PMQ Pizza Magazine October 2013

pMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | October 2013 | Volume 17, Issue 8

Flavorful Crusts | Pg 38 Dough Equipment | Pg 44 Gluten-Free Marketing | Pg 52

October 2013 | www.pmq.com

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

The Fast

and the

Fearless

Page

26

Project Pie’s James Markham explains why fast-casual is the future of pizza.

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DEPARTMENT online at pmq.com

PMQ Blogs Recent Videos (pmq.com/video)

ThePizzaInsider.PMQ.com Liz Barrett, PMQ’s editor at large, brings you the inside scoop on the industry’s latest trends, marketing and technology.

Recently at The Pizza Insider: Liz discusses how to let the customer tell your story; getting worldwide press exposure; and the many ways to benefit from fall football season.

Pizza TV In this exclusive video interview with PMQ, veteran hospitality consultant Jon Taffer, star of Spike’s hit TV show Bar Rescue, talks about boosting alcohol sales in a pizza restaurant.

PizzaWithoutBorders.PMQ.com From PMQ’s headquarters in Paris, Missy Green, PMQ’s international correspondent, reports on pizza events, trends and curiosities from around the world.

Recently at Pizza Without Borders: Missy explores salad towers in China; a speakeasy pizzeria in Milan; and five Swedish pizza lessons.

This Week in Pizza Catch up on the latest pizza industry news every Wednesday with Pizza TV’s weekly online broadcast, This Week in Pizza, with media producer Daniel Perea

Think Tank Hot Topics (thinktank.pmq.com) PMQ’s Think Tank is the only online forum for the pizza industry. With a membership of nearly 2,500 and more than 80,000 posts, you’re sure to find the answers you’re seeking. Some examples of recent posts: Name Change—A frustrated operator asks other Think Tankers what he should do about a failing franchise. He wants to change the name and start from scratch. He says there’s no formal agreement and thinks it would be better to start over than deal with the franchise telling him how to run the business.

This Week in Pizza (pmq.com/thisweekinpizza) PMQ’s weekly e-newsletter brings breaking industry news to your inbox every Wednesday. Receive it free by visiting pmq.com/subscribe.

Need Opinions—Two longtime pizzeria managers are thinking of partnering up with a third person to open their first pizzeria together. They’re asking for opinions on how everyone thinks a three-person partnership would work and whether or not the building they are considering would be profitable.

Do you have an answer for these operators or questions of your own? Log on to the Think Tank and take a look around at thinktank.pmq.com.

Think Tank

INTERACT WITH THE INDUSTRY DAILY ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, Pinterest and PMQ’s THINK TANK FORUM PMQ Pizza Magazine 6

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CONTENTS October 2013 PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE

On the cover

| October 2013

FLAVOR FUL CRUSTS DOUGH EQUIPM ENT GLUTEN-FREE MARKETING | WWW.PM Q.COM

8

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Fast-casual pioneer James Markham, co-founder of MOD Pizza and founder of Project Pie, is reinventing the way pizzerias serve their customers.

By Rick Hynum Photography by Sara Norris

| Volume 17, Issue

26 The Fast and the Fearless

OCTOBER 2013

The Fast

| PMQ.com

Fearless

| Pg 38 | Pg 44 | Pg 52

26

and the

Project Pie’s James Markh fast-casual is the future am explains why of pizza.

Page

26

features

38

5 Tips for a More Flavorful Crust From double fermentation and char spots to molasses and powdered egg whites, experts offer tricks of the trade to produce delicious pizza dough.

By Tracy Morin

44 Rolling in the Dough Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann offers an overview of some of the most common types of dough equipment—and how they can make or break a pizza operation.

By Tom Lehmann

52

The Gluten-Free Edge With more Americans following a gluten-free diet, the right marketing strategy can help make your pizzeria a safe haven for this fast-growing—and— loyal—clientele.

By Tracy Morin

58

Gluten-Free: The FDA’s New Rule A new government standard for gluten-free labeling offers clarity for food manufacturers, but its impact on restaurants remains to be seen.

By Rick Hynum

62

The Loyalty Test Your customers will feel more loyal to you if they know you’re loyal to them. Learn how to create a loyalty program that keeps members happy and eager for more.

