PMQ Pizza Magazine October 2011 by PMQ Pizza Magazine

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Online at PMQ.com October 2011 PIZZA TV: RECENT VIDEOS

PIZZA RADIO Pizza Radio host Andrew Abernathy asks the questions and you get the answers during weekly interviews with industry experts.

Ask the Experts Jeffrey Wallace Jeffrey Wallace is a Fair Lawn, New Jersey, franchisee of The UPS Store who helps local pizzerias receive free coupons and advertising.

A Time to Rebuild Six weeks after a deadly EF5 tornado touched ground, PMQ visited Joplin, Missouri, to interview pizzeria owners affected by the storm that claimed more than 150 lives, 8,000 homes and 500 businesses—including at least seven pizzerias.

Bruno Matos Bruno Matos, owner of Twin Peaks Pizza & Pasta in San Francisco, is running a Facebook marketing campaign. His goal: donating a free slice of pizza for every new “like” his pizzeria receives—up to 5,000.

PMQ’s TOP SOCIAL MEDIA PICKS Social media is more than just Web-based chatter—it’s a marketing revolution! Whether running a “Big Three” franchisee or a mom-andpop operation, operators generate sales from steadfast Facebook and Twitter campaigns. PMQ editors monitor how industry professionals embrace social media and, in some ways, help write the rules for viral marketing. Here are some of our favorites this month:

Find PMQ at @pmqpizzamag. Find PMQ at facebook.com/ pmqpizzamagazine.

PieEyedPizzeria Sign up for Pie-Eyed NFL Pick ’em @ http://www.pie-eyedpizzeria.com. Join our confidence pool and the weekly winner gets a free pizza! 17 chances to win! MasseysPizza Make sure to get your orders in for Masseys-by-Mail! This week only, get $10 off your order by using the code UPS....http://fb.me/HyJXJFU1. PaulieGee If you would like to watch us on CraveOnline, here’s a link. It is not mobile-friendly and best to watch full screen: http://bit.ly/mXWpdd. SuperStars Pizza Two free small take-n-bake pizzas to first person to come in and get them. One cheese, one pepperoni. First come, first serve. Enjoy! Portofino Coal Fired Pizza For many little ones in South Florida, school started this week. In honor of the first week back, here’s a little history lesson for Portofino fans. Modern pizza was born in 1889 when Queen Margherita Teresa Giovanni, the consort of Umberto I, king of Italy, visited Naples. Don Raffaele Esposito, who owned a tavern-like place called Pietro Il Pizzaiolo, was asked to prepare a special dish... Satchel’s Pizza We are doing some research on all the restaurants in our spot before us...if you know any info about any of the following, please share...photos would be great....

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Table of Contents October 2011

ON THE COVER 48

PIE Honors Two chains are in the running for the 2011 Pizza Industry Enterprise (PIE) Award. Help decide the winner. By Liz Barrett

FEATURES 26 To the Point Review how POS technology can streamline your day-to-day operations and online ordering. By Andrew Abernathy

34 Ready Made Learn how premade dough offers operators the chance to expand their menus and save time. By Willow Nero

38 Burt’s Place In Morton Grove, Illinois, this two-person pizzeria attracts pizza lovers from around the globe. By Patrick Riordan

58 The Coupon Code Coupons can be a wise investment or a flop. Find out how you can successfully utilize coupons through a variety of media. By Tracy Morin

IN EVERY ISSUE 6

Online at PMQ.com Editor’s Note

12 Letters to the Editor 14

Pizza Press

Product Spotlight

Advertiser Index

Industry Resource Guide

Resource Guide Advertiser Index

To view any of the videos accompanying this month’s issue, go to PizzaTV.com and type “October 2011” in the search field.

DEPARTMENTS 18 Zeak’s Tweaks: Flavorful Focaccia Who doesn’t love focaccia? Jeff Zeak explains how to make this mouthwatering bread.

20 New York’s Finest: Cugini Chef Bruno takes a break from recipes this month to introduce you to Tony and Angelo Franzella, owners of Cugini Pizzeria & Restaurant.

22 Accounting for Your Money: Hiding From Uncle Sam Mike Rasmussen addresses the dangers of trying to outsmart the IRS.

24 The Marketing Maven: Spooky Sales Linda Duke suggests ways to scare up increased revenue with Halloween promotions.

42 Pizza of the Month: Veggie For omnivores everywhere, veggie pizza is as diverse as it is delicious.

Marketing Marvels: Raising Dough TJ’s Pizzeria Cafe, a five-unit chain in New Jersey, uses punch cards and “Dough Raisers” to support nonprofits in the communities it serves.

Meet the Team: Bradley Johnson

Meet a member of the U.S. Pizza Team each month in the pages of PMQ. This month, we feature Bradley Johnson, the team’s newest acrobat and dough stretcher.

PMQ Pizza Marketing PMQ publisher Steve Green talks with an awardwinning commercial director and discusses the importance of online ordering.

82 Time Capsule: Cloverleaf Bar & Restaurant Gus Guerra, originator of this 65-year-old Detroitarea institution, helped pioneer the city’s legendary square pizza.

42 Coming Next Month Pizza of the Month: Meat Lovers Ovens: Whether wood-fired, deck or conveyor, your oven will always be one of your most important appliances.

Children in the Workplace: For family-run pizzerias, laws surrounding child labor can be tricky.

Getting Free Publicity: Take tips from marketing experts on how to create a buzz without an advertising budget.

October 2011 • pmq.com

Editor’s Note Liz Barrett Winning Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.” As a coach, Lombardi may have been referring to football at the time, but this sentiment relates to most anything you strive for in life or business, whether it’s winning a new customer, increasing sales or gaining more exposure. I’ve been with PMQ for four years, and while the numbers show that we are the No. 1 magazine and website in our industry, during my time at the company, we never submitted the magazine or website for any awards. So this year we decided to exercise the will to win and throw our hat in the ring—and we came away with some amazing results! I walked into my office today and found a box filled with four award plaques from the American Society of Business Publication Editors, including: Award of Excellence Top 10 B2B Website of the Year, Online Excellence, PMQ.com, Mike Cockrell National Award Silver Award, Editorial Excellence, Regular Department, Time Capsule, August/September/October 2010, Tracy Morin Midwest-South Region Awards Gold Award, Graphics Excellence, Feature Article Design, “Blissfully Lost in Eataly,” December 2010, Stefanie Goodwiller Bronze Award, Editorial Excellence, Feature Article, “Netting Profits,” June/July 2010, Liz Barrett Receiving so many awards on our first try was a great reward for all of our hard work, and it only helps to drive us forward in our quest to provide readers with the best possible coverage of the pizza industry.

Team Spirit Speaking of awards, we just returned from our 6th Annual Orlando Pizza Show (OrlandoPizzaShow.com), where I am always amazed at the level of camaraderie shown during our culinary and acrobatic competitions. Whether it means loaning your fellow culinary competitor your pans, helping an acrobatic competitor roll out his dough, or cheering on your teammates even though they may take the award you traveled hundreds of miles to win, nothing compares to the feeling of knowing you’re surrounded by great partners in pizza. And, no matter what, there are always some surprises at every competition. This year, Jamie Culliton from Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, who has always competed as an acrobat, decided to try competing in culinary for the first time in the American Pizza Championship (APC), Fall 2011—and he ended up winning first place! Former APC winner Mike Amheiser from Pizza Dock in Fredericktown, Ohio, took first place in the Gluten-Free Pizza Competition and is now planning out how to offer the gluten-free winner in his pizzeria back home. And Wilhelm Rodriguez from Papa’s Pizza in San Juan, Puerto Rico, won his fourth first-place award for Largest Dough Stretch, with a dough that was 30.875”, setting the bar high for those who will attempt to beat him in future competitions. Full competition results and photos from the Orlando Pizza Show will be available in the November issue. Until next time, remember that it’s not always the win, but the will to win, that inspires success. Best Pizza Wishes,

On the cover: The 2011 PIE Award front-runners face off. Photos provided by Extreme Pizza and Stevi B’s Pizza, The Ultimate Pizza Buffet

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Liz Barrett Editor-in-chief PMQ Pizza Magazine

Letters to the Editor Liz Barrett Thanks, PMQ! Seafood

A Storied History

Margherita LIZ BARRETT

Pizza of the Month:

Margherita Pizza Recipe and photo provided by John Arena, co-owner of Metro Pizza (metropizza.com), Las Vegas, NV

1 7-oz. dough ball 3 oz. simple pizza sauce (vine-ripened tomato passed through a food mill) 3 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese (½” dice, patted dry) Sea salt, to taste Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling 3 large fresh basil leaves, torn (or 12 small leaves, whole) Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, grated Remove dough ball from refrigerator and let warm to room temperature (at least 1 hour). Stretch dough to 10” diameter, leaving a ½” rim around the edge, working from the center out. Spread sauce evenly up to the line where rim begins. Top with diced mozzarella. Season with sea salt and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Bake pizza directly on hearth in 550°F or higher oven. Top ﬁnished pizza with basil and grated cheese. (Note: If you prefer to put basil on the pizza before baking, it should be placed under the cheese to retain the ﬂavor.)

Ah, the Margherita pizza: Simple, classic, flavorful, it’s a testament to the pure pleasures of pizza eating. Long before “wacky” toppings such as pineapple and barbecue sauce made their appearance on pizza crusts, there was the original. Legend states that the pie was first crafted by Raffaele Esposito, a pizzaiolo from Naples, for Umberto I, the king, and his wife, Queen Margherita di Savoia, in 1889. The pizza featured the colors of the Italian flag and was an instant hit—at least with the queen, who liked it so much that Esposito named the pie after her. The standard had been set—and, more than 100 years later, pizzerias across the country still pay homage to this Italian original. At Pizzetteria Brunetti (pizzetteriabrunetti.com) in Westhampton Beach, New York, two margheritas are on offer: the Margherita, with tomato sauce, fior di latte housemade mozzarella, local basil, sea salt and olive oil; and the Margherita Piu (“extra”), with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella di bufala, fresh cherry tomatoes, local basil, sea salt and olive oil. On the Dutch island of Curaçao in the Caribbean, Willemstadbased Il Forno Pizzeria (pizza.an), with two locations, uses the common cheese of the Netherlands in its Margarita pizza, topping its thin crust with tomato sauce, basil and Gouda—adding a more pungent flavor to the traditional pie. At Metro Pizza, the Margherita pizza comes in a special 12” size (as opposed to other pizzas, offered in 9” and 16”). The menu also suggests a couple of variations on the classic for more adventurous eaters: a Margherita topped with roasted mushrooms and truffle oil, and another that features arugula, cherry tomatoes and shaved Romano.

Marge Jesberger Chicopee, MA

Punch Neapolitan Pizza (punchpizza.com), with seven locations in Minnesota, offers a Margherita and a Margherita Extra, with a few options for guests: Neo (extra San Marzano tomatoes and extra olive oil), D.O.C. (extra tomatoes and oil, plus mozzarella di bufala), and Doppio (extra tomatoes, oil and mozzarella di bufala).

Margherita Marketing These pizzerias move more Magheritas with value-oriented marketing tactics:

— A Publication of PMQ, Inc. — Winner of 4 ASBPE Awards Winner of 4 GAMMA Awards ISSN 1937-5263

PMQ, Inc. Publisher Steve Green sg@pmq.com ext. 123 Co-Publisher Linda Green linda@pmq.com ext. 121 Director of Operations Stefanie Goodwiller stefanie@pmq.com ext. 124

UÊÊ Rosedale Brick Oven Pizzeria (rosedalepizza.com) in Naples, Florida, offers on Mondays two Margheritas and a pitcher of domestic brew for $25. UÊÊ Motorino Pizzeria Napoletana (motorinopizza.com) pairs its Margherita with a mixed green salad for lunch specials from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

EDITORIAL

UÊÊ Pizzeria da Lupo (pizzeriadalupo.com) in Boulder, Colorado, offers a Margherita in both its lunch special (pizza, tricolore salad and iced tea, available 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily) and its late-night special (half a pizza with a specialty cocktail, available 8:30 p.m. to close daily).

For more recipes, visit PMQ’s Recipe Bank at PMQ.com/recipe.

pizza has arrived; eat it while it’s hot.” Since I didn’t order one, I was really surprised. When we opened it, we found $25, one dollar for each year that we’ve been married, arranged prettily on top of a real pizza dough crust. I plan to pass this idea on to my friends for birthdays or special anniversaries.

UÊÊ Zavino (zavino.com) in Philadelphia offers discounts on Margherita pies ($8 on special) for happy hour daily (4:30 to 6:30 p.m.), and on Sundays all day, from 3 to 11 p.m. 3EPTEMBER s PMQ COM

We appreciate the mention in the September “Pizza of the Month: Margherita” feature. Thank you! Michael and Jason Brunetti Pizzetteria Brunetti Westhampton Beach, NY

It’s not every day that your local pizzeria brings money with your pizza, Marge! Sounds like you have some pretty generous neighbors. Perhaps realtors should start advertising a house’s proximity to pizzeria owners in their listings!

Editor-in-Chief Liz Barrett liz@pmq.com ext. 126 Managing Editor Tracy Morin tracy@pmq.com ext. 140 Associate Editor Andrew Abernathy andrew@pmq.com ext. 133 DESIGN/PRODUCTION Art Director Ellen Kellum ellen@pmq.com ext. 135 IT Director Bernard Rueschhoff IT@pmq.com ext. 139 Video and Web Editor Daniel Morrow daniel@pmq.com

Thanks for the feedback, Michael and Jason! We enjoy putting this feature together every month, and our jobs are made much easier when we come across inspiring pies like the ones on your menu!

ADVERTISING Sales Director Linda Green linda@pmq.com ext. 121 Account Executive Clifton Moody clifton@pmq.com ext. 138 Account Executive Emeasha Mitchell emeasha@pmq.com ext. 127 ADMINISTRATION

Anniversary Surprise

Chief Financial Officer Shawn Brown shawn@pmq.com

Our neighbors, who own Del Monte’s Bridge Café in Chicopee, Massachusetts, rang our doorbell one night and announced, “Your

Circulation Manager Sherlyn Clark sherlyn@pmq.com ext. 120 Telemarketer Marie Johnson marie@pmq.com ext. 144 PMQ INTERNATIONAL PMQ China Yvonne Liu yvonne@pmq.com

Think Tank 2.0

PMQ Australia-NZ Tom Boyles tom@pmqaustralia.com

What’s the buzz? Log on to find out the latest industry buzz at PMQ.com/tt.

Pizza&Food Gabriele Ancona gabriele.ancona@pizzafood.it French Liaison Julien Panet jpanet@pizza.fr

When and how much do you raise your prices?

EDITORIAL ADVISORS

To respond or not to respond to bad online reviews? Are you doing anything special for Halloween?

CONTRIBUTORS

Theft control for beer…

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

Have a complaint, compliment or suggestion about something you’ve read in the pages of PMQ? Send your letter via email to editor@pmq.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line, or mail to PMQ, ATTN: Letters to the Editor, 605 Edison St., Oxford, MS 38655. We look forward to hearing from you! Friend us on Facebook! Visit facebook.com/pmqpizzamagazine. Editor-in-chief Liz Barrett PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Chef Santo Bruno Linda Duke Myles Mellor Willow Nero Michael J. Rasmussen Patrick Riordan Jeff Zeak

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

We want to hear from you!

Chef Santo Bruno Tom Lehmann Joey Todaro Ed Zimmerman

Volume 15, Issue 8 PMQ Pizza Magazine 605 Edison St. • Oxford, MS 38655 662.234.5481 • 662.234.0665 Fax • linda@pmq.com PMQ Pizza Magazine (ISSN #1937-5263) is published 10 times per year. Cost of U.S. subscription is $25 per year. International $35. Periodical postage pricing paid at Oxford, MS. Additional mailing offices at Bolingbrook, IL. Postmaster: Send address changes to: PMQ Pizza Magazine, PO Box 2015, Langhorne, PA 19047. Opinions expressed by the editors and contributing writers are strictly their own, and are not necessarily those of the advertisers. All rights reserved. No portion of PMQ may be reproduced in whole or part without written consent.

Pizza Press News and Views

DOMINO’S PIZZA JAPAN

Truckin’ Season

When the Moon Hits Your Eye… If mankind can send an astronaut to the moon, why not a pizzeria? In an already successful publicity stunt (possibly to celebrate the delivery giant’s 25th anniversary in the country), the Japanese arm of Domino’s Pizza (dominos.jp) announced plans last September to be the first pizzeria to open a lunar location. The “Moon Branch Project,” which has its own website with a detailed outline for the mission, also features an address to earthlings from the Domino’s Japan president and CEO Scott Oelkers. “Perhaps you think we’re foolish to take on such a challenge, and maybe we are, but we have a dream—and that dream is to deliver Domino’s on the moon,” he says in the video. Additionally, there’s a budget in place–it’s estimated the location would cost more than $20 billion, with $73 million going toward rocket-based transportation of building materials on 15 different space vehicles. A mock-up of the pizzeria shows plans for a playroom, gym and plantation. However, at press time, many sources agreed that the plan was all part of an intergalactic grab for attention.

The food truck movement, already ablaze, is still gaining momentum, according to a recent survey by the National Restaurant Association (NRA). The survey, performed last August on more than 1,000 adult participants, found that 59% of consumers would probably visit a food truck operated by a favorite restaurant—a significant rise from the NRA’s 2010 survey, which indicated only 47% of consumers would. “Food trucks are often equated with chefs and entrepreneurs, but they also present opportunities for operators of established restaurants,” explains NRA senior research vice president Hudson Riehle in the organization’s official report. “Mobile foodservice can be a good way to extend an existing restaurant brand beyond the four walls of the establishment.” The survey also found that 18% of participants saw food trucks in their community last summer, 28% of those who saw food trucks made a purchase, 54% sought out food trucks in areas where mobile operators were known to gather, and 13% used social media to locate a preferred food truck.

