PMQ Pizza Magazine March 2013

Blue Moon Rising Page

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Atlanta chain shines with bold beverage strategy and 7,000-member loyalty program.

SAUCES | Page 36 VEHICLE MARKETING | Page 44 SIGNAGE | Page 50

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DEPARTMENT online at pmq.com Pizza TV: Recent Videos

Our Top Social Media Picks Social media is more than just Web-based chatter—it’s a marketing revolution! Whether running a “Big Three” franchise or a mom-and-pop 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:

PMQ Pizza Magazine Company Tour: Take a video tour of PMQ’s Oxford, Mississippi, office and enjoy a behind-the-scenes glimpse of our 15-member staff hard at work producing the pizza industry’s No. 1 trade magazine and website.

This Week in Pizza

andopizza Just a note: The Andolini’s Pizzeria Mobile Food Truck will be featured on KOTV: The News on 6 at about 12:40 p.m. zpizza614 Where would you like to see the next zpizza in Columbus? We are looking to expand again, maybe to Dublin…

VeneziasPizza There’s something about #Friday that makes everyone think #pizza.

Use the code TW345 for 15% off any specialty pizza!

Grotto Pizza Move over, Friday. Wednesday is the new pizza night! Join us tonight for ½ price pizza from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. For Swirl Rewards Club members only!

CiCi’s Pizza Midland Students, don’t forget to show us your school ID to get a $6 buffet. This includes all the pizza, pasta, salad and dessert you can handle, plus a drink.

Catch up on the latest pizza industry news every Wednesday with Pizza TV’s weekly online broadcast, This Week in Pizza, with hosts Brian Hernandez, Michelle McAnally and Daniel Lee Perea.

Find us on Twitter: @pmqpizzamag facebook.com/pmqpizzamagazine

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PMQ Pizza Magazine

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Pizza Crossing A new trend in pizza toppings has begun at PC: pineapple and jalapeño. Would you try it?

CONTENTS march 2013 On the cover

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Blue Moon Rising With an aggressive marketing strategy and a full-service bar in each of its four locations, Atlantabased Blue Moon Pizza follows a business model that gets more pizza into more customers’ hands in more ways than most chains its size.

By Rick Hynum

features

36 Secrets of the Sauce From pizzas to pastas to wings, chefs and experts explain how to transform so-so fare into extraordinary signature dishes using both premade and homemade sauces.

By Michelle McAnally

44 The View From the Road Your delivery vehicles are an extension of your business, so it pays to get creative with your automobile signage and make customers—and potential customers—take notice.

By Michelle McAnally

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Signs of the Times Well-designed signage, especially the digital variety, can solidify your brand, draw a greater number of new customers, increase sales and enhance the guest experience.

By Tracy Morin

Coming Next Month Pizza of the Month: Mega-Meats Frozen Treats: With summer on the way, pizzeria operators explain how ice-cold delights— such as ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt and frozen drinks—can attract families, couples and kids to your restaurant.

Kids Promotions: Kids love pizza, but they also want a little fun with their finger foods. Operators and consultants discuss the five crucial elements of a successful kids marketing program.

Refrigeration: From prep tables to refrigerators and open-air merchandisers, experts reveal how to get the most efficient use out of your refrigeration equipment.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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CONTENTS march 2013

18

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departments 18 In Lehmann’s Terms:

A Pan for All Seasonings, Part 2 Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann offers tips on seasoning and taking care of aluminum pans.

20 New York’s Finest: The Pot of Gold Success in the pizza business is never guaranteed, but your chances are better if you follow these 14 expert tips from Chef Santo Bruno.

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Accounting for Your Money: How to Prepare for a Sales Tax Audit According to Mike Rasmussen, transparency and solid recordkeeping will boost your credibility when the IRS comes calling.

24 Marketing Maven: A New

Marketing Strategy for Red Boy Pizza, Part 1 In part one of a two-part case study, Linda Duke relates how a new marketing and branding approach helped Californiabased Red Boy Pizza boost its sales and improve franchise consistency.

56 Pizza of the Month: Cheese With mouthwatering options ranging from mozzarella and Parmesan to pecorino, Fontina, Romano, feta and Asiago, there’s nothing “plain” about a cheese pizza.

82 Time Capsule:

Arcaro & Genell For more than 50 years, this Old Forge, Pennsylvania, pizza institution has thrived in the “Pizza Capital of the World.”

10 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

24 in every issue 6

Online at PMQ.com

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Editor’s Note

14

Letters to the Editor

16

Pizza Press

60

Product Spotlight

67

Advertiser Index

68

Industry Resource Guide

81

Resource Guide Advertiser Index

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EDITOR’S NOTE rick hynum

An Age of Wonders

On the cover: The sky’s the limit for Blue Moon Pizza founders Kelvin and Amanda Slater. Check out this month’s cover story on page 26.

Photo by Shannon Kiss

As a kid growing up in the early 1970s, I once received a gift that struck me as a technological marvel: a futuristic-looking toy gun that emitted fiery, reddish sparks which, to my eight-year-old mind, were surely the next best thing to high-powered laser beams and just as deadly to my imaginary enemies. I’d never seen anything like it, and neither had the other kids on Bellevue Street. It put their puny little cap pistols and imitation machine guns that went “aack-aack-aack” to shame. It could take down a Sasquatch, no problem, and you could use it in a pinch to fix holes in your spaceship from Klingon bomb blasts. “Truly,” I thought to myself, “we are living in an age of wonders.”

And in those days, the so-called “futurists” promised more awesome wonders to come. By the year 2000, we were told, we’d all be tooling around in flying cars and personal jet-packs. Colonies of bustling human enterprise would thrive on alien planets, and we’d be wearing skin-tight spacesuits of silver and blue that made us all look sleek, slim and sexy.

Jeez, talk about getting your hopes up for nothing. None of those mind-bending innovations ever came through. Instead of robot maids that make your bed and scrub your toilet, we’ve got pocket-sized telephones that play ringtones of “Free Bird” and “Three Times a Lady.” Instead of vacation getaways on the sun-drenched beaches of some alien planet in the Pleiades galaxy, we spend our free time browsing the Internet for pictures of cats that crave cheeseburgers.

But even if the 21st century hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, these high-tech communications gadgets and networks—smartphones, text messages, websites, the “cloud”—are still pretty cool. That’s why we at PMQ are so proud of the newly revamped PMQ.com. But when I say we’ve revamped it, don’t get nervous: It’s still, hands-down, the most advanced and comprehensive research and information tool for the pizza restaurant industry. But now it looks better, and it’s easier to use, with bigger, bolder fonts and colors, more intuitive navigation, better use of images and, best of all, more content, including every article from our print magazine as well as bonus content that you won’t find anywhere else.

Meanwhile, popular features like the Think Tank remain as active and robust as ever, and we’ve also beefed up our video section, as well as our classified ads section and the Pizza Pages, with new content.

In other words, PMQ remains on the cutting edge even without jet-packs and robot maids. So if you haven’t checked out the new and improved PMQ.com, we hope you’ll do so right away. Drop us a line and tell us what you think. We’d love to hear your thoughts. In fact, I’d love to hear anything that’ll get this “Three Times a Lady” ringtone out of my head.

Rick Hynum Editor-in-chief PMQ Pizza Magazine 12 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR rick hynum Left Out of the Top 50 Our company was left out of your list of the Top 50 U.S. Pizzerias [“Pizza Power,” December 2012]. I have the Cottage Inn pizza chain out of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

We have 55 locations with total annual sales of about $35,000,000. If there is a way that we can be put into your database, we would greatly appreciate it.

George Michos CEO, Cottage Inn Pizza Ann Arbor, MI Thank you for bringing this to our attention, George. We get the top chain information for our Pizza Power Report from Technomic. According to our Technomic representative, the company includes only the largest national U.S. chains in its report, which means that regional chains such as Cottage Inn don’t usually make the list. However, Cottage Inn is listed in the company’s database, and Technomic is tracking it.

Help for Sandy Victims I’m the owner of two pizzerias in Lavallette, New Jersey. Due to Hurricane Sandy, my two stores were destroyed. Many other pizzerias down the Jersey shore are in the same predicament. I have no flood insurance, and FEMA is not helping small businesses. I have contacted various Sandy charities—including the Red Cross, the Robin Hood Foundation and the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund—but

they only disburse funds to nonprofit organizations. So I came up with the idea that PMQ could bring together pizzeria owners and suppliers around the country to help out. Maybe a fund could be set up to help affected pizzerias, or maybe suppliers could give discounts or donations to the fund. Maybe pizzerias around the country can set aside one night and donate 10% of their sales to the fund. I hope that the PMQ staff and other pizzeria operators will contact me to exchange some ideas.

I would appreciate it, and I know the families that own the affected restaurants would also appreciate it.

Emanuele Iosue Lavallette Pizzeria/Oven Pizza Lavallette, NJ 732-259-6103 theoven812@gmail.com We certainly want to help our comrades-inpizza, and we are exploring options. We also encourage our readers to hold fundraisers or to find other ways to help their pizza brethren. You and your fellow pizzeria operators who have been affected by Sandy remain in our thoughts and prayers.

CORRECTION On page 28 of the December 2012 issue, the introduction to the graph illustrating World Frozen/ Chilled Pizza Growth should have stated, “Western Europe and North America currently hold top sales in the frozen/chilled pizza market, with $7.3 billion and $5.8 billion in 2012 annual sales respectively.”

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.

Think Tank 2.0 • • • • •

Robot marketing at Caesars...

Robot Coupe mixer...

Heaven on earth...

Online ordering coupons...

What’s your best special?

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

Winner of 5 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 editorial Editor-in-Chief Rick Hynum rick@pmq.com ext. 130 Editor at Large Liz Barrett liz@pmq.com Senior Copy Editor Tracy Morin tracy@pmq.com Food Editor Michelle McAnally michelle@pmq.com ext. 133 Design/Production Art Director Kara Hoffman kara@pmq.com ext. 135 Designer Eric Summers eric@pmq.com ext. 140 Media Production Daniel Perea dperea@pmq.com ext.139 advertising Sales Director Linda Green linda@pmq.com ext. 121 Account Executive Clifton Moody clifton@pmq.com ext. 138 Account Executive Tom Boyles tom@pmq.com ext. 122 administration Chief Financial Officer Shawn Brown shawn@pmq.com Circulation Manager Sherlyn Clark sherlyn@pmq.com ext. 120 Director of Operations/ Event Coordinator Brian Hernandez brian@pmq.com ext. 129 U.S. Pizza Team Director Missy Green missy@pmq.com ext. 125 PMQ International PMQ China Yvonne Liu yvonne@pmq.com PMQ Australia-NZ Tom Boyles tom@pmqaustralia.com Pizza&Food Gabriele Ancona gabriele.ancona@pizzafood.it French Liaison Julien Panet jpanet@pizza.fr editorial advisors Chef Santo Bruno Tom Lehmann Joey Todaro Ed Zimmerman

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A P u bl i cat i on of P M Q , Inc .

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

14 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

contributors Santo Bruno Linda Duke Tom Lehmann Michael J. Rasmussen

Volume 17, Issue 2 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.

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pizza press news & views

A Purpose-Driven Culture As the CEO of Nick’s Pizza & Pub (nickspizzapub.com) in Crystal Lake, Illinois, Nick Sarillo runs one of the country’s busiest independent pizzerias and reports margins nearly twice that of the average pizza restaurant. He credits his store’s success to a purpose-driven culture, which is the focus of his new book, A Slice of the Pie: How to Build a Big Little Business.

The book explains how Sarillo built his company culture and how anyone can follow his methods. “People kept asking me to share what I’m doing, because they noticed how happy people were at Nick’s,” he says. “The restaurant industry doesn’t have to be like most people think it is: high stress, no fun and quick burnout.”

Sarillo’s trainers constantly interview and, even if they don’t have an opening, snap up exceptional candidates and create positions for them before the competition does.

He also provides health insurance for his employees and has an open-book policy, sharing both good and bad news with his staff. “We improve our profit line by taking care of our people and our community and providing a sustainable organization,” Sarillo says. “I believe people want to do their best, and it is up to us as leaders to support them to realize their greatest potential. Together, we can change the industry.”

Pizzeria owner Nick Sarillo shares the secrets behind his highly successful, nontraditional business culture in his new book, A Slice of the Pie: How to Build a Big Little Business.

Customers Warm Up to Winter Coat Drive

Park City Pizza filled its beloved Volkswagen Beetle, “Old Mellow Yellow,” to the roof, including the trunk, with coats for the needy during its recent coat drive for a local homeless shelter.