By Liz Barrett

66

2013 Pizza Industry Census Take our annual census and enter a drawing to win 100 pounds of pepperoni.

70

The Pizza Trainer: Cheese A leading expert explains how proper employee training can help curb your cheese costs and ensure quality and consistency with every pizza you serve.

By Dan Risner

8

PMQ Pizza Magazine

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CONTENTS October 2013

38

44

departments 18 In Lehmann’s Terms: Adding a Take-and Bake Option Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann provides 10 tips for tweaking your dough formula to make a tasty take-and-bake pizza.

20 New York’s Finest:

Italian Pizza, Egyptian-Style While many Italians view pizza making as a demeaning profession, immigrants from Egypt are proving to be perfectly suited for the job.

22 Accounting for Your Money: Finding the Perfect Accountant As profit margins get thinner, Mike Rasmussen advises operators to use an accounting system designed specifically for a pizzeria’s needs.

24 Marketing Maven:

Leveraging Social Media—Part 2 Linda Duke explains how to successfully engage your audience with a strong social media presence and message.

36 Pizza of the Month: The BLT Pizza When it comes to developing a dream pizza for meat lovers, there’s no substitute for the salty, savory goodness of bacon.

98 Time Capsule:

Zuppardi’s Apizza This legendary New Haven pizzeria has been singled out by TV networks and travel guides for serving the best pies in Connecticut.

Check out our digital and tablet editions for exclusive content. In a special op-ed piece, Gregg Johnson, the founder and CEO of Minsky’s Pizza, offers his perspective on serving the needs of the gluten-free community. Take a peek behind the scenes at PMQ in our PMQ Extra video. And don’t miss our bonus Pizza Press coverage, featuring moneymaking ideas from around the country. Visit PMQ.com/digital to read the digital edition or download our tablet app at iTunes, Google Play and Amazon.com.

Coming Next Month Pizza of the Month: Philly Cheese Steak Italian Entrees: Incorporating delicious Italian specialty dishes into your menu can increase customer visits and boost profits without raising your overhead costs.

Marketing Adult Beverages: Insiders share their tips for making your alcoholic beverage sales soar.

Security: From in-store surveillance to security alarms, experts offer advice to ensure your pizzeria remains safe for employees and customers.

in every issue 6

Online at PMQ.com

12

Editor’s Note

14

Letters to the Editor

16

Pizza Press

74

Product Spotlight

83

Advertiser Index

84

Pizza Industry Resource Guide

CLick Here to view the PMQ Extra Video 10 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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EDITOR’S NOTE rick hynum

The Chipotle-ization of Pizza

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | October 2013 | Volume 17, Issue 8

FLAVORFUL CRUSTS DOUGH EQUIPMENT GLUTEN-FREE MARKETING

OCTOBER 2013 | WWW.PMQ.COM

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

The Fast

and the

Fearless

Page

26

Project Pie’s James Markham explains why fast-casual is the future of pizza.

| Pg 38 | Pg 44 | Pg 52

On the cover: As co-founder of MOD Pizza and founder of Project Pie, entrepreneur and pizzaiolo James Markham pioneered the fast-casual pizza segment.

Now it’s booming, representing a significant new trend that reinvents the way Americans order pizza.

Photography by Sara Norris

Subscribe to PMQ now!

Get your print, digital or mobile edition!

I’m a man with a lot of pet peeves. Many of them are, admittedly, irrational, and some relate to foodservice and my borderline OCD. Seat me at a table that hasn’t been bussed and wiped down, and I’ll look at you like you’ve got three ears. A greasyfeeling ketchup bottle is like spit in my face—there aren’t enough sanitary wet-wipes in the world to make me feel clean again.

And then there’s the 16” pizza that comes “loaded” with roughly three slices of pepperoni and quantum-sized bits of sausage that look like they might have been swept up off the kitchen floor.

“What manner of effrontery is this?” I say, scowling at the pie. “Are they mocking me? I think they’re mocking me.”

“Please don’t make a scene,” my friend says, hiding her face behind a napkin.

“But this is unacceptable. Is there some mass shortage of pepperoni that I didn’t know about? Have pigs gone extinct and nobody told me? You’d think someone would have told me.” Indignantly, I raise my voice: “I AM, AFTER ALL, THE EDITOR OF A WELL-RESPECTED…” “Check, please!”