To boost its Facebook following and give back to the community, Twin Peaks Pizza & Pasta (twinpeakspizza.com) in San Francisco has unleashed a social media campaign that will run through Christmas and donate up to 5,000 slices of pizza to the hungry. “We try to make a positive impact on those who are less fortunate,” says owner Bruno Matos. “We want to motivate people and businesses to follow in our footsteps. Our customers and employees have been very excited to donate their time to make pizzas and spread the word. ” The pizzeria, which donates a slice of pizza for every “like” it garners on Facebook, launched the campaign on August 26, and by September 1 had already donated 400 slices–that’s 50 pizzas–to the Martin de Porres House of Hospitality. This sort of charity is nothing new for the pizzeria; according to Matos, Twin Peaks has a company policy to help at least one group in the community each month. “We want people to see us and know we are here. We want to sell more pizzas not only because we’re good at what we do, but because of what we stand for.” 14

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

TWIN PEAKS PIZZA & PASTA

Slice Likes

Hear more from Bruno Matos on PizzaRadio.com.

VERONICA NEGRI

The Heat Is On

Celiac Celebration To celebrate National Celiac Disease Awareness Day on September 13, Steven and Veronica Negri, owners of Mandy’s Pizza (mandyspizza.com), with two locations in Pittsburgh, created what they hope will be declared the largest gluten-free pizza in the world. Mandy’s, already known for its 30” pies and gluten-free menu, hosted a celebration that attracted more than 300 people who suffer from celiac disease or similar food allergies. The owners served gluten-free beer and a giant dragon-shape gluten-free cookie donated by a local bakery. However, the star of the event was the whopping 32’’ gluten-free pie made by Steven. “We wanted to bring together people who suffer from the same disease and let them mingle,” he explains. “We brought together people’s two favorite things— pizza and dessert.” Although the event was not certified by Guinness World Records, the Negris have mailed a proposal to have their pie officially named the largest gluten-free pizza during a future event—one of what they hope will be many promoting celiac disease awareness. For the Negris, who have a son with severe food allergies, gluten-free cooking has brought new purpose to their 11-year career in the pizza business. “You can deliver 20 pies to a single house on a Friday night,” Steven explains, “but when you can help a celiac kid have his first birthday party with a pizza right out of the oven, it’s very, very humbling.”

As the hot-beverage season approaches, a new report from Technomic suggests that restaurant operators may want to turn their attention to these potential moneymakers. Market Intelligence Report: Coffee & Tea, found in a survey of 1,500 consumers that 60% of restaurant-goers reported regularly drinking coffee or tea in restaurants within the past month. The coffee and tea category was surpassed as a favored beverage only by nondiet carbonated beverages, which 62% of survey participants reported consuming within the last month. Additionally, 14% of customers reported buying more coffee than they were two years ago, and 10% reported the same for tea. The report also found that the average price of a cup of coffee—excluding frozen and blended drinks—has risen from $2.25 to $2.36 in the last two years, while the cost of a cup of tea rose from $2.40 to $2.57.

Going the Distance When the pizza they crave is just too far away for delivery, some customers take matters into their own hands. That was the case for Jackson, Mississippi, resident David Schuler, a native of Stoughton, Massachusetts, who, last August, packed three coolers with 150 10” vacuum-sealed pizzas from his hometown favorite, Town Spa Pizza (townspapizza.com). “A crazy person would do this,” he told The Patriot Ledger. “If you’ve never had it before, then

you don’t understand.” Schuler drove more than 1,400 miles in 24 hours and spent $1,197 (a bulk rate) on the pizza alone. He and his family intend to enjoy the pizzas over the next several months, and there’s a chance this transplanted Northerner could make the journey again—he previously completed this quest twice, with lesser amounts of pizza. Kerry Hughes, manager of the pizzeria, says Schuler’s journey has been great publicity: Since his pizza quest

made headlines, the pizzeria has received more than 500 requests to have the pizza mailed and has now started a crosscountry delivery program to ship frozen pizzas by mail. “Before his adventure, we were doing this casually, but now we’re shipping them every day,” Hughes says. “His story brought us more exposure than we ever expected.” With publicity like that, we hope Schuler receives a few more of his favorite pies via mail—gratis, of course! October 2011 • pmq.com

IAN ANDREAC

Pizza Press News and Views

Shaken, Not Baked Begone, Bloody Mary—savory cocktails can be much more exciting! This philosophy rings true for Alex V., an awardwinning mixologist who has been inventing cocktail recipes since age 15. Last year, the San Juan, Puerto Rico, native managed to recreate the flavor structure of a Hawaiian pizza in a glass during a bartending competition—which might just be a daring and delicious addition to a pizzeria’s cocktail menu. Alex V. discusses his technique: Can you tell us about the recipe? The flavors are subtle but balanced; I didn’t want any one flavor to be overpowering. With the crusted rim, it actually kind of looks like a little pizza when you look down at it. Does this drink pair well with pizza? There’s no doubt about it. It fits right into the flavor profile.

At first people go “Ew, a pizza cocktail—really?” Then, once you tell them it’s an award-winning drink, most people really get interested. When I explain it’s in the same family as a Bloody Mary, then people can’t wait to try it. In the realm of savory, you don’t have to stick to only Red Snappers and Bloody Marys—there are other ways to use earthy and spicy flavors in a cocktail. Do you have any advice for creating seasonal cocktail menus? Look for balance. Everything in life is a balance, and with cocktails, the same philosophy applies. Remember: Every ingredient needs to have a purpose and a meaning. You’re transmitting a concept into a glass. Any tips on infusing liquor? Start with a high-proof neutral grain spirit, and put the raw ingredients in an infusion jar. Every day, you must shake it, taste it and write down the flavor that you get. Stop when your palate likes it. Anyone can throw jalapeños or pepperoni in with a vodka or gin, but it takes a sophisticated palate to find the perfect balance in the flavor. 16

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

SARAH FELDBERG

What are people’s reactions to the cocktail?

Ingredients: 1 oz. pepperoni-infused organic gin ½ oz. yellow Chartreuse ½ oz. filtered marinara sauce and water ¼ oz. organic pineapple juice ¼ oz. lemon juice 6-8 dashes of homemade basil-thyme bitters Emulsified cheese blend foam for topping Garnish: Grilled pepperoni slices Crushed, freshly toasted pizza crust for rim of glass Grilled pineapple skewered with grilled cherry tomato Method: Combine the first six ingredients over ice. Shake and strain into a chilled, rimmed cocktail glass. Top with foam and garnishes.

MIKE RIVAS

E G R A L T A S R EDITO Another family trip had managing editor Tracy Morin scouting out pizzerias across New Jersey. First up (pictured left) was a stop at Nomad Pizza Company (nomadpizzaco.com) in Hopewell, New Jersey, which was packed 30 minutes after opening. When asked his secret, co-owner Tom Grim says, “At the most successful pizzerias, the owner is working day in and day out. We’re always there working; we’re passionate about our pizza.” With a mobile unit already in operation and a new location in Philadelphia opening this month, that tactic seems to be effective! Next, in an upscale Italian restaurant setting, a wood-burning oven churned out fluffy Neapolitan-style pies (including a Margherita for Morin) at Undici Taverna Rustica (undicirestaurant.com) in Rumson, New Jersey. Steal this marketing tip: When an Undici customer fills out a comment card after a meal here, he gets a free T-shirt—earning both customer feedback and free advertising for the restaurant. Finally, two Clifton, New Jersey, pizzerias provided two very different pie styles for Morin to take back home on the plane. Mario’s Restaurant, in business since 1945, served up the severely thin-crust “Emma-style” pie, while Bruno’s (brunospizzeriaclifton.com) created an ultra-thick Sicilian, voted the best Sicilian in the county. Fortunately, for PMQ editors, there’s always room in the carry-on bag for any style of pizza! CHRISTINE WOOD

TRACY MORIN

While in California visiting family last June, editor-inchief Liz Barrett stopped into Big Mama’s and Papa’s Pizzeria (36pizza.com) in Hollywood, where she spoke with manager Edgar Martirosyan about the pizzeria’s infamous 54”-by-54” pizza that has earned this business so much attention. The giant pizza, which serves 50 to 70 people, costs $199.99, but Barrett decided to stick with an oversized cheese slice, while helping her friend polish off a chicken Parmesan sandwich. (Read more about Big Mama’s and Papa’s in the PMQ August 2011 issue).

Closer to the PMQ office, Barrett and Morin ventured a few towns over to Pontotoc, Mississippi, where Carl (pictured right) and Christine Wood’s shop, Main St. Pizza, has been open for only a few months. These Pennsylvania transplants churn out New York-style pies that respect tradition—yet they aren’t afraid to experiment with toppings (including a Lucky Charms-topped pie Carl described)! Barrett and Morin, however, kept the visit tame with a cheese pie, a veggie stromboli and a white pie punctuated with red peppers.

October 2011 • pmq.com

Zeak’s Tweaks Jeff Zeak

Hear more from Jeff Zeak on PizzaTV.com.

Flavorful Focaccia Jeff Zeak takes you through a unique recipe for focaccia bread. QUESTION: I’m interested in serving focaccia bread as a starter; do you have a recipe you can share?

Focaccia Bread-Style Thick-Crust Pizza Dough Ingredients

Ounces/Pounds

Grams

Water (60°F variable)

15.0

30.1

854

Winter wheat flour

25.0

170.3 (10.64 lb.)

4828

0.8

1.6

(0.10 lb.)

Water (60°F variable)

50.0

100

(6.25 lb.)

2835

Winter wheat flour

75.0

150

(9.38 lb.)

4253

Yeast (IDY)

0.6

1.2

(0.075 lb.)

Salt

2.0

4.0

(0.25 lb.)

113

Parmesan cheese

4.0

8.0

(0.50 lb.)

225

Whole basil

0.2

0.4

(0.025 lb.)

Whole oregano

0.2

0.4

(0.025 lb.)

Whole thyme

0.2

0.4

(0.025 lb.)

Biga (from above)

All

Olive oil

6.0

(0.75 lb.)

340

Biga

ANSWER: Focaccia is similar to pizza in that both are topped with various ingredients. As compared to pizza, focaccia is sparsely topped or accented with olive oil, herbs, coarse sea salt, and thinly sliced onions, tomatoes or olives. The Latin translation of focaccia bread (panis focacius) means “baked in the ashes of the fireplace.” Focaccia in Roman times were baked in the ashes on the hearth (floor) of the oven, whereas modern-day focaccia is baked on a tray above the fire (heat). In some cases, focaccia was referred to as “hearth cake” due to its very moist cakelike interior— and also to avoid having to pay bread taxes on this product! This dough is very well-suited for those occasions where a thick bready crust is desired. The Parmesan cheese and herb blend provides a flavorful crust that can be eaten plain as a breadstick; served as an appetizer with dipping sauces, or as an accompaniment to an entrée; or topped like a pizza with assorted ingredients. Biga: Add water. Add all dry ingredients. Mix just until well-combined. Allow to ferment at room temperature for 12 to 16 hours. Dough: Add water. Add all dry ingredients, including cheese and herbs, helping to seal in flavors. Add Biga from above. Mix 2 minutes at low speed. Add oil; mix 1 to 2 more minutes at low speed, then mix 3 to 4 minutes at medium speed. Allow to bulk ferment for 2 hours at room temperature; punch and fold every hour. Scale the dough: Use 2724 grams (6 lb.) for a full sheet pan, 1362 grams 18

(Fermented 12-16 hrs.) (1.88 lb.)

(12%-12.7% protein)

Yeast (IDY) Dough

(12%-12.7% protein)

Desired final dough temperature: 80°-85°F

(3 lb.) for a half sheet pan, and 454 grams (1 lb.) for 10” deep-dish pan. Using oiled hands, press the dough into an oiled pan evenly, to the edge of the pan, and allow to rise, covered, for 1 hour at room temperature. Top as desired. Bake at 425°F until golden on top (use a spatula to check bottom bake). Another way you can easily make focaccia bread: from your existing pizza dough—or, even better, from pizza dough that’s getting a little old so that you’re wondering, “What am I going to do with this?”

PMQ – The– Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly 00 Pizza PMQ’sMagazine Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Magazine

Coat the interior sides and bottom of a half sheet pan (13”-by-18”) well with olive oil. Working with well-oiled hands, press 5 lb. of fermented pizza dough (dough that has been mixed and allowed to rest at least two hours, or longer) into the pan. Let the dough proof/rise for 2 to 3 hours in a warm place or at room temperature. Jeff Zeak is the pilot plant manager for the American Institute of Baking (AIB). Need more dough advice? Visit the Dough Information Center at PMQ.com/dough.

PMQ’s Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Magazine

New York’s Finest Chef Santo Bruno See cooking demos by Chef Bruno on PizzaTV.com.

SLNY PRODUCTIONS

Cugini Chef Bruno takes a break from recipes this month to introduce you to Tony and Angelo Franzella. In New York, everyone is “cugini,” or cousins, and at Cugini Pizzeria & Restaurant (cuginispizza.com) in Mineola, New York, I really feel like part of the family when brothers Tony and Angelo Franzella greet me at the door. Born in Palermo, Sicily, Tony and Angelo arrived in New York in 1971. Angelo, a hairdresser at the time, had no problem finding work. Tony got a job working for Pan Am Airlines, but when the airline folded, he was forced to look for a new line of work. In 1991, Tony and Angelo decided to open a pizza shop together in Mineola, not realizing how busy they would be. A couple of years later, they expanded and created a small dining room that feels very homey. At Cugini, you’re always greeted with a smile by Tony, Angelo or Joe Franzella (who will soon take the reins) when you step through the door. Through the years, tradition remains, from a classic bowl of spaghetti and meatballs to a mouthwatering steak. I consider this my home away from home. I think this is one of the best pizzerias on Long Island, and it has received numerous awards. Angelo was also one of the original creators of the grandma pizza and now sells it at his shop. “It’s nothing new to walk into Cugini and see an endlessly long line of students grabbing pizza before a big school dance, or families and friends getting together to have dinner,” says Tony. “And everyone has always walked out of our doors content, satisfied and never hungry, even if it meant writing an IOU!” From the freshly baked breads on the table to the Italian music piped in over the sound system, I feel like I’m eating with family back in Sicily. The kitchen is not very large, but it produces food like a fine-tuned machine. Chef Efrair Romero hails from El Salvador and has been with Cugini since the beginning, producing food like the conductor of a top orchestra. Guiseppe “Joe” started working at Cugini when he was only 13 years old. He’s also a chef and handles many of the tasks at Cugini’s Plainview location, which is larger than the Mineola location. Cugini’s easily produces 300 meals on a busy night. The smallsize kitchen allows for an even flow in and out, with 50% dinein meals and 50% takeout. There are 67 seats in the restaurant section and 25 seats in the pizzeria area. Many reviewers boast about Cugini, and one mayor of Mineola even proclaimed, “Cugini is the best thing that ever happened to Mineola.” The Franzellas have been asked to expand to Florida, Brazil and more. I love a lot of great restaurants on Long Island, but Cugini is special to me; it’s like coming to visit family. 20

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

(Top to bottom) Cugini opened in Mineola, New York, in 1991; Chef Bruno sits down with a white pie; Bruno poses with Tony, Joe and Angelo Franzella.

Chef Bruno is PMQ’s culinary advisor, with 40 years of international pizza experience. He is the corporate chef for Marsal & Sons, and the culinary coach of the U.S. Pizza Team.

Accounting for Your Money Michael J. Rasmussen, CPA

Hiding From Uncle Sam Mike Rasmussen explains why even small operators need to be careful when trying to “outsmart” the IRS. QUESTION: I’m a small independent operator with five employees, so why would the IRS seek me out?

ANSWER: After attending a recent IRS Nationwide Tax Forum in Dallas last summer, I returned with plenty of reasons the IRS would seek you out. First, the government needs to balance its budget and has fully staffed itself with new employees over the past few years. In addition, the IRS has upgraded its technology to integrate with many agencies, such as states, social security, banks, mortgage institutions and much more. More importantly, restaurants are classified as a targeted “cash business,” and the IRS knows this category has a significant amount of underreported income, thus decreasing the tax revenues received. The IRS has sought out professionals in the private sector to teach and train their revenue agents about the cash pitfalls in restaurant operations and have developed many procedures to estimate the amount of expected income that should have been reported although there appears to be no evidence of cash. Net sales are the focus point in underreporting income. Take the time to match up your POS system reports, your sales tax returns, your corporate tax returns and your accounting records, and create a simple spreadsheet that ties them together. Match your sales to banking cash and credit card deposits on a daily basis. At the end of the month, have an explanation for any excess deposits to your restaurant operating bank account that exceed your net sales, and be able to prove to the taxing agencies that these deposits are not taxable sales. Remember that the IRS can request all of these documents for inspection upon an audit of your restaurant operations. Employment taxes are a target area due to the increased complexity and error rate in processing payroll regarding paying taxes and filing the appropriate tax returns. In this area, use a tested system that monitors all taxes and filings due based on the dates you create payroll checks so that you don’t get behind. All employment taxing agencies have the technology and manpower to start sending notices, and these take time and effort to clear up. Specifically, the IRS has a database that triggers a notice if returns or expected payments are not timely filed, and the penalties and interest add up quickly. Stay on top of this and do not ignore letters from any taxing agencies. Many times, these are errors and need only a simple response. 22 PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

QUESTION: Can a disgruntled employee damage my business in the eyes of the state?