How many coats can you fit in a Bug? Park City Pizza Company (parkcitypizzaco.com), located in Park City, Utah, recently collected more than 100 coats for a Salt Lake City homeless shelter, enough to fill the pizzeria’s Volkswagen Beetle pizzamobile, affectionately called Old Mellow Yellow. Owner Nikki Keye offered free medium pizzas as a motivator. “Our regulars would have probably brought them in anyway, but, because we were featured in the local paper, it brought in new customers and those who had maybe forgotten about us,” Keye says. “We had new faces in daily, which was awesome, because we did not pay a cent in advertising.

“The cost to us was so minimal,” Keye adds. “We gave away just over 40 medium two-topping pizzas, and we received so much publicity via Facebook, Twitter and the local paper. Our intention was to help a buddy accomplish something really nice during the coldest time of year; the publicity and new customers were a bonus.”

Pizza and Valentine’s Day: A Love Story Forget flowers and diamonds—the path to your sweetie’s heart is through her stomach. That’s why Rocky Rococo Pizza and Pasta (rockyrococo.com) in Madison, Wisconsin, offers a heart-shaped Valentine’s Day pizza for all of those pie-loving romantics out there.

And while it’s true that more and more pizzerias these days offer similar promotions, Rocky’s started doing it more than a quarter of a century ago, and, from the start, it was a match made in heaven.

“Valentine’s Day is very exciting at Rocky’s,” says marketing project manager Amy Bartley. “We have been offering the heart pizza for over 25 years, and it is our single greatest sales day of the year. Our ovens are literally busting at the seams.” Rocky’s takes preorders for the custom-made pizzas, which come with a free heart-shaped balloon. That’s one delicious way to spice up your love life!

16 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Wood-Burning Oven Fires Up Home Market Wood-fired pizza shops may soon get some competition from folks at home.

London-based inventor Kristian Tapaninaho has come up with a fully functional wood-burning oven that’s the size of a carry-on suitcase. Using the crowd-funding resource Kickstarter, Tapaninaho raised more than $25,000 to finance the development and marketing of the Uuni, which means “oven” in his native Finnish. “I wanted to develop my own pizza making and take it to the next level, but I found I was hindered by my domestic oven’s capabilities,” Tapaninaho says. “Traditional wood-fired pizza ovens are very large and costly. With this in mind, I set out to design Uuni to help solve the problem.”

Designed for home kitchen use, the Uuni reaches the same 800°-plus temperatures as a traditional wood oven. Tapaninaho is now taking preorders for the Uuni, which costs $287 and will start shipping this summer.

Kristian Tapaninaho shows off his invention, the Uuni, a suitcase-size wood-fired oven designed for home kitchen use.

YNot’s Jersey Boys Reach Out to Storm Victims

Co-owners Harry DiSilvestro (left) and Tony DiSilvestro present Theresa Soska, regional major gifts officer for the American Red Cross Coastal Virginia Region, with a check for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

When the DiSilvestro brothers, owners of YNot Pizza and Italian Cuisine (ynotpizza.com) in Virginia Beach, Virginia, saw the devastation wrought

by Hurricane Sandy in their home state of New Jersey, they knew they had to help.

Ynot recently held a fundraiser for the superstorm’s victims, donating a portion of their sales that weekend and matching customers’ in-store donations made at Ynot’s five locations. “I’m proud that our generous customers—our extended family—rallied around the cause and helped us raise this money for the hurricane victims,” says co-owner Harry DiSilvestro.

YNot presented a check for $6,192 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. “We are Jersey boys, and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone so tragically affected by Sandy,” adds co-owner Tony DiSilvestro.

The Pinecone Queens of Gainesville

Satchel Raye from Satchel’s Pizza crowns Suzanne (left) and Savanna Holloway for their winning entry in the 7th annual Pinecone Contest.

Satchel’s Pizza (satchelspizza.com) in Gainesville, Florida, is known for its funky decor and art, but its annual pinecone contest is just as quirky. Created by owner Satchel Raye, an artist who often works with found materials, the contest has been going on for seven years. The entries, submitted year-round and then judged in January, have included pinecones from miniature to giant-size, and many with unusual shapes. “People have started turning in cones with stories, too—we call them story cones,” Raye says. “California has some really big, gorgeous cones, and someone brings one in every year, although nowadays really tiny cones or oddly shaped cones sometimes win.”

Raye describes this year’s winner, made by sisters Suzanne and Savanna Holloway, as “a stick with a clump of a bunch of cones

on the end. It was something different we had never seen before. The second-place winner was one of the big California cones, and a story cone won third place.” Raye bestowed gift cards, framed certificates and homemade trophies on all the winners, plus the pièce de rèsistance for the grand-prize champions: the pinecone crown of glory.

Satchel’s customers have been turning pinecones into works of art for seven years.

March 2013

pmq.com 17

In Lehmann’s Terms Tom “the dough doctor” lehmann

A Pan for All Seasonings, Part 2 Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann discusses the pros and cons of seasoned aluminum pans.

By Tom Lehmann

QUESTION: In your previous column, you explained how to take care of seasoned steel pans.

What about aluminum pans?

ANSWER: We’ll look at two types of aluminum pans in this month’s column: bright finish and dark anodized finish.

Bright Finish. Bright-finish aluminum pans come in two forms: raw (untreated) aluminum, which I would not recommend using, and anodized finish.

Raw aluminum pans will discolor with merely the slightest exposure to soapy (alkaline) water and are also highly prone to corrosion. I’ve seen such bad corrosion on some pans that they looked as if they had been attacked with an ice pick!

On the other hand, anodized-finish aluminum pans will have a bright finish, but they are not prone to the problems described above. Even so, they must be seasoned before use to obtain the best baking results. All things considered, I place bright-finish aluminum pans on par with bright steel pans. Steel pans are a bit more resistant to damage, but they are also prone to rusting, so, in my book, it comes out a draw.

Dark Anodized Finish. Although we normally think of a dark-color, nonstick finish as a Teflon coating, Teflon has not proven to be very durable in this application. Therefore, most of what you see today in this type of finish will actually be a bonded, anodized finish that is much more durable than Teflon. All anodized finishes are not the same, however—

some are extremely durable, while others simply aren’t. My advice is to purchase a couple of sample pans from different manufacturers and test them out in your operation, or consult with others who use pans from that manufacturer about their durability.

The biggest benefit of a dark anodizedfinish pan is that it has all the color it needs to give a great bake right from the start. It won’t need any messy seasoning and, by nature, will be highly resistant to damage resulting from soaking in hot, soapy water.

These pans need only a very light coating of oil, applied occasionally during use, to ensure good release properties. In fact, the finish on some of these pans is so hard and durable that you can dig a deep-dish pizza out of the pan using a metal spatula without damage to the pan.

The biggest drawback to this type of pan can be the upfront purchase cost— it’s not cheap. However, when considering the pan’s overall durability, that

18 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

expense might start looking like a pretty good investment a few years down the road when you begin noticing problems with other seasoned pans; the dark-color anodized pans will keep doing their job without much, if any, maintenance or serviceability issues.

Finally, on the general subject of seasoning pans, there could be one minor drawback: When you season a pan, it will create a significant amount of smoke, so keep this in mind, particularly if you’ve got smoke detectors in your building or neighbors who may complain or think a fire has broken out. If a fire truck shows up, you may have to explain to the firemen that you were simply seasoning your pans!

Tom Lehmann is the director of bakery assistance for the American Institute of Baking (AIB). Need more dough advice? Visit the Dough Information Center at PMQ.com/dough.

“You gotta start with quality if you want to end with quality.

Joe Calcagno Owner, La Bella

When you’re a third generation pizza maker, what you serve matters, it’s a part of who you are. That’s why at La Bella’s, Joe Calcagno insists on using tomatoes with the BEST FLAVOR—he insists on Escalon Premier Brands. Our canned tomatoes are packed fresh and steam peeled with no added citric acid and deliver CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE every time.

To sample a better tomato today, call 1-888-ESCALON or visit www.Escalon.net.

©2013, Escalon Premier Brands.

New York’s Finest Chef Bruno

The Pot of Gold

Chef Bruno offers 14 tips for starting a successful pizzeria in a still-struggling economy.

A

pizzeria is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Many people feel a pizzeria is the safest way to make big money. This is a mistake; in fact, a pizzeria can be a good moneymaker, but it’s not easy work by any stretch, and your chances of success are slim. The pizza business might have been an easier, more profitable venture several years ago, but today the picture has changed.

If you’re thinking of starting your own pizzeria, consider several key points before you invest your hard-earned cash: 1. A pizzeria is not an extension of your home’s “Italian kitchen.” It is a serious business and must be recognized as such.

2. Just because you have Grandma’s recipes for pasta, ravioli, lasagna and pizza, that doesn’t make you a chef.

3. To fully understand the culinary aspect of the business, you should undergo training at a qualified and reputable cooking school or with an experienced chef.

4. Be prepared to spend all of your time—24/7—in your new business. If you’re not always at the store, you will lose control of it.

5. Before starting a pizza restaurant, consult with a qualified advisor who can guide you in the right direction.

But keep one thing in mind: In today’s market there are too many fly-by-night consultants who do not know the pizza industry specifically. So choose wisely.

6. One of the biggest mistakes is to start your venture with too much or too little equipment or with too large a space to accommodate the expected traffic.

7. Research the area you are considering for your restaurant, and make sure it’s a busy, high-traffic location.

Customers from nearby schools, shopping centers and office buildings can all add to your bottom line.

8. Do your research, consult with experts and choose the right equipment.

9. Only buy what you need.

10. Be aware of your food costs and avoid waste. Many recipes allow you to utilize ingredients from the previous day and add extra items to your menu.

20 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

DAG BENNSTROM

By Chef Santo Bruno

11. Use only the finest ingredients available. It’s important to shop around for the best, freshest ingredients. Remember: The quality of your food reflects your choice of top-quality ingredients.

12. A great many pizzerias simply don’t make the grade and fail after a short time. You must have enough money in reserve to carry you for a year, until your business starts generating a profit.

13. If you’ve got six employees and you leave the day-to-day business in their hands (rather than spending all of your time at the store yourself ), that’s like having as many as seven “partners.” However, you are still the one who carries the financial burden. If nothing else, make sure that you can fully trust the people you hire. Remember that your store is, in a very real sense, your “life.” Your employees are not the hired help; they are important members of your team, and you must be confident that they can be trusted with your “life.”

14. The most important thing is to be cautious and ready to learn. Don’t jump into a business that you don’t know.

Of course, I don’t mean to paint a picture of doom and gloom. If you are willing to work extremely hard and adhere to a viable short-term and long-term strategy, you can create a wonderful life for yourself in the pizza business. Just keep the old adage in mind: “Live for today, plan for tomorrow and don’t give up on your dreams.”

Chef Bruno is PMQ’s culinary advisor, with more than 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

How to Prepare for a Sales Tax Audit Well-organized records and a transparent, proactive approach will boost your credibility with auditors.

By Michael J. Rasmussen

QUESTION: How can I know if my accountant has prepared me for a possible sales tax audit?

ANSWER: In the case of an audit of one of my firm’s clients in California, covering the tax years 2010 to 2012, the following documents had to be submitted: • Sales and use tax returns, including related worksheets • General ledger and related journals supporting tax return calculations • Sales invoices and cash register tapes (if applicable) • Purchase invoices (paid bills) for consumable supplies and fixed assets (i.e., furniture, fixtures and equipment) • Documentation supporting claimed exempt sales (i.e., resale certificates and freight bills) • Federal income tax returns, including depreciation schedules • Property tax statements • Sales invoices for fixed assets sold during the audit period For our first meeting with the auditor, we organized everything on a CD and even prepared a Net Sales Calculation.

We provided an Excel worksheet with documentation that concurred with the POS system’s record of net sales as well as the quarterly financial records, the quarterly sales tax filings and each year’s federal income tax returns. Our proactive and transparent approach boosted our credibility with the auditor.

We also provided a sample daily sales report from the POS system and accounting records that offered a road map of the sales calculation flow from daily sales to quarterly sales tax filings. By illustrating our method of following state procedures, we had to spend less time educating the agent and defending our filings.

This proactive approach should be part of your monthly, quarterly and annual accounting procedures so you’ll be prepared for an audit. Don’t wait to see if your accountant has assembled documents in a way that would defend a sales-anduse tax audit. While you are completing year-end tax returns, simply ask the question, “Are we ready for an audit?”

22 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Question: Are gross receipts from some restaurant supplies purchased for resale exempt from state sales tax?

