that really excite me in terms of going to work every day? As I thought about it, I’m like, is there something we can have as a mission that’s actually more exciting than that?” Check out episode 46 of Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast and learn more about how he’s challenging his team to think in terms of a 1,000-year plan. Listen to Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast on Apple, Spotify and SoundCloud.

ELEVATING THE BUSINESS OF PIZZA

Volume 30, Issue 1 | January/February 2026 888-543-2447 ISSN 1940-2007 | Permit #5040

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CONTENT STUDIO

CEO Matt Logan mlogan@wtwhmedia.com

VICE PRESIDENT Peggy Carouthers pcarouthers@wtwhmedia.com

CONTENT

WRITER Drew Filipski dfilipski@wtwhmedia.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF Rick Hynum rhynum@wtwhmedia.com SENIOR EDITOR Charlie Pogacar cpogacar@wtwhmedia.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tracy Morin tmorin@wtwhmedia.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR/ USPT COORDINATOR Brian Hernandez bhernandez@wtwhmedia.com VP, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Danny Klein dklein@wtwhmedia.com

ART & PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR Eric Summers esummers@wtwhmedia.com

WRITER Ya’el McCloud ymccloud@wtwhmedia.com WRITER Abby Winterburn awinterburn@wtwhmedia.com

SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FOOD, RETAIL, HOSPITALITY SALES AND ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT Matt Waddell mwaddell@wtwhmedia.com NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Tom Boyles tboyles@wtwhmedia.com VP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Eugene Drezner edrezner@wtwhmedia.com

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PMQ PIZZA Issue 1 January/February 2026 (ISSN 1940-2007, Permit #5040) is published monthly in January, March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November and December by WTWH Media, LLC, 1111 Superior Ave #1120, Cleveland, OH 44114-2560. Periodical postage pricing paid at Cleveland, OH. Additional mailing offices at Bolingbrook, IL.

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PMQ PIZZA, 1111 Superior Ave #1120, Cleveland, OH 44114-2560. Opinions expressed by the editors and contributing writers are strictly their own and not necessarily those of the advertisers. All rights reserved. No portion of PMQ PIZZA may be reproduced in whole or part without written consent.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

January/February 2026 16

Beyond the Box: Building Your Pizza Business Veteran operator Michael LaMarca of Master Pizza launches a new monthly column focused on operational strategies to grow sales, tighten efficiencies and build the pizzeria of your dreams. AKE

NIMAGES.CO

The PMQ Pizza 2026 DELCO Report

PMQ’s second annual partnership with Intouch Insight explores how pizza chains are performing in delivery/carryout—and what moves the needle on customer satisfaction.

34 Rethinking Value Deals

40 Why Your Pizzeria Needs

Man of the People

Its Own Acrobat

Pizza competitions aren’t just about trophies and bragging rights. They hone vital pizza making skills, raise morale and help build a more productive and motivated staff.

BR IA N HERNANDEZ

Salvatore Reina “learned on the fly” and still built Francesca Pizza & Pasta into a mighty brand incorporating a Detroit-style ghost kitchen and a school lunch program that nets more than $600,000 a year.

BY CHARLIE POGACAR COVER PHOTO BY LUCA REINA

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: 10 Pizza Pulse 12 Moneymakers 44 Resource Guide 50 Pizza Hall of Fame

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LUCA REINA

Four pizzeria masterminds and a foodservice consultant explain how to craft value deals that resonate with customers, drive traffic and bolster your bottom line.

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PIZZA PULSE

SHARE YOUR STORY WITH THE PIZZA COMMUNITY Behind every issue of PMQ Pizza is a growing digital universe, and Pizza Pulse, our free e-newsletter, is the gateway. Print can only hold so much, but online we can go bigger: deep-dive profiles, videos, podcasts, social posts, webinars, reader surveys and more. And here’s a little secret: Our best stories often come straight from Pizza Pulse subscribers. So if you want to get on our radar, this is the place to be.

Regents Pizzeria: How a Single-Unit Shop Hit $7.5 Million in Sales for 2025 From a four-page screening process for new hires to structured processes focused on dough management, time standards and line checks, plus a six-step system for guest service, this La Jolla, California, restaurant has cracked the secret code for indie success. Read it at PMQ.com/regents-pizzeria

“There’s Just One Tori T,” and the Rising Pizzaiola Only Knows One Speed On her first solo shift running her family’s legendary Louie & Ernie’s Pizza in the Bronx, Tori Tiso faced down a flood of biblical proportions. “That’s when I realized: I’m not a worker anymore. My dad trusts me to make the call.” Now she’s calling her own shots with Tori T’s Pizzeria and 914 Pizza. Read it at PMQ.com/tori-tiso After Growing to 15 Stores in 16 Years, Piesanos Has Never Had to Close a Location Based in Gainesville, Florida, this brand opened during the Great Recession and plowed through the pandemic unscathed, thanks at least in part to the holistic and methodical way it opens new stores. And the company’s culture makes it a place where “negativity doesn’t stick,” says co-founder Joel Mills.

Inside Tony Gemignani’s Dive Into the World of Pizzeria Franchising In an episode of Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast, the legendary pizzaiolo behind Read it at PMQ.com/piesanos the fast-growing Slice House explains why franchising requires an entirely new mindset. “We’ve said no more than we’ve said yes,” he told PMQ. “We want to make sure the franchisee Want to Get PMQ’s understands that this is not Attention? Try this! easy—it's hard.” Create a Reel on Instagram, tag @pmqpizzamag and Read it at PMQ.com/ tell us why we should tony-gemignani-franchising feature your pizzeria.

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

Subscribe to Pizza Pulse for free at PMQ.com/pizza-pulse!

MONEYMAKERS

VILLAGE IDIOT PIZZA (2)

The Glynn family took a crisis and turned it into a mission with Pizza for Preemies.

PIZZA FOR PREEMIES WHEN A BABY IS BORN PREMATURELY, an occasion for celebration can quickly turn into a medical crisis that no one saw coming. And for Kelly and Brian Glynn, owners of Village Idiot Pizza in Columbia, South Carolina, more than one baby’s life was at risk: Kelly had given birth to twins at 28 weeks. Thankfully, Liam and Willow are doing fine now, and they’ve inspired an annual promotion called Pizza for Preemies, which has raised more than $72,000 for the March of Dimes since it started. This year’s event included baby-themed Music Bingo; a team-up with Cola Baby Social Club, where families 12

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

dropped in to decorate pizza boxes for pies that were delivered to NICU nurses; pizza making experiences for kids; and specialty pies created by the Glynn twins themselves: Liam’s Orange Crush and Willow’s Veggie Lovers. The event “has become almost a yearly rebirth for us, both personally and professionally,” Brian says, and “a reminder of how lucky we are, first that Kelly, Liam, and Willow were able to survive while facing overwhelming odds against them, and second, that we can leverage what we love to help others.”