ANSWER: If you pay any of your employees in cash, you are giving control to them to eventually hold a hammer over your head if they threaten to report you to the state for hiring practices. Most state agencies have files that are opened and must be closed based on some sort of investigation if an employee or hired help follows the correct channels and reports discrepancies in wage reporting. Get some tax advice regarding independent contractor vs. employee classification, and scan your records to ensure all hired help is classified correctly. My experience is that the problem children always turn out to be the ones you are trying to help along in life—but not paying them correctly, more often than not, creates poor business practices and exposure to taxing agencies down the road.

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

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

The Marketing Maven Linda Duke

Spooky Sales Scare up increased revenue with a recipe for Halloween promotions. Halloween has shifted from a one-night observance by kids and young-adult partiers into a seasonal celebration celebrated by everyone, with decorations inside and out observing the holiday. But grown-ups are not only dressing up and embellishing their houses with the latest lights, door greeters and shrieking door mats—they’re spending more money on Halloween than ever. The business of boo, costumes and candy is booming, with adults and children increasing their Halloween purchases each year. That’s been good news for retailers, who have embraced the holiday as a merchandising opportunity to capture sales. Tap into this lucrative time of year to garner a bigger share of these consumer dollars being spent. Halloween also begins the important holiday sales season. From October 31 until January 2, holidays are at the top of consumers’ minds. As they start to dig out of the recent economic woes, their attitude is expected to be “let’s have a good time and live for today,” so making the most out of Halloween can be a great way to begin a lucrative holiday season.

RECIPE: Halloween is a great holiday for restaurants and for families, especially those with kids. It’s a good idea to offer those who dress up free food, or have a special promotion that gives kids a free meal for coming in on Halloween night with their families. This program allows for many different options for creativity, from decorating the store to having your crew dress up in Halloween attire.

INGREDIENTS: • Halloween-themed goods from your local party store • Items for the promotion that you decide on • Flyers and posters printed by your local print shop to pass out to guests and local businesses

DIRECTIONS: 1. First determine how you wish to structure your Halloween promotion. Here are a few ideas: • Decorate the pizzeria for the week of Halloween and have a bowl of candy at the register (this is a good idea no matter what promotion you choose). • On Halloween (or the day before, due to the fact that many families are busy the day of), have a costume contest party. Give the winners prizes such as free food, candy or toys. • Have a “kids eat free” night on Halloween at your pizzeria, with the purchase of an adult entree. Have your staff dress up. • Have a “Spooky Menu,” in which you offer Halloween-themed cocktails, entrees and/or desserts for the month of October. 24 PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

• If you are able, have a Halloween movie night the weekend before Halloween. Play “kid-friendly” movies such as Casper, Monsters, Inc. or Beetlejuice. Pass out free Halloween-themed desserts, such as ice cream with black and orange syrups. • Have an adult cocktail party where you offer free Halloweenthemed cocktails. Invite VIPs, media and community members to join you. 2. Ideas for Halloween promotions are endless and not limited to the list above. Choose the idea that works the best for your pizzeria’s budget or concept. Once you have chosen how to celebrate Halloween at your restaurant, you need to inform the public about what’s going to be happening at your store; it’s a great idea to have posters in the windows and to pass out flyers to customers and local area homes. Ask the businesses in your local three- to four-mile radius if they will help you by letting you put posters in their windows, or flyers at their registers to pass out to customers who come into their stores. Another great way to approach promoting for the event: Bring gift certificates or free lunches to local radio disc jockeys and ask them to announce your event on the radio. 3. No matter what idea you choose to pursue, it makes your restaurant seem fun and festive if you decorate. Go to your local party store and get items such as fake spiderwebs to put in the windows, plastic pumpkins to put candy in, candy to pass out, and black, orange and white balloons to give to kids during the week of Halloween. 4. Once you have decided on the day of your promotion, either Halloween or before, inform your staff about the event, and have your most outgoing and reliable employees working. A week before the event, collect the ingredients that you will need for your event to be successful. Have promotional flyers and handouts printed two weeks before the event and begin passing them out about a week and a half before the chosen date.

Helpful Tips Decor: Mix and match orange and black tablecloths, napkins, balloons, Halloween candy trays and spooky cutouts. For candles at the tables, if this is an option for your restaurant, carve little pumpkins to be used as candle holders. Outdoors: Decorate to create a graveyard, cobwebs, lanterns, and ghost and goblin cutouts. Try using some string lights on outdoor walkways and patios to add a scary theme.

Pumpkin carving: New tools make carving unique faces easy. Try creating a spooky entrance using lit carved pumpkins. Host a carving contest, or use them as decor in your restaurant and on the patio. Orange drinks: Serve orange soda or milk with orange syrup for kids. Try an orange Italian soda using orange flavorings and carbonated water; for adults, add vodka or other spirits and black jelly beans on a skewer on the glass as garnish. Pumpkin tossing: This is similar in concept to a game of horseshoes, with participants aiming small pumpkins toward a target. Prizes can include a gift card, candy, and free beverages or desserts. Bobbing for apples: A washtub, swim goggles, apples and water make this a Halloween splash. Compete to see who can get the apple in his mouth the fastest (time competitors) with both arms behind his back. Winner gets dessert, candy, a gift card, etc. Pumpkin seed cooking: Everyone loves to eat the crunchy pumpkin seeds after carving a pumpkin. Cooked on a baking sheet at 400° for seven to 10 minutes, and lightly salted, the seeds are perfect for a Halloween snack.

Linda Duke is the CEO of Duke Marketing and author of Recipes for Restaurateurs (marketing-cookbook.com), a “cookbook” of marketing ideas for restaurant owners. She publishes a quarterly industry resource, Restaurant Marketing Magazine, and an educational program, LSM-U, Local Store Marketing University. Find out more at dukemarketing.com.

October 2011 • pmq.com

To the Point Your business transactions, marketing practices and vision for growth all affect which point of sale system is worth the investment. By Andrew Abernathy Regardless of your business model, there’s an ideal point of sale (POS) system to help you save time, manage staff, and market specials and coupons, as well as ensure safe transactions for your business and customers. Whether you’re acquiring your first POS, expanding your business or simply shopping for an upgrade, the first step is assessing your business model. “Write down your requirements, make a spreadsheet and request a formal proposal,” suggests Alan Hayman, founder of Hayman Consulting Group, a Potomac, Maryland-based firm that specializes in hospitality technology consulting. “You want to ensure that potential vendors are responding to a specific set of requirements.” As Hayman points out, your transaction types will determine what POS software you’ll need to best serve customers. Common types include: counter transactions (pay first or pay after), server or precheck transactions, bar tabs, phonein, delivery, drive-thru, curbside, handheld/tableside ordering, online ordering and catering. “While you may not utilize all of these options, you should consider what you might want to offer within the next two years,” Hayman explains.

Menus and Specials Your menu, specials and coupons are also important considerations. The 26

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

pizza business—prone to add-ons, split orders, special deals, coupons and delivery to name a few, presents requirements your POS vendor should be familiar with, so ask for features specifically designed for pizzerias. For operators, the software must work well with the nature of the business and can even help manage staff. “Pizza menus can be very challenging for POS systems that have not been designed for them,” Hayman says. “You should ask your vendor to demo your most complicated transactions to make sure the software is a good fit.” Danielle Burger, owner of Wally’s Pizza & Subs (ilovewallyspizza.com) in Carson City, Nevada, experiences daily frustrations with her POS, inherited from her family’s nonrestaurant business. In addition to having trouble splitting orders, the system doesn’t

organize toppings alphabetically, and setting up coupon buttons can be timeconsuming. “I would have chosen a more pizza-centric system,” she says. “We need a product that is simple to use at the front and back of the house, easily does half orders, shows product price and makes modifying an item simple.” On the other hand, Doug Brandt, owner of Pie Hole Pizza Joint (piehole pizzajoint.com) in Chicago, is an example of an operator who has found a system that provides exactly what his mostly by-the-slice business needs for day-today operations. He even volunteers to do beta testing for his provider. “When I bought Pie Hole, the previous owners had no POS—just a legal pad and a bank bag as a register system,” he says. “Our POS is on 24/7, and we use it for everything. We purchased a premium package

that includes online ordering, scheduling, caller ID and a time clock; it can’t be beat.” When it comes to programming coupon buttons, Hayman suggests you provide your vendor with a list. “Combo discounts and buy-one-get-one-free deals can be more difficult than percentage-off or dollar-off deals,” he says. “Make sure you present all of your deal offers to your vendor before making a purchase.”

Online Ease In the digital age, online ordering is quickly becoming a must for operators, and the gaps between online ordering companies, your website and POS providers are growing smaller. For immediate, user-friendly online transactions, many POS services are integrated with third-party online ordering providers. This prevents employees from having to manually enter online

POS Providers A quality POS system can set a profitable pace for your pizzeria. To help start your POS search, PMQ gathered this list of manufacturers for hardware, software and all-in-one units: Action Systems, Inc., 800-356-6037, rmpos.com

Micros, 443-285-6000, micros.com

Arrow POS, 877-277-8875, arrowpos.com

Microworks, 800-787-2068, microworks.com

BankCard POS, 866-540-1519, bankcardpos.com

Pacific Amber Technologies, 778-285-2855, amberpos.com

Breakaway Restaurant Solutions, 817-299-4500, breakawaypos.com

PDQ Signature Systems, 877-968-6430, pdqpos.com

EffortlessE, 888-362-9307, effortlesse.com

POS Hotline, 866-767-1230, poshotline.com

Elo TouchSystems, 800-357-1458, elotouch.com

POSnet, 866-976-7638, www.posnet.us

EZ Software Solutions, 877-853-1263, ezsoftwaresolutions.net

POS-X, 800-790-8657, pos-x.com Protech Systems, 714-996-7200, protech-pos.com

Factory Service, 866-285-7613, bestpointofsale.com Radiant Systems, 877-794-7237, radiantsystems.com Fortis Capital Funding, 877-684-6363, fortis capitalfunding.com/equipment.html Granbury Restaurant Solutions, 800-750-3947, granburyrs.com

Restaurant Manager, 800-356-6037, rmpos.com Revel Systems, 415-413-0305, revelsystems.com Revention, 877-738-7444, revention.com

Heartland Payment Systems, 866-941-1477, heartlandpaymentsystems.com

SoftTouch, 866-497-4717, softtouchpos.com

Inborne Technology Corporation, 800-752-3565, inborne.com

SpeedLine Solutions, 888-400-9185, speedlinedemo.com

Lecere, 855-453-2373, lecere.com

Touch Pro, 877-713-0300, gotouchpro.com

For more information on POS systems, see our Buyers Guide starting on page 30. October 2011 • pmq.com 27

10 Tips for Extending the Life of Your POS System Provided by Jim Kerrigan, founder, O.S.E.T.S.S. 1.

Always have a backup workstation on hand.

2. Make sure every computer has a battery backup connected. 3. Turn off your touchscreen monitors when not in use. 4. Clean the cooling fans inside the workstation every three to five months by removing the access panel and using a vacuum with a hose attachment to remove dust (avoid touching anything inside the computer). 5. Position workstations as far from prep area as possible. 6. Do not obstruct the cooling ports on the workstations case. 7.

Ensure employees do not place or consume beverages near the workstations.

8. Position the workstations away from major heat sources. 9. Change your furnace filter regularly to cut down on airborne particles. 10. Have a designated repair facility for POS computer repairs when the warranty expires.

sales—perhaps delivered by fax or email— as they would enter phone and in-store orders. “The point of distinction is where an online order goes once it’s made,” says Barry Brownhill, president of Arrow POS+ in Carmel, Indiana. “For companies that are integrated, the sales automatically come into the POS as an active order.” While integrated online ordering reduces a step, it often adds a monthly bill. However, some POS providers offer a more integrated solution with an in-house online ordering provider; this can result in savings if a large portion of your sales come from online orders. “Many providers charge you a monthly fee, then keep 3% of the credit card transactions,” says Mario Molaro, vice president of BankCard POS, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. “When you’re paying your credit card processor up to 2% per order, you’re losing 5% of a transaction after you pay the host.” In addition to streamlining online ordering, this integration often helps ensure accurate website menu alterations. Whenever a price change occurs or you add or remove an item, the website and online sale will automatically reflect the correct price. “This way, the operator doesn’t have to call a customer and explain the change and why it hasn’t been updated online,” Molaro says. “If a customer places an order, then gets a call 10 minutes later saying the 28

pizzeria doesn’t offer something anymore, the sale is usually cancelled.”

Secure Transactions Your pizzeria has an obligation for maintaining security when it comes to POS records and credit card information, and an unsecured POS system can mean long-term consequences for operators and customers. The Trustwave Global Security Report 2011 found that the majority of POS breaches in 2010 were aimed at the foodservice industry. A recent study by Visa showed that 85% of payment data breaches occur with small merchants. For example, last April, a Mountain Mike’s Pizza (mountainmikes. com) location in Martell, California, discovered its POS had been hacked and used in a credit card theft ring that left many of the store’s customers (from a seven-month span) vulnerable to identity theft. According to James Cummings, director of project management and compliance for Sage Payment Solutions, the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council requires merchants to use PCI-compliant software; merchants who do not comply could face fines of up to $250,000 for security breaches. Compliance levels, which vary depending on a business’ volume of transactions, must be checked annually to maintain this

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

certification. “There’s a need to ensure that security-minded implementation occurs,” he explains. “If the POS collects, transmits, processes or stores credit card data, merchants should confirm that their system is certified. The PCI standards ensure that everyone touching credit card information meets a minimum defined security to protect data.” While purchasing a PCI-compliant system can keep hackers from your customers’ personal information, outsiders may not pose the biggest threat to merchants. “A lot of money has been spent trying to keep the bad guys out,” says Brian Anderson, chief marketing officer of BeyondTrust, in Carlsbad, California. “What we’ve found, and what research says, is that the biggest impact on security breaches comes from the insider—good people can do bad things, accidentally or on purpose.” Jonathan Jesse, BeyondTrust’s vice president of program management, recommends operators look into software that can monitor user activity and implement an access-control policy. “Don’t simply grant root access; delegate this privilege when needed—such as when fixing a changed ticket,” he says. “Any customer information that is private needs to be controlled effectively, either through encryption, access control or privileged-activity reconciliation.” Providing a clear concept for your POS provider, and conducting the extensive research, can make for longterm satisfaction and even savings for your pizzeria—and the technology is rapidly evolving. “One of the latest

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opportunities is the ability to add integrated marketing solutions to certain POS systems,” Hayman says. “Closedloop marketing can track results though POS and can incorporate email, loyalty, reservations and social media. You can even use your POS to track the order history of individual customers.” However, more important than being an early adopter is understanding your near-future business goals. That was the case for the owners of Mackenzie River Pizza (mackenzieriverpizza.com), a

14-unit chain based in Whitefish, Montana, who realized last year that the time to change POS systems had arrived due to their evolving vision for the brand. “We needed to have something more consistent as we grew,” says Erica Coffman, director of marketing. “For years, we’d been a pizzeria with a delivery concept, but we’ve moved more into the family-casual market. We needed a product that could help lead us in the right direction.” Andrew Abernathy is PMQ’s associate editor.

5 Ways to Boost Ticket Averages With Your POS

Provided by SpeedLine Solutions

People tend to think of POS systems in terms of order entry and reporting, and savvy operators also consider cost control, efficiency and marketing. But modern pizza POS systems are also well-equipped for another purpose: increasing the size of your average ticket. Here’s how:

1. Systemized Upselling By scripting suggestive selling prompts into the POS order screens, you make upselling happen consistently, driving higher ticket size. The best prompts are itemspecific nudges based on the current order: “Would you like to add extra cheese on that?” or “We can make that a large for just $1 more.”

2. Value Meal Promotions Use meal deals to cater to discount-seekers without lowering prices. Because package deals drive larger orders, they can be very profitable promotions. Use the sales and food cost numbers in your POS to recognize higher-margin menu items and promote them in meal deals.

3. Gift Cards and Loyalty Programs Guests with a gift card in hand are more likely to use the “free meal” to sample more expensive menu items or add on appetizers and desserts, and often spend extra out of their own pockets. Some POS systems also include loyalty

programs that build not only order frequency, but also ticket size—giving guests an incentive to order more pizza, more often.

4. Web and Mobile Ordering Guests ordering online can browse the menu at leisure— and spend more as a result. Leading chains are reaping the benefits, with reports of online ordering ticket averages up 29% at Jet’s Pizza, for example, and 30% at Godfather’s Pizza. And with budget-friendly options for POS integration, independents can now offer professional Web and mobile ordering, too.

5. Order Confirmation Displays Many restaurants add order confirmation displays at the point of sale to minimize errors that leave guests unsatisfied. Used effectively, these displays also boost add-on sales with mouthwatering photos of desserts, sides and specials. Confirm the order details on one side of the screen, and run a slide show alongside to suggest profitable sides and package deals.

Buyers Guide: POS Systems Action Systems, Inc.