Answer: As a general rule, some items are exempt, and others are not. Here in Arkansas, exempt items include paper, plastic and Styrofoam cups used for dispensing beverages as well as paper and plastic lids; paper and plastic bowls, paper boats, boxes and containers used for dispensing food items; and the wrappers for these bowls, boats, boxes and containers.

Nonexempt items include paper plates; paper and plastic straws and stirrers; plastic tableware and utensils; paper napkins; paper sacks; and premoistened towelettes.

However, restaurants that use paper plates or other containers may purchase the plates or containers exempt as a sale for resale.

In other words, if your supplier charges sales tax on these items, you can obtain a valid resale certificate in your state and provide it to your supplier; this will ensure that you don’t have to pay sales tax once when buying these items and again when you charge the customer and collect the tax.

Regardless, state tax laws vary, so you must consult with an accountant in your state to get all the facts.

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.

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Marketing Maven Linda Duke

A New Marketing Strategy for Red Boy Pizza, Part 1 Linda Duke outlines her plan to boost sales and ensure franchisee consistency for a multilocation, California-based pizza company.

By Linda Duke

R

ed Boy Pizza (redboypizza.com), with eight locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been serving pizzas since 1969. Six of Red Boy’s locations are owned by franchisees. But the company needed a marketing boost and a strategy to ensure branding consistency from location to location, so my company, Duke Marketing, signed on to lend a hand. Our work with Red Boy makes a strong case study for any small franchise company looking to revamp its marketing and branding approach, so I’d like to share the results of our efforts with PMQ’s readers.

Red Boy Pizza hired us in June 2011, and we worked for more than a year with the company. In this month’s column, we’ll look at what we accomplished in the first six months of the relationship, including the strategies and promotions that were implemented and the results. In next month’s column, we’ll discuss the second six-month period and the fruits of our labor.

June 2011. We began by creating a survey for all Red Boy Pizza franchisees to gain their insights and determine their key needs and concerns. Their top priorities were sales promotions, business-to-business promotions, new lunch and dinner specials, and an enhanced company website. This survey provided a good starting point, making it easier to map out our strategy for the coming months.

July 2011. We made recommendations to update the overall look and feel of each restaurant. At the time, different locations sported different decor—one store had tan walls, while another had pink walls, for example. The Red Boy logo was nowhere to be seen, and key branding elements were missing. Therefore, each location got a fresh coat of yellow paint on its walls, matching the company’s logo, which is now prominently 24 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Red Boy Pizza franchisees pose for their first photo together in years.

displayed with Red Boy Pizza’s taglines inside each location.

The interior signage, POP and pizza pan displays (used to illustrate various pizza sizes) are now uniform, visible and consistent throughout each restaurant. The new look brought in new customers, and more people soon began to dine in at Red Boy Pizza.

August 2011. We took over the company’s social media management and built up its Facebook and Twitter activity.

The company’s number of Facebook fans jumped by 100%.

Meanwhile, since the eight-unit pizza chain had not solicited customer feedback for many years, we created guest comment boxes and comment cards for each location. Some franchisees were hesitant at first, unsure if they really wanted to know what their guests had to say. Fortunately, the vast majority of comments were positive, and the franchisees were pleasantly surprised. Meanwhile, we also began tracking each location’s Yelp reviews and provided franchisees with helpful instruction for handling negative posts.

(Above left) Red Boy Pizza staffers present a check to the American Cancer Society after a Breast Cancer Awareness Month fundraiser; Red Boy Pizza franchisees embraced the “Slice & Soda for $4.25” promotion.

September 2011. We launched Red Boy Pizza’s first companywide promotion in more than three years. The “Slice & Soda for $4.25” promotion, which took place during the back-toschool period, drew in many new customers and stimulated more frequent visits from existing customers. We designed fliers and posters for each store and created display ads that ran in local newspapers. Just one month after running the promotion, total sales increased by nearly 5%. “Slice and Soda” had already been a common Red Boy phrase, but each location had been charging a different amount and serving different sizes of slices.

By standardizing the size and price, Red Boy Pizza made the promotion profitable and consistent at all eight locations.

We also developed a Monday Night Football happy hour promotion, which included a 50% discount on all beer and appetizers and a slice and soda for $4.25, between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. This proved to be a popular and successful Monday night deal.

October 2011. Red Boy Pizza celebrated National Pizza Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month by developing a new gourmet pizza, a Margherita, which was sold for $12.99 for a medium size. A percentage of sales went to the American Cancer Society. To ensure consistency at each location, we designed a laminated list of step-by-step instructions for making the pizza. We also designed fliers, posters, direct-mail pieces and email blasts for each location. Red Boy presented the American Cancer Society with a sizable donation, and sales increased for the month by more than 7%.

November 2011. We created Red Boy Pizza’s holiday meal promotion, called “Bundle Up for the Holidays.” This consisted of a bundled meal that included either a large two-topping pizza, large salad and beverages for two; or lasagna for two, large salad, garlic bread and beverages, with both deals priced at $27.99 through the end of December. We designed fliers and posters for each restaurant as well as an email blast that went out to Red Boy Pizza’s rewards members and Facebook and Twitter users. Sales weren’t quite as good as we’d hoped

at all locations, but, overall, sales and transactions for the month were up.

December 2011. We organized a holiday food drive to benefit local food banks. Each customer who brought in a nonperishable food item received a free soft drink. The promotion garnered press in the local newspapers, and Red Boy Pizza collected 137 pounds of food.

Additionally, we developed a marketing strategy for the franchisees’ catering services. First, we designed $5 discount certificates, which Red Boy presented to nearby businesses to give away to their customers. We also developed catering packages and menus. Then, our team hit the streets, delivering free pizzas, certificates and catering kits to these businesses, including hotels, doctor’s offices, hospitals, fitness clubs, auto dealerships and other companies. The managers of these businesses were encouraged to give the $5 certificates to their favorite customers as thank-yous and, of course, were made familiar with Red Boy Pizza’s catering services, just in time for the holiday season. In the next two weeks, each restaurant began to see results—new customers showed up to redeem the $5 certificates, with one store getting more than 20 certificates brought in.

Also in December, we developed a sales tracking and reporting process to help the franchisor gather weekly sales data from every franchisee. Additionally, to ensure food consistency at each location, we arranged for a single distributor to provide product for all eight stores, resulting in a 2% savings in food costs. Finally, we conducted a strategy and planning session for the upcoming year, scheduling marketing initiatives for the first six months of 2012. We’ll tell you more about that in the next issue of PMQ!

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.

March 2013

pmq.com 25

feature story Blue Moon pizza

Kelvin and Amanda Slater launched Blue Moon Pizza just two weeks after their wedding in 2003.

26 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Blue Moon

Rising

By Rick Hynum Photos by Amy Hunsinger

Blue Moon Pizza’s chicken wings (above left) come in a range of flavors, including Lemon Pepper and Garlic Parmesan; the Margherita is one of more than a dozen specialty pizzas on the menu.

With a full-service bar, curbside pickup and 7,000 loyalty club members, Atlanta’s Blue Moon Pizza targets the widest possible customer base.

When Cammy Wagner learned she had celiac disease, the longtime Blue Moon Pizza (bluemoonpizza.com) customer faced a difficult choice: Give up her favorite pie for good, or eat it anyway and pay a painful price.

It’s surely a testament to the quality of the Atlanta-based chain’s fare that Wagner kept eating the gluten-laden pizza despite her body’s strenuous objections—at least for as long as she could, before she finally went back to munching on salads.

“She was a regular guest with whom we had become friendly, and she began educating us about celiac disease before anyone was talking about it,” recalls Blue Moon Pizza co-founder Amanda Slater. “She’s also Italian, and to sit there and not eat pizza was killing her. So she would cheat sometimes and just deal with the consequences. She would say, ‘I’m not supposed

to eat pizza, but it’s so good I’m willing to be sick for a week just to have it.’ That’s when we decided to do some research and develop a good product for people like her.”

For Amanda and her husband, co-founder Kelvin Slater, developing a gluten-free recipe—and modifying the pizza making protocol to prevent cross-contamination—was a big job and a serious commitment, but it paid off. The glutenfree menu drew in new customers who hadn’t been able to eat pizza in years.

Heartwarming as it is, Wagner’s story also illustrates a key component of Blue Moon Pizza’s philosophy: Every customer matters. The Slaters pride themselves on making personal connections with their guests and ensuring that no one feels left out. With four locations in the Atlanta area (Marietta, Vinings,

March 2013

pmq.com 27

Good Times On the Moon A promotion like this one comes along once in a blue moon—literally.

Amanda and Kelvin Slater, co-founders of Blue Moon Pizza, partnered with Blue Moon Brewing Company last summer to take advantage of a somewhat rare celestial event: a blue moon, which is a second full moon in a single calendar month. The weeklong promotion, touted via e-blasts and table tents, led up to an actual blue moon on August 31. Blue Moon brews took over the pizzeria’s taps, and giveaways included T-shirts that read, “I drank a Blue Moon at Blue Moon On a Blue Moon” for every customer who bought a pitcher of Blue Moon beer. “So many people came out just for the shirt,” Amanda says. “I was really shocked at the power of a T-shirt as a giveaway.”

The Slaters have also earned PR buzz with a number of other promotions in recent years, including a heartwarming tribute to their longtime customer Ed LaPorta, a local WWII veteran and former POW. The Marietta Daily Journal and local news channels covered the celebration. Additionally, the Slaters host weekly trivia contests and wine specials and heavily promote their take-and-bake service for Super Bowls and other major televised events.

Blue Moon Pizza often partners with Blue Moon Brewing Company on promotions and giveaways.

Buckhead and Sandy Springs), the company follows a business model that gets more pizza into more customers’ hands in more ways than most chains its size, while an aggressive marketing strategy gives guests more reasons to keep coming back.

A “Less Ordinary” Brand When they opened their first Blue Moon Pizza in Marietta in 2003, the Slaters—both veterans of major chains, including Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Outback Steakhouse—cultivated a unique brand identity from the start. The logo, a retro-style illustration of a smiling crescent moon against a starry, darkblue sky, conveys a friendly, even comforting visual image, while the name itself connotes a rare and memorable experience.

“We started out with the slogan ‘Pizza This Good Only Comes Around Once in a Blue Moon,’ but that was a little wordy,” Amanda says. “Before opening our second location, we worked with a branding company and developed our current slogan, ‘Life Should Be Less Ordinary.’ As customers, we felt like most of our dining experiences had been pretty average— not a lot of personality, not a lot of connection with the staff.

We wanted to create a special dining experience in which our guests and our staff could really connect and interact.”

Along with the pithy slogan, the Blue Moon website boasts a simple, streamlined design, with photographs depicting an all-inclusive atmosphere: smiling couples on a date, a bustling full-service bar, cute kids with mouthfuls of pizza, and groups of friends relaxing on the patio.

28 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Atlanta’s mild climate and Blue Moon Pizza’s spacious patio make outdoor dining an attractive option for customers.

The Slaters also piggyback on the popularity of an unrelated brand with a similar name: the Blue Moon Brewing Company.

The pizza chain and the beer company have forged a close-knit relationship, Amanda says. “We sell a ton of their beer, and they help us out any way they can. They come and do tastings and education with our staff, and they also give us coasters, mugs and anything else that will help us sell their beers.”

Mad About Martinis Beer lovers have plenty of choices at Blue Moon Pizza, including microbrews, Guinness and Peroni. But a pizzeria that strives to be “less ordinary” can’t lean too heavily on the standard pizza-and-beer combination. That’s why every Blue Moon Pizza location boasts a full-service bar with a cocktail menu worthy of a high-end nightclub. After all, not everyone likes beer. “We didn’t want to exclude anyone from dining with

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“We thought a full-service bar would help us create our own niche, and I think it has. People come just for the drinks sometimes.” -Kelvin Slater Thursday night is $5 Martini Night every week at Blue Moon’s full-service bar.

us,” Kelvin says. “We thought a full-service bar would help us create our own niche, and I think it has. People come just for the drinks sometimes.”

Along with well drinks and premium brands, the bar also features infusions—that is, spirits steeped with fruits over a period of days, then strained and used in cocktails. “We make several of our martinis with Bacardi rum infused with strawberries and pineapples, and we use the rum for our mojitos, too,” Amanda says. “We also infuse vodka with pineapples. The infusions are contained in jars behind the bar; they start a lot of conversations and create a unique customer experience. We can mix other types of drinks with the infusions, or we’ll pour an infusion straight from the jar for sipping.”