MONEYMAKERS SLI C E ST RE E T PI Z Z A (2)

LAW & ORDER (AND PIZZA TO GO) Why try to attract national influencers to your pizzeria when you can call for marketing backup from local cops? At Slice Street Pizza, owner Darius Aram hosted Meet the Sheriffs in October, turning a slow Monday night into an event that brought the community of Dripping Springs, Texas, together. Hays County Sheriff Anthony Hipolito and his deputies made pizzas and showed off their motorcycles, SWAT jeeps, drones and other “toys” in the parking lot. Additional partners included Ally Medical ER; Natkhat Flavors, a restaurant specializing in Indian cuisine; Wild Birds Unlimited, a feed shop for backyard birds; and Steve Mallett and Michelle Lewis of the Mallett and Michelle Podcast. “I thought managing staff was hard, but now you’re managing badged staff?” Aram joked in an Instagram Reel during the event. “You look at them wrong, they cuff you. Critique one of their pizzas, and they put you in a full body slam.” Aram, of course, was just teasing his new pals. “None of that has happened today,” he added. “They’re doing a great job. It only takes six of them to get the job done that we would do with three people.”

Darius Aram (wearing shorts and T-shirt) opened Slice Street Pizza in 2023 and frequently collaborates with other businesses and organizations around Dripping Springs, Texas.

HOME SLICE PIZZA/TAYLOR GOR EMA N

The community-focused Home Slice Pizza celebrated its 20-year anniversary with the Carnival o’ Pizza, raising $50,000 for Foundation Communities.

“WHO QUIT, WHAT BROKE?” As founding owner of Home Slice Pizza in Austin, Texas, Jen Strickland says she has faced “a million ongoing challenges. We used to have a joke that if you could ask, ‘Who quit, what broke?’ every morning and stay chill through the answers, you had arrived.” In fact, Home Slice arrived long ago as a pizza institution in Austin, celebrating its 20th anniversary last November. Home Slice commemorated the occasion with an actionpacked Carnival o’ Pizza on November 15. It featured wacky games like Pepperoni Pitch, Fishing for Chovie, the Peewee Pizzaiolo Table and Pin the Stache On the Queen, plus box folding, dough tossing and pizza eating competitions. After two decades of success, what’s Strickland’s advice for new operators? “Dream your dream!” she says. “Ask for advice! Avoid the restaurant naysayers! Visualize the work life you want and then create it! Don’t try to stuff too many pizzas in your oven at once! Label the sugar so you don’t mistake it for salt! Be extra-picky about the people you hire!” Are you writing this down?

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 | PMQ.COM

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BEYOND THE BOX: BUILDING YOUR PIZZA BUSINESS

Master Pizza’s Michael LaMarca launches a new column focused on pizzeria operations and priming your business for maximum success. BY MICHAEL P. LaMARCA

ELCOME TO “BEYOND THE BOX: BUILDING YOUR PIZZA BUSINESS”! This new column will focus on the many issues, challenges and best practices related to the pizza business—not just inside the box, but beyond. In every issue, we’ll take an in-depth look at what’s required to build your concept into a fully operational and thriving business—and then maybe a pizza empire! Beyond the Box will feature topics such as: • • • • • • • • • • •

Choosing your concept Defining your mission and vision Building out your menu Recipe development Policies and procedures Managing costs of goods sold (COGS) Third-party delivery Building a reliable team Developing and protecting your brand Protecting your business and yourself And much more

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

MICHAEL LAMARCA

FIRST STEPS TO BUILDING A PIZZA EMPIRE By way of introduction: I’m the owner/CEO of Master Pizza Franchise Group (masterpizza.com), located in Cleveland, with 14 locations and more than 225 team members. We opened our first pizzeria on July 1, 2000. I’m a current member of PMQ’s U.S. Pizza Team and served as team captain from 2015 to 2025. I’m also a five-time National Pizza Champion and a one-time International Pizza Champion. Over the years, I’ve learned that running a pizza business can be very easy—or very easy to mess up. The margin between your pizza business being successful or being a constant struggle is very thin. Making sure that you, as the business owner, are aware of these critical points and how to navigate through them is the main goal for “Beyond the Box.” Consistency Is Key Topping the list of these critical points: your procedures and policies. Consistency will be a key ingredient for success. The challenge is making sure every employee is able to duplicate your best practices—and your concept—once you finalize your recipes and your menu. Offering a complicated menu is guaranteed to create problems for your pizza business. We all are guilty of putting more on our menu than what’s needed. That’s because we all love the pizzas and food we create. But the more complicated your menu is, the more difficult it will be to make sure every item is made to your specs every time.

BEYOND THE BOX: BUILDING YOUR PIZZA BUSINESS

Fortunately, there are several ways to make sure your menu items are prepared and cooked consistently. And it starts with a written stepby-step procedure for every menu item. Spelling out the details of every step ensures that you’ll achieve greater consistency. The other key to consistency is to develop written policies for your staff on how everything works. The clearer your policies are, the better your chance of getting the entire team rowing in the same direction. From your restaurant’s dress code to knowing exactly when payday is, you should have a written policy. Never assume that someone knows how you want something done. Make sure you have a clearly stated policy for everything, and I mean everything! We will delve into this topic more deeply in future columns.

MASTER PIZZA/FACEBOOK

Michael LaMarca is a veteran pizzeria owner/operator and owner/CEO of Master Pizza Franchise Group in Cleveland. To engage with him directly, follow him at @michaelplamarca on Instagram and Facebook.