Arrow POS

The Write-On Handheld tableside POS is ideal for the iPod touch and offers server-friendly features such as split checks, real-time alerts, item voids, VIP customer tracking and live inventory tracking. Designed to increase sales, the system helps generate faster turnarounds on orders and checks. The program supports use of the Linea-pro 4 magnetic card reader for tableside payment. 800-356-6037, writeonhandheld.com

Arrow POS+POM uses POS technology to combine service and integrated marketing solutions. The system accommodates online ordering, an automated rewards program, and email and social media marketing. Additionally, the software quantifies your marketing efforts. 877-277-8875, arrowpos.com Online ordering provider: Click to Go

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Buyers Guide: POS Systems

POS Hotline Revention Specifically designed for the pizzeria industry, the complete POS system comes with a variety of management tools required in the modern restaurant industry. The system offers instant menu management, real-time business analysis, email reports, kitchen management tools, customer order history, email marketing and theft controls. Revention also offers mobile online ordering apps for Androids and iPhones. Online demonstrations are available. 877-738-7444, revention.com Online ordering provider: HungerRush (in-house)

The hotline service offers national support and sales for the RapidFire POS system. RapidFire, widely used in pizza restaurants, is an inexpensive full-service POS with a comprehensive delivery, pickup and dine-in functionality. The hotline offers assistance with total system replacement, hardware replacement and technical support. 866-767-1230, poshotline.com

Breakaway Restaurant Solutions A complete quickservice management solution, the Vision POS delivers system reliability and uptime, PCI compliance, an easy-to-train clerk interface, integrated payment processing, integrated mapping capability, comprehensive reporting and A/R management. The POS also supports kitchen videos and driver dispatch. 817-299-4500, breakawaypos.com Online ordering providers: eThor Media, ONOSYS

Elo TouchSystems The All-in-One B-Series touch computer offers a compact platform for countertop and pole- and wallmounted POS stations. The hardware supports a variety of software. To increase configuration options, the B-Series comes standard with six USB ports and two RS-232 serial ports, plus Gigabit Ethernet and audio ports. Additionally, the B-series supports a three-track magnetic stripe reader, a rear-facing customer display and biometric fingerprint readers. 800-357-1458, elotouch.com

Granbury Restaurant Solutions Choose from three types of pizzeriafriendly POS service. Along with integrated online and smartphone ordering, the service can sync multistore loyalty programs and automated marketing systems. Technology packages and value-priced systems are available, and a one-stop shop makes implementation and support simple. An online shopping guide specifically designed for pizzerias is available online. 800-750-3947, granburyrs.com Online ordering provider: GetNet

Lecere The FIRMS mobile POS technology allows restaurant owners to implement secure and highly scalable transactions at a lower cost. The system is deployed via mobile handheld devices such as the iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and Android. The service requires virtually no upfront costs and a pay-for-use utility model. 855-453-2373, lecere.com Online ordering provider: Authorize.Net

Micros The 3700 series offers a fully integrated POS system with table management and kitchen display application, providing users with an intuitive, user-friendly graphical interface to manage a bustling dining room. The kitchen display system updates course status, and alerts are introduced to keep servers aware of guests to prevent unsatisfactory experiences. 443-285-6000, micros.com Online ordering provider: in-house October 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ pmq.com 31

Buyers Guide: POS Systems

Microworks The PrISM WebOrder v3 allows customers to create and prepay for orders online, allowing a secure way to manage orders while maintaining one credit card with your store’s POS. Orders can be placed for immediate attention or queued for delivery or pickup. WebOrder Mobile technology combines your menu and pricing with the convenience of mobile ordering, with order recall, customer registration, store location and mobile specials. 800-787-2068, microworks.com Online ordering provider: in-house

PDQ Signature Systems The POS service features an integrated rewards and loyalty program, allowing restaurant owners to build customer relationships at a low cost. The program gathers customer data and identifies trends to help owners reward regular customers. The POS features an intuitive user interface with a “set it and forget it” option for email and postcard marketing campaigns. Online demos are available. 877-968-6430, pdqpos.com Online ordering provider: MyPizza.com

POS-X X

Revel Systems

The TP4 All-in-One Touch PC features a zero-bezel design, eliminating the frame found on most monitors. Built with Tru-Flat resistive technology, the screen is easy to clean and resistant to water, dust, grease and food buildup, and the interior is resistant to dust buildup and water. The fanless hardware is quiet and features an Atom D525 1.8-ghz dual-core chipset and ultra-fast DDR3 RAM. 800-790-8657, pos-x.com

Whether tableside or at a customer’s door, mobile POS software operates on the iPad and iPhone, which can connect with mobile credit card readers, stationary POS terminals, kitchen printers and barcode scanners. The PCI-compliant service offers payroll, inventory tracking, online ordering, email receipts and integration with social media. 415-413-0305, revelsystems.com Online ordering provider: in-house

Touch Pro Powerful yet easy to use, the complete POS system has a low long-term cost of ownership and features an embedded, real-time operating system to ensure it’s reliable and doesn’t crash with heavy use. With eight lines of caller ID, the system allows you to take orders over the phone and tracks tips. 877-713-0300, gotouchpro.com 32

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

POSnet The POS service is designed to make multistore management efficient and less expensive. With custom-made features and reports, and no license or new versions to buy, the system never becomes obsolete. In addition to managing sales, staff and loyalty programs, the service offers a nutritional analysis feature for your menu. 866-976-7638, www.posnet.us Online ordering provider: in-house

SpeedLine Solutions POS technology offers costcontrol solutions to help reduce food and labor expenses and retain customers. Leverage the latest technology to stay competitive with online ordering, video surveillance and mapping. A free demo is available online. 888-400-9185, speedlinedemo.com Online ordering providers: Brygid Technologies, Delphis Software, Mercury Payment Systems, Nextep Systems, ONOSYS, QuickOrder, orderTalk, Paytronix, Real Time Ordering, TakeOut Technologies

COLORS GOURMET PIZZA

Ready Made Explore your options with new formulations and offerings from premade dough and crust suppliers. By Willow Nero Dough—whether hand-tossed, rolled or sheeted into shape, whether thin-crust, deep-dish or pan style—is the foundation of a pizza and the pride on which many a pizzeria is built. And, while many owners rely on tried-and-true (in some cases, secondor third-generation) recipes, with advances in technology and manufacturing, many premade dough and crust suppliers report that “frozen” or “premade” need not be the dirty words they once were in the pizza industry. New processes use fewer preservatives, or none at all; can confidentially duplicate family recipes 34

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

to a tee; and often give pizzerias a chance to simplify operations, expand their brands, and explore new menu options.

Something Different The most basic way to work with a dough supplier without taking the full premade plunge: Add a new crust or two to your menu. Specialty crusts can be difficult to perfect, and suppliers often spend years in research and development to come up with tasty combinations. For example, the Neapolitan style can be difficult to create

DEIORIO’S

for some pizzaiolos, but now this type of dough can be purchased from manufacturer Losurdo Foods, thanks to a partnership with Antimo Caputo, maker of “00” flour—ideal for those looking to easily add an artisan-style pie to the menu. Buying premade might also be helpful when introducing healthy or whole-wheat options. “People want healthier options for themselves and their children,” says Bob Horth, vice president of business and development at DeIorio’s in Utica, New York. “But for that individual operator to mix up a batch of wheat dough—what a nightmare. You’ve got to experiment to make a product that works.” Meanwhile, for celiacs and others on gluten-free diets, their diagnosis once meant giving up pizza and bread for good, since gluten (Latin for “glue”) is what makes a crust chewy and is present in traditional pizza. Having a glutenfree offering that caters to these special diets can mean a new loyal fan base and improved sales. “It’s very rewarding to get contacted weekly, whether through Facebook or direct feedback on our website, from people saying, ‘Thank you so much. My daughter hasn’t had pizza in 15 years and she wouldn’t even let us take a bite of this pizza,’” says Jimmy DeSisto, president and CEO of Venice Bakery in El Segundo, California. A par-baked gluten-free crust is a natural choice for a pizzeria, since making such a dough on-site is a tough job. Flour in the air at a typical pizzeria easily could compromise such a dough’s safety for gluten-free diets, and many find that often-sticky and inconsistent gluten-free dough batter sometimes falls apart before it even makes it into the oven. Many in-house recipes may also yield a crumbly, bland crust. “The first time I experimented with this type of dough, I would put my teeth into a product and it tasted like I was biting into a stick of chalk—that’s how bad it was,” laughs DeSisto, whose gluten-free line required plenty of trial and error with different blends of rice flours, potato, tapioca, and other nontraditional ingredients. Gluten-free crust manufacturers may also offer programs designed to help operations remain within the FDA’s allowable gluten range, working with operators to set up a gluten-free environment and test the gluten content of their final products. Check with suppliers often to see what types of crusts they’re working on. Horth says his latest creation out of R&D is a beanbased dough that amps up the amount of protein and fiber with no reported negative effect on the flavor. “If you’ve got a situation where your customers want to eat healthier, do it in a fun food,” he says. “And let’s face it—pizza is a fun food!”

Ready-Made Manufacturers In search of a premade dough or crust supplier? Start here: Colors Pizza, 760-597-1400, colorspizza.com Custom Foods, 913-585-1900, customfoodsinc.com DeIorio’s, 315-732-7612, deiorios.com Kinnikinnick, 877-503-4466, kinnikinnick.com Kronos, 800-621-0099, kronosproducts.com Little Lady Foods, 800-439-1440, littleladyfoods.com Losurdo Foods, 888-567-8736, losurdofoods.com Stonefire Bakery, 905-761-3333, stonefire.com Ultra-Thin Pizza Shells & Flatbreads, 516-279-6653,

Outside the Pizzeria A pizzeria operation isn’t always confined to four walls, but your brick oven probably doesn’t have wheels. Some situations when travel is a must—from catering and food truck operations to delivery and sidewalk sales—call for different equipment, and

ultrathinpizza.com Venice Bakery, 714-408-8903, venicebakery.com

October 2011 • pmq.com

DEIORIO’S

dough is no exception. Chef and owner Martial Bricnet from Colors Gourmet Pizza in Vista, California, advises pizza entrepreneurs to first consider what they want in the restaurant concept, and then ask themselves what will work, rather than struggling to conform their amazing dough recipe to work on a pizza truck or in a catering environment. “Decide what you want and work backwards,” he advises. “That wonderful pizza you had in Florence would be great if you had a little wine bar

PMQ – The– Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly 00 Pizza PMQ’sMagazine Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Magazine

with 25 seats, but by the time it comes out of the kitchen, goes into a box, and get delivered, it’s going to be cold.” It’s also necessary to evaluate “pizza expectations,” he says. Pizza comes in many forms and remains satisfying—whether it’s a giant hot slice on game day or authentic Neopolitan. Different environments mean different expectations. Food trucks, farmers market stands and catering, for instance, dictate that pizza must be made quickly and be plentiful. With a diminished capacity to power a traditional pizza oven, a par-baked crust finished on a grill still excites customers without long prep and bake times and high energy needs. “We could do an oven and a heat lamp,” Bricnet says. “But imagine instead flatbread and a grill—now it’s a ‘wow’ thing! It’s very satisfying and fast, and a parbake in that environment works well.” Horth, too, is familiar with the negative effects of pizza that has spent too much time under the heat lamp. To combat the problem, DeIorio’s developed high-moisture par-baked crusts that he says perform well for food vendors or outlets in sports venues. Premade dough can be made the old-fashioned way—in which it gets to relax, ferment and retain moisture—and when

the operator bakes it the second time, it turns into “a moist and flavorful product,” says Horth. Par-baked crusts are available in a wide variety of crust styles and even shapes, from ovals and rectangles to star-shaped pizza. Some even come complete with high-quality toppings. One manufacturer sells a 18”-by-26” par-baked “party pizza” that typically weighs in at five pounds when topped. If it wasn’t par-baked, this type of order could really tie up your production!

Additional Benefits Premade pizza dough and crusts satisfy a bevy of needs. Here are some additional benefits of premade dough: Consistency: Typically, the main reason a pizzeria will find a dough supplier is to ensure that the pizza crust remains the same high-quality product at every location, every day. “We all know that even if we give 10 chefs the exact same recipe and exact same raw materials, we’re going to have differentiation in product, depending on who made it,” says DeSisto. Other variations, such as different types of mixers at different locations, can also throw off consistency. Some suppliers offer recipe duplication services, so operators can order big batches of their own dough. Depending on the supplier, even small pizzerias can take advantage of this service. “You can customize products without huge minimum requirements,” says Horth. “We’re not going to demand truckloads of production from the get-go.” Meanwhile, Horth notes,

a nondisclosure contract will ensure that the manufacturer doesn’t resell anyone’s family-secret dough recipe. New menu items: When a talented chef is in the kitchen with a ball of dough or a par-baked crust and a few other ingredients, the menu (gluten-free or otherwise) is really only limited by the chef’s imagination, says DeSisto. He rattles off a list of potential menu items that can be made with premade dough: breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, Italian doughnuts, panini sandwiches, calzones and stromboli. Cost: Dough suppliers can help cut restaurant costs. “If you’re an independent operator and you’re using 50-pound bags of flour, you’ve seen prices skyrocket in a very short amount of time,” says Horth. Pairing up with a supplier means the volume discounts are passed on to you. Also keep in mind other costs, such as labor, on your end, he advises: “All those things do add up, so premade dough helps close that gap.” Last-resort abilities: Sometimes, homemade dough or pizza machinery fails. A few balls of dough kept on hand, maybe typically used to make extras such as dessert pizzas, can save the day. “It happens,” acknowledges Bricnet. “There’s no way that we can be perfect all the time. That’s Murphy’s law: If it can happen, it will, and it does over and over again.”

Willow Nero is a freelance writer based in Alexandria, Virginia.

October 2011 • pmq.com

Burt’s Place A quirky structure and environment makes business run smoothly for this two-person pizza shop in the Chicago suburbs. By Patrick Riordan

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

“I’ve always been independent,” laughs Burt Katz, owner of Burt’s Place in suburban Chicago. “I’m like a salmon—I swim upstream.” And any customer who has been to Burt’s Place, an offbeat pizzeria in Morton Grove, Illinois, knows the man’s not lying. Everything about the place speaks to the owner’s personality, from its unusual location at the end of a sleepy residential block to its hodgepodge decor with vintage radios and other various nostalgic pieces. But nowhere is Burt’s signature more apparent—or beloved— than in his pizza, a stylized riff on classic Chicago deep dish that’s been 40 years in the making.

A Slice of Chicago History In addition to drawing pizza tourists from around the world, winning the approval of noted deep-dish disparager Anthony Bourdain, and being a cherished stalwart in his community, Katz has made a huge footprint on the Chicago pizza landscape. Although he later sold both brands, he pioneered unique pies at Chicagoland pizzerias that continue to thrive today: Gullivers Pizza & Pub (gulliverspizza.com) in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood and Pequod’s Pizza, with locations in Chicago and Morton Grove. However, since 1989, Katz has been dishing up pies at Burt’s Place with his wife, Sharon. And the pizza itself? Imagine a Chicago-style deep dish with a restrained layer of cheese that won’t knock the wind out of you. Top it with high-quality meats from a local butcher and produce that is hand-selected, purchased and prepped that morning. But, most distinctively, picture a thick yet

incredibly airy crust with a crisp, deeply caramelized outer ring. When asked about the genesis of his product, Katz shrugs it off to years of playing around in the kitchen, gradually perfecting the unique pizzas he serves today.

Reservations Only From the outside, Burt’s Place isn’t the sort of pizzeria you’d expect to draw tourists from Europe and South America, or to have families from states away placing an order a month in advance, but Katz has these stories—and more. A 2009 feature on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations certainly increased the restaurant’s profile and led to an influx of customers, but Katz was never a stranger to high demand for his pizza. Consequently, Burt’s Place has a unique ordering and reservation system to deal with the constraints of the 35-seat capacity and the relatively long prep and cook time of its pizzas. Katz simply asks his customers to call ahead, place their orders, and reserve a time to come in. When they arrive—10 minutes ahead to get seating and drink orders situated—they can set their watches to the pizza coming out of the oven. Aside from the deep-dish pragmatics, Katz points out several other advantages of his system. “People have things to do in the evening. This way, they can come in, eat, and have the rest of the night without having to wait around for an hour or more,” he says. In a nod to his suburban customer base, Katz adds a family-friendly explanation for the policy: “People bring in kids, and if they’re waiting around forever, they’re up out of

(Top) Owner Burt Katz is a fixture in the Chicago pizza scene. (Bottom) Burt’s unique take on the deep-dish style shows restraint and features a light, airy crust.

THE STATS: Burt’s Place Website: None Headquarters: Chicago, IL Owner: Burt Katz Year started: 1989 Total units: 1 Number of seats: 35 POS system: None Oven: Blodgett deck Dine-in, takeout Number of employees: 2-3

October 2011 • pmq.com

their seats and running around. The way I’ve got things set up, the pizza is ready when they get here and the whole problem is avoided.” Although a quick read of Yelp reviews will attest to the fact that the ordering policy at Burt’s Place can be baffling and even frustrating to the uninitiated—particularly those who show up and see a bevy of empty tables in the restaurant—for every miffed Yelper, there are at least two people who are happy to help out by explaining the ordering policy—and why the pizza justifies the trouble.