30 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

For those who love booze on a budget, $5 specialty martinis take center stage on Thursday nights. The selection includes the Blue Moontini, the Green Apple Martini, the Cosmopolitan, the Cheesecake Martini and the Grape Kool-Aid Martini, to name a few. Kelvin says the cocktails add another dimension of sociability to the guest experience, drawing in customers that might normally think of Blue Moon Pizza as just another pizza place. “When someone comes in to pick up a carryout order and they’re waiting at the bar, they see everything that we offer, and it sticks in their minds,” he says. “Suddenly, we’re factoring into their date-night plans, or we’re looking attractive to a group of friends or a group of couples who want to get together for drinks.”

The bar accounts for about 15% of Blue Moon Pizza’s total sales, Amanda notes. The Slaters take a systematic approach to cost management, using portion-control jiggers and carefully monitoring inventory. And every employee undergoes safeservice training to ensure that customers don’t get overserved.

“Some people who are unfamiliar with running a bar might be afraid of it,” Amanda observes. “There are additional fees

and some extra training required. But all of the restaurants we worked in had a full bar, and it was something we wanted to do. I don’t think we ever considered not having a bar.”

Of course, even a “less ordinary” pizzeria can’t live on beverage sales alone. Ultimately, the bulk of business comes down to making delicious pizza and getting it into as many mouths as possible. This is where the Slaters truly shine, offering services that extend far beyond standard dine-in and delivery.

Numerous local businesses call Blue Moon Pizza for catering orders, choosing from a simplified menu featuring salads, wings, pizzas, drinks and desserts. “We get a lot of repeat catering business,” Kelvin says. “One of our biggest customers is Coca-Cola in Marietta—we deliver every day to a different section of their building.”

But that’s just for starters. Blue Moon Pizza also offers a popular take-and-bake option, promoting it via social media, email and instructional videos on Youtube and Facebook.

Take-and-bake pizzas prove especially convenient to customers who deal with Atlanta’s notorious traffic every day. “For a lot of people, it’s a long commute after work, so if they stop and pick up a pizza on the way, it’s cold by the time they get home,” Kelvin says. “Take-and-bake allows them to eat our pizza on their schedule.”

And what about those hungry but harried customers who just don’t want to get out of their cars? The Slaters oblige them,

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Every Blue Moon Pizza location has a full-service bar with a martini menu, high-end spirits and signature drinks.

“As customers, we felt like most of our dining experiences had been pretty average. We wanted to create a special dining experience in which our guests and our staff could really connect and interact.”

—Amanda Slater

too, with curbside pickup. “At one of our locations, you have to park across the street, walk over, get the pizza, then walk back to your car again,” Kelvin explains. “If Mom’s on the way home from picking up the kids, she doesn’t want to have to drag everyone out of the car and back again to get pizza, especially if it’s cold or raining outside. With curbside pickup, we come to them, and we create an easy, clean transaction.”

7,000 Members and Counting In their mission to create a “less ordinary” experience, the Slaters set out to build “a community of guests…and make every person who comes in the door a more frequent and connected customer,” Kelvin says. The company’s loyalty

32 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

program has amassed 7,000 members, each of whom receives a regular newsletter via email. “The key is that the newsletter can’t just say, ‘Come buy our food.’ We focus on other things that are relevant, like food drives or pizza recipe contests. We try to keep it conversational in tone rather than sending out a heavy-handed marketing message.”

With the original points-based program, customers signed up by filling out an information card and earned a point for every dollar spent in the restaurant; 100 points earned a $10 reward. As of press time, however, the company was launching a new E-Rewards Club program. Under this system, table tents bearing QR codes will be placed on every table in each store.

Guests can scan the codes with their phones while waiting for

Blue Moon Pizza: The Stats Headquarters: Marietta, Georgia Co-Owners: Amanda and Kelvin Slater Year Founded: 2003 Number of Units: 4 Dine-in, carryout, delivery, curbside pickup, take and bake Number of Employees: 160

their food; the code leads them to an online enrollment page, and signing up automatically earns a reward, such as a free appetizer. “The ongoing rewards will be scheduled out instead of given on a per-point or per-dollar-spent basis,” Amanda says.

“All of the details aren’t worked out yet. The other program worked very well for us for many years, helping to building our database and generate repeat visits. We only changed programs because, as you can imagine, with 7,000 members, it got a little out of control administratively and financially.”

That customer database will likely keep growing, especially if plans to open a new Blue Moon Pizza in Fort Myers, Florida, work out. Meanwhile, the Slaters also hope to open more shops in the Atlanta area. “It will be important to prove the concept outside of Atlanta, but we have no time frame,”

34 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Kelvin says. “We need to find and train the right people before we even think about adding more locations.”

Even after taking on two additional partners to aid in expansion plans, Kelvin says he’s “always nervous” about opening new stores.

“I think we’ve been very blessed to come as far as we have, so I don’t take it for granted,” he says.

“There are no guarantees when we open a new location, but, if we stick with our motto, work hard and do it right, we feel very confident that we can be successful.”

And, after 10 years, the Slaters still love the pizza business. “I was in one of the stores today, testing a new product that will keep our delivered pizzas fresh, and I ended up eating about four or five slices,” Kelvin says. “I got to spend some time with customers that I used to see when I was there all the time, and I really enjoyed that. It’s still fun. I’m most excited about what we can potentially do and what we can create for other people—that’s what drives us. You will have always challenging times, but that’s all it is—it’s a moment in time. It will pass.”

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

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dag bennstrom

feature story sauces

36 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Secrets of the

Sauce A signature sauce can turn pizzas— and a multitude of other menu items— from run-of-the-mill to out-of-this-world.

By Michelle McAnally

T

he sauce, as they say, is the boss. Whether topping pizza crusts baked to perfection, enshrouding the most superlative pastas or glazing the juiciest wings, the sauce is always the icing on the cake.

No matter how top-notch your other ingredients may be, the sauce can make or break a pizza. “A great sauce is part of your signature, so to speak, and we think it’s equally important as having a great crust,” says Anne Keller, co-owner of Hot Tomato Café (hottomatocafe.com) in Fruita, Colorado.

“If the sauce is bland, that lack of flavor can cancel out so much of the taste you expect from the pizza. Sauce adds the zest to the pizza and imparts a characteristic that your toppings won’t quite create.”

“I think the sauce and crust are equally important,” agrees Scott Toth, chef and co-owner of Chicago’s Pizzeria Serio (pizzeriaserio.com). “A great pizza starts with a great crust, but with a great sauce you can turn even a mediocre crust into a great pizza. With the right combination, you’ll really have a winner.”

Getting a Head Start According to PMQ’s 2012 Pizza Industry Census, more than 26% of respondents begin with a ready-made sauce and jazz it up to create a custom formulation. “We use a mix of pizza sauce, crushed tomatoes, spices and water for a mix that gives us a nice balance of zest and flavor,” Keller says. “Our advice would be twofold: First, using a good-quality tomato is critical; second, don’t be afraid to add spice.”

Toth also gets a head start with a prepared pizza sauce base and adds high-quality, whole, peeled plum tomatoes from a can, ground tomatoes and seasonings, including a little sugar, salt, basil and other spices. “I try to keep it simple and don’t overpower it,” he says. “I like to add bits of the tomato peel to give it more of a tomato flavor. If you’re starting with a good tomato, it’s going to have a lot of flavor and sweetness built in.”

According to Deb Crisan, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Rao’s Specialty Foods, an operator with limited time and staff should feel free to take advantage of a premium ready-to-serve sauce. “Not only does it save costs

March 2013

pmq.com 37

UBON’S

dag bennstrom

A perfectly spiced sauce adds zest to your pizza while balancing out the flavors of the toppings.

on preparation time and labor; the ingredients will always be consistent in flavor regardless of the season, making the chef ’s creation foolproof.”

A basic premade sauce can be used over pasta, stromboli, calzones, fried calamari and lasagna, Crisan suggests. It can also be used as a finishing sauce for steaks, chicken, veal, pork and seafood. If you’re looking for something a little different, a ready-made vodka sauce lends variety to your menu—enhancing seafood, chicken and pasta dishes as well as brunch dishes such as quiche, frittatas and omelets.

Of course, some pizzeria operators still prefer to make their sauces the old-fashioned way. In fact, more than 56% of those who answered the Pizza Industry Census said they go the homemade route. Carlos Buscaglia, chef partner at Due Forni (dueforni.com) in Las Vegas, makes his sauce from scratch.

“To create a great red sauce, I start by roasting white onions and carrots in the pizza oven to caramelize them. Once the vegetables are done, I sauté garlic and pork bones in a large pot until they are golden brown.” Next, he deglazes the mixture with white wine, adds tomatoes and simmers the sauce for five hours, seasoning with fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste.

Many pizzeria operators don’t cook their pizza sauces at all, believing that heating a tomato sauce decreases its fresh flavor or that it’s simply more trouble than it’s worth. “We used to cook it, but we realized it made no overwhelming difference at all,” says Doug Brandt, owner of Pie Hole Pizza Joint in Chicago. “It was an extra step, extra labor and extra dishes, with no really noticeable benefit.” Brandt adds his own blend of seasonings to a premade sauce and then lets it sit overnight. “In my mind, although cooking might help to marry the flavors, I would think it would also break down a lot of the natural sugars in the tomatoes,” he adds. “I’m sure there is a lot of 38 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Adding the sauce to the top of the pizza helps maintain a crunchier crust and stops the cheese and toppings from being pulled off when you bite into the pizza.

science behind that, and some people might prefer the effects that cooking might have on a sauce, but I’m all for simple, productive and efficient preparation.”

But Domenico Crolla, owner of Bella Napoli (bellanapoliglasgow.com) in Glasgow, Scotland, slow-cooks his pizza sauce in the oven after preparing it with tomatoes, onions, garlic and spices. He prefers to hand-crush the tomatoes, he says. “I find that blitzing the tomatoes [in a blender] destroys their fresh red color, turning the sauce orange, and the taste of the tomato is also altered. By not blitzing the tomato, its cell structure is maintained, allowing the water to remain in the tomato cells and not all over the pizza.”

Meanwhile, Crolla’s method of saucing a pizza may seem backward to some—he puts it on top of the cheese rather than spreading it on the crust and then adding the cheese. “This method has several advantages,” he explains. “In the absence of a bottom sauce layer, the cheese bonds to the dough during baking. This stops the cheese and toppings from being pulled off when you bite into the pizza. Less sauce helps maintain a crunchier base. The moisture in the sauce evaporates much more efficiently because it’s not trapped under a layer of cheese.

It looks visually more appealing, and it uses less sauce.”

Crolla suggests applying sauce at room temperature instead of chilling it, as cold sauce makes for a layer of partly uncooked

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Tangy tomato sauce takes on the flavor of Ricotta cheese for a creamy pasta dish that can be an easy and exciting addition to your menu.

“A great pizza starts with a great crust, but with a great sauce you can turn even a mediocre crust into a great pizza.” –Scott Toth, Pizzeria Serio

dough. He recommends filling several bottles in advance so that, when one is finished, it can be put aside for cleaning; never top off a dirty bottle or bowl with fresh sauce, as this encourages spoilage, he advises. “There will be readers out there that are horrified at me suggesting putting sauce on top of the cheese, but I think it’s time to accept that this is an evolution— not a revolution—in the pizza kitchen.”

Branching Out While red sauce remains the go-to flavor for pizzas and pastas, many exciting alternatives can enhance a pizzeria’s menu offerings. “We like giving our customers options when it comes to flavor, and having different sauces is a great way to offer that variety,” Keller says. “Our pesto pizza is one of our best-sellers—outselling, at times, some of our red sauce pizzas.

We’ve noticed that our customers’ tastes have gotten more sophisticated and adventurous, and now, when we introduce pizzas that use ‘out-there’ toppings or sauces—such as peaches, barbecue sauce or salsa, for example—they tend to generate quite a bit of buzz.”

Spicy Thai peanut sauce is a popular choice on Hot Tomato Café’s menu, thanks to the growing popularity of Asian fusion; combined with chicken, it goes well on pizza, pasta or wings. Hot Tomato’s Thai Me Up pie, for instance, features a spicy Thai peanut sauce with chicken, roasted peppers, basil and onions.

White sauce, or béchamel, is one of the classic “mother” sauces from which most other sauces are derived. (Along with tomato, the other “mother” sauces include velouté, a light 40 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Legendary gangster Al Capone had many secrets, but not all of them pertained to illicit bootlegging and gambling. According to family lore, the Capones also possessed certain secret Italian sauce recipes that were recovered in federal raids on the mobster’s warehouses. One in particular “really raises the bar for a pizzeria by introducing something very old to a new generation of people who still appreciate great 100-year-old recipes,” says Desiree Alonzo, president of Capone Family Secret in Countryside, Illinois. “It brings pastas up to the gourmet level by infusing ingredients not often found in traditional Italian cooking, in a very simple, easy-to-understand way.”