BR IAN HERNANDEZ

Setting and Meeting Customer Expectations Finally, it’s also vital to nail down the desired experience that you want each customer to have every time they order or dine in with you—and, more importantly, to meet the customer expectations that you’ve created every single time. Whether your model is a quick-service setting or a full-service dine-in experience, you’d better

have that pizza ready when the customer expects it to be ready. Nothing will hurt your business more than failure to meet your customer’s expectations. You won’t notice it right away but, over time, you will lose customers. We call that “death by a thousand cuts.” Take your time and make sure you plan out exactly what you want your customer experience to be. Evaluate everything to make sure you can maximize that experience. If your customer knows what to expect when they order from you and you always meet that expectation, it’s a win! Now, relax and take a deep breath. In future issues of PMQ Pizza, we will dig deeper into all of this and much more. This is just the first conversation of many to come. My father used to ask me the same question every time he sensed that I was becoming overwhelmed: “How do you eat an elephant?” Then, he would quickly answer his own question: “One bite at a time.”

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 | PMQ.COM

ON THE COVER

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

MAN PEOPLE OF THE

Francesca Pizza & Pasta’s extraordinary success hinges on culture, school lunches and a ghost kitchen. Never mind that Salvatore Reina had no clue what he was doing when he launched it. BY CHARLIE POGACAR | PHOTOS BY LUCA REINA

KNOW THIS FIRST: SALVATORE REINA DOESN’T RECOMMEND HIS PATH TO ANYONE. In 2008, as the U.S. economy was imploding, Reina borrowed money from his older brother, Gino, and bought Francesca Pizza & Pasta (then called Aldo’s) in Glen Rock, New Jersey. He renamed it after his Sicilian grandmother, but Reina himself had never made a pizza in his life. “It shouldn’t have worked out,” Reina says. “I learned on the fly, and it worked out for me—but that’s not a plan. That’s just believing in yourself and praying you figure it out.”

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 | PMQ.COM

ON THE COVER

Salvatore Reina bought a pizzeria in Glen Rock, New Jersey, in 2008, despite not knowing how to make pizza. The shop has nonetheless enjoyed a successful run ever since and added a location in nearby Elmwood Park in 2016. In 2021, the Elmwood Park location began offering Detroit-style pizza via a virtual brand, Squared.

Reina can laugh about it 18 years later because of everything he’s achieved: He now co-owns two Francesca locations; five of his original seven team members still work for him; he added a Detroitstyle virtual brand, Squared, in 2021, which grew one shop’s revenue by more than 15%; and his shops make more than $600,000 annually in school-lunch catering alone. Reina might have started out as a man without a plan, but, above all else, he’s a man of the people. You could say he took the path less traveled—and that has made all the difference.

Demoted to Success Reina grew up in Deer Park, New York, on Long Island. He watched his older brothers, Gino and Ginley, graduate high school, attend college and get office jobs. He followed in their footsteps, believing that’s just what people did, and landed a job in the insurance industry. But on weekends, he continued a part-time gig as a server at a pizza shop, Papa Joe’s, where he’d worked 20

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

“I’m not a big ‘we have the best pizza’ guy. I think we make very good pizza, but, to me, we’ve been successful because of the people we have.” Sal Reina

since his teenage years. A theme emerged: He dreaded Mondays at the office but actually looked forward to working doubles at the pizza shop. Finally, fate intervened. Reina had been gunning for a promotion at the office. When his boss hired somebody else instead, he was in disbelief. “I really thought I was next in line,” Reina says. “I was like, ‘Man, I’m busting my [tail] here, and I’m still not the guy?’ That was the moment where I told myself, ‘All right, if I’m gonna do this, I have to do it for myself. I never want to feel this way again.’” Reina bought Francesca on a tip from Gino, who lived in Glen Rock. If Reina was woefully unprepared to own a pizza shop, he knew enough to focus on the things he could control. He coached team

members on low-hanging fruit: Be as nice as possible to customers and always make sure the restaurant is clean. He relied on donating to local organizations rather than traditional marketing—a philosophy he maintains to this day. “Even if it’s just a gift card for two pies, now 150 people at that fundraiser just heard your name,” he says. When a business opens in town, Reina drops off gift cards or lunch. To attract new businesses, he offers their first catering order for free. For several years, Reina worked at the shop every day. He didn’t have much of a life outside of it, but he and his now-wife, Michelle—a former high school classmate— managed to reconnect during this period. “She’s my rock—nothing I’ve accomplished could have happened

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ON THE COVER

Francesca Pizza & Pasta frequently organizes team outings, including annual soccer and kickball games. At a recent holiday party, the Francesca team honored longtime team member Rob “Coach” Wilson, who had recently passed away.

without her,” Reina says. One of the reasons their relationship lasted—and blessed them with two daughters, Valentina, 11, and Nicolina, five—relates to a lesson Reina learned early on. A high school friend of his had passed away suddenly, and the young man’s father was a pizzeria owner who worked long hours. “He told me, ‘Don’t do what I did,’” Reina remembers. “‘Work your butt off now, but build something where you can be home for dinner.’” Reina accomplished this: Although 22

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he still pulls a weekly double in the shops, most of his days are spent strategizing how to grow the business.

It’s About People One of Reina’s day-one employees was Adam Vuksanic. Vuksanic always showed great culinary promise and briefly left Francesca to attend culinary school. Upon graduating, Vuksanic approached Reina about wanting to open a restaurant. “I said, ‘That’s cool, what are you thinking?’” Reina recalls.

“And he was like, ‘No, I want to open another Francesca.’” So Sal and Gino teamed up with Vuksanic on a second shop, which opened in Elmwood Park in 2016. It’s just 15 minutes down the road from the original Francesca, but in a densely packed area like Northern New Jersey—with its high concentration of pizza shops—it’s practically a world away. “When we opened Elmwood Park, we weren’t trying to reinvent anything,” Reina says. “We were trying to take what we already did extremely well and bring it to a new neighborhood. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it—just do it better.” Ask Reina to name his proudest accomplishment as a pizza pro, and he doesn’t hesitate. “I’m not a big ‘we have the best pizza’ guy,” he says. “I think we make very good pizza, but, to me, we’ve been successful because of the people we have. [Vuksanic] worked for me when he was a kid—I used to joke that he was this little punk, but he cared, and he had a big heart. Now he co-owns the stores with me. Those things don’t happen unless you treat people like family.”

Reina has grown as a business owner since taking over the original shop in 2008. These days, he still works one double-shift per week—but tends to spend most of his time focusing on “big picture” items to grow business.

“We weren’t trying to reinvent anything [with our second store]….If it’s not broken, don’t fix it—just do it better.” Sal Reina

Reina shares two stories to illustrate Francesca’s culture—and how he finds great team members. The first: He was looking to hire a pizza chef. An experienced pizza maker came in for a four-hour trial run, and the first few pizzas he made were phenomenal. But, two hours into the trial run, Reina cut the man a check and sent him home.