This is what I love about so-called “fast-casual pizza.” As exemplified by our cover subject James Markham and his Project Pie stores (“The Fast and the Fearless,” page 26), fast-casual pizza, at its best, truly delivers on what is, for too many pizzerias, a vague promise: the idea that customers can “build their own pie.” If you tell me that I can build my own pie—and many casual-dining menus offer that option, charging by the topping—I’d like to know that I’m going to get at the very least a sufficient amount of said toppings. Sadly, I will often get whatever the pizza maker decides to give me, and the amount may vary from one visit to the next. As a business journalist, of course, I know about food costs and portion controls, but as a customer, I know what I like and what I want. And sometimes I’ll get it, and sometimes I won’t.

Based on the Chipotle Mexican Grill model, fast-casual pizza takes a more guestfriendly approach. I get to stand there and watch as the pizza maker tops the pie with my favorites, and if I say, “How about a few extra pepperoni slices?” he’ll gladly oblige. If I say, “Whoa, whoa, careful with the onions! You trying to give me the breath of death?” he’ll dig where I’m coming from. I’ll get the perfect pie, built to my own specifications, and, thanks to super-hot ovens, I’ll get it in two or three minutes.

That’s impressive. That could be a game changer.

Many industry watchers believe fast-casual pizza represents a major industry trend, and I agree. So far there aren’t a lot of these restaurants out there, but the ones that are in business have big plans for growth and, in many cases, high-dollar investors behind them. Soon enough, they could be your competitors, building customized pies right down the street from you. Is this a bad thing? Not if you believe that competition makes you better. Regardless, it’s a trend that will likely keep growing. So get ready, folks. The “Chipotle-ization of pizza” is well underway, and our industry may never be the same again.

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Rick Hynum Editor-in-chief PMQ Pizza Magazine

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CALL (888) 443-2751 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR VISIT US AT

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR rick hynum An Invitation to Sardo’s My father, Santo Sardo, owns Sardo’s Pizza in Largo, Florida. He was “born on a flour bag” in New York and has been making pizza ever since. About 20 years ago, when I was born, he decided to move down to Florida. He wanted to bring the great taste of Canarsie, Brooklyn, with him, so he opened his own pizzeria and has been selling pies in the Seminole/Largo area ever since. He’s an old-school Italian with a big mouth.

Just type in “Sardo’s Pizza” on YouTube and watch some of his funny videos, all done right on the spot without a script. He has a lot of fun joking around with customers. He also loves to cook everything from scratch and uses only the best ingredients, so the food is always extraordinary. We would love to host the PMQ staff for lunch or dinner one day.

It would be nice to get some recognition

Looking to Buy Pizza Chains As you may know, I first entered the pizza world (other than through my pizza consumption) with my acquisition of Figaro’s Pizza in 2001. Since then, we’ve acquired Pizza Schmizza and Nick-NWilly’s. I am writing you today because I very much wish to acquire a pizza chain or chains in the next few months. The chain(s) I seek must be primarily in the business of selling New York-style pizza by the slice. They can be primarily or exclusively dine-in, delivery or takeout, all three, or any combination thereof.

They can be mall-based or strip mall or airport locations. They can be franchised, company-owned, or any combination thereof. They can be located anywhere in the United States or Canada. What they must be, however, is highly regarded

A P u b lication of P M Q , I nc .

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

for my father—he deserves it. He works really hard and loves this place, and I just want it to thrive for him. Thank you for your time.

Giovanni “Johnny” Sardo Sardo’s Pizza Largo, FL Thanks, Johnny, for your touching letter— you obviously love and admire your father very much. You’ll be hearing from us in the future, and we promise to drop by Sardo’s next time we’re in the Largo area! by consumers and solidly profitable.

And the type of chain I seek must be generating EBITDA in the $2 million to $6 million range. Do you or your readers know of any chains that might meet my criteria? I’m prepared to move quickly and to pay all cash, stock, notes or any combination the seller wants. Thanks for your help in spreading the word.