Capone’s Original Agli Olio Walnut Sauce with Spaghetti Courtesy of Capone Family Secret 2 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 c. parsley leaves ¾ c. walnut pieces 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 1 lb. fresh or dried spaghetti 2 c. extra-virgin olive oil ¾ c. grated Parmesan cheese Salt and freshly ground pepper ½ c. chopped or sliced tomato for garnish In a large pot, bring 4 qt. of water to a boil; add the salt and vegetable oil. Add the spaghetti slowly, allowing the water to boil continuously. Cook until the noodles are tender, about 10 minutes. Chop and blend the garlic, walnuts and parsley, then pour all of the olive oil slowly into the mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and ¼ c. of the Parmesan cheese and blend again.

Twist a mound of spaghetti on each plate. The sauce should be ladled in the middle of the plate, moist enough to coat the spaghetti when tossed for presentation tableside. Sprinkle each dish with the additional Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley and tomato.

(Note: This recipe can be made by substituting fresh basil for parsley, but parsley is more traditional.)

“When we introduce pizzas that use ‘out-there’ toppings or sauces—such as peaches, barbecue sauce or salsa, for example—they tend to generate quite a bit of buzz.”

–Anne Keller, Hot Tomato Café

stock-and-roux mix; espagnole, a brown sauce; and hollandaise.) At its most basic, white sauce consists of just butter, flour and milk. The addition of cream makes a velvety sauce that goes well with chicken or fish dishes. Throw in some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and you have Alfredo sauce. Any way you prepare it, white sauces provide a pleasing alternative to tomato-based sauce, with a creamy, rich texture and a neutral flavor profile that puts the focus on the pizza or pasta toppings.

Buscaglia, for example, makes a gourmet white sauce with black truffles and aged Parmesan cheese, both of which offer flavors that will stand out in any dish. “Some other unique sauces that are my favorites include foie gras and bufala ricotta crema, cream of butternut squash or a roasted mushroom demiglace,” he says. “All of these sauces can work well on pizza or pasta dishes.”

flavor,” says John Sottile, CEO of Lamagna Cheese Company in Verona, Pennsylvania. “People have been experiencing that combination in lasagna, but adding it to pasta dishes is a good check-builder and something new and exciting for operators.”

Sottile shares the secret to making a cheesy tomato sauce with the perfect creamy texture: Leave a bit of the hot water in which you boiled the pasta, and then simply add the tomato sauce and ricotta. “Chefs can then add their personal touch—extra Parmesan, Romano, garlic or Gorgonzola—and it becomes their own. A dish like this has a nice profit margin in it, better than a typical pasta and sauce.”

A Hint of Heat

The Ease of Cheese Cheesy dishes—both comforting and indulgent—also have enjoyed increased popularity lately. Adding soft cheese to marinara sauce, for example, can create entirely new menu items. “Ricotta cheese takes on other flavors very well, so, by blending tangy tomato sauce with it, you get a wonderful PMQ 2_13a Supremo Hori Pizza Expo_Layout 1 1/28/13 11:24 AM

Barbecue sauce adds a tangy zing to any recipe, notes David Rosen, pitmaster for Ubon’s Barbecue Sauce in Yazoo City, Mississippi. “The tang of the vinegar and the sweetness of the ketchup and brown sugar, along with the bite of hot sauce, peppers and bits of onion, add great depth of flavor to any pizza, Page 1 entree or wings,” Rosen notes.

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Finding Alternatives According to PMQ’s 2012 Pizza Industry Census, more than 26% of respondents begin with a ready-made sauce and jazz it up to create a custom formulation.

Barbecue pizzas now grace menus around the United States. Some attribute the pie’s origins to Coletta’s Restaurant (colettas.net) in post-WWII Memphis, Tennessee. Initially topped with pork, it’s typically made with chicken these days, and barbecue sauce takes the place of marinara. The sauce thickens and caramelizes slightly under the cheese, providing a lively, sweet, tangy counterbalance to savory meat, onions or nearly anything else you choose to put on this crowdpleasing specialty pizza. “A great barbecue sauce should never overpower your food or have a pastelike consistency,” Rosen advises. “It should accentuate your food.”

For pizzerias that already serve Buffalo wings, barbecue wings make for an easy and popular addition to the menu.

Rosen suggests simply frying or baking the wings, then rolling them in the sauce. “It makes your wings glisten while providing an unmistakable sweet, tangy, mildly spicy flavor. Your customers will lick their fingers clean.”

Another way to make barbecue sauce go further on your menu is to use it in another Southern favorite: comeback sauce. Much like ranch dressing, comeback sauce can be used on everything from salads to sandwiches to fried cheese sticks. Rosen suggests mixing your own comeback sauce, using equal parts bottled barbecue sauce and mayonnaise, for a creamy, tangy spread and dipping sauce for wings, vegetables and fries.

Garlic butter sauce also adds a finishing touch that can be indispensable in the pizzeria. Simply simmer quality butter and garlic cloves, and then add your choice of seasonings to make it your own original concoction. “We use garlic butter sauce on everything on our menu—pizzas, wings, calzones, appetizers and subs,” says Anthony Berghela, owner of Romo’s Pizza (romospizzany.com) in Glenmont, New York. “It has become our signature sauce. The fresh garlic gives it that extra kick.”

A great sauce can be transformed into more than one finished product and used in a variety of ways in a wide range of dishes. Expanding your selection of sauces will expand your menu selection without breaking the bank. So don’t be afraid to get saucy by experimenting with traditional sauces, adding your own creative touch and inventing new signature masterpieces unique to your pizzeria.

Michelle McAnally is PMQ’s food editor.

Show Pizzazz!

www.amnow.com 42 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

800-333-9133

The

Showcase PMQ Buyer’s Guide - Sauces

Pacific Coast Producers Pacific Coast Producers uses 100% California tomatoes and cans its sauces only during the peak of ripeness in the harvest season. All of Pacific Coast’s sauces consist of fresh tomatoes— nothing is made from concentrate. The company offers private branding along with its own brands, including Flotta, Paradiso, Gangi Supreme and Prima Terra. 209-367-8800, pcoastp.com

Rao’s Specialty Foods Rao’s Homemade Italian Pepper, Mushroom and Onion Cooking Sauce is a versatile, award-winning sauce made with Italian tomatoes, sweet garden-fresh red and green peppers, fresh mushrooms, sweet onions and white wine. It can be served over pasta, risotto, chicken or steak, or use it to create your own signature dish. 212-269-0151, raos.com

Redpack Spaghetti Sauce Redpack Multi-Purpose Spaghetti Sauce offers people-pleasing flavor that helps grow your profits. Now made thicker for better coverage, this popular sauce—which has an added note of cracked pepper that enhances without overpowering the tomato flavor—can be used for the base of your signature spaghetti or lasagna dish, as a dressing for an amazing meatball sub or as a dipping sauce for breadsticks, chicken tenders or pizza. 866-7297187, redgold.com/fs

Armanino Basil Pesto Escalon Artfully crafting great tomato products is a passion for the people at Escalon, and the company’s 6-in-1 family of products is no exception. From the founder’s original 6-in-1 Unpeeled Ground Tomatoes to the 6-in-1 Peeled Chunky Ground Tomatoes, Escalon delivers the versatility pizzeria operators demand with the unmatched flavor and consistency that will keep customers coming back for more. 209-838-7341, escalon.net

Armanino Basil Pesto is a delicious sauce that’s made from basil crushed with garlic, canola oil and Parmesan, then frozen to preserve the fresh, natural character and flavor.

Gluten-free and containing no trans fats, this product can be used to spark your menu in bright new ways as a sauce, spread, topping, dip or glaze. 866-553-5611, armaninofoods.com

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feature story vehicle signage

44 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The

View From the Road Get on a roll and turn your delivery vehicles into moving billboards for maximum marketing and advertising impact. By Michelle McAnally

S punk

D esign

M achine

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Spunk Design Machine, with headquarters in Minneapolis and Brooklyn, New York, designed this ultrahip, electric-powered delivery vehicle for Minneapolisbased Galactic Pizza.

ong before the rapper Xzibit began transforming ordinary Plymouths and Toyotas into tricked-out blingmobiles on MTV’s hit show Pimp My Ride, pizzeria operators had been using delivery cars as attention-grabbing billboards on wheels. Today, car signage is more popular—and more successful—than ever. After all, your delivery vehicles stay on the road most of the time—why not use them to your advantage? And, because the vehicles are an extension of your business, it pays to get creative with your signage and make customers—and potential customers—take notice.

If your drivers use their own cars for deliveries, toppers or magnetic signs are imperative in promoting your brand on the road.

But if you can afford to provide vehicles to your drivers, you will be limited only by your imagination. You can have an entire automobile custom-painted or purchase unusual-looking vehicles that passersby can’t overlook. The most important function of your vehicle signage, though, is to reinforce your pizzeria’s brand and logo so that they stick in customers’ minds. Additionally, prominent signage puts your patrons at ease, showing that the vehicle that just pulled into their driveway is indeed a pizza delivery person and not a potentially menacing stranger.

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“Our vehicles are constantly on the road, traveling several hundred miles a week, going back and forth to each of our eight locations. They allow us to educate and entertain consumers about our company in a quick and fun way.”

–Debbie Goldberg, owner, Fresh Brothers

Signage Solutions Some pizzerias, such as the green-themed Galactic Pizza (galacticpizza.com) in Minneapolis, command attention both through car design—their tiny, logoed vehicles run on 100% electricity and are built for one person—and an eye-catching, amusing concept that puts delivery personnel in superhero costumes. “In the most simple terms, every brand—every design of any kind—is an invitation,” notes Jeff Johnson, owner and founder of Spunk Design Machine, which designed Galactic Pizza’s trademark green vehicle and collaborates on vehicle branding with other food and beverage operations. “We are trying to invite someone to our table. For Galactic, it is very clearly an invitation to the people who are passionate about sustainable, healthy and adventurous lifestyles. Those are the people that thrive at the Galactic table.”

Of course, not every pizzeria operator can afford his own fleet of custom-designed vehicles. For delivery drivers who use their own cars, you can employ removable signage that is easy to put on and take off at shift changes. A lighted car topper or a window-mounted sign makes delivery cars stand out and usually costs less than $200. These signs can be customdesigned with your logo, phone number and website, and they’re made of material that won’t scratch the car. If you go this route, investing in sign locks can help eliminate the alltoo-common problem of signage theft. Sign locks have hanging cords with balls at the ends, which are closed into the car when the door is shut.

Magnetic signs are another easy—and easily removable— way to identify your delivery vehicles. Visibility at night is a definite plus for your delivery vehicles and, in lieu of a lighted car topper, a lighted magnetic sign makes a good alternative.

46 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Regular magnets can run as little as $25, with reflective magnets costing, on average, less than $40. If you choose magnetic signs, it’s wise to invest in a type that boasts reflective lettering; since many, if not most, of your deliveries likely take place at night, a regular magnet will do only part of the job.

Meanwhile, vehicle wraps can give the appearance of a custom paint job but can also be removed. Wraps are vinyl decals custom-designed for a vehicle and can feature your chosen artwork. However, wraps aren’t practical for employee cars, as their application and removal takes time and effort. You can leave a wrap on a car for up to five years, depending on its quality as well as local road and environmental conditions.

Wraps can cost from a few hundred dollars for a partial wrap to more than $2,000 for a full wrap on a large truck or van. If you aren’t ready to custom-paint your vehicle, a wrap looks like a paint job without the commitment.

Rolling Billboards The latest trend in delivery signage is full-car design, from custom paint jobs on a fleet to unique vehicles that will get noticed by passersby. The Fresh Brothers (freshbrothers.com) chain, which is headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, uses the image of a smiling pepperoni pizza face on all of its billboards, advertisements and direct mailing. So, when it came time to design its delivery vehicles, the company took advantage of this familiar icon. “We want people to smile at the image, and then their eye goes to our logo. Quick branding identification is important,” says owner Debbie Goldberg.

Fresh Brothers uses its distribution trucks and vans as rolling billboards. Each is custom-painted with the eye-catching pizza face and logo and an appealing phrase, such as “Have a nice lunch,” or a list of the chain’s locations. “Our vehicles are constantly on the road, traveling several hundred miles a week, going back and forth to each of our eight locations,” Goldberg says. “They allow us to educate and entertain consumers about our company in a quick and fun way.”