Sal’s brother, Gino, co-founded the business and still shares ownership of it. Here, they pose with Sal’s older daughter, Valentina.

“The guy was shocked,” Reina says. “And he goes, ‘I thought you just said I made really good pizza, faster than you’ve ever seen?’ And I said, ‘Yes, you did. But you were rude to one of my employees, and I don’t have time for that.’” The second story: On a new employee’s first shift, everything went wrong. Later, she broke down in tears. Reina talked her off a ledge and told her to come back the next day. A team member questioned Reina: “You’re really bringing her back?” Reina’s response: “Yes, because she cares.” The anecdotes illustrate Reina’s guiding principle: You can teach somebody to make a pizza. It’s harder to teach them to be kind. But there are other examples of Reina’s commitment to culture. No team member is allowed to work both Saturday and Sunday—he believes everyone deserves time off on weekends to spend with their families. The shop closes at 8 p.m. every night. He buys cakes for each employee on their birthday.

And he provides opportunities for professional growth: Vuksanic is not the only team member who has become a partner; Jeff Lucca, hired as a manager, now owns equity in the company.

Virtual Brands and School Lunches In late 2020—mid-pandemic— Vuksanic and Reina were spitballing about what a ghost kitchen would look like for them. The result was Squared, a virtual brand specializing in Detroit-style pizza, launched from their Elmwood Park location. Without investing in new ingredients or equipment, Squared grew the shop’s revenue by 15%. Vuksanic led a grassroots influencer campaign that helped Squared take off on Instagram and even sparked a sellout streak after one viral post. Though the business runs on DoorDash, Reina knew the margins made sense thanks to the lack of startup costs. Francesca Lunch Box, a schoollunch program, has become

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 | PMQ.COM

ON THE COVER

(Top to bottom) Sal receives support from his father, Biagio, and partner Adam Vuksanic; team members enjoy the welcoming atmosphere at Francesca Pizza & Pasta; Reina’s work in the community has turned the shop into a community favorite.

even more lucrative. It started small—pizza days and pasta days at local schools—but grew as administrators sought alternatives to national foodservice contracts. Reina partnered with SchoolBitez, which aggregates orders, organizes labels and simplifies production so his team can prepare up to 500 meals each morning with just two or three employees clocking in early. His menu focuses on kid-friendly favorites made with real ingredients that are free of nuts, GMOs and high-fructose corn syrup. For the 2025-to-2026 school year, the program has grown from six schools to 17—more than doubling its revenue. Reina built this part of the business the old-school way: mailing four-page packets to local schools and emailing more than 120 coordinators. Beyond revenue, the school-lunch program deepened community ties, introduced kids and parents to Francesca’s, and even benefited the schools through give-back funds. For Reina, it’s a predictable—and highly profitable—morning business that doesn’t interfere with lunch or dinner service. “The school lunch program is something that maybe sounds complex—it might sound crazy—but it’s really not,” Reina says. “It’s like a catering order every single morning that you can predict—it’s fantastic revenue. Who wouldn’t want that?” Reina has a way of making it all seem simple. But he credits his wife, his partners—Gino, Vuksanic and Lucca—and his informal business

advisor and close friend, Jeff Louis, for guiding him along the way. It’s also undoubtedly the result of having leapt into the pizza business feet first—with no plan B in sight. Even if Reina wouldn’t recommend that approach to anybody else, it’s helped him learn the business inside and out through trial and error. After all, he could still be chained to a desk. “When I think back to that day when I didn’t get the promotion, honestly, I’m grateful,” he says. “It pushed me to take a chance on myself. Without that moment, none of this happens. My life is completely different. So, in a weird way, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Charlie Pogacar is PMQ’s senior editor.

“[The school lunch program] is like a catering order every single morning that you can predict— it’s fantastic revenue. Who wouldn’t want that?” Sal Reina 24

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Are the big chains slipping? Their missteps reveal opportunities for independent pizza shops. BY CHARLIE POGACAR

ELIVERY AND CARRYOUT ARE SUCH INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE PIZZA BUSINESS that they’ve received their own acronym: DELCO. Entire pizza concepts are founded upon it. And pizzerias that aren’t DELCOexclusive had better study up: Any shop that’s not efficiently fulfilling delivery and carryout orders in 2026 is risking damage to its reputation. 26

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

Domino’s has long been viewed as the leader in the DELCO space. Beginning in the 1970s, Domino’s pioneered the famous “30 minutes or less” delivery guarantee. While that pledge was suspended in 1993, old habits die hard: For the 2026 DELCO Report, PMQ Pizza’s research partner, Intouch Insight, found Domino’s still averaged 26 minutes and 10 seconds per delivery as of late 2024. Independent operators might rejoice, however, to learn that Domino’s may be slowing down: Its average delivery time ticked up to 33 minutes and 28 seconds in 2025. And while faster service still leads to higher consumer satisfaction scores, setting realistic expectations appears more pivotal. Intouch Insight’s mystery shoppers reported 88% satisfaction with the overall experience when an order arrived in its quoted delivery window compared to 37% satisfaction when it did not.

TOTAL TIME BY BRAND

Source: Intouch Insight

Domino’s

Little Caesar’s

Marco’s Pizza

Papa Johns

ADOBE STOCK/MALKOVKOSTA

Pizza Hut

Setting realistic expectations isn’t rocket science, and it’s why Pizza Hut, in early 2025, rolled out its “Visible Time Promise”: An estimated timeline, shown prior to an order being placed, of when a delivery or carryout order would be ready. But Pizza Hut’s new tool may need a reality check: The brand’s “adherence to estimated time,” according to Intouch Insight’s research, slipped from 73.3% in 2024 to 60% in 2025. Are the big chains slipping? Welcome to the second annual PMQ Pizza DELCO Report. Like last year, the report features research conducted by Intouch Insight via 600 mystery shops across 10 pizza brands—five large-size chains and five mid-size chains. The shoppers shine a light on how pizza chains are performing in the DELCO arena—and what customers expect from a delivery

Blaze Pizza

Donatos

Hungry Howie’s

Jet’s Pizza

MOD Pizza

DELIVERY

CARRYOUT

33:28 17:48

36:49 20:17

35:42 17:08

30:54 18:48

31:46 18:42

37:02 16:19

38:25 18:06

38:45 17:38

46:39 20:46

36:12 16:04

These numbers (shown in minutes and seconds) reflect the duration of time between when an order was placed to when the shopper received their food.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 | PMQ.COM