Ron Berger Chairman/CEO, Figaro’s Italian Pizza, Inc. Salem, OR ron@figaros.com Thanks, Ron. We’re sharing your letter with our readers and asking that they contact you with any leads on possible acquisitions. Please let us know how this works out for you!

Share your passion!

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.

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

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

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Editor at Large Liz Barrett liz@pmq.com Senior Copy Editor Tracy Morin tracy@pmq.com International Correspondent Missy Green missy@pmq.com Design/Production Art Director Kara Hoffman kara@pmq.com ext. 135 Designer Eric Summers eric@pmq.com Media Producer Daniel Lee 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 Sales Assistant Brandy Pinion brandy@pmq.com ext. 127 Marketing Social Media Director Melanie Addington melanie@pmq.com ext. 133 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 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 France Pizza Julien Panet jpanet@francepizza.fr Pizza e Pasta Italiana Massimo Puggina redazione@pizzaepastaitaliana.it Spain—pizzanet.es Eduard Jiménez info@pizzanet.es Brazil—Pizzas & Massas Michel Wankenne wankenne@insumos.com.br editorial advisors Chef Santo Bruno Tom Feltonstein Tom Lehmann Joey Todaro Ed Zimmerman contributors Chef Santo Bruno Linda Duke Tom Lehmann Michael J. Rasmussen Dan Risner Volume 17, Issue 8 PMQ Pizza Magazine 605 Edison St. • Oxford, MS 38655 662.234.5481 • 662.234.0665 Fax linda@pmq.com PMQ Pizza Magazine (ISSN #1937-5263) is published 10 times per year. Cost of U.S. subscription is $25 per year. International $35.

Periodical postage pricing paid at Oxford, MS. Additional mailing offices at Bolingbrook, IL. Postmaster: Send address changes to: PMQ Pizza Magazine, PO Box 2015, Langhorne, PA 19047.

Opinions expressed by the editors and contributing writers are strictly their own, and are not necessarily those of the advertisers. All rights reserved. No portion of PMQ may be reproduced in whole or part without written consent.

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pizza press news & views

The Big Business of BYO Customers today want to orchestrate everything to fit their whims—from self-made music playlists to the pics they post on Instagram. And while pizza has always been highly customizable, build-your-own pizza concepts continue to take off. Witness the tales of two growing players in the category:

Baseball player David Freese will celebrate his love for Imo’s Pizza as spokesperson for the company.

Minnesota-based SOLOS Pizza Cafe (solospizza.com) has taken the slow and steady route, growing to three locations since opening in 2007 and now offering franchising opportunities. With signature pies (including “SO LO calorie” choices) and build-your-own options with exotic toppings (think peppadew peppers, chipotle pesto and smoked bacon), the concept began after owners Bruce Thomson and Brian Banick observed the rising fast-casual dining trend initiated by major players like Chipotle. “Because we offer individual pizzas, everyone can get what they want, and people really enjoy being part of the process,” Banick says.

By contrast, Los Angeles-based The Pizza Studio (pizzastudio.com) aims for a meteoric rise: Open only since January, the company already has 74 units in development across the country and expects to have more than 150 in development by the end of the year. The pizzeria offers “Starving Artist” selections under $5.99 and quick baking in high-heat, conveyor convection ovens, plus work from local artists on display.

“Everything about the process has been tested with thousands of data points: the crispness of the pizza, foldability, the heat, even the size of the bubbling,” says Samit Varma, president and co-founder. “We spent an entire year getting every aspect of operations completely right.”

(Left and below right) Meticulous testing went into every aspect of the pizza making process at Pizza Studio in Los Angeles; Solos Pizza Café (top left and below left) was one of the first BYO concepts in the country.

Buy a Buddy a Slice When customers at the recently opened Zoli’s NY Pizza Tavern (zolispizza.com) in Dallas find a slice they like, they can “pass it forward” to their pals with the restaurant’s “Buy a Buddy a Slice” promotion. “The idea is that if you are at the restaurant and are really enjoying a slice, you can buy one in advance for your friend,” says owner Jay Jerrier, who also owns the popular Cane Rosso (ilcanerosso.com) in Dallas. “He has 30 days to come in and claim his slice.” Jerrier says the board quickly filled up after his staff jump-started it with offers of slices to famous Texans such as Chuck Norris and Troy Aikman.