Keeping It Simple Other unique features of Burt’s Place are the menu and pricing. Gridded like a statistical table, the menu reveals that every single-topping large pizza is the same price, and every additional ingredient costs the same. Katz favors this approach because it keeps things simple for him and his wife, as well as the customers. “I don’t want some kid coming in here with a date and $15 in his pocket and getting embarrassed because he doesn’t know how much his pizza is go-

“SpeedLine was a godsend. When sales picked up by 40%, we were actually able to cut back on staff because we’re that much more efficient. It saved our business.” PAUL & KACI KNAYSI, PABLO’S PIZZA

GET A FREE DEMO: www.speedlinedemo.com

888.400.9185 40

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ing to cost,” he chuckles. And the prices themselves? Katz says customers routinely approach him at the end of a meal and say there’s a problem with the bill— they’ve been undercharged. You might think such precise, low-cost pricing could only be the result of carefully structured and calculated ordering from a mass distributor. Instead, long before it became fashionable, Katz worked out personal relationships with local community providers, sourcing sausage from a still-secret supplier and driving each morning to a local distributor to hand-pick his produce. Asked about seasonal variation in price and quality, Katz insists that he gets the best he can each morning, and trusts that the price variability will even out over the year. Perhaps one reason Katz can keep prices so low is the fact that he maintains a lean advertising and marketing budget: $0. He says that instead of fishing for a handful of new customers with costly ads, he prefers to put that money back into the product and low pricing instead. “My philosophy is simple: You don’t ask your customer for money; you give people a good product, a fair price and good service, and they’re happy to pay you for it.” Although it’s hard to deny that his local legacy and national media attention help the cause, Katz says he has always focused on product and never worried about marketing, while maintaining low operational costs by keeping a tight payroll. By doing all of the back-of-the-house work himself— from stocking to prep to dishes—Katz and his wife run Burt’s Place by themselves, with help from only one additional server during peak hours. Although its location can make a trip to Burt’s Place a bit daunting for outof-towners, Katz is happy to help on that front, too. Rather than cabbing all the way up from downtown Chicago (a round trip likely to set you back upwards of $80), Katz urges visitors to catch the Metra train from Union Station downtown to the Morton Grove stop. For $3.50 and a ⅓-mile walk, many customers have found it’s the way to go. And, of course, Katz welcomes those who come hungry—as long as they don’t forget to call ahead!

Patrick Riordan is a freelance writer based in Chicago.

Pizza of the Month:

Seafood

Veggie

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Veggie Delights

JIM SHANNON

The antidote to meat-laden pies, veggie pizzas are perennially popular with the health-conscious crowd, but that doesn’t mean they can’t explode with flavor. Veggies allow for endless experimentation and a plethora of taste profiles and textures, from spicy to sweet and crunchy to creamy. They can also easily adapt to a variety of sauce styles, as evidenced by our examples below of creative veggie pizzas from across the country.

Veggie Pizza Recipe and photo provided by Grande

16 oz. dough ball, slacked 5 oz. pizza sauce 12 oz. mozzarella-provolone mild blend, shredded or diced 3 oz. tomato slices 2.5 oz. green pepper, sliced 1.5 oz. onion, chopped 1.5 oz. black olives, sliced 1.5 oz. mushrooms, sliced Place pizza dough on a flat surface and roll to 14” diameter. Spread pizza sauce on the pizza dough, leaving a ¾” border around the edge of the pie. Layer with the mozzarella-provolone blend. Top with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, olives and mushrooms. Bake in a preheated 500°F deck oven for 5½ minutes, or a preheated 460°F impinger oven for 5½ minutes. Makes one 14” pizza.

At Harry’s Bishops Corner (harrysbc.com) in West Hartford, Connecticut, the House Veggie is a red-sauce pie topped with sun-dried tomatoes, baby spinach, onion, broccoli and fresh garlic. The Rocket Man at The Luggage Room (theluggageroom. com) in Pasadena, California, is topped with roasted Fresno chilies, broccolini, oven-dried tomatoes and roasted garlic, all atop a tangy base of gremolata (a paste of roasted garlic, parsley and lemon). Bonus: An egg can be added to the pie at no charge. Pizza d’ Carlo Gourmet Pizza (pizzadcarlo.com) melds a favorite combination—veggies and a classic salad dressing—for the D’Carloranch pie, with ranch instead of pizza sauce, topped with mozzarella, fresh garlic, spinach, mushrooms, Romano cheese, and tomatoes. With six locations in Minnesota, Pizza Lucé (pizzaluce. com) creates a Greek-inspired pie, the Pizza Athena: spinach, tomatoes, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, red onions, Greek oregano and toasted garlic with mozzarella cheese, over bianca sauce (or red sauce upon request). Transfer Pizzeria and Café (transfermke.com) in Milwaukee offers the vegetable-only Bob’s Special pie, topped with garlic sauce, mushrooms, spinach, onion and avocado—no cheese needed!

For more recipes, visit PMQ’s Recipe Bank at PMQ.com/recipe.

Vegging Out Try these ideas to garner more interest in veggie pizzas: •

Many chefs around the country are promoting Meatless Mondays, so why not tie in this movement to a veggie-pie special on Mondays only? Offer a discount on your veggie pies or a meal deal that features them.

• Sponsor a contest in-store and/or online to create a new veggie pie. Have your customers submit their best topping combinations for a chance to win a gift card or other prize; once all entries are in, have customers vote on their favorite (or track how many of each are sold to pick the winner).

• Hold a “healthy pizza making” class for kids and their parents to instruct on how vegetable-topped pizza can be healthy—and help them eat their vegetables in a fun way. • Offer a “veggie pizza of the day” that allows you to experiment with different toppings combinations while engaging in menu testing. Alert your customers about the special pizza daily through email blast, Twitter or Facebook, as well as through on-site signage.

October 2011 • pmq.com

Marketing Marvels Andrew Abernathy

Raising Dough With five units in New Jersey, TJ’s Pizzeria Cafe is making a difference in several communities—one fundraiser at a time. Timothy Deaver, company manager of TJ’s Pizzeria Cafe (tjsmenu.com)—a five-unit chain with locations in Franklin, Oak Ridge, Sparta, Wantage and West Milford, New Jersey—is an example of an industry professional who makes business that stimulates nonprofit groups for the better, especially in a weakened economy. For almost three years, TJ’s has raised funds for organizations in its respective communities with its popular “Dough Raisers” and pizza punch cards. The company has built a reputation of whittling away profit margins to help community groups— charities, public servants and sports teams—that need the occasional financial bump. As a result, Deaver and staff members at all five of TJ’s locations have seen consistent sales growth in the past few years and created a positive impact in the communities the chain serves. As Deaver points out, making a difference in a small corner of New Jersey was the original reason for opening.

(Top to bottom) Tim Deaver stands with community members after a Dough Raiser for a local soccer team. Employees show off one of the TJ’s beloved pies.

How do you help out the community? Our Dough Raisers started about two and a half years ago. It’s a way to help out the some of the groups in our community. From the beginning, the whole concept of TJ’s was to create a restaurant that was really involved with the community. We want to do as much as we can for nonprofit organizations. Because of the economy, a lot of nonprofits are not surviving, so we reach out to help whoever needs it. How do the fundraisers work? The organization sets up dates and hands out flyers to promote the Dough Raiser. For anyone carrying that flyer who makes a purchase for dine-in, carryout or delivery, we’ll give back 20% of the sale to the organization. 44

Hear more from Deaver on PizzaRadio.com.

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

How do you choose the organizations TJ’s supports? We advertise the Dough Raisers, so a lot of the time, groups come to us—I get emails, phone calls, everything. We try to build it up for the people in the community on our end, too. We actually have a format that groups can go through to help market the Dough Raisers as effectively as possible. We regularly support local fire departments, EMTs, school organizations and athletics. The organizations we work with range from the Knights of Columbus to Big Brothers Big Sisters. Do you offer other fundraising programs?

(Top to bottom) The TJ’s Complete Meal Deal allows for a low price and variety, with two sets of toppings on one pie. The decorations inside all TJ’s locations show the store’s interaction with the community.

Organizations can purchase pizza punch cards from us, and we don’t make any money on the printing. They cost 80 cents each and sell for $10. So they make $9.20 on every one that sells. They’re mainly geared toward pizza purchases, and each customer who receives 10 punches can come in and, if he orders a pizza with one or more toppings, can get a second pie for free. Overall, it’s a value of $110 to the consumer. There’s actually a waiting list for these cards. They expire after six months, and we usually let two organizations in a town have them at once. Sometimes, we’ll allow three, depending on how many cards are sold to each group. Organizations generally buy 80 to 100 cards, and they move them quite well. Do all of your stores cater to similar demographics? They’re very similar markets. I think our Sparta store is the most different than the others—it’s in a little higherincome area. For our other stores, our customers tend to range quite a bit; we cater to construction workers who come in with hard hats for lunch, high school students, and businesspeople who come in wearing a tie to pick up dinner for their familes.

TJ’s punch cards, worth more than $100, are sold to select community groups for fundraising.

Do you offer regular specials? Our Family Combo is our bestseller. It’s a large pizza, 12 wings, a two-liter soda and garlic bread for $17.95. Our Complete Meal Deal is also popular; it offers a choice from six entrees and six appetizers with a salad and garlic bread for $10.95. Those are available every day. Every Wednesday night, we offer a large pizza starting at $7.99. How’s your profit margin with these combo specials? We’ve set up our combo meals with a reduced portion. For instance, a normal order of mozzarella sticks comes with six sticks; with the Complete Meal Deal, we give four. The profit is still there, and it’s still filling for the customer—we’ve never

October 2011 • pmq.com

had a complaint about the portions at that price. Does your menu change frequently? We do menu changes twice a year. We’re always adding a new product. We meet with our regional managers and decide what we want to bring in or take off the menu—it’s a lot of work. You have to reprogram the POS and reprint the menus. So we run things on special for a while, and if an item moves, we’ll add it to the menu at all of our stores. Tell us about your social media efforts.

We link to our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages on our website and use these to help promote our Dough Raisers. We call our YouTube page TJ’s TV; that’s where we put commercials and video from Dough Raiser nights at the store. I manage most of the social media right now. It’s just a way to show how we’re interacting with different people in our communities. What are your thoughts on coupons? Coupons are like football plays— you keep using them until they stop working. Then, you figure something

else out. The best ones for us have been $2 off an $11 purchase and $5 off a $35 purchase. First, you have to get customers spending money. Second, the coupon needs to be easy to figure out; $2 off a ticket is about the easiest thing possible for both the customer and the cashier to figure out. We keep our coupons online, and customers can have them directly emailed to them. It’s an incentive for them to keep coming back. Do you have a favorite marketing tool? I say our best marketing tool is our menu. We use it as a box topper and as an insert. Whenever you get a menu into someone’s hands, it gets him thinking about what he wants to order. We run ads, and those bring in their own results, but whenever someone can receive the menu, either by direct mail or as an insert piece, he can sit and hold it. We’ve used radio, we’ve used TV and we’ve sponsored a local sports program; these have been great to get our name out there. But I think just getting the menu out into the community is the best way to get people in our doors. Does TJ’s have a five-year plan? We’re looking into expand the TJ’s brand with new owners. We want to grow into more of a regional chain, and we’ve already started that this year. We sold our Oak Ridge store late last year. While it’s a different owner, the business still sticks with the TJ’s menu, guidelines and marketing programs. They’ve had great success so far. We’re hoping to do more of the same—basically unleash the name of TJ’s. Andrew Abernathy is PMQ’s associate editor.

Friendly service is a priority for all TJ’s staff members. 46

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

PIE Honors Help decide who will win the 2011 Pizza Industry Enterprise (PIE) Award. By Liz Barrett

Each year, following the Pizza Power Report, we sit down and look at which pizza chains have shown the most growth over the previous year, as well as which pizzerias have put forth the most effort to increase their standing in the industry. This year, it came down to two highly deserving candidates: Extreme Pizza (extremepizza.com) and Stevi B’s Pizza, The Ultimate Pizza Buffet (stevibs.com). They both began operations in the mid-

Text “extreme” to 63636 to vote for Extreme Pizza.

An Eating Adventure Extreme Pizza founder Todd Parent had an idea to start a creperie business after returning from a stint in Paris, but instead worked with Noah’s Bagels and picked up inspiration for unique toppings, which he was able to draw upon later when he opened Extreme Pizza in San Francisco in 1994. “We’ve grown slowly,” says Parent. “We opened our second location in 1997 in San Francisco after creating all of our training manuals.” Of Extreme’s 45 locations, nine are corporate-owned. “We never wanted to expand for the sake of expanding,” continues Parent. “We were opening one store per year in the beginning; our growth has been very methodical.” Parent says the business strives to excel at gourmet, handcrafted pizzas, and each of the signature pizzas has a story behind it. Quirky names and topping combinations, such as the Poultry Geist, which features chicken marinated in a tangy ranch sauce, broccoli, red onions, Swiss, Fontina, Gorgonzola, mozzarella and fresh sage, help the pizzeria stand out. The small footprint of the stores (generally 1,500 to 1,800 square feet) also differentiates Extreme from other pizzerias; the format offers ample seating but also allows

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Magazine

Todd Parent Founder, Extreme Pizza

the restaurant to focus on takeout and delivery. The small space also lowers startup/setup costs and is easier to run. “The Extreme team is empowered to run their shifts like it’s their own business, and engage with the customer and work with their fellow teammates to make the customer experience the best possible,” says Parent. “We’ve created a great career path; all of our staff members are given the opportunity to move up in the company.” Parent says that keeping an open mind and realizing that change is good has helped fuel the success of Extreme Pizza. “Extreme Pizza was a take-and-bake concept in the early days, and we didn’t offer delivery or baking in the beginning; we changed to accommodate customer demand and requests,” he says. “Operationally, adding modernized equipment and technology, such as online ordering and dough sheeters, has allowed us to be faster and more affordable without sacrificing quality.” Partnering with national vendors has also allowed Extreme Pizza to source product in all of its markets more easily. As for continued growth, Extreme Pizza plans to continue focusing on, developing and supporting its franchise system while helping operators open additional locations.

1990s, and both currently run 45 stores each (corporate- and franchisee-owned). Their business models set a great example for others to follow. We’ve found that both pizzerias deserve the award, but there can only be one winner. So we’re now asking PMQ readers to help us make our final decision. Who will ultimately receive this year’s PIE Award? We need you to closely review the information presented to you

here and the supplemental interviews on PizzaRadio.com to decide who you think is most deserving. Once you’ve made your decision, text your vote to 63636, using the word “extreme” for Extreme Pizza or “stevib” for Stevi B’s Pizza, by Monday, October 17 (standard text messaging rates apply). A combination of reader votes and in-house research will culminate in a final decision, to be revealed in the December issue of PMQ.

Hear interviews with both PIE Award nominees on PizzaRadio.com.

Text “stevib” to 63636 to vote for Stevi B’s Pizza.

A Different Spin On Buffets Founded in 1996 in Fayetteville, Georgia, by brothers Richard and Robert Stoll, Stevi B’s Pizza president Matthew Loney says that the company sold its first franchise in 1998 and continued to grow through early 2000, franchising two to three stores per year until being purchased by Atlanta-based private equity group Argon Capital in 2008. “Argon owns some of the largest IHOP and Applebee’s franchisees,” says Loney. “When Argon purchased Stevi B’s, the idea was to continue the Stevi B’s focus: provide a great family experience and a communitycentered restaurant with good price points for consumers. We were able to achieve this while putting systems and procedures in place that you would see in larger franchise systems.” With Argon’s help, Stevi B’s reworked the food distribution system, the franchising model and the store prototype. “We were able to cut $150,000 to $175,000 out of the prototype cost,” boasts Loney. “During the last three years, we’ve been able to grow units by more than 20% each year; we have 45 units today, five of which are corporately owned.” Loney says that Stevi B’s challenges the way people think about a buffet restaurant. “Customers can order a specialty pizza,” he says. “We’ll make any pizza for them and bring it to their table.” The buffet features salad, pasta and multiple pizzas to choose from, and the customer has the opportunity to create

Matthew Loney President, Stevie B’s Pizza

his own buffet experience by ordering off the menu—all for the same price. Customer service is also high on the list of priorities, as staff refills drinks, offers customers help in the dining room, etc. Unique flavor combinations, such as the Macaroni and Cheese Pizza, Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, Hot Wing Pizza and Cheeseburger Pizza, bring comfort food and pizza together, according to Loney. “Every year, we roll out new pizzas that keep the buffet fresh,” he says. More than anything, Loney says that Stevi B’s owes its success to its team. “Our head of sales is from Mellow Mushroom; our marketing person is from Arby’s; and our vice president of operations had a long history with Sonic and Whataburger,” he says. “They’ve helped create a lot of the systems and procedures that made the bigger systems great, and they’re now being used here.” “We’re not reinventing the wheel,” says Loney. “We’re just refining and honing what we think we’re already doing well.” In order to continue to grow, Loney says the company needs to stay on the cutting edge of product development and continue to find quality franchisees. “We bring in franchisees that have the same values as we do,” he says. “As long as we stay committed to this, the system will be as great as the franchisees make it.” October 2011 • pmq.com

Promoting the Pizza Industry: The U.S. Pizza Team

MEET THE TEAM:

BRADLEY JOHNSON The U.S. Pizza Team was established in 2000 as a vehicle to further promote the pizza industry and independent pizzerias through friendly competition; live and televised performances; team and individual appearances at store openings; and more. Team members gain a sense of camaraderie with fellow pizzaioli, which affects their stores—and their customers— in a positive way.