Daddio’s Pizzeria (daddios.ca), located in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada, uses unique right-hand-drive delivery vans imported from Japan. The unusual vehicles not only advertise his store and attract attention; they also make it safe and handy for his drivers to exit the vans on the curbside. “I chose to go with simple signage rather than a wrap because the uniqueness of the vehicle is the attention-getter,” says owner Richard Ames.

“I had success with a simple billboard sign with the same basic format, so it was an easy transition to the vehicles.”

Traits of Effective Signage The use of reflective lettering is particularly important during long Canadian winters, Ames notes. “With sixteen hours of darkness on an average winter day, I felt the need to have my rolling billboards be as visible as possible. I’ve had customers tell me they have seen the vans from four blocks away in their headlights.”

For Ames, it has made good financial sense to buy his own delivery vehicles. “A regular billboard costs $275 per month if a one-year lease agreement is signed,” explains Ames. “The monthly van payment based on a three-year loan was slightly less, but it gave me a billboard that went to where my customers are, as opposed to a fixed location. Since I pay for delivery vehicles already, the choice to go with the vans was easy to make.”

Making Contact Some pizzerias have taken a page from Galactic Pizza and begun using smart cars, which save on fuel and get attention on city streets. Mark Fischer, who owns Sy’s New York Pizza (sysnewyorkpizza.com) in Eugene, Oregon, has found that smart cars, emblazoned prominently with the Sy’s logo, are not only cost-efficient to operate, but also boost brand awareness in the community. To demonstrate community spirit, he even painted the vehicles to match the local school colors at North Eugene High School and the University of Oregon. “These cars

According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, one vehicle wrap can generate between 30,000 and 70,000 impressions daily. Wraps and toppers are purchased for a one-time cost and keep producing results for years, as opposed to a print ad that must be paid for week after week, month after month. To create the perfect car sign, keep the following factors in mind: • Keep it simple. In many cases, potential customers will catch only a glimpse of your vehicle’s sign, so complex messages won’t register in their minds. Instead, simply display your pizzeria’s logo with your phone number, website and any other vital information, such as, perhaps, a very short tagline.

• Visibility is crucial. You’ll want your car topper or wrap to stand out even at a distance, so make sure to use large lettering and bright colors. A lighted sign ensures visibility at night.

• Choose the right design. A lousy or dull sign will look just as lousy or dull on the side of a car as it does on your building’s exterior. Choose sharp, bold colors and images that both convey your brand and make people hungry.

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Mark Fischer, owner of Sy’s New York Pizza in Eugene, Oregon, painted his restaurant’s smart cars to match the school colors of North Eugene High School and the University of Oregon.

If you aren’t ready to custom-paint your vehicle, a wrap looks like a paint job without the commitment. generate a lot of attention wherever they go,” Fischer says. “Even though we have been in business for 34 years, we just recently started delivery, and many customers have learned that by seeing the cars on the street.”

Regardless of how “smart” it is, a unique vehicle or a vehicle with attentiongrabbing signage will almost always generate buzz in the community, and this buzz can lead to new business, pizzeria operators say. “I stripped all manufacturers’ badges off the vans, so, when curiosity gets the better of someone, the only thing they’ll find is my contact information,” Ames says. “That contact usually ends up with an order being taken. I have friends and customers tell me quite often that my vans are the topic of conversation at their workplace or at a social gathering. These conversations often lead to orders for a business or party.”

“Most people ask a lot of questions concerning the size of the car and what it will hold,” Fischer adds. “We have had customers tell us they have seen the car and ordered pizza because of that.” As for how much food his cars will hold, Fischer says, “My largest delivery to date was 15 large 18” pizzas, but we could fit double that amount if needed.”

If your delivery vehicles put out a feel-good vibe to folks as they are driving down the road, they will want to patronize your store, Goldberg believes. After all, people who see that big, smiling Fresh Brothers pizza face can’t help but smile themselves. “I was driving one of our work vans to go to a meeting,” Goldberg recalls. “A gentleman driving a convertible pulled up next to the van and motioned for me to roll down the window. He then told me I was making him hungry and rubbed his belly! I laughed and said, ‘This van is doing its job!’”

Pizzeria operators who use their vehicles in social media marketing plans get even more bang for the buck. “I have run promotions on Facebook where customers get a free pizza for taking a picture of the vans while they are out on the road and posting them on our page,” shares Ames.

Goldberg gets similar results without even running a promotion. Fresh Brothers’ trucks are designed to make people want to share the good feeling, and it works.

“We have customers who will post shots of our vans that they’ve spotted in different areas on our Facebook page,” says Goldberg.

Every time an employee hits the road to make a delivery, that person is spreading the word about your pizzeria. Operators should think carefully—and creatively—to take full advantage of this opportunity and achieve maximum and lasting impact.

Michelle McAnally is PMQ’s food editor.

48 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

feature story Signage

Signs Times of the

By Tracy Morin

With the right content and placement, digital signage can have a significant impact on your restaurant’s sales and likely represents the future of in-store marketing.

50 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Seeing the Light Janna Rider, director of digital merchandising for American Dairy Queen in Minneapolis, lists several benefits of digital signage: flexibility limited only by your imagination, the ability to feature more items than usual, and the opportunity to

NEC Display Solutions

W

hen chef/owner Luciano Del Signore wanted to boost the visibility of his Pizzeria Biga (pizzeriabiga.com) location in Royal Oak, Michigan, he didn’t pour money into expensive signage of any kind. He simply wrapped the entire building in red, white and green lights. “We wanted to bring awareness and attention to the building,” he recalls. “Over three days, we put up the lights—I don’t know how many, but I’d guess hundreds of thousands.”

The tactic worked wonders—business went up 20% to 30% that day, as new customers immediately flooded the pizzeria.

Now Del Signore may try the same approach with his second location in Southfield, Michigan. “The pizza business is casual enough so that you can become the neighborhood restaurant, but you have to remind people that you’re there,” he says.

Not many pizzeria operators would choose to make their restaurants look like a gigantic Christmas tree 365 days a year, but most agree that attention-grabbing signage is crucial to a pizzeria’s success. Done well, it can solidify your brand, draw a slew of new customers, enhance the guest experience, and promote your business both inside and outside your four walls.

As the world becomes increasingly connected (leading to ever shorter attention spans), many believe that digital signage— programmable, flexible and easy to use—will play a pivotal role in the future of the restaurant business. Meanwhile, of course, some pizzerias have found inventive ways to stand out without going high-tech. We check in with those on the forefront of digital technologies—as well as two operators who have each taken their own unique approaches to interior and exterior signage (see sidebars)—to show you how the right signage can lead to dollar signs.

Digital signage in the pizzeria allows for maximum menu flexibility and inevitably catches the eyes of customers.

Going Digital Americans have been TV junkies since the boob tube was invented.

So, when Terry Black, owner of Jimmy & Joe’s Pizzeria (jimmyandjoes. com)—with locations in Chandler and Mesa, Arizona—wanted to give his guests a little visual stimulation while they waited for their orders, he knew exactly what to do. He installed a digital signage program that allows him to put anything he wants on TV screens— news and weather updates, videos of his pizza maker building pies with fresh ingredients, or advertisements of his restaurants’ specials and promotions. “We also promote fundraisers or ‘double punch card’ days for our loyalty program,” Black says. “We feature customers or employees of the month, with their bios, and even charge noncompeting local companies to advertise. It can pay for itself or even turn into a revenue stream.”

Black’s initial investment for the TVs and wiring was “a couple thousand,” he estimates; in addition to a small up-front fee, he pays an ongoing monthly charge for the service. The screens are placed above the restroom (next to the ordering counter) and in the dining area, and they can be switched to regular TV channels when customers want to catch the big game. Every week, the videos get tweaked to keep information fresh and give returning customers new eye candy, and Black obtains inspiration by visiting other local companies that have the system. Next, he wants to upgrade to digital menus as well. “We’re in a digital world—I see these systems in banks and grocery stores, and if the big guys are doing it, we should, too,” he notes. “We’re a visual society, and this is an eye-catching way to promote and educate customers about your business.”

Eye-in Media

Montreal-based Arouch (arouch.com) utilizes digital signage to explain the history of the business and show off mouthwatering photos of its specialty pizzas to customers.

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“

Mama Mia Trattoria

“Digital signage platforms provide foodservice businesses a way to be as flexible as the market demands.

No one wants to wait a week to get new menu boards from the printer anymore when they can update digital menus instantly and as often as desired.”

-Ross McClymonds, MvixUSA

Mama Mia’s bistro-style esthetic is reinforced with simple signage placed at the corner of intersecting streets, while neon signs lit 24/7 improve visibility even when the restaurant is closed.

promote add-ons (instead of relying on employees). “You can make frequent changes on menu items and pricing—or add or change nutritional information, where required—and manage everything easily,” Rider says. “In the pizza world, you could let customers know when their takeout orders are ready; feature products and enhance brand messages as they wait; or even show pizzas being made.”

The flexibility of digital signage, especially for smaller restaurants, also allows operators to incorporate crosspromotions, advertise limited-time-only offers and specials on the fly, and tie the community into the restaurant, notes Richard Ventura, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based director of sales for vertical solutions at NEC Display Solutions. “Pizzerias 52 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The Traditional Approach

”

As a fourth-generation restaurateur, Barry Brown, owner of Mama Mia Trattoria (mamamiatrattoria.com) in Portland, Oregon, has opened 45 restaurants over the years. For his latest endeavor—a classic, East Coast-style, upscale-casual Italian restaurant—he chose to keep the signage simple. First, two A-frames outside the building help attract business from passersby. “We use quite a bit of exterior signage. For the A-frames, one message (about 14 letters long) acts like a billboard for those driving by, and on the sidewalk side (for those walking by or exiting the restaurant) we elaborate on that message with smaller print,” Brown says. “Each sign has two sides. We might advertise happy hour on the outside-facing side, then have the menu on the other; or write ‘open for lunch’ on one side and give more details on the other side.” Meanwhile, inside the business, a 3’-by-3’ sign near the restrooms gets “a ton of visibility” and might advertise holiday gift cards or special promotions, he says.

Other exterior signage includes Mama Mia Trattoria signs and neon signs that help the corner location gain visibility and let people know when the restaurant is open. The lit signs and the A-frames are a 24/7 presence, which “absolutely helps bring visibility to the business,” Brown says—even when it’s not open. “It’s okay to have two different types of signs, as long as you convey the same brand message—and have them lit up and displayed all day, every day,” he adds. “It’s all about customer views and sending a message about the business.”

that do a lot of charity work—for example, sponsoring a local athletic department—can share videos, pictures and information from events very quickly,” says Ventura, who also serves as co-chair of the Digital Signage Federation Advocacy and Outreach Committee. “Within the restaurant, digital signs can also promote what you offer—catering services, a room for kids parties, gift cards, etc.—without having to worry about print, which gets old and stale quickly, creates clutter and often isn’t seen by people in line.”

Nathalie Azoulay, president of Montreal-based Eye-In Media, notes that digital signage can also test the elasticity of pricing.

Depending on the time, day, season or location, what can the market handle? For example, a 24-hour or late-night pizzeria

in a college town might be able to raise prices in the wee hours, while pizzerias with multiple locations can test different pricing structures in different areas. Your signage strategy can even change with the weather. “If it’s raining, you can push your comfort foods instead of frozen treats,” Azoulay suggests. “Real-time adjustment is a major benefit of digital signage.”

Since those who are viewing your digital signage are already in your pizzeria, Ventura advises using digital signage to promote difficult-to-sell yet profitable items (such as desserts, beverages and salads), increase tickets and provide community information—all of which lead to repeat buyers. “Using a digital display as an exact copy of your static board has no benefit, so make the content dynamic,” he advises. “Dynamic content that shows motion—such as pizzas being made— attracts people and increases sales.” In other words, don’t use your signage solely to push your own agenda; use it to entertain, inform and interact with your customers.

beyond software and hardware, Azoulay suggests, and find a company that will be a partner, handling marketing, technology and developing content. Upon installation, you’ll also want to find the right positioning, message and font/colors to reinforce your brand, she adds.

“Feeding the beast”—that is, making sure content doesn’t go stale—is another challenge with digital signage, accord-

ing to Ventura, so you’ll need to appoint someone to manage your signage.

As for deciding where in the business to place your signage, Ventura poses four questions: What’s your message? Where do you have the most traffic? How high are you going to make the menu board (too high and the customer won’t see it; too low and he’ll walk into or by it)? And how many screens are you going to use?

