EVENTS & PROMOTIONS

Summer 2023

Industry Events

European Pizza & Pasta Show: June 21-22

Here’s your excuse for a summer vacation in London! This show is a one-stop shop for pizza and Italian restaurant owners and managers looking for Europe’s top products and services, from pizza, pasta and

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Discover all of the events impacting the pizza industry this year at PMQ.com/calendar Hosting an event? Send your submissions to editor@pmq.com.

and a Changing Consumer; and Technology, Drive-Thru and an Omnichannel World. Keynote speakers include Andrew Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A, and other industry leaders. Learn more at qsrevolutionconference.com

June: National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month

Help your customers kick off a healthier summer by putting your vegetarian and vegan offerings front and center. June is also a great time to create new dessert pizzas topped with fresh-from-the-garden fruits. Start planning now to work with local and/or regional growers and farmers markets to source your veggies and fruits, and remember to spotlight these partners on your website and in your social media.

DON’T FORGET THESE NATIONAL FOOD AND BEVERAGE DAYS IN JUNE AND JULY 2023!

National Cheese Day

Sunday, June 4

Fresh Veggies Day

Friday, June 16

Juneteenth

Monday, June 19

National Onion Rings Day

Thursday, June 22

Independence Day

Tuesday, July 4

National Mac & Cheese Day

Friday, July 14

National Ice Cream Day

Sunday, July 16

National Chicken Wing Day

Saturday, July 29

The Touch Of An Artist

Chef Mariano Codoñer was just 23 when he founded Terra Nostra in 2018. And he’s proven to be a culinary innovator with the touch of an artist, firing up gorgeous pies in a Central American metropolis that you probably wouldn’t normally associate with great pizza: Guatemala City. “One of my recipes includes oregano and rosemary as part of the ingredients for the dough,” he told PMQ. “Normally, all year-round, I use other ingredients [in the dough], such as beets, basil, tomato paste, blue spirulina, pumpkin, coffee, etc. This is part of giving our customers an experience, from the dough to the toppings of the pizza.” The oozy, creamy edges of Codoñer’s artfully braided crusts also pop with flavor. “At this moment, we have three different kinds of filled crust—cream cheese and catupiry cheese; chipotle made with Guatemalan chilies; and pesto and ricotta cheese,” he said. “I try to incorporate different native ingredients and present the dishes with technique and color.” You can read more about chef Mariano at pmq.com/terra-nostra.

An Eye On India

Figaro’s, a 42-year-old U.S. pizza brand headquartered in Salem, Oregon, opened its first store in Hyderabad, India, in early April and quickly set out to make an impact on the community. The new Figaro’s location hosted a group of students from the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID), provided them with fresh, hot pies and showed them how pizzas are made from scratch. The event was organized by a pair of local nonprofits to provide the students with a memorable experience. Figaro’s is poised for rapid growth in India, according to Ron Berger, the company’s chairman and CEO, with several development agreements for master franchises already signed in various parts of India. “Thus far, commitments are for more than 250 units over the next 10 years,” Berger told PMQ. Following the first store’s opening on April 5, he said, a second location is scheduled to open soon (as of press time) in Delhi, with a third one coming to Mumbai. Franchisee Vamsi Kapilavai told The Indian Express that freshly made dough and sauce will be two unique selling points for Figaro’s stores, “as compared to the centralized or frozen doughs that we [usually] see” in India.

Heavy On The Garlic

Hengam “Enga” Steinfeld says she’s a “proud garlicoholic,” so it’s no wonder she made a big stink over National Garlic Day at Mattenga’s Pizzeria, which has six locations in the San Antonio area. Steinfeld used funny videos, social media posts and even a press release to call attention to the Great Garlic Gathering, her celebration of garlic’s big day, on April 19. The restaurant chain went heavy on the garlic from 5 to 7 p.m., putting garlic knots, cheesy garlic bread, and a pizza with a garlic-paste base center stage on the menu. Steinfeld and her husband, co-owner Matt Steinfeld, also gave away free black garlic and Japanese garlic bulbs, garlic gardening kits and samples of garlic-flavored foods, such as garlic chips. The Steinfelds’ imaginative approach to social media marketing has drawn more than 10,000 followers to Mattenga’s Facebook page, while their Instagram Reels get up to 2,000 views. The owners are both former engineers who quit their jobs to take over a failing pizzeria in 2014 without any prior experience.

First Starts And Second Chances

Still struggling to hire staff? MOD Pizza co-founder Ally Svenson says you might be overlooking someone: people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and those who have been involved with the justice system. As part of its social mission, the fast-casual pizza chain has launched the MOD Opportunity Network (MOD O.N.) to connect its restaurants nationwide with nonprofit organizations that help job seekers who might ordinarily get passed by. Give these workers a chance and solid training, and they will often turn out to be your most reliable and loyal employees. At least, that’s been the case for Seattle-based MOD Pizza, which has made it a point to hire workers from overlooked populations since it was founded in 2008. “We know firsthand the impact inclusive hiring can have on our Squad, our culture and the communities we serve,” Svenson said in a press statement. To recruit job seekers looking for a first start or a second chance, MOD O.N. will “leverage the power of for-profit business working alongside nonprofit partners,” including Goodwill Industries, FareStart, Hospitality Opportunities for People (Re)Entering Society (HOPES) and Best Buddies International. “Together, we will break down barriers, create more opportunities, and help contribute to a world that works for and includes everyone,” Svenson said.