MEMBER SINCE: 2011 POSITION: Acrobat, Dough Stretcher PIZZERIA: Mellow Mushroom, Chattanooga, TN CATEGORIES OF COMPETITION: Fastest Pizza Maker, Freestyle Acrobatics, Largest Dough Stretch

A pizzeria employee for more than two years, Bradley Johnson is a recent addition to the U.S. Pizza Team. Last spring, he won his membership when he took first place in the Largest Dough Stretch competition during the team trials in Milwaukee, where he also competed in the Fastest Pizza Maker and Freestyle Acrobatics categories. While he is a relative newcomer to the industry, the pizza maker and college student shows promise for a fruitful future. In addition to his goal of competing with the team internationally, he has no plans for leaving the pizza industry behind when he finishes his studies at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga—in fact, he might even open his own store one day. How did you get involved in the pizza industry? I wanted to move off campus, and I had a few friends who already had a job at Mellow Mushroom —so I just came in and applied. I didn’t know anything about dough or making pizza. But it all came naturally to me. How did you hear about the U.S. Pizza Team? I found out about the team online when I bought my first Throw Dough. I saw a place to sign up for a tryout, and that’s when I decided I’d give it a shot one day. What made you decide it was worth traveling to Milwaukee to try out? A bunch of my friends kept telling me that I was good enough. They asked me to go the previous year in New York, but I decided I wanted to take a little See Johnson more time to train. So that’s in action on exactly what I did. PizzaTV.com. 50

Bradley’s Team Tip: “Be one with the dough! It sounds weird, but once you practice long enough, it all makes sense.”

JOE SZEBENI, TRUE IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

COMPETITION WON: Largest Dough Stretch, U.S. Pizza Team Trials, Spring 2011

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

How much did you train for the Milwaukee show? I put in at least three hours a day before the show. I focused primarily on the Freestyle Acrobatics competition at first. It wasn’t until about a month before the show that I started working on the Largest Dough Stretch and the Fastest Pizza Maker categories. What did your boss and co-workers say when you came home victorious? They were all excited for me. They all thought I was going to win going in to the competition. Why do you want a career in the industry? I really like making pizzas. I’ve fallen in love with every aspect of this business over the last two years. I’ve always loved pizza—it was a staple growing up—and being able to make it for other people is great. And, when it comes to dough throwing, the kids love it! They always crack me up. The whole business is very enjoyable. Do you have any goals? I’d like to compete with the team at an international competition. I’d also like to continue to grow in the business and one day own my own pizzeria—when it’s time.

PMQ – The–Pizza Industry’s Business Magazine 00 Pizza PMQ’sMagazine Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Magazine

Want to join the U.S. Pizza Team? Find out more at uspizzateam.com.

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

THANKS TO OUR U.S. PIZZA TEAM BRONZE SPONSOR: Off the Wall Magnetics

October 2011 â&#x20AC;¢ pmq.com

Belefant’s

10 Rules of Advertising Rule 1: Keep your message simple. Just because you have 30 seconds to deliver a message, you don’t need to stuff the spot. Saying one thing well is better than saying 10 things badly.

Rule 2: Be clear. Know what you are

with Steve Green

Hello again, fellow pizza marketers. As you know, I publish PMQ Pizza Magazine primarily as a way to support my habit of traveling around the industry, visiting my new and old pizza friends, all while discovering more and greater ways of selling pizza—and then sharing these discoveries with you in print and online through words, audio and video. The goal: You become more successful in your business, find valuable resources and information through our content and advertisers, and the cycle continues. I must admit that this time I have outdone myself. I have two great pieces of news to share with you. First you’ll meet a pizza marketing revolutionary—award-winning former television commercial director and Pizza Hut advertising insider Brian Belefant, who will take you on the marketing offensive. Then we’ll go on the defense as we consider the tsunami of change that is really just beginning to hit our industry. Will independents welcome online ordering or get left behind? So who is Brian Belefant, and how can he help you sell more pizza? What if you could hire the former senior vice president and creative director of the BBDO ad agency, which produced national Pizza Hut television ad campaigns, to help you with your local pizza business? Brian Belefant has directed hundreds of television commercials and won many awards during his career, including two Telly Awards and first prize at the London International Advertising Festival. Two of his commercials are even in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Fortunately for the pizza industry, Brian and his business partner, Kelly Pierre, recently started a company called 20Fifteen, which creates affordable, world-class television advertising for local businesses—like pizzerias. 20Fifteen has three ad campaigns ready to go for existing pizza chains, local pizza businesses or co-ops. What makes the advertising so affordable is that the spots are preproduced, then licensed and customized for each market—whether it’s a neighborhood, DMA or regional market. One of the commercials especially created for pizza by Belefant is called “Billy’s Birthday Wish” and is available for viewing at http://20fifteen.tv/?portfolio= billys-birthday-wish, or by searching on PizzaTV.com. Take a look at the storyboard on the following pages and follow some of the thinking behind the creation of this pizza commercial. I spent two days last month learning as much as I could from Belefant, one of the most talented and accomplished marketing minds I have ever interviewed. Listed to the right are some of the points he makes about marketing in general. Whether you’re trying to sell pizza or anything else, these are the rules to remember when creating an ad.

saying and be consistent in your clarity.

Rule 3: Take your time. It’s going to take longer for viewers to get your message than it is for you to give the message.

Rule 4: Genuine is the key. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Sure, some businesses can capitalize on yelling at people. But if that’s not your style, people will pick up on it.

Rule 5: Good creativity is both distinctive and relevant. Don’t just be different for the sake of being different.

Rule 6: You won’t please everyone. It doesn’t matter how great your advertising is—some people are not going to like it. That’s fine. If you want to make friends, you have to be willing to make enemies.

Rule 7: Be balanced. Advertising can either build brand equity or tap into brand equity to encourage a purchase. Running too many sales and offers dilutes the value of your brand.

Rule 8: Be realistic. Advertising is not sales. Sure, a great ad campaign is extraordinarily powerful to create a brand, but it’s only one part of the sales process.

Rule 9: Consistency, consistency, consistency. Everything you do has to come from the same personality: the advertising, the look of your restaurant, the attitude of the person answering the phone. People feel uncomfortable if they don’t know what to expect from you.

Rule 10: Give it time. Remember, Want more advice? Belefant writes a blog as The 60 Second Director (available at 60secdirector.blogspot.com).

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

you’re interrupting busy people and asking them to pay attention to you for 30 seconds. You have to prove that you’re worthy of their consideration before they’ll buy into your message.

Former Pizza Hut advertising legend Brian Belefant puts his talents to work as an “independent” commercial director. Learn more about creating unforgettable advertising by visiting PMQ.com/pizzamarketing and see the extended story of Brian Belefant. You’ll see 10 very high-quality pizza commercials, behind-the-scenes photos, advertising tips and a great PizzaTV interview with the former Pizza Hut advertising legend. Below, Brian explains some of the finer production points in the making of “Billy’s Birthday Wish.” Brian Belefant

And this is how we approximated it. Specialists created wardrobe, makeup, lighting and smoke for atmosphere.

The wide shot

I designed a snap zoom to bring viewers from a wider view that would represent Billy’s point of view to a close-up that would emphasize the sexy temptress’ charms.

The close-up

Reference. This is the sexy yet inoffensive look I was going for.

“Billy’s Birthday Wish” is available for viewing at http://20fifteen. tv/?portfolio=billys-birthday-wish.

October 2011 • pmq.com

There is no precedent for this shot: a single continuous camera move during which time moves forward, then goes backward, then moves forward again. I spend a year designing and building the rig to accomplish the shot.

e boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lling off th fa s e h a c ta ut I added The mus ple gag, b im s re a o m is faces ke it feel ove to ma ed the camera m n d, the tim te a c ti is h music. p so c with the n y s to g droppin

Brian Belefant 20Fifteen http://20fifteen.tv/ 54

PMQ Pizza Magazine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Pizza Industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business Monthly

See all 10 pizza commercials at PMQ.com/pizzamarketing.

October 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ pmq.com

... BREAKING NEWS... ONLINE ORDERING IS REALLY HERE... 25% OF

GET FIRED UP Why you must start taking orders from your customers online: Did you know? 1) 25% of all pizza orders taken by the top three pizza chains are taken online.

2) There has recently been a big surge in online ordering as a result of smartphone usage. 3) Young consumers prefer to order digitally rather than to interact with someone over the phone. 4) Online orders have a significantly higher ticket average. 5) When you take an order online, you gather another customer email address. 6) It’s no longer cost-prohibitive to take orders online (find pricing on the next page). When I see that the big chains are now garnering 25% of their orders online, it reminds me how fortunate we are to be in the pizza business at this particular time. Despite the economy, pizza is doing well as a restaurant segment. Customers may be cutting back on lobster, but they are still cutting into pizza. We are also fortunate beneficiaries of the technological timing of online ordering just now taking off. Not to mention that pizza just happens to be the most-ordered food for takeout and delivery. It was the telephone that made pizza delivery possible in the first place, and after the computer age teased us with the promise of online ordering for the last couple of decades, it took the phone again, in its new incarnation, to really make it work. We can see how it’s working now. We have the product, we have the technology, and your customers want it. Call your POS company or online ordering service provider today and start giving your customers what they will soon be expecting from you—online ordering. All the best in pizza success,

Steve Green Publisher, PMQ Pizza Magazine 56

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

PIZZA ORDERS AT BIG THREE CHAINS ARE ONLINE ORDERS.... BREAKING NEWS....

GET WIRED UP Company

Phone

Website

Cost

411eat.com

832-607-9100

411eat.com

$299 setup fee; $79 per month

Big Holler

888-244-4655

bigholler.com

$600 per year

Click to Go

800-724-7000 x461

clicktogo.com

Custom

Compel Cart

800-419-8480 x376

compelcart.com

Setup fee varies; $60 per month

Dotmenu

888-877-3663

dotmenu.com

Custom

ehungry.com

sales@ehungry.com

2.ehungry.com

$15 per month; 15 cents per order

eThor

650-933-3332

ethor.com

$99 per month; setup is custom

Highspeed Waiter

877-264-8601

highspeedwaiter.com

$299 setup fee; $49.95 per month

iMenu360

866-629-9646

imenu360.com

$19.99 per month

IT Problem Solver

866-755-4877

smartertakeout.com

$500-$700 setup; $45-$60 per month

Merosys

888-575-0276

merosys.com

Basic: $99; Plus: $149.95; Premium: $200

mypizza.com

888-974-9928

mypizza.com

$2 per order

Nextep Systems

866-654-8730 x126

nextepsystems.com

$50 per month

OLO

877-466-6260

olo.com

Custom

One Click Dining

877-328-8040

oneclickdining.com

Custom

OnlineOrdering.com

888-666-1015

onlineordering.com

$39, unlimited ordering; $50 setup fee

Online Orders Now

888-673-3710

onlineordersnow.com

$399 setup; $49 per month

OnlineMenuOrdering.com

310-429-9364

onlinemenuordering.com

$199 setup fee

Onosys

888-666-7976

onosys.com

$2,000-$3,000 setup fee

OrderCounter.com

866-777-2928

ordercounter.com

No setup fee; custom

Orders On the Fly

800-331-8882

ordersonthefly.com

$300 setup; $197 base

Ordyx

561-901-8596

ordyx.com

$50 per month

Patronpath

866-900-6368

patronpath.com

Setup is $499, or $998 with POS integration; $94 per month

QuikOrder

866-584-7845

quikorder.com

Custom

Real Time Ordering

866-932-4782

realtimeordering.com

Fax setup is $250; $75 per month

Snapfinger

678-739-4650

snapfinger.com

Custom

Vrindi

877-987-4634 x1

vrindi.com

$1,000-$3,000

If you currently use a POS system, check first with your vendor to see which online ordering service providers are most compatible. Some POS companies already have an online ordering capability built in, while others work in tandem with online ordering service providers. October 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ pmq.com

The Coupon Code Cash in on the couponing craze through a variety of media—and learn how to best structure your deals to receive maximum return on investment.

The Next Generation Want to target a younger or technologically connected fan base? Courtesy of Blake Shipley, founder and CEO of CoupSmart in Cincinnati, here are some pros and cons to different types of today’s technology-driven couponing media: Text Message Coupons

Facebook/Twitter Coupons

Pros: Immediacy; most people always carry their phones, and an operator can send a text during a slow time for quick response; texts tend to be viewed by recipients

Pros: Increases the ability for people to access your deals and share them with friends, gaining happy customers and a larger network of consumers you can market to; Facebook coupon apps can make getting coupons to fans easy and cost-efficient

Cons: Coupons are usually limited to text only; customers may not want to give their phone numbers; too-frequent texts may annoy customers

Cons: Need to build and maintain a social media presence; may need to hire someone to run it for you

Email Coupons Pros: With half of consumers using smartphones, email is becoming as immediate as texting; consumers are receptive to emails; services can allow you to schedule email campaigns in advance Cons: Might need a designer to make visually appealing emails; email may get lost in a spam folder 58

Daily Deal Sites (i.e., Groupon) Pros: Can quickly gain a significant amount of customers and brand recognition Cons: Often attracts deal seekers who will not return after the deal; requires payment to deal site, and often a significant discount to customers

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

By Tracy Morin Couponing seems to have reached massive proportions, thanks to a variety of factors: With the recession prompting everyone to seek out bargains; the growing presence of daily deals sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial; and the instant gratification of email, texting and social media, more consumers than ever are getting into—and passing along to friends—coupons in some form or another. Shoppers saved $3.7 billion with coupons in 2010, according to the Annual Topline U.S. CPG Coupon Facts Report—a 5.7% increase from 2009. Meanwhile, with TV shows such as Extreme Couponing and the ever-growing list of sites devoted to obtaining coupons for local and national merchants, discounts will undoubtedly continue to rise. “Coupons have become extremely popular, and the current recession has helped them rise in status to something consumers enjoy talking to each other about,” explains Blake Shipley, founder and CEO of CoupSmart in Cincinnati. “The potential for a deal provokes an instant reaction.” However, if you’re a pizzeria owner, whether you currently offer coupons by the truckload or refuse to discount at all, you should become more aware of ways in which coupons can best benefit your business. We talked to several marketing experts to find out how to structure and track your coupons, and decide what type of coupons are right for your business.

“Coupons are great for getting new customers in the door, but a potential pitfall is overpromising and underdelivering. If your coupon is going to draw in a large customer base all at once, employees must be ready for that rush. For freebies, place a limit on the coupon or make the deal time-sensitive. Consider the time of day and week; if you have thousands of customers in your database, send text message coupons on slow days only, for example. “QR codes on coupons are extremely easy to use and track; numerous websites have the ability to generate codes and track the analytics. You can then determine which codes will be used for which types of materials—flyers, box toppers, etc. Also, get to know what your customers want by asking them what specials/deals they prefer; use social media sites to post questions and interact with your customer base, and respond to their suggestions.” –Kelly Mazurkiewicz, creatologist, Motion Marketing & Media, Lansing, MI

“Keep in mind the FAN objectives: increased frequency, higher average sale, and attracting new customers. What are your major objectives? For box toppers, takeout bags and in-store, you want to increase frequency and average sale, so these will need different coupons than new customers. To increase average sale, promote add-on items (appetizers, salads, desserts) and higher-priced items. Get people to buy higher-priced per-consumer entrees: If a family of four splits a $14 pizza, each person spends $3.50—less than if they buy four sandwiches at $6 apiece. Plus, if your menu is extended, you want to get them in for different items, so that they might come twice monthly for your pizza and another time for your sandwiches or pasta. New customers, on the other hand, should be driven toward trial with a universal coupon (good any time/day on any menu segment), such as $5 off any order. For lazy customers, give deeper discounts for 60- or 90-day than you do for 30-day. “Keep in mind your food costs and your marginal contributions. If you sell a $14 pizza with a 30% food cost, you make $9.80; however, ribs might have a 50% food cost, but if you sell three orders at $18 apiece, you’ve made $27. Also know your demographics—you don’t want to offer huge meal deals in areas where the average household is a single person. To current customers, distribute catering coupons. Finally, dollar-off (in any amount) coupons are better than percentage-off; they’re easier to figure out and seem like a better value. “To track results, put a code on every coupon, always in the same place. The code can have six digits: the first two for the vehicle or medium (“10” for lazy customers, “11” for new homeowners, “62” for box toppers, etc.), the next two for when it went out (01-53 to correspond to the week of the year) and the final two for the offer (such as “03” means $3 off). This way, you can track which message got the best results in which medium, when the best response was, and where people are looking.” –Adam Mrowka, founder, Impact Worldwide, Lake Zurich, IL

October 2011 • pmq.com

“Coupons can draw a vibrant customer base to your business. The key is to ensure that you offer a deal your business can afford and that you can control (i.e., reduce fraud); otherwise, you risk discounting yourself out of business. Tally up the number of redeemed coupons each campaign generates to see what works best; keep spreadsheets to track this over time, and train staff to keep the redeemed coupons. Some emerging technologies automate this process and are now tracking coupons on an individual level (i.e., the exact person who viewed, printed and redeemed a coupon). Ultimately, the coupon you offer depends upon your goals, but, most importantly, keep it simple and compelling. Your customers need to understand it, and it needs to be worth their time to act on it.” –Blake Shipley, founder and CEO, CoupSmart, Cincinnati, OH

Operators’ Opinions We posted a thread about coupons and deals sites in PMQ’s Think Tank forum (PMQ.com/tt) and got this feedback from operators: “Coupons are a necessary evil in my area. Unfortunately, I feel the need to coupon heavily to a) get people in and b) keep up with competition. As far as Groupon goes, did it and hate it. I definitely value building customer base and attracting new ones, but not at a loss; Groupon is a promotion at a pretty heavy loss.” –anselmospizza “Coupons are almost a necessity in my area. I try to get around that fact by a) turning the coupon into a package deal, forcing the customer to spend more than the norm to get a discount; or b) discounting or giving away a free item that is typically not ordered (like a dessert item or low-cost item). I do not give discounts directly off my pizza, and I almost never give away free breadsticks, as 50% to 60% of my customers order them already. “While I do not believe Groupon is the way to build a successful business, it is still a useful tool if you use it in the correct manner. To me, it’s advertising—plain and simple. I’ve done it twice now, 16 months apart, and I consider both times to be a success. While some (or maybe even a majority) of the Groupons sold went to bargain shoppers, their ability to reach roughly 200,000 email addresses far exceeds my ability to reach even a fraction of that. While I break even on the food costs, and incur a small increase in payroll during the initial Groupon week, that’s no different than the costs I incur doing a 10,000-piece mailing and getting a 2% to 3% response rate. Groupon is not for everyone. If you are a busy store running 75% to 80% of your max capacity or even max out on the weekends, why bother? But for those who are still growing (or are in the slow season) and can handle the influx, I say go for it.” –SirSilk

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

“When coupon-

“If you use a daily deals site, capture the contact de-

ing, look

tails of those who redeem the offer so you can market

at three

to them directly after the deal is over. Also, to expand your customer base, offer ‘bring a friend’ discounts or

factors: customer capitalization, in-

gift certificates that can be given to first-time customers. Incentivize staff

ventory cannibalization, and

to ask ‘Are you on our email list?’ so that you can get information for

brand degradation. The first

sending out future deals. Also, do the math before you offer any discount

factor refers to whom you

or deal—can you afford it?”

send to; if you have 1,000

–Philippa Gamse, author of 42 Rules

customers on your list and

for a Website That Wins, Capitola, CA

send coupons to 500 of them, and 10 come in; and, of the other 500, five come in, you can assume that half of that first group might have come in anyway, and a 50% rate is not beneficial. The second factor refers to timing; if you’re giving out coupons and your restaurant is already packed on weekends, that coupon may be costing you customers who would have paid full price but don’t want to wait 90 minutes for delivery, for example, due to customers visiting with coupons (track the times and days coupons are used). In these cases, you might want to make coupons good only on specific days or times. And the third factor relates to brand degradation, which is hard to measure. If you’re competing on price, you should be couponing all the time; and to obtain new customers, coupons should be more aggressive.” –Edward Nevraumont, cofounder, Restauranteers, Seattle, WA

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s managing editor. October 2011 • pmq.com

Oyster House Garlic Clams Type of dish: Appetizer Yield: One serving Ingredients 1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed 1 tbsp. Christopher Ranch Heirloom Garlic cloves, chopped 2 fresh basil leaves 2 tbsp. butter 1 c. dry white wine Preparation Combine all ingredients in a small pot. Boil for 5 minutes, or until all clams are open. Serve in a large bowl with the broth.