Three Degrees of Digital Signage Azoulay refers to three degrees of digital signage. The technology works as a trendy new communication tool that captures attention through movement; as a way to replace poster/print materials in an ecofriendly way; and as a strategy and an art that creates entirely new marketing strategies. Operators should focus on the third degree. “Start by identifying your marketing or sales objective, because you can’t do it all,” Azoulay says. “Each six months to one year, what do you want to work on? You may want to increase customer satisfaction, gain loyalty or convert customers from core products to new or trendier items. Identify your key operating factors, then measure them.”

When shopping around for digital providers, think about how involved you want to be and how much customization you require, Rider recommends. Look

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A Sign of Things to Come Keep your eye on these up-and-coming trends in digital signage, as described by Janna Rider, director of digital merchandising for American Dairy Queen in Minneapolis: • Interactive multiscreen installations/video walls. Pizzerias could let customers build their own pizzas in interactive digital kiosks, using gestures as with an Xbox. The customer could then post it on Facebook so someone else could order the same pizza.

“

“As foods and cuisines form an integral part of the cultural identity of a nation or locality, showcasing the story behind that cuisine adds to its flavor. Imagine a digital showcase of your unique cuisine with information such as the origin of the cuisine, its ingredients and other details unique to the area or food, all presented dynamically and vividly on a large video screen in your restaurant.”

-Ross McClymonds, MvixUSA

”

• Digital signage on cooler doors. This type of signage would be used to push beverage sales and guide customers through the process of selecting beverages. A rear projector, like an LCD projector, could project pictures even onto clear glass. This technology can be used to create interactive “hosts” in a restaurant.

• The Bluetooth connection. Customers will be able to use the Bluetooth on a cell phone to connect to digital signage in the restaurant. This can create a recognition factor so that, when a customer walks into your store, you can send a message that says, “Welcome back! Would you like the same order as last time?”

“A small area can have one screen, while a menu board behind the counter might have two to four screens, depending on content,” Ventura says.

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pepperoni meat & sausage toppings salami, deli pepperoni & capicola 1-800-765-1452 www.liguriafoods.com e-mail sample@liguriafoods.com for a sample of our products 54 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

In general, Ventura says, restaurateurs should be aware of these trends across the board in retailing: integrating social media into signage (“Like us on Facebook and get a free soda this visit”); mobility and gathering data (“Text us for a coupon”); and multichannel strategies (ensuring your customer’s interaction with the restaurant remains consistent and productive through all of your marketing channels—including website, Twitter, Facebook, print ads and in-house signage—thus building brand relations and equity).

Indeed, digital signage is becoming much more than merely signage. “The future is digital signage integrated with mobile, such as customers who connect to a store’s Wi-Fi and see the business’ digital sign on their mobile device’s screen,” Azoulay says. “You can then know how often the customer uses the network, as well as give coupons and collect customer information.” She adds that video walls—used to dress up a store, push content, educate and set the mood in the dining room—are also becoming popular.

Ultimately, says Rider, digital is where the industry is headed.

“This is how we’re used to being communicated with—phones, TVs and computers. We expect it now,” she concludes. “The big players are stepping up, and, whether you like it or not, if you want to stay relevant, you should be prepared.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

For a webcast on how restaurants can use digital signage to their advantage, visit digitalsignagefederation.org/restaurants101.

All

Together Now

Looking for trends, ideas and opportunities for your pizza business? It all comes together at the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) this October.

Supported by PMQ Magazine and featuring the US Pizza Team, American Pizza Championships and the PMQ Pizza Industry Information Center, IBIE has everything you need to boost sales, increase ROI and stay ahead of changing consumer tastes. Shop advancements in automated dough and handling equipment, batch mixers, conveyor ovens, packaging, toppings and more.

Plus, attend targeted retail and food service educational sessions to get essential information to improve your business.

Where the Industry Unites

REGISTER TODAY & SAVE: www.IBIE2013.com

Find us:

Daniel Perea

pizza Of the month Cheese

Pizza Month: Cheese of the

The Big Cheese

Recipe courtesy of Pizza X, Bloomington, IN (pizzaxbloomington.com) 1 lb., 2.5 oz. dough ball 3 oz. ricotta 3 oz. sharp cheddar 5 oz. mozzarella 3 oz. Fontina 1.25 oz. chopped pecans (optional) Garlic salt (to taste) Oregano (to taste) Preheat oven to 475°. Stretch the dough ball on a 14” screen.

Top with cheeses in the above-listed order; add pecans and sprinkle garlic salt and oregano to taste. Bake for between 4 minutes and 40 seconds to 5 minutes, until the cheese melts evenly. (Cooking times will vary depending on the oven type.)

56 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The Cheesy Gourmet

Some folks think of a cheese pizza as a “plain” pizza, but cheese lovers see it differently. With so many cheeses to choose from, pizzaioli can get as adventurous as they’d like in their quest for the perfect balance of tastes and textures. Mozzarella may be the go-to option, but many chefs add pecorino, Romano, cheddar, provolone, Muenster and/or Asiago cheeses to the mix. Goat cheeses appeal to some chefs because the rind turns irresistibly crispy while the interior becomes warm and creamy.

Meanwhile, richer cheeses—Parmigiano-Reggiano or fior di latte, for example—may be used to complement more pungent meat toppings, such as sausage. Here are some examples of cheese-laden pies from around the country: Rebel Pie, a Neapolitan-style restaurant in Timmonsville, South Carolina, serves the Pee Dee region with a variety of wood-fired pies, including the Quattro Formaggi. Prepared with Rebel Pie’s signature white sauce, it’s topped with fresh mozzarella, pecorino, Romano and Parmesan cheeses.

Luigi’s Original Restaurant (luigisoriginal.com), located in Harrison Township, Michigan, serves up the 5 Star, a cheese lover’s dream loaded with mozzarella, provolone, cheddar, Parmesan and Romano cheeses.

If five cheeses aren’t enough for you, how about six? Slice (slicebirmingham.com) in Birmingham, Alabama, gets rave reviews for its Super Cheese pizza, a high-powered blend of mozzarella, provolone, Fontina, Parmesan, feta and Asiago. Want a beer to go with it? Slice recommends Brother Joseph’s Belgian Dubbel from nearby Huntsville’s Straight to Ale Brewery.

Two Meatballs Pizzeria (twomeatballspizza.com) in North Salem, New York, notches the cheese factor all the way up to eight with the Pizza Bianco. In addition to mushrooms, artichokes, spinach and Roma tomatoes, it comes with mozzarella, ricotta, white cheddar, provolone, Fontina, Muenster, Parmesan and Romano. Surely eight is enough for even the most dedicated cheese aficionado!

22 edition nd

PALACASSA th th

th

April 15 .16 .17 2013 FROM SALSOMAGGIORE TO PARMA, THE VALUE OF TRADITION. www.pizzaworldchampionship.it MAIN SPONSOR:

At the same time of the 1st edition of Pizza World Show TECHNICAL SPONSOR:

Join the PMQ Entourage as we explore Italy.

Witness the thrill of victory.

Explore the Castle of Torrechiara.

Join the PMQ Entourage April 12-19, 2013

Enjoy the pastoral settings of Italy.

Other Activities: Prosciutto Factory Tour Sidetrips to Milan and Parma For more information on how you can join the PMQ Entourage please call Brian at 662-234-5481 x129

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

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

Leave the driving to us.

The pizza exchange product spotlight

Hot and Ready RediHEAT manufactures sturdy five-pie and 10-pie bags, each of which includes a metal wire frame. RediHEAT’s bags, heated and non-heated, are sold worldwide and provide you with extra confidence for your large catering orders. 888-556-2024, www. rediheat.com

The Pizza Umbrella New from InedibleArt, the PIZZArt Umbrella is the perfect promotional item for pizzerias, designed in an artistic style and featuring four popular toppings: pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and olives. It’s lightweight but sturdy, with eight “slices” for support, and has a handsome curved wooden handle and wooden tips. 512-296-4633, pizzaumbrella.com

Fully Insured Protect your business with the Pizza Delivery Insurance Program from AFC Insurance. Designed specifically for pizza shops with or without delivery services and written through an “A”-rated carrier, the package offers competitive pricing on a broad range of coverages, including delivery, property, liability, employment practices and more. 877-456-5323, afcins.com/programs/pizzadelivery-insurance

Welcome to Our Town The Perfect Blend Pizza Blends delivers it all: recipe security, convenience, costeffectiveness and partnership. Through custom products designed to match your proprietary dough and seasoning mix recipes, Pizza Blends makes the formats your operation needs and delivers them directly to your door for the ultimate in efficiency, consistency and peace of mind. 800-826-1200, pizzablends.com 60 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Anyone who has ever moved away from their family, friends and favorite eateries can relate to the difficulties movers face when trying to find the best pizzeria in their new area. Our Town helps pizzerias capture this significant market by offering a turnkey new mover program that includes direct-mail welcome packages and gift certificates with unparalleled mailing accuracy. 727-345-0811, ourtownamerica.com

PMQ ADVERTISERS HEAD TO VEGAS for Pizza Expo 2013, March 19-21!

Booth#

Booth#

Booth#

Allied Metal Spinning 523 AM Manufacturing 535 American Metalcraft 1519 Arrow POS 1217 Avantec 1033 Bacio Cheese 1118 Bag Solutions 2141 Bay State Milling 1357 Bellissimo Foods 1207 Burke Corporation 711 Check Corp 1007 Cover Tex 948 Crown Custom Metal 757 Custom Foods 1741 Domata 1526 Doughmate 422 Edge Conveyor Ovens 554 Epic Insurance 819 Escalon 463 Fidelity Communications 1429 Fontanini 923 Foremost Farms 1413 General Mills 1763 Granbury 401 Grande Cheese 823 HIX Corp (Dough Express) 815

Hoshizaki 1707 HTH 901 iFranchise 1512 J and G Mills 2052 Ken’s Food 659 La Nova 1323 Le 5 Stagioni 1263 Liguria 1107 Lindsey Olives 748 Manzo Foods 1463 Mario Comacho 1049 Marsal & Sons, Inc. 101 Message On Hold 806 McClancy Seasoning 141 MFG Tray 122 Microworks 1550 Middleby Marshall 801 Mountain Harvest 541 Molina Quaglia SpA 557 Moving Targets 701 Musgo Olive 935 National Marketing (Mr. Peel) 1436 Neil Jones 1223 Northern Pizza Equipment, Inc. 1725 Off the Wall Magnetics 445 Pacific Coast Producers 749

Pizza Insurance 2004 Peerless Ovens 1518 Perfect Crust 134 Picard Ovens 1157 Pizza Blends 1043 Pizza Ovens 1108 Pizza Pro 525 Precision Mixers 650 Raos Foods 1501 Red Gold 441 Restaurant Depot 137 Rocktenn 1201 Rotoflex Oven 1151 Saputo 1523 Signature Systems (PDQ) 1833 Somerset 957 Stanislaus Food Products 517 Sugar Creek 1641 Taradel, Inc. 1003 Taste-It-Presents 1842 Thermal Bags by Ingrid 1919 Thunderbird Food Machinery 949 Woodstone Ovens 1863 XLT Ovens 863

While you’re in Vegas, stop by and see PMQ at Booth #1146 at the Nightclub & Bar Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 19-21!

PMQ Pizza Magazine provides this list as a service to our readers. While we strive to maintain accuracy, errors can sometimes occur. PMQ Pizza Magazine accepts no liability for any factual inconsistencies in the above.

25,000$69500

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MENU

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er fect!”

Thanks for alwa ys making thin gs so easy!

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Take Out Menus: All prices include Design, Print & Folding. Printed on 80# Gloss Text 4/4 .com 10,000 Full Color Take-Out Menus 8.5x11 . . . . . . . . . . . $695 25,000 Full Color Take-Out Menus 8.5x11 . . . . . . . . . $1,095 10,000 Full Color Take-Out Menus 11x17 . . . . . . . . . . . $995 25,000 Full Color Take-Out Menus 11x17 . . . . . . . . . $1,395 We Print & Mail for less! 10,000 Full Color Take-Out Menus 11x22 . . . . . . . . . $1,395 25,000 Full Color Take-Out Menus 11x22 . . . . . . . . . $1,895

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64 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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All food is homemade, just like Mama used to make, and we specializing in roast beef, all kinds of chicken, pork, pasta, are a full line caterer superb salads, and fantastic desserts just to name a few delicious side dishes, We can prepare anything you of our more popular items. want.

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66 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

ADVERTISER INDEX MARCH 2013 Display Advertiser

Phone

Website

Page

AM Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708-841-0959 . . . . . . .ammfg.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 American Metalcraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-333-9133 . . . . . . .amnow.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Avantec Ovens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-322-4374 . . . . . . .avantecovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Bellissimo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-813-2974 . . . . . . .bellissimofoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Best Choice Print & Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . 734-941-9129 . . . . . . .bcms.us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Escalon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-ESCALON . . . . . .escalon.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 EZ Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-853-1263 . . . . . . .ezdinepos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Fontanini. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708-485-4800 . . . . . . .fontanini.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Forno Bravo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-407-5119 . . . . . . .fornobravo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Grande Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-8-GRANDE . . . . .grandecheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Hoodmart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-715-1014 . . . . . . .hoodmart.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Hoshizaki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-438-6087 . . . . . . .hoshizakiamerica.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 HTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-321-1850 . . . . . . .hthsigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 IBIE Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ibie2013.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Instant-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-972-8348 . . . . . . .instant-off.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Ken’s Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-729-2229 . . . . . . .kensfoodservice.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 La Nova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716-881-3355 . . . . . . .lanova.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4 Le 5 Stagioni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-780-2280 . . . . . . .le5stagioni.it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Lillsun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260-356-6514 . . . . . . .lillsun.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Liguria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-765-1452 . . . . . . .liguriafood.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 MF&B Restaurant Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-480-EDGE . . . . . .edgeovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Marsal & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631-226-6688 . . . . . . .marsalsons.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Max Balloons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-541-5961 . . . . . . .maxballoons.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Meridian Star POS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855-853-6485 . . . . . . .meridianstarmerchantservices.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Microworks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-787-2068 . . . . . . .microworks.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Middleby Marshall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-34-OVENS . . . . . .wowoven.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Moving Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-926-2451 . . . . . . .movingtargets.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 MVIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-843-0959 . . . . . . .mvixusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Night Club & Bar Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-966-2727 . . . . . . .ncbshow.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 NJ Restaurant Equipment Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . 201-313-3334 . . . . . . .njrecorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 One Two 3 Print It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-800-4455 . . . . . .123printit.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 PDQ Signature Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-968-6430 . . . . . . .pdqpos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Perfect Crust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-783-5343 . . . . . . .perfectcrust.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Petra Molino Quaglia Flour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631-804-1879 . . . . . . .farinapetra.it/Benvenuto/Eng_Petra.html . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Pizza Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-251-7407 . . . . . . .pizzainsurance.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Pizza World Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pizzaworldchampionship.it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Red Pack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-733-7225 . . . . . . .redpacksauce.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3 Restaurant Depot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .restaurantdepot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 RockTenn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816-415-7359 . . . . . . .rocktenn.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 Saputo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-824-3373 . . . . . . .saputousafoodservice.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Stanislaus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-327-7201 . . . . . . .stanislaus.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 Takeout Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845-564-2609 . . . . . . .takeoutprinting.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Taste It Presents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908-241-9191 . . . . . . .tasteitpresents.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 The Menu Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856-216-7777 . . . . . . .themenuexpress.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 XLT Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-443-2751 . . . . . . .xltovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PMQ provides this information as a courtesy to our readers and will not be held responsible for errors or omissions. To report an error, call 662-234-5481 x127.

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

advertising

computer systems: point of sale bags

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

cheese

Foremost Farms USA: Your source for award-winning, soft, all-natural Italian cheeses.

Crafted by Wisconsin Master Cheese Makers® www.foremostfarms.com.....................................................................................(608) 355-8700

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

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

817.299.4500 sales@BreakawayPOS.com www.BreakawayPOS.com

68 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide All The Tech Your Pizzeria Needs Tablet and Traditional Point-of-Sale • Integrated online & smartphone ordering •

• •

Self Serve Kiosk ordering Automated customer loyalty marketing

CALL FOR A DEMO TODAY!

800.750.3947 www.granburyrs.com

consulting

FREE POS SYSTEM Meridian Star offers a free POS system with no gimmicks.

Included in a low-cost processing account, merchants can enjoy an all-in-one touch screen, a thermal printer, a kitchen printer, an electronic cash drawer and PC America restaurant management software, all at no cost.

As Seen in Product Spotlight!

855-853-6485, meridianstarms.com

crusts 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 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

cutting boards - equal slice

dough

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide dough dividers/rounders

dough trays/proofing trays • Dough Trays – extremely durable and airtight!

Outlasts All Other Dough Trays • Dough Tray Covers – designed to fit!

• Plastic Dough Knives – two ergonomic designs!

• Dough Tray Dollies – heavy duty!

Excellence in Customer service since 1955!

The preferred dough tray of the largest pizza companies in the world.

Buy direct from the manufacturer with over 25 years manufacturing in dough trays.

Call 800-501-2458 ........... www.doughmate.com ......... fax: 908-276-9483

When Dough Matters!

Eliminate racks, lids and tins with our stackable, airtight and cost effective Dough Trays.

1-502-969-2305 www.DoughTrays.com COST EFFECTIVE

STACKABLE

AIRTIGHT

DURABLE

ORDER DIRECT

4601 COMMERCE CROSSINGS DR., STE 300, LOUISVILLE, KY 40229 | p: 502-969-2305 | f: 502-810-0907

WWW.DOUGHTRAYS.COM

Financing/Equipment Lease

Business Credit Solutions

dough presses, rollers

The pizza industry source for all your equipment lease financing needs.

dave@businesscreditsolutions.info www.businesscreditsolutions.info

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1-866-940-8637

flour, Gluten-free Bay State MIlling Gluten-free Pizza mix............................................ baystatemilling.com 68285 1x3.5 Pizza Ad outlined.pdf Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, Custom-blends and Co-Packing 1 1/23/12 6:56 AM Dedicated production area for exceptional purity...........................................................800-55-FLOUR

flour

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/ 70 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide gelato

(888) 316-1545 www.stefanosgelato.com

True Artisan Gelato

gluten-free products

W H O L E S O M E

&

D E L I C I O U S ™

hygiene

Hand-Wash Sinks food distributors

· Bathrooms

REDUCES CROSS-CONTAMINATION

Reduces the Spread of Germs • Stops Drippy Faucets Replaces Aerator On Any Faucet • Conserves Water - Saves 65%

Call for more info

800-972-8348 • www.instant-off.com insurance 

 

   

1051 Amboy Avenue, Perth Amboy NJ

 

800-997-0887 or 732-346-0600 Fax:732-346-0882

Serving NY, NJ, PA, DE, CT

www.vesuviofoods.com

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

franchising Should You Franchise Your Restaurant?

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

708-957-2300 • www.ifranchisegroup.com

®

FRANCHISE CONSULTANTS

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide machinery/ovens/equipment

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide

magnets

meat toppings

mailing services BURKE CORPORATION....................................................................................... www.BurkeCorp.com Italian, Mexican-Style and Specialty Fully Cooked Meats Contact: Liz Hertz.............................. sales_info@burkecorp.com.............................800-654-1152 Sugar Creek Packing Co.,............................... Private Label Precooked Meat Topping Specialists www.sugarcreek.com.......................................800-848-8205............................sales@sugarcreek.com

management

keep more of your hard earned dough!

3 money saving programs:

sCheduLing • aTTendanCe • daiLy Log

FAST, PAINLESS SCHEDULING • MONITOR LABOR COSTS • REDUCE TURNOVER • NOTIFY EMPLOYEES • ELIMINATE BUDDY PUNCHING • IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS • WEB-BASED

save time and increase profits!

www.timeforge.com 866.684.7191

marketing ideas

menuboards

LOCALGIFTCARDS.COM...........888-494-9760.....Your pizzas are mobile – why not try mobile gift cards? Sell e-gift cards and m-gift cards on your website. No upfront costs. Simple set up.

Visit LocalGiftCards.com to get started.

mixers used hobart 60 qt. mixer for sale at US $4980.00 plus shipping.

Call Lynn at 214-552-3218.............................................................................. or e-mail tbfm@tbfm.com

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

Holdsbowl! art q 80 undles a Ha . bag 50 lb our! of fl

visit www.pizzamixers.com or call 1-877-764-9977

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide mobile catering trucks/units

online ordering

moisture absorbent toppings conditioner

pizza boxes

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

olives

pizza box liners

on hold marketing

74 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza delivery thermal bags

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza delivery thermal bags

Keep Your Pizza HOT & DRY 5 Pie & 10 Pie Bags

Electric Pizza Delivery Bags 888-556-2024 • www.RediHeat.com Call or Order Online

pizza ovens 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 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 76 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide

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

i feel pretty.

oh, so pretty!

pizza pans

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.

AMERICAN MADE

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

P.A. PRODUCTS, Inc. BAKEWARE SPECIALISTS

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

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

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

& sons, inc.

Pizza Ovens and Equipment

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza peels

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

pizza supplies

• Pizza Preparation and Delivery Products •

National Marketing, Inc.

www.nminc.com 800-994-4664

734-266-2222

Fax: 734-266-2121

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

Plastic Dough Containers

Postage Included

20 ¢ or less per EDDM mailer

SPECIAL # 1 (everyday)

DESSERTS

PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage PAID EDDM Retail

6 pcs. of Reg. pizza 7 - Boneless Wings 2 - Desserts and 1 - 2 liter of pop ALL FOR ONLY

$ 16.00

SPECIAL #2 (everyday) 14 pcs. of Reg. Pizza 1 order of Cheesy Garlic Bread and 1 - 2 liter of pop ALL FOR ONLY

$ 16.00

FULL SERVICE CATERING SUNDAY IS TRAY DAY AT G’s Mama PIZZA

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Mama G’s Catering is a full line caterer that will come to your home, your business or you can come to us at the Greek Church ( Hellinic Steubenville where we cater. Hall ) in downtown

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

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sticky notes

March 2013

pmq.com 79

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80 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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There’s still time to attend!

What are you doing to prepare your business for the future?

Find out what’s trending in the industry, meet with top suppliers, learn from industry heavyweights, and party at top shelf Vegas clubs.

So come and mix it up, soak it up and live it up!

convention & trade show

March 19-21, 2O13 Las Vegas Convention Center • Las Vegas

register online at ncbshow.com or call 888.966.2727 or 508.743.8586

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DEPARTMENT time capsule

Arcaro & Genell For more than half a century, this legendary pizza spot has stood out in the so-called “Pizza Capital of the World.”

I

n 1962, Angelo and Marie Genell partnered with Marie’s two brothers, Frank and Anthony Arcaro, to buy Laurenzi’s Restaurant in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, christening the new venture Arcaro & Genell. Though the Arcaros eventually struck out on their own, the Genells kept up the original restaurant and catering business—and today, the second and third generations follow in their footsteps, bringing new life into the operation.

“Me and my brother Mark have been here since we were kids; we lived above the restaurant and never did anything else,” says Angelo, son of the original owner and current owner, whose wife and three children also work at the restaurant. “Our kids are the next generation—they like the business and bring in new ideas, like social networking, that I don’t have any idea about.”

Arcaro & Genell is a legendary pizza spot in a town that is itself legendary for its pizza culture. In the self-proclaimed “Pizza Capital of the World,” this bustling restaurant meets the requirements of the unique local pizza style—a thick but light dough with a lengthy rise time and cooked in 11”-by-17” baking pans, served in “cuts” rather than slices—but its pizza still stands out thanks to a well-seasoned sauce, a proprietary blend of cheese and a focus on consistency. “We have our own style of pizza in Old Forge, but each place has a different taste of pizza,” Angelo explains. “It’s all really good, but different. You never get sick of eating it.”

Even with a robust catering business, a pizza shipping operation and a full-service menu that includes homemade pasta and sauces, Angelo still believes his greatest success involves the customers who have created a large circle of extended family.

And, he says, it all hinges upon dedicating the requisite hours and elbow grease. “You need to be able to put in a lot of time— sometimes without making any money,” says Angelo. “This is definitely not the business to be an absentee owner.”

–Tracy Morin

(Top to bottom) Arcaro & Genell has been serving droves of pizza loving customers since 1962; a vintage catering menu advertises its separate banquet room, still a hit for parties today; the restaurant features a cozy, vintage feel.

82 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Has your pizzeria been in business for 50 or more years?

If so, contact us at tracy@pmq.com.

Our traditional prepared sauces are delicious enough to simply heat and serve! But with just one simple ingredient addition, you can customize our sauces to create your own signature menu items. To stimulate your creative process, visit redpacksauce.com to download our Plus One Recipe Ideas brochure or call 1-888-REDPACK, ext. 33.

Redpack is a registered trademark of Red Gold, LLC, Elwood, IN

Ready to Serve