TASTE RATING BY BRAND

Source: Intouch Insight

Domino’s

Little Caesar’s

Marco’s Pizza

Papa Johns

Pizza Hut

Blaze Pizza

Donatos

Hungry Howie’s

Jet’s Pizza

DELIVERY

CARRYOUT

90% 96.7%

“[Attentiveness] is an area that needs attention. If phone use and disengagement creep into your culture, they’re hard habits to break.” Sarah Beckett, Intouch Insight

71.4% 87.5%

86.7% 96.7%

86.7% 93.3%

66.7% 80%

82.8% 90.3%

79.3%

or carryout order. We hope you learn what moves the needle on satisfaction, which DELCO technologies are working—or failing—and the opportunities independent pizzerias have to claim a slice of the lucrative pie. THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT If DELCO has commandments, the first would be: “Thou shalt not serve cold pizza.” But the latest research shows warmth is no longer enough. Mystery shoppers were asked to rank the overall taste of their pizza from one to five. Those who rated taste at four or above were 49.8 percentage points more satisfied than those who didn’t. Temperature still matters—it sets the stage—but flavor now emerges as the true battleground. And in delivery, where a pizza spends precious minutes in transit, preserving that flavor is easier said than done. “Warmth is table stakes now,” says Sarah Beckett, VP of sales and marketing at Intouch Insight. “In

96.8%

92.9% 90.6%

96.6% 90.3%

A CHANGING COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE A clear picture emerges in the data set for this year’s DELCO Report: •

MOD Pizza

58.6% 71%

•

Brands were evaluated by shoppers on a scale of 1-5. The percentages above reflect a binary: 100% for a “4” or “5” rating, and 0% for a “1,” “2” or “3.”

•

Even for brands where the delivered pizza was rated as warm, the taste rating was impacted by delivery.

•

This suggests that there’s more to preserving fresh taste than simply keeping the pizza warm during delivery. 28

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

•

Flavor—not just heat—drives customer happiness. Human engagement is declining at the chains that are most dependent on speed and automation. Third-party delivery continues to weaken the final product, especially without mitigation. Insulated delivery bags are a must-have, period. Customers crave predictability if not speed.

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“[Requiring use of hot bags] needs to be part of every operator’s discussion with thirdparty partners. The bag seems small, but it’s fundamental to the customer experience.” Sarah Beckett, Intouch Insight

a recent, separate survey conducted with over 1,300 North American consumers, ‘quality and taste’ of the pizza was the top-rated factor when asked about what influences where they order from, with ‘value for money’ coming in a distant second. Independents are positioned to outperform chains here, because they’re not mass-producing product.” This must be viewed as a huge win for the independent operator: Serving better pizza really does matter. But remember that the chains are still adept at generating orders—while taste can be a key differentiator, getting the rest of the DELCO process right is the best way to earn repeat business. DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK This year’s DELCO Report shows mid-size chains gaining ground on large pizza chains. On the carryout side of things, overall satisfaction with large chains essentially 30

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

remained flat—moving from 89.8% to 89.6%. Mid-size chains improved their overall satisfaction scores by 3.9 percentage points—from 77.6% to 81.5%. In the delivery space, mid-size chains made up even more ground. Large chains slid from 83.8% to 81.8% in overall satisfaction, while mid-size chains jumped from 71.4% to 81.3%. A few underlying data points explain this trend. Mid-size chains performed better in categories like presentation quality, order accuracy and staff friendliness—and slightly better in staff attentiveness. “You can’t boil the ocean,” Beckett says. “Mid-size operators have to choose the handful of things that set their brand apart and execute those exceptionally well. Those are the behaviors that close gaps.”

PUT DOWN THE PHONE This year’s mystery shops revealed a huge opportunity for independent operators at the store level. Behavioral engagement at large and mid-size pizza chains appears to be declining. One of the clearest indicators was a sharp drop in staff attentiveness. Large chains in particular suffered significant drops in how often team members were not on a personal device during interactions. Mid-size chains declined too, though to a lesser degree. Attentiveness—and its companion metric, friendliness—remains one of the most powerful predictors of overall satisfaction. That was true ADOBE STOCK/CORONA BOREALIS in last year’s DELCO Report and

remains true today. The difference now is intensity: In some cases, friendliness lifted satisfaction scores by more than 70 percentage points. “This is an area that needs attention,” Beckett says. “If phone use and disengagement creep into your culture, they’re hard habits to break.” Operators often assume speed or accuracy drives repeat business. The data continues to argue otherwise: A smile often goes further than a stopwatch. Better yet, friendliness and attentiveness are not capital-intensive. They don’t require new equipment, a new POS system or a high-dollar app. They require leadership, training, accountability and culture—all areas where indie operators can shine with hard work from the top down.

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THE RISE—AND REALITY—OF AUTOMATED PHONE ORDERING This year’s study found a steady rise in automated phone ordering systems: Semi-automated calls increased from 41% to 46%, while fully automated calls jumped from 9% to 14%—a clear signal that chains are leaning harder into automation to manage phone traffic. Automation is improving, too. Order accuracy from semi-automated calls rose 6.3 percentage points, while fully automated calls improved 2.5 points year over year. Still, that doesn’t mean consumers love the technology—

while automation was more accurate than its human counterpart, overall satisfaction (OSAT) was higher when a human took the order: • • •

Fully automated: 95.1% accuracy; OSAT 85.4% Semi-automated: 97.8% accuracy; OSAT 82.4% Non-automated (human): 95.0% accuracy; OSAT 89.1%

The big takeaway: While automation’s accuracy has caught up to human performance in many cases, overall satisfaction is still 5.7 points lower whenever automation is involved. So do customers care as much about how the order is taken as they do about whether it’s correct? “This technology is moving fast—and it’s not going away,” Beckett says. “Operators shouldn’t fear it. They should understand where it breaks and build systems that seamlessly hand the customer to a real person when needed.” For indie operators, this is a trend worth keeping an eye on. There is undeniable upside in automation— nowadays, often enhanced by AI—including its ability to handle virtually unlimited call volume and free up staff to provide in-store customer service. As consumers grow accustomed to the technology, will their anti-robot bias fall to the wayside? Time will tell.