About the chef Chef Coss uses Christopher Ranch Heirloom Garlic because of “the great flavor, the consistency of the product, the freshness—and because my customers know and appreciate excellent quality.”

pmq/recipebank.com

48 62

PMQ PMQ Pizza Pizza Magazine Magazine –– The The Pizza Pizza Industry’s Industry’s Business Business Monthly Monthly

Tre Latte (Three Milk) White Pizza Ingredients 116 oz. short-rising dough ball 10 oz. Bacio shredded cheese 3 oz. Roma whole-milk ricotta 3 oz. Piancone Pecorino Romano Mix ricotta and Romano. Spread onto a prepared pizza crust. Top with shredded Bacio shredded cheese. Bake about 8 minutes, or until cheese has completely melted. Ingredients for short-rising dough: 13.5 L (3.57 gal) of water 25 kg (55 lb., 2 oz.) Roma 00 flour 100 g dry yeast (if fresh, 250 g) 325 g salt 325 g Roma extra-virgin olive oil Directions for short-rising dough: Place flour and yeast in mixer and let oxygenate for a couple of minutes. Add 80% of the water and mix until completely absorbed (dough should be smooth and assume a pumpkin shape). Add oil and mix until completely absorbed. Add salt and the remaining quantity of water, balancing at your discretion, in order to obtain a more or less soft dough, which has to be dry, smooth, and not sticky. Leave the dough at room temperature for about 1-3 hours, then form the dough balls and let them rise for at least 1 hour. Rising time also depends on the inside room temperature of the preparation place. In all cases, heat an electric, wood or gas oven to about 610°F to cook. Dough can also be used for a longer leavening time (up to the next day); store dough at 40°F, decreasing yeast quantity according to length of time. Adjustments for different types of pizza to be made with the above recipe: For pizza alla pala (long oval pizza) and in teglia (square tray pizza), use more water: about 14-15 L (3.7-4 gal).

pmq/recipebank.com

For traditional round pizza, water should be between 13-14 L (3.4-3.7 gal). October 2011 • pmq.com

Product Spotlight What’s On the Market POCKET MARKETING Text It Advertising provides a simple nationwide mobile phone advertising service. Instantly send coupons and specials directly to consumers’ mobile phones for response rates between 19% and 25%. The service is compatible with any mobile network in the United States. 877-410-8398, textitadvertising.com

MULTIPLE BENEFITS

BOX EVOLUTION The Roma Serve & Store pizza box offers an environmentally friendly option for pizzerias. For consumers, the top of the box conveniently breaks down into four serving plates; the bottom folds easily into a storage container for leftovers; and perforations allow for easy disposal into a standard-size recycling or compost bin. For pizzerias, the box folds in the same way as a traditional pizza box and is exclusively available through Performance Foodservice and Roma Food. romafood.com

DRIVE SALES Text Ripple offers simple, effective and affordable text message marketing solutions that make lasting connections with customers. Talk to your customers the way they communicate. Free demos are available when you text “pmq” to 411669. 248-854-7688, textripple.com

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

POSnet offers a point of sale service designed to makes multistore management efficient and less expensive. With custom-made features and reports, and no license or new versions to buy, the system never becomes obsolete. In addition to managing sales, staff and loyalty programs, the service offers a nutritional analysis feature for your menu. 866-976-7638, www.posnet.us

MOBILE MERCHANT The Microworks PrISM WebOrder v3 allows customers to create and prepay for orders online, allowing a secure way to manage orders while maintaining one credit card with your store’s POS. Orders can be placed for immediate attention or queued for delivery or pickup. WebOrder Mobile technology combines your menu and pricing with the convenience of mobile ordering, with order recall, customer registration, store location and mobile specials. 800-787-2068, microworks.com

October 2011 â&#x20AC;¢ pmq.com

PMQ Pizza Magazine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Pizza Industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Businesss Monthly

October 2011 â&#x20AC;¢ pmq.com

Pizza Puzzler Brought to you by:

PMQ Contact Linda Green for sponsorship opportunities: Linda@pmq.com • 662-234-5481 x121 1

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Better alternative to keg? Ovens Purpose The increase in these is getting to be a problem for delivery business (2 words) Vehicle Large amounts Sparkle, like a clean pan Good looking guy Large size in inches, often Away One billion years or so Quantity Brown color Hello! Played a management role Soda source Bargain Determine Kind of bread Good alternative to doorhangers

8 11 12 15 16 18 19 21 23 24 26 28 30 31 33 34 37

Carrier What makes a pizza great! Delivery driver’s delight Land mobile radio, for short Chop up Romantic connection Key factor in starting up a pizzeria Slice up, like the cheese Exists Absorb, as a cost Leave Tip for cooking fried chicken Feasted Work the dough Spanish for gold ____ pizza: three pizzas! Treat (2 words) Happening Suggested minutes for maximum delivery time? Old Naples money Drink to go with the pizza Utilize Vane direction Tampa locale

Crossword by Myles Mellor

DOWN

30 32

ACROSS

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Businesss Monthly

Find the answer to this month’s crossword at PMQ.com/crossword.

Advertiser Index October 2011 Display Advertiser

Phone

Website

Page

Action Images .................................................... 847-763-9700 ...................................... actionimagesinc.biz ................................ 51 AM Manufacturing ............................................. 708-841-0959 ............................................ ammfg.com ...................................... 25 Arrow POS .......................................................... 877-277-8875 .......................................... arrowpos.com ..................................... 61 Bellissimo .......................................................... 800-813-2974 ...................................... bellissimofoods.com ................................ 47 Best Choice Printing ........................................... 800-783-0990 ............................................... bcms.us.....................................37, 67 Burke................................................................. 800-654-1152 ....................................... burkecorp.com/pm .......................... Cover 3 Christopher Ranch ........................................................................................................ christopherranch.com .............................. 62 CrustSaver ......................................................... 877-437-4743 .......................................... crustsaver.net ..................................... 67 DeIorioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ............................................................ 800-649-7612 ........................................... deiorios.com ..................................... 51 DoughMate ........................................................ 800-501-2458 ........................................ doughmate.com .................................. 66 Eagle Armor Security .......................................... 312-970-1738 .................................. eaglearmorsecurity.com ............................. 66 EZ Dine .............................................................. 877-853-1263 .......................................... ezdinepos.com ..................................... 46 Fontanini ........................................................... 708-485-4800 ........................................... fontanini.com ..................................... 21 Giochi di Pizza .................................................... 305-576-0002 ................................ gdprestaurantsupplies.com .......................... 65 Grande...............................................................800-8-GRANDE ....................................... grandecheese.com ................................... 3 Hix.................................................................800-835-0606 x 205 .................................... doughxpress.com ................................... 60 Hojiblanca ......................................................... 201-384-3007 .......................................... acorsausa.com..................................... 67 Hoshizaki .......................................................... 800-438-6087 .................................... hoshizakiamerica.com ............................... 33 HTH ................................................................... 800-321-1850 ........................................... hthsigns.com ...................................... 65 La Nova.............................................................. 716-881-3355 ............................................. lanova.com ................................ Cover 4 Liguria ............................................................... 800-765-1452 ......................................... liguriafood.com ............................ Cover 2 Lillsun................................................................ 260-356-6514 ............................................. lillsun.com ...................................... 60 Losurdo Foods ................................................... 201-343-6680 ........................................ losurdofoods.com................................... 55 MF&B Restaurant Systems .................................. 888-480-EDGE ......................................... edgeovens.com .................................... 59 Marsal & Sons .................................................... 631-226-6688 ......................................... marsalsons.com ................................... 56 Microworks ........................................................ 800-787-2068 ......................................... microworks.com ................................... 11 Middleby Marshall ............................................. 877-34-OVENS .......................................... wowoven.com ...................................... 7 Moving Targets .................................................. 800-926-2451 ...................................... movingtargets.com ................................ 41 O.S.E.T.S.S. ......................................................... 734-719-1011 ............................................. osetss.com ....................................... 23 PDQ Signature Systems ...................................... 877-968-6430 ............................................ pdqpos.com ...................................... 19 Pizza Prints/The Lucks Company ......................... 800-806-2595 ......................................... pizzaprints.com ................................... 13 POSnet .............................................................. 866-9-POSNET .............................................. posnet.us ........................................ 36 POS Shopper ...................................................... 877-567-5234 ......................................... posshopper.com ................................... 65 Roma Foods ......................................................800-526-ROMA.......................................... romafood.com..................................... 63 Saputo Foodservice ............................................ 800-824-3373 ................................. saputousafoodservice.com ......................25, 29 SpeedLine .......................................................... 888-400-9185 ...................................... speedlinedemo.com ................................. 40 Stanislaus .......................................................... 800-327-7201 .......................................... stanislaus.com ...................................4, 5 Univex ............................................................... 800-258-6358 ......................................... univexcorp.com ................................... 55 Venice Bakery .................................................... 310-322-7357 ........................................ venicebakery.com .................................. 66 PMQ provides this information as a courtesy to our readers and will not be held responsible for errors or omissions. To report an error, call 662-234-5481 x127. October 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ pmq.com

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

ADVERTISING

CHEESE, CONT.

APPAREL CAMPUS COLLECTION ...... campuscollection.net .................... 800-289-8744 CUSTOM T-SHIRT DESIGNS ................................. Free art with minimum order! Inventory Stock Program ............................ we warehouse your t-shirts for you.

COFFEE

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

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE CHEESE

Technology choices for every taste. p

Food for thought... www.pmq.com/tt2/recipe 66 70

PMQ’sPizza PMQ PizzaMagazine Magazine– –The ThePizza PizzaIndustry’s Industry’sBusiness BusinessMonthly Magazine

p p

p Loyalty Programs Point-of-Sale Online Ordering p Automated Marketing Smartphone Ordering

PMQ Industry Resource Guide COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE, CONT.

CONSULTING

CRUSTS MOUNTAIN HARVEST PIZZA CRUST CO.......................................... Billings, MT Contact: Eric LeCaptain ........... 800-342-6205.................... Fax: 406-248-7336 Sheeted Dough, Prebake Crusts, Dough Balls, Freezer to Oven, Self-Rising Crusts in Standard, Wheat and Nine Grain. ...eric@mountainharvestpizza.com T.N.T. CRUST . .................................................. Box 8926, Green Bay, WI 54308 Lisa Bartikofsky .................... 920-431-7240..................... Fax 920-431-7249 Large variety of prebaked crusts and Readi-Rise self-rising, live yeast crusts. Experts in customizing formulas. BAKER’S QUALITY PIZZA CRUSTS, INC. ..................................... Waukesha, WI Par-baked, Sheeted, Pressed and Self-Rising Crusts; Custom Crusts; All sizes. www.BakersQualityPizzaCrusts.com ......................................800-846-6153

CUTTING BOARDS - EQUAL SLICE

DOUGH

DOUGH DIVIDERS/ROUNDERS

pmq.com/tt2/recipe October 2011 • pmq.com

PMQ Industry Resource Guide FLOUR, GLUTEN-FREE

DOUGH DIVIDERS/ROUNDERS

BAY STATE MILLING GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA MIX.............. baystatemilling.com Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, Custom-blends and Co-Packing Dedicated production area for exceptional purity.........................800-55-FLOUR DAKOTA PRAIRIE is a dedicated manufaturer of Gluten-Free flours, 37 pre-mixes, custom-mixes and many packaging options. By far the best grinds and the highest standard of purity ..............dakota-prarie.com............ .............701-324-4330

DOUGH PRESSES, ROLLERS

FLOUR

DOUGH TRAYS/PROOFING TRAYS DoughMate® by Madan Plastics Inc.

DoughMate

• Dough Trays – extremely durable and airtight! • Dough Tray Covers – designed to fit! The Leaders in • Plastic Dough Knives – two ergonomic designs! Dough Handling Products • Dough Tray Dollies – heavy duty! • Excellence in Customer service since 1955! The preferred dough tray of the largest pizza companies in the world. Buy direct from the manufacturer with over 20 years experience in dough trays.

Call 800-501-2450 ........... www.doughmate.com ......... fax: 908-276-9483

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

FOOD DISTRIBUTORS

PMQ Industry Resource Guide GLUTEN-FREE PRODUCTS

MACHINERY/OVENS/EQUIPMENT, CONT.

INSURANCE

MACHINERY/OVENS/EQUIPMENT

October 2011 â&#x20AC;¢ pmq.com

PMQ Industry Resource Guide MACHINERY/OVENS/EQUIPMENT, CONT.

MACHINERY/OVENS/EQUIPMENT, CONT.

MAGNETS

JUMBO PIZZA SLICE MAGNETS 399-2966 WE DELIVER

www.magneticadconcepts.com

977 Butternut Dr. Holland

MAILING SERVICES

Conveyor & Deck Ovens All Major Brands Available

New & Remanufactured! Pizza Store Equipment and Supplies!

MANAGEMENT

KEEP MORE OF YOUR HARD EARNED DOUGH! 3 MONEY SAVING PROGRAMS:

SCHEDULING • ATTENDANCE • DAILY LOG

Leer Walkin Coolers and Freezers

Your #1 Source for replacement parts for all major brands of equipment. Just to name a few...Randell · Stephan · American Range · Imperial · Cold Tech · Middleby Marshall Lincoln Impinger · LEER · CTX · True

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

MARKETING IDEAS

1-800-426-0323 www.northernpizzaequipment.com 8020 Grand Street · Dexter, Michigan 48130 Hobart Mixers

Randell Refrigeration Prep Units & Freezers

Northern Pizza Equipment, Inc.® www.northernpizzaequipment.com

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

How to Sell More Pizza... and keep customers coming back for more! t )PX UP NBLF B MPU NPSF NPOFZ GSPN ZPVS 104 TZTUFN t )PX UP HFOFSBUF SFDPSE TFUUJOH QSPöUT GSPN QSFTFOU DVTUPNFST t )PX UP HSBC CVTJOFTT BXBZ GSPN ZPVS DPNQFUJUPST

901-767-2937

loyaltycoach.com

PMQ Industry Resource Guide MARKETING IDEAS, CONT.

MENU BOARDS NATIONAL MENUBOARD .......................... WWW.NATIONALMENUBOARD.COM MAGNETIC & LIGHTED MENUBOARDS, LED & NEON SIGNS Call us Today at 1-800-800-5237 .................Dave@nationalmenuboard.com

MEAT TOPPINGS BURKE CORPORATION .................................................. www.BurkeCorp.com Italian, Mexican-Style and Specialty Fully Cooked Meats Contact: Liz Hertz............ sales_info@burkecorp.com............. 800-654-1152 FONTANINI/CAPITOL WHOLESALE MEATS Contact: Gene Fontanini ......... www.fontanini.com ................. 800-331-MEAT Pizza toppings, Italian sausage, meatballs, sliced gyros and sliced beef SUGAR CREEK PACKING CO., Private Label Precooked Meat Topping Specialists www.sugarcreek.com .................. 800-848-8205 ............ sales@sugarcreek.com

MIXERS

REACH A NEW AUDIENCE EVERY MONTH! FREE 1ST MONTH MAILING with Exclusive Agreement Exclusivity: Lock Out Your Competition • Zip-Code Select: No Wasted Coverage 2nd Thank You Postcard Mailing • Tru Trak™: So you know its working PLUS Optional Demographically Targeted Postcard Mailings!