“We’re still waiting on those guys to show up,” Jerrier wryly adds.

Zoli's NY Pizza Tavern gives customers a chance to perform random acts of kindness involving pizza slices.

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Editors at Large Rebel Pie Neapolitan-inspired pizza is still something of a rarity in some Southern states, but Rebel Pie (rebelpie.com) in Florence, South Carolina, has shown that the niche was waiting to be filled. Of course, an amazing Facebook presence doesn’t hurt, either. PMQ senior copy editor Tracy Morin visited the fast-growing pizzeria in August, only weeks after its move to a new 2,800-square-foot location, and chatted with owner Alan Cooke about his journey. “We opened in February 2012 in an industrial warehouse complex; we made the office spaces the dining rooms, moved in a portable oven and hung up a banner outside between two tomato stakes,” he says with a laugh.

But Facebook and word-of-mouth quickly allowed the business to boom.

“One way to use Facebook is just to actively be there—sharing pictures of your pizza, thanking people for visiting, posting pictures that young customers have drawn of your pizzas, and doing giveaways where people have to like, comment and share posts to be entered,” Cooke says. “If you post ‘Today’s a great day at Rebel Pie,’ maybe 10% of people will see it, but when you get people to interact, your reach really spreads as people share your news with others.”

Social media has played a major role in the expansion of Rebel Pie in Florence, South Carolina.

Pop Star Ponders Pizza Biz

Is San Diego America’s Pizza Capital?

Will the princess of pop start peddling pizza? People has reported that Britney Spears is in negotiations to partner with the Meatball Spot (meatballspot.com), a moderately priced Las Vegas eatery specializing in pies, sandwiches and a lot of meatballs.

Spears, who is reportedly gearing up for a longtime Vegas gig with Planet Hollywood, has delved into the restaurant biz before, but the concept—Nyla in Manhattan—was a bigger bomb than her bald look in 2007.

Glenn Francis, PacificProDigital.com

What city serves the best pizza in the United States? New York? Chicago? L.A.? Nope, nope and nope. According to a survey by travel site TripAdvisor, it’s San Diego. The results were based on reviews and opinions by TripAdvisor travelers, who placed New York at No. 4 and snubbed Chicago and L.A. completely. Here’s the top 10 list in order: San Diego; Las Vegas; Boston; New York; Seattle; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; Indianapolis; Philadelphia; and Phoenix. Hey, don’t look at us—it’s not our survey!

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in lehmann’s terms tom “the dough doctor” lehmann

Adding a Takeand-Bake Option To create a take-and-bake pizza, Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann provides 10 tips for changing your dough formula and procedure.

By Tom Lehmann

QUESTION: We want to offer a take-and-bake pizza option. What changes will we need to make to our dough formula and procedure?

ANSWER: You can make a pretty decent take-andbake pizza using your existing formula with the following changes: 1. Reduce the dough absorption by 2% compared to what you use for your fresh dough pizza.

2. Adjust the yeast level to no more than 1.5% compressed yeast or 0.6% instant dry yeast. I don’t recommend active dry yeast for this application.

3. If your dough fails to brown sufficiently in the customer’s home oven, you can add more sugar to the dough formula, but this will also boost the sweetness of the finished crust. A better option is to add 5% to 6% sweet dairy whey to the dough formula. This will increase the browning of the dough/ crust without boosting sweetness or requiring more water for the dough formula.

4. Mix your dough for about two minutes longer than you’d spend mixing regular dough.

5. Take the dough directly to the bench for scaling and balling after mixing.

6. Place dough balls into dough boxes, cover and set them aside to proof at room temperature until they can be opened into pizza skins by your preferred method.

7. Place the pizza skins onto disks or screens and place in the cooler on a wire tree rack. Allow them to cool thoroughly (about 90 minutes).

8. Stack the chilled pizza skins with a piece of parchment paper separating each skin. Do not stack them more than 10 high. You should store the stacked skins in your reach-in cooler for immediate use in filling orders.

9. To use the skins, remove one from the stack, dock it with a pizza docker, then place it onto a pizza circle or in a lightly oiled, ovenable baking tray/ pan. Apply a very light coating of oil to the top of the pizza skin to help

prevent migration of moisture from the sauce and toppings down into the dough, and dress to the order.

10. Wrap your take-and-bake pie with stretch or shrink wrap and place inside a pizza box.

Make sure to provide thorough baking instructions for various types of home ovens, a use-by date and, most importantly, the words “Remove wrapper before baking.” You might think I’m kidding, but I’m not—people make that mistake all the time!

On a cautionary note: Don’t use raw meat or sausage as a topping on a takeand-bake pizza—it can lead to problems once the pizza leaves your store.

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.

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New York’s Finest Chef Bruno

Italian Pizza, Egyptian-Style As many Italians look down their noses at the art of pizza making, Egyptian immigrants have stepped in to fill the gap.

By Chef Santo Bruno

T

here are few things more Italian than watching as a fresh-baked pizza emerges from a wood-fired oven, but Italy is now facing a shortage of pizza makers.

Despite a long recession and high unemployment, Italians avoid the job because of the long hours and modest pay.

And yet, with a slice of pizza becoming an increasingly popular lunchtime option in this time of economic hardship, the pizza sector is actually booming.

Italians may be reluctant to get their hands dirty by stoking ovens and kneading dough, but immigrants have no such qualms and are now filling the gap, producing an increasing share of the three billion pizzas that Italians consume each year.

Egyptians have shown themselves to be particularly adept at mastering the art of pizza making; they now run many of the pizza restaurants and hole-in-the-wall takeaways in cities such as Rome and Milan.

I would say that about 80% of Egyptians who come to work in Italy end up as pizza makers. Egyptians are perfect for the job because they work hard. In fact, they make some very good pizza—they are true artisans when it comes to bread.

Unfortunately, the Italian mindset holds that being a pizza maker is humiliating, a manual-labor job. Many Italians are not prepared to work 10 to 12 hours a day. Some refuse to take up an occupation that is part of their cultural DNA, especially as unemployment among young people has increased. And, although young Italians want to own expensive cars and wear nice clothes, they are not prepared to work for the money. So the gap is being filled by other nationalities. Sadly, I have found this to be a problem in the United States as well!

To make a good pizza, it needs to be crunchy but also digestible and, of course, flavorful. Not everyone can do that, but the Egyptians can. We could all learn a lesson from them.

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.

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Accounting For your Money Michael J. Rasmussen, CPA

Finding the Perfect Accountant Look for an accountant or accounting firm that uses a highly refined system for data reports and delivery.

By Michael J. Rasmussen

QUESTION: My accountant doesn’t seem to know the restaurant industry.

How do I go about finding a new one?

ANSWER: Many accountants service multiple industries as generalists rather than as specialists. However, restaurants’ profit margins are becoming so thin that operators need to have accounting systems that are designed specifically with their needs in mind.

That’s the best way to ensure that you receive timely information so you can review your operations and make better—and faster—strategic decisions. By delivering reports 30 days after the month’s end, many accountants provide outdated information, whereas restaurateurs need real-time data—or as close to real-time as they can get—to make sound decisions every day.

Think about how your accountant provides data to you. Are you receiving it when you really need it? Is it available 24/7 via a secure Internet portal? Is it well-organized and, most importantly, is it reliable? Meanwhile, is the accountant getting the data he needs from you in a timely manner? To save time and ensure accuracy, the pizzeria operator should work closely with his accountant to make sure that the latter receives all of the necessary information from the restaurant’s operations, such as point-of-sale data and vendor invoices. It should be provided electronically in an Excel or CSV format.

We all know we should be ready to act when opportunity knocks. But I don’t believe that opportunity just wanders around, making random visits to people. I believe that, first and foremost, we create our own opportunities, but we also encounter situations that present opportunities to us. However, there is no flashing neon sign that identifies them; we have to be on the lookout. The same applies to finding the right accountant. You need to find an accountant who uses a highly refined system for data reporting and delivery so that you can make better real-time management decisions. These accountants are out there, but they won’t come knocking on your door. You’ll need to go out and find them!

How can you track down the perfect accountant? Ask for referrals, for starters, and follow up on word-of-mouth buzz.

Attend trade shows and talk with your food suppliers and fellow operators outside of your area. When you find an accountant that comes highly recommended, invite that person to your restaurant and