“Operators shouldn’t fear [automated ordering]. They should understand where it breaks and build systems that seamlessly hand the customer to a real person when needed.” Sarah Beckett, Intouch Insight

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 | PMQ.COM

INDIES TO THE RESCUE If there is one point every independent operator should take away from the 2026 DELCO Report, it’s this: The fundamentals still matter, and independents are wellpositioned to execute them. Friendly service, flavor quality, accurate promises and engaged staff are not chain-exclusive strengths. In fact, this year’s data suggests they may be areas where independents can outperform both mid- and large-size chains. Warm smiles. Sharp flavor. Predictable timing. Caring hands. These are things that don’t require scale—just commitment to training and fostering a culture of caring. Maybe voice-ordering AI isn’t for you. Maybe thirdparty delivery isn’t, either. In a world that’s increasingly complex, the path to winning remains remarkably familiar. And for independent pizzeria owners wondering how to compete with the big boys, the 2026 PMQ DELCO Report offers a reassuring answer: Beat them at the basics. They might be forgetting them. Charlie Pogacar is PMQ’s senior editor. 32

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

ADOB E ST OCK/KRAKE NI MAGE S.COM

THIRD-PARTY BLUES Third-party delivery (TPD) has long been a mixed bag for operators—great for reach, risky when it comes to quality control. This year’s study reinforces that tension, showing just how much TPD can impact the customer experience. When TPD drivers handled orders frequently, food temperature satisfaction dropped to 82.6% compared to 96.7% when TPD was not used. And overall satisfaction dropped from 86.7% to 76.7%. The data further reveals insight into the root cause of such declines. It’s a small but critical detail and a source of frustration to many pizzeria operators: Third-party drivers do not consistently use insulated delivery bags. Pizza is neither a burrito nor salad. Its quality lives and dies in the delivery environment. Every minute spent languishing in the wrong conditions chips away at the flavor. “This needs to be part of every operator’s discussion with third-party partners,” Beckett says. “The bag seems small, but it’s fundamental to the customer experience.” So, yes, third-party delivery might be necessary for some operations, margins be damned. But without intentional mitigation—smarter kitchen timing, better packaging, faster handoffs, a hot-bag requirement— operators risk handing their product’s final presentation to someone who may not be trained, invested or even aware of what’s at stake.

IMPACT OF THIRD-PARTY DELIVERY ON KEY METRICS Source: Intouch Insight

Food temperature scores by third-party usage (delivery only) Overall satisfaction (OSAT) by third-party usage (delivery only)

Speed of service by third-party usage (delivery only)

Never

Occasionally

Frequently

96.7% 93.2% 82.6%

86.7% 83% 76.7%

29:49 36:57 38:07

Shoppers observed whether their order was delivered by a third-party delivery (TPD) driver or not. Brands are broken down into having used TPD services “never,” “occasionally” or “frequently.” Similar to the results seen in 2025, the use of TPD partners has a negative impact on the three following metrics: temperature, OSAT and speed of service.

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SAL ’S PIZZA ( 3)

Sal’s Pizza cashes in on sports seasons and events with value deals that cater to crowds and parties.

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

Rethinking

VALUE DEALS During an economic crunch, value deals are big business. Four experts explain how you can make them work for you—even if you’re discounting-averse. BY TRACY MORIN

HETHER RUNNING A SINGLE-LOCATION INDEPENDENT or a national chain, you’ll need to contend with value deals—especially in today’s economic climate. Even if you aren’t offering them, many of your competitors likely are. Fortunately, strategic planning ensures that value deals create a win-win for both the pizzeria and its customers. In this deep-dive Q&A, four pizzeria masterminds in operations large and small, plus a foodservice consulting firm expert, explain how.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 | PMQ.COM

O U R

SAL LUPOLI JR. manager of innovation and growth, Sal’s Pizza and Lupoli Companies, Lawrence, MA (150 locations)

E X P E R T S

DALLAS MASSEY vice president of marketing, Papa Murphy’s International, Vancouver, WA (1,000-plus locations)

PMQ: Why are value deals important to consider right now? Dallas Massey: The pizza segment is one of the most price-sensitive and competitive categories in all of foodservice. With inflation still pressuring discretionary income, guests are making trade-offs, but they’re not willing to trade down on quality. Value deals aren’t just a pricing tactic; they’re a trust and traffic strategy. They drive trial from new guests, re-engagement from lapsed users, and increased frequency from loyal guests. Tim Powell: Affordability has become the consumer’s first filter. Only 19% of consumers in our national pizza study from spring 2025 said inflation hadn’t affected their foodservice spending. Value-positioned promotions give operators a way to retain frequency and protect traffic. For many guests, pizza remains an affordable indulgence, but operators must still signal fairness. Bundled pricing or limited-time deals show empathy for squeezed budgets while protecting perceived quality. PMQ: What are the secrets to strategically creating smart value deals? Sal Lupoli: We analyze perceived value, food cost, operational impact and, ultimately, the margin after the net sale. A smart value deal should strengthen the customer relationship while supporting the business model. The best-kept “secret” is discipline: Don’t guess. Run the numbers, analyze the data, understand what you’re willing to trade for incremental growth, and build deals that meet customers where they are—without eroding the foundation of the business.

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

TIM POWELL managing principal, Foodservice IP, Chicago, IL

BILL VIVIAN co-owner, Regents Pizzeria, La Jolla, CA (one location)

Massey: Value should never come at the expense of brand integrity or quality. We focus on: • Guest relevance: Offers should connect to real guest needs—family dinners, weeknight convenience or social gatherings—while reinforcing our core promise of high-quality pizza. • Operational simplicity: Deals must be easy to execute in-store without adding prep complexity or slowing down service. • Perceived value: Guests should feel they’re getting more than what they paid for through fresh ingredients, generous portions and a sense of abundance that aligns with our brand. The most successful value deals don’t solely chase volume, they also build loyalty. Powell: Smart value deals start with cost discipline and menu awareness. Operators should build deals around high-margin ingredients, portion control and prep efficiencies, rather than blanket discounts. Smaller pizzas paired with shareable sides or weekday-specific bundles protect margin while feeling generous. A data-driven review of what sells best and travels well helps align operational efficiency with guest satisfaction. Strategic value isn’t cheap pizza—it’s engineered generosity.

“Strategic value isn’t cheap pizza— it’s engineered generosity.” Tim Powell

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PMQ: How should bundles and deals be priced— or is it more about perception? What types of deals work best? Lupoli: We always start with perception: what looks and feels like a strong offer to the customer. Once we determine the psychological “sweet spot,” we reverseengineer the financials. If we can meet or exceed our margin threshold, the deal moves forward. If not, we adjust the components, size or structure until it works on both ends. Families often want simplicity and quantity. College students want value, speed and shareability. Parties and gatherings want crowd-pleasing combinations. A successful bundle ties all of that together: a core pizza option plus sides or beverages that increase the overall check while remaining economical for the operator.

PAPA MURPHY’S

Massey: Pricing should anchor to psychological thresholds, where guests feel they’re “winning.” But it’s more about value perception than raw price. A wellstructured family deal can outperform a large discount if it feels generous, complete and simple to order. The secret is clarity. When guests instantly understand what they get and feel the deal saves them both money and decision effort, they’re far more likely to convert.

“A win-win deal should drive incremental profit, not just volume; encourage add-on sales; and convert trial guests to repeat buyers via loyalty incentives.” Dallas Massey, Papa Murphy’s

Bill Vivian: As a premium quality/premium price concept, we will engage in selective discounts to drive traffic and/or consumer behavior, tied to our Regents Rewards program so that we drive membership. Last December, in celebration of our 20th anniversary, we offered a 20% discount on an order of a full-sized pizza and six wings. While discounts can drive traffic in the short term, how can you create a deal that shapes future behavior? For instance, driving a desired order pairing, potentially increasing complementary sales (increased beer and/or salad sales during those anniversary-month visits), and growing loyalty program membership, which can help convert new guests into repeat customers. 38

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

Powell: Perception wins, I think. Guests judge value by what feels complete—so bundles should deliver a full experience rather than a dollar target. A “meal occasion” deal that includes a pizza, side and drink at a clean, round price communicates simplicity and generosity. Target segments—families, students or late-night groups—with tailored bundles that meet situational needs. If the guest perceives the bundle as solving a problem (time, hunger, sharing), price becomes secondary. PMQ: How do you define value for independent pizzerias and their customers? What constitutes a “good deal” for both? And how does a pizzeria gauge whether a deal is successful and when to change up their offers? Lupoli: Loss leaders can work for independents when executed with intention. Our 2-for-$10 National Pizza Month promotion is a great example. We expected it to behave like a loss leader, but it drove hundreds of lapsed customers back to us and lifted our entire month above previous years. A well-designed value play can generate long-term loyalty, not just short-term transactions. We define success by total redemptions, the percentage of first-time customers and the long-term behavior of those guests. Most new customers who redeem a value

“When considering discounting, it’s important to be intentional. While discounts can drive traffic in the short term, how can you create a deal that shapes future behavior?” Bill Vivian, Regents Pizzeria

Massey: From the operator’s view, a win-win deal should drive incremental profit, not just volume; encourage add-on sales (extra toppings, sides, drinks, etc.); and convert trial guests to repeat buyers via loyalty incentives. Generationally and regionally, perceptions of value differ. Gen Z and Millennials prioritize convenience and digital deals. Gen X families want balanced meals and crowd-pleasers. Boomers value portion size and quality ingredients. We view value deals as acquisition tools, not permanent discounts—not “loss leaders” but loyalty accelerators. Likewise, success isn’t just about redemptions; it’s also about behavioral changes. We measure several different factors: incremental transactions, average check value, guest frequency and repeat rate, as well as profitability per transaction. Powell: Value is the intersection of fairness, flavor and frequency. For customers, it’s paying a price that feels honest for quality they can taste. For operators, it’s achieving margin while building loyalty. Gen Z and

PAPA MURPHY’S (2)

deal enroll in our loyalty program during checkout—that gives us a clear pathway to remarket, upsell and convert them into repeat guests. Deals should be refreshed often enough to stay exciting but not so frequently that customers can’t build habits around them. The key is to test, measure, adjust and let the data dictate the cadence. Strategic value deals aren’t just discounts—they’re tools to shape buying behavior, introduce new guests to the brand and build long-term loyalty.

Papa Murphy’s treats value deals as acquisition tools, driving loyalty and shaping the buying behaviors of customers.

Millennials emphasize convenience and innovation— they’ll trade up for interesting toppings or premium cheese if it feels original. Older diners prioritize consistency and portion size. The best value strategy blends both: authenticity for younger consumers and reliability for older ones. Operators should track redemption frequency and repeat rates, not just coupon counts. Refresh deals quarterly to avoid fatigue and align with ingredient seasonality. Consistent communication through email and digital menus reinforces that the pizzeria is offering value with integrity, not racing to the bottom. Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor. Answers have been edited for length and clarity. Read an extended version of this Q&A at PMQ.com/value-deals.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 | PMQ.COM

BRIAN HERNANDE Z (4)

TIPS FROM THE TEAM

With (clockwise from left) John McCaffrey, Patt Miller, Sean Dempsey and Michael Testa as shining examples, the message is clear: Real pizzerias make real acrobats.

Why Your Pizzeria Needs Its Own Acrobat When it comes to sports born in real pizzerias, the next USPT champion may already be on your team roster. BY BRIAN HERNANDEZ

OME OF THE BIGGEST PIZZA COMPETITIONS on the planet were born in the pizzeria. After all, this job was athletic long before anyone called dough spinning a sport. And anyone who has survived a Friday rush knows the footwork, stamina and controlled chaos required to keep the line alive. Largest Dough Stretch came from someone testing how far a dough could go before springing a hole. Fastest Pie Maker emerged from those nights when you’re 20 pies deep and moving on instinct. Freestyle spinning grew in open kitchens, where tossing dough did double duty—as workflow and entertainment. These weren’t manufactured sports; they grew straight out of real pizza life. “These events prove real pizza skill under pressure,” says U.S. Pizza Team (USPT) captain Tore Trupiano. “Stretching, spinning and speed work all show what happens in the shop every day: control, consistency, 40

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

endurance. It reminds people that pizza makers are both artisans and athletes.” And when those skills turn into medals or viral videos, the spotlight doesn’t just land on the competitor; it lands on the shop that trained them. A strong acrobat or speed athlete can put your pizzeria on the map faster than any ad campaign—and score major free PR. Meanwhile, training for pizza competitions builds strength, timing, control and efficiency while sharpening rush-ready mechanics and making the job fun, too. “The competitive nature of the sport motivates athletes to work harder at work,” says USPT athletics coach David Sommers. “They learn how to get better at their craft through camaraderie and conversations with other pizzaioli.” In other words, competition doesn’t distract from the job; it amplifies everything good about it. Nicholas Harper, owner of Peace of Pie On Hartwell

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B RI AN H E RNANDE Z (4)

in Fair Play, South Carolina, discovered pizza athletics in Parma in 2022. “I was blown away,” he says. “I knew I wanted to try Largest Stretch immediately.” He practiced nonstop in the shop and quickly went from intimidated newcomer to repeatedly winning and placing in Largest Dough and Fastest Pie Maker. “Once I realized I could be competitive, I couldn’t wait for the next event.” A Social Media Gold Mine Spend 10 seconds on TikTok and you’ll see pizza athletes treating the make line like the Olympic trials: independents and big chain employees alike, all posting clips of staff spinning on break, tearing through speed rounds mid-shift, and tossing with Big Dough Energy. They challenge other shops and rack up millions of views as the internet eats it up. This visibility creates marketing without a budget. A spinner becomes part of your brand—drawing customers, attracting employees and building momentum. Harper even designed his floor plan around it. “We installed a window so customers could watch us hand toss,” he says. “Training for Largest Dough Stretch and Fastest Pizza Maker drastically improved my speed and dough control during service.” “When you get a few people battling each other, morale rises,” Sommers adds. “Iron sharpens iron. It becomes a stepping stone: who can prep sauce cups faster, who can cut vegetables to spec better. It builds a stronger team.” He sees emotional growth, too. “Spinning helps with selfesteem. Getting in front of others and showing something you’ve practiced takes courage. The community is welcoming and helps athletes with stage presence and confidence. It helps in athletics and in life.” Trupiano sums up pizza athletics as “fast but correct.” And, he says, “That mindset carries into rush service.” Plus, pizza athletes don’t bounce from job to job. They stick with the shop that supports them. “Many either stay in the industry or come back years later,” Sommers says. “Supporting them goes a long way to building a confident, caring team.” 42

PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM

One Competition Can Change Everything The opportunity is real, and it comes twice a year. The USPT annually hosts both the REAL California Pizza Challenge and the Galbani Professionale Pizza Cup, offering prizes across both culinary and athletic categories. On the athletic side, freestyle acrobats compete for one of four grand-prize trips each year to Parma, Italy, for the Campionato Mondiale della Pizza. For a young employee, that trip can change everything. For an operator, it brings recognition and long-term credibility in the community. If you have someone on staff who moves with natural rhythm, thrives in rushes, learns fast or tosses dough just because it feels right, you may already have your next spinner. And the USPT wants to meet them. We’re actively searching for young, fast, adaptable athletes who bring real energy to the floor. Give someone a practice dough, encourage them, and you might open a pathway they never knew existed. Host a stretch-off, a speed-round challenge, a box-folding race or a quick freestyle session during downtime, and you’ll sharpen skills, boost morale and possibly discover the person who carries your shop’s name to the national stage—or all the way to Italy. Learn more at USPizzaTeam.com/membership. Brian Hernandez is PMQ’s associate editor and director of the U.S. Pizza Team.

For more information about the U.S. Pizza Team, its members and sponsors, visit USPizzaTeam.com.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE COMPETITORS AND WINNERS OF THE 4TH ANNUAL GALBANI PROFESSIONALE PIZZA CUP! GRAND CHAMPIONS HEADED TO ITALY 2026

2025 GPPC — FIRST PLACE WINNERS Pizza in Teglia (Pan Division): Nick Swanson, Urban Field Pizza (Longmont, CO) Fastest Pie Maker: Patt Miller, Pizza Patt’s (New Vienna, OH) Fastest Box Folder: Roberto Ramirez, Yeah Buddy Pizza (Jackson, WY) Largest Dough Stretch: Wilhelm Rodriguez, Papa’s Pizza (Cabo Rojo, PR)

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(Clockwise from top left) Founder Paul Penso works in the kitchen, circa 1957; Paul’s son John gets ready for work in the early ’50s; in the late ’40s, John makes pizzas in the back of his dad’s South Wooster Grill; John’s son Kent opened a Penso’s Pizza and Restaurant (shown in 1997) in an old Victorian home in Dover, Ohio; John Penso and family relative/store manager Doug DiGenova work in their Canton, Ohio, location; John Penso (middle) hangs with family and co-workers at the New Philadelphia, Ohio, location in 1986.

BY TRACY MORIN

S T AT E O F O H IO

Penso’s Pizza

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S TA

When Italian immigrant Paul Penso first served free pizza to locals at his restaurant, South Wooster Grill, they didn’t know what it was. After all, this was 1936, and his hot spot in Dover, Ohio, was known for steaks, spaghetti and dancing. “He started making pizza pies, cut them into little pieces, and set them on the bar for people to eat, like peanuts,” recounts Paul “Kent” Penso, the third-generation owner of Penso’s Pizza and grandson of Paul. “Eventually, he started making them for sale— people wanted to take it home.” When Paul sold the Grill, he decided to focus on this fan-favorite food, opening Pizza by Penso in 1956 with his son John. In 1965, the growing pizzeria moved to a former grocery store up the street—the current home of Penso’s Pizza. Still thriving under its fourth generation of family ownership, Kent’s son Josh took the reins in 2023 (his kids, the fifth generation, also pitch in). “Do your best and stay consistent—my father and grandfather beat that into my head,” Kent says of the pizzeria’s longevity. “Use the best-quality ingredients and don’t deviate from that. Raise your prices before changing something. Don’t compromise.” Over the decades, the family opened numerous locations, and today Penso’s Pizza boasts two other outposts in addition to the Dover original.

OF OHIO

Opened in 1984 by John, a location in New Philadelphia, Ohio, is now owned by his son, John II. In Strasburg, Ohio, a location that opened in 2002 is overseen by John’s youngest son, Zach, and Zach’s son, Zachary. All are carryout-focused, scattered within a 15-minute drive— and decidedly old-school. “We like to stay true to our history: penciland-paper order taking, no POS, simple phone lines,” says Josh, who spent 18 years in IT before joining the family pizzeria full-time. “With my background, I know there are a lot of pros, but there are a lot of cons, too, like losing touch with customers.” In small communities like the ones where Penso’s operates, that personal touch is essential. Owners know their customers outside the business, and inside the pizzeria, they’ve watched them grow up. “Kids like to stand on their tiptoes and look over the counter to watch the pizzas being made,” Kent says. “I see people bring in their children, and I remember when they were the kids looking over the counter.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.

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