1-800-497-8360 x257

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

www.ourtownamerica.com

OLIVES MARKETING, MOBILE

Eighty-Six Slow Sales Mobilize your best customers with a free mobile website and low-cost texting.

...mobilize & connect

ruxter.com 800.763.1953

MENU BOARDS

October 2011 • pmq.com

PMQ Industry Resource Guide OLIVES, CONT.

PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS, CONT. Thermal Bags by Ingrid Best Selection of Pizza Delivery Bags Keep Pizza HOT! 800-622-5560 or 847 836-4400, 24/7 ordering ..... www.ThermalBags.com

ON HOLD MARKETING

PIZZA BOX LINERS

ONLINE ORDERING PIZZA OVENS EARTHSTONE OVENS, INC. .. 6717 San Fernando Rd....Glendale, CA 91201 800-840-4915 .........Fax: 818-553-1133 ...... www.earthstoneovens.com All units UI listed. FISH OVEN & EQUIPMENT CORP. 120 W. Kent Ave........Wauconda, IL 60084 TOLL Free 877-526-8720 ....... Fax: 847-526-7447 ...... www.fishoven.com LINCOLN FOODSERVICE PRODUCTS................................... 888-417-5462 1111N. Hadley Rd. Fort Wayne, IN 46804 ..................... Fax 260-436-0735 Impinger Conveyor Ovens featuring FastBake and Quest EMS

PESTO

MARSAL & SONS, INC. ....................The new standard in the Pizza Industry Brick Lined Deck Ovens • Standard Deck Ovens • Prep Table Refrigeration 631-226-6688 .............. marsalsons.com ........... rich@marsalsons.com PIZZAOVENS.COM Your complete source for buying and selling pizza equipment. pizzaovens.com or call toll free 1-877-FOR OVEN

PIZZA BOXES

PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS BAG SOLUTIONS ................................................. Home of the Pizza Jacket Deliver that pie HOT and DRY! 866-Bag-To-Go (866-224-8646) ........................ www.deliverybags.com

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

ROTO-FLEX OVEN CO. ........................................Contact Richard Dunfield 135 East Cevallos, San Antonio, TX 78204 PH 800-386-2279 ...... www.rotoflexoven.com .......... Fax 210-222-9007

PMQ Industry Resource Guide

October 2011 â&#x20AC;¢ pmq.com

PMQ Industry Resource Guide PIZZA OVENS, CONT.

PIZZA OVENS, CONT.

PIZZA PANS

i feel preƩy.

oh, so preƩy! PIZZA SUPPLIES

The Marsal MB Series is designed to fit your restaurant’s specific needs. Not only is it equipped with our exclusive burner system and 2” thick brick cooking surface to ensure the most evenly baked crust, but it looks great too. You can customize the exterior decor of your MB Series oven easily either with our prebuilt finishing kits or your own brick of tile design. Attract customers with a great looking oven and a great tasting pizza.

PLASTIC DOUGH CONTAINERS

Non Stick • Easy to Clean • FDA Approved Plastic Heavy Weight • Last 10X longer than metal! Replace your dented ones TODAY ! Manufacturers’ Direct Pricing For free* sample email us at:

SunsetPlastics@aol.com

(*Does NOT include postage & handling)

Seƫng the new standard. visit us online at www.marsalsons.com

(631) 226-6688 FAX (631) 226-6890

& sons, inc. Pizza Ovens and Equipment

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Call Vito:

718-200-1013

PMQ Industry Resource Guide PIZZA SUPPLIES

PRINTING, CONT. Manufacturer & Distributor of Pizza Smallwares www.paprod.com 734-421-1060

COMMERCIAL PRINTING • MAIL FULFILLMENT SERVICES

8999

PIZZA PEELS LILLSUN ........................................................PO Box 767, Huntington, IN 46750 Setting the Standard ............................................Made in the U.S.A. since 1951 Ph 260-356-6514 ............ www.lillsun.com ......................Fax 260-356-8337

www.colorvisionprint.com • 800-543-6299

Per 1,000 Postcards, 5x7, 2-color

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

PRICE, QUALITY & SERVICE! M • Dooarketing List! PREMIUM ,000 PREMIU 10,000 r Han • g

t (SFBU 1SJDFT t (VBSBOUFFE 2VBMJUZ t 1FSTPOBM 4FSWJDF t 1SPGFTTJPOBM (SBQIJD %FTJHO t 'BTU 1SPPGT t 0OF 5XP 'VMM $PMPS 1SJOUJOH t 8F 4IJQ /BUJPOXJEF t '3&& 4BNQMFT

PRINTED COLORS

Men • Fly us er • Box s Tops

.COM

Where Every Impression Counts!

ers

! ore dM An

DOOR HANGERS 2-Color (2/0) 349. ((4/4) 599. Full

REFRIGERATION

2 Color printed 2-Color pri on 80lb Premium Smooth cover 4 Color printed on 80lb Premium Gloss cover

O:239.352.2755 F:239.353.4255

SPECIALTY FOODS CASTELLA IMPORTS, INC. ............................................... www.castella.com 60 Davids Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788 ....................................... 866-Castella

SPICE FORMULATION, BLENDING & PACKAGING CALIFORNIA BLENDING, INC. ........ Confidential Custom Blending & Packaging. Bill Mooreheart, Jr. ....................... Serving Industiral Spice needs since 1976. 2603 Seaman, El Monte, CA 91733.............................................626-448-1918 CASTELLA IMPORTS, INC. ............................................... www.castella.com 60 Davids Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788 ....................................... 866-Castella MCCLANCY SEASONING ............................ One Spice Road, Fort Mill, SC29715 Contact: Chuck Wiley 800-843-1968 ................................................................... Fax: 803-396-7794

pmq.com/tt2/recipe October 2011 • pmq.com

PMQ Industry Resource Guide REPLACEMENT PARTS

WEBSITES

SAUCE

USED EQUIPMENT

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

USED HOBART 60 QT. MIXER FOR SALE AT US $4980.00 PLUS SHIPPING. Call Lynn at 214-552-3218........................................ or e-mail tbfm@tbfm.com

VENTILATION

WINGS

STICKY NOTES

TAKE AND BAKE TRAYS

INCREASE YOUR REVENUE with an ad in the

PMQ Resource Guide

TOMATO PRODUCTS

Two-line Listing (Text-Only) Three-line Listing (Text-Only) Add BOLD Add COLOR

$600/year $1,000/year $250/year $500/year

1” GRAPHIC BOX (by 3.5” w) 2” GRAPHIC BOX (by 3.5” w) 3” GRAPHIC BOX (by 3.5” w)

$2,500/year $4,700/year $7,000/year

Don’t miss another issue! TELEPHONE EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES/SERVICE Specializing in voice and data communications service, repair, installation, sequencers and on-hold messaging.

GUARANTEED LOWEST INDUSTRY PRICE! www.fidelitycom.com.........................800-683-5600

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

662-234-5481 Clifton Moody x138 (clifton@pmq.com) Linda Green x121 (linda@pmq.com)

Resource Guide Advertiser Index October 2011 Resource Advertiser

Phone

Page

20fifteen .............................................................503-683-2015 ............................. 70 411eat.com..........................................................213-622-4247 ............................. 76 AFC Insurance ......................................................800-411-4144 ............................. 73 Allied Metal Spinning ...........................................800-615-2266 ............................. 78 AM Manufacturing ..............................................800-342-6904 ............................. 71 American Institute of Baking ................................785-537-4910 ............................. 70 American Wholesale.............................................216-426-8882 ............................. 79 AMS Enterprises ...................................................865-524-2087 ............................. 73 Armanino Foods ...................................................866-553-5611 ............................. 80 Atlantic Shores .....................................................401-499-3618 ............................. 74 Arrow POS ............................................................888-378-3338 ............................. 70 Bacio ................................................................... 855-BACIO85 .............................. 70 Bag Solutions.......................................................866-224-8646 ........................76, 77 Baker’s Quality Pizza Crusts ..................................800-846-6153 ............................. 71 Bay State Milling ..................................................800-55-FLOUR ............................. 72 Belissimo .............................................................800-813-2974 ............................. 72 Best Choice Print & Marketing Experts ..................800-783-0990 ............................. 79 Best Point of Sale .................................................866-285-7613 ............................. 71 Burke Corporation ................................................800-654-1152 ............................. 75 California Blending ..............................................626-448-1918 ............................. 79 Campus Collection ................................................800-289-8904 ............................. 70 Caputo .................................................................868-450-0090 ............................. 70 Casa Di Lisio .........................................................800-247-4199 ............................. 76 Castella Imports ...................................................866-CASTELLA ............................. 79 Chalk Talk ............................................................800-492-4255 ............................. 75 Chef a la Mode .....................................................888-804-3375 ............................. 70 Chef Santo Bruno .................................................813-230-8108 ............................. 71 Color Vision ..........................................................800-543-6299 ............................. 74 CoverTex ..............................................................800-968-2310 ............................. 76 Crust Saver ...........................................................877-437-4903 ............................. 76 Dakota Prarie Flour ..............................................701-324-4330 ............................. 72 DeIorio’s...............................................................800-649-9212 ............................. 71 Domata Living Flour .............................................417-654-4010 ............................. 72 Dough Xpress .......................................................800-835-0606 ............................. 72 DoughMate ..........................................................800-501-2450 ............................. 72 Dutchess Bakers’ Machinery .................................800-777-4498 ............................. 72 Earthstone Ovens .................................................800-840-4915 ............................. 76 EDGE ....................................................................888-480-EDGE ............................. 76 Escalon ................................................................ 888-ESCALON.............................. 80 Fidelity Communications ......................................800-683-5600 ............................. 80 Fish Oven & Equipment ........................................877-526-8720 ............................. 76 Fontanini ............................................................ 800-331-MEAT ............................. 75 GI. Metal ..............................................................630-553-9134 ............................. 77 Granbury Restaurant Solutions .............................800-910-3947 ............................. 70 Grande Cheese Company ..................................... 800-8-GRANDE ............................ 70 Heritage Food Service Equipment .........................800-458-5593 ............................. 80 High Point Coffee .................................................662-234-9942 ............................. 70 Hudson Refrigeration Manufacturing ...................800-924-8687 ............................ 74 Incredible Bags ....................................................888-254-9453 ............................. 77 J & G Mills ............................................................734-469-4504 ............................. 73 Krisp-It ................................................................800-590-7908 ............................. 75 Klondike Cheese ...................................................608-325-3021 ............................. 70 La Nova............................................................... 800-6-LANOVA............................. 80 Le 5 Stagioni ........................................................800-780-2280 ............................. 72 Liguria Foods .......................................................800-925-1452 ............................. 75 Lillsun..................................................................260-356-6514 ............................. 79 Lincoln Foodservice Products ................................888-417-5462 ............................. 76 Lindsay ................................................................800-252-3557 ............................. 75 Lloyd Pans............................................................800-840-8683 ............................. 78 Loyalty Coach .......................................................901-927-2937 ............................. 74

Resource Advertiser

Phone

Page

M.Press Packaging ...............................................541-548-9889 ............................. 80 Magnetic Ad Concepts ..........................................800-365-3351 ............................. 74 Mario Camacho Foods...........................................800-881-4534 ............................. 75 Marsal & Sons ......................................................631-226-6688 ....................... 74, 78 McClancy Seasoning .............................................800-843-1968 ............................. 79 Melissa Data ........................................................800-635-4772 ............................. 74 Menu Powerhouse ...............................................888-210-8189 ............................. 79 MenuPro ..............................................................800-907-3690 ............................. 71 Message On Hold..................................................800-392-4664 ............................. 76 MFG Tray ..............................................................800-458-6050 ............................. 72 Microworks POS Solutions.....................................800-787-2068 ............................. 71 Molino Caputo .....................................................201-368-9197 ............................. 72 Mountain Harvest Pizza Crust ...............................800-342-6205 ............................. 71 Moving Targets ............................................. 800-926-2451 ext. 356 ..................... 75 Mr. Peel ...............................................................888-994-4664 ............................. 79 Musco Family Olive ...............................................800-523-9828 ............................. 76 My Pizza.com .......................................................888-974-9928 ............................. 76 National Menuboard ............................................800-800-5237 ............................. 75 Neil Jones Food ....................................................800-291-3862 ............................. 80 NMI .....................................................................800-994-4664 ............................. 78 Northern Pizza Equipment....................................800-426-0323 ............................. 74 NoteAds ...............................................................800-309-9102 ............................. 80 Off the Wall Magnetics .........................................800-337-2637 ............................. 74 Our Town .............................................................800-497-8360 ............................. 75 P.A. Products ........................................................884-421-1060 ............................. 79 PDQ Signature Systems ........................................877-968-6430 ............................. 71 Peel A Deal...........................................................877-563-5654 ............................. 75 Peerless Ovens .....................................................800-548-4514 ............................. 76 Picard ..................................................................800-668-1883 ............................. 78 Pizza Equipment Warehouse.................................888-909-9237 ............................. 78 Pizza Mixers.com ..................................................877-764-9377 ............................. 75 Pizzaovens.com....................................................877-367-6836 ........................76, 78 POSnet ................................................................866-976-7638 ............................. 71 Portion Padl .........................................................330-608-5928 ............................. 71 Prebilt Hosting .....................................................878-291-7925 ............................. 80 Presto Foods ........................................................800-589-8604 ............................. 72 Printed Colors ......................................................239-352-2915 ............................. 79 Proxprint .............................................................888-310-7769 ............................. 79 Real New York Pizza Dough ...................................878-951-3555 ............................. 71 Red Gold ....................................................... 877-908-9798 ext. 163....................... 80 Redi Heat .............................................................888-556-2024 ............................. 76 Roto-Flex Oven.....................................................800-386-2279 ............................. 76 Ruxter .................................................................800-923-1953 ............................. 75 Saputo .................................................................800-824-3388 ............................. 70 Somerset .............................................................800-772-4404 ............................. 72 SpeedLine ............................................................888-400-9185 ............................. 71 Star Pizza Box ......................................................800-626-0828 ............................. 76 Sugar Creek Packing .............................................800-848-8205 ............................. 75 Sunset Plastics .....................................................878-200-1013 ............................. 78 TNT Crust .............................................................920-431-7240 ............................. 71 T&T Graphics ........................................................800-557-9914 ............................. 79 Thermal Bags by Ingrid.........................................800-622-5560 ............................. 76 Thunderbird .........................................................800-7-MIXERS ............................. 73 Timeforge ............................................................866-684-8791 ............................. 74 Touch Pro .............................................................877-888-0300 ............................. 71 Ventilation Direct .................................................866-433-8335 ............................. 80 Vesuvio Foods ......................................................800-997-0887 ............................. 72 Wood Stone .........................................................800-988-8103 ............................. 78 WP Bakery Group .................................................203-929-6530 ............................. 73

October 2011 • pmq.com

(

time capsule

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Cloverleaf Bar & Restaurant It’s hip to be square at this 65-year-old eastside Detroit-area institution, whose owner helped pioneer the city’s legendary square style. In 1944, Gus Guerra formed a partnership with his wife Anna’s uncle to open In B Bu ud Buddy’s Rendezvous in Detroit—at first a bar only. “Profits from the bar business w we e weren’t enough to live on, so Grandma Passalacqua told my parents they should ssell se el food, too,” recounts Marie Guerra Easterby, daughter of Gus and co-owner off Cloverleaf with her brother Jack. “In 1946, Grandma taught her son-in-law, G Gu u her Sicilian-style pizza recipe; they made it Grandma’s way, baked in rectGus, an a n angular pans and cut into squares.” Unfortunately, the partnership fell through, so Gus sold Buddy’s and the pizza recipe, moved to Eastpointe and purchased so th h Cloverleaf Bar (cloverleafrestaurant.com) in 1946—which, today, has grown the to encompass seats for 200-plus guests, an enclosed patio, a lounge, an extento ssive si i menu, off-premise catering, and even nationwide shipment of par-baked p pies. “When the pizza was iintroduced in n in the 1940s, m my folks said it was like a lli i little baby—you watched iit grow, and the popullarity grew,” says Marie. T That tradition continues tthrough the generations, as now all of the college-age grandchildren of Gus and Anna now work at the Cloverleaf; and spreads outward, as Shawn Randazzo, formerly a delivery driver, owns two carryout locations (cloverleafonline.com) with his wife, Linda. The Cloverleaf product—thick with a golden crust, including caramelized, crunchy corners thanks to the well-oiled seasoned pans in which the pies bake—has similarly inspired generations of loyalty from customueent ers. The pizzeria stays active in the community through frequent d in n charity work, as well as the Cruisin’ Gratiot event (co-created d it its its ’99 by a Cloverleaf manager), which highlights the city and hat ha at automobile connections. Despite an electrical fire in 1993 that on ndemolished the Cloverleaf building, the family rebuilt and coniitth tinues to find success even amid a marketplace teeming with nd pizzerias and rising costs. “You have to love what you do and xkeep quality high; there’s a lot of competition out there,” explains Marie. “Our customers have high standards, and theyy won’t go for cheap ingredients or shortcuts!” –Tracy Morin (Top to bottom) Gus Guerra enjoys a slice; Gus’ wife, Anna, teaches the craft to her granddaughter Teresa; Gus stands outside the business. To see more historic photos from Cloverleaf, visit PMQ.com/blog. Has your pizzeria been in business for 50 or more years? If so, contact us at tracy@pmq.com. 82

PMQ Pizza Magazine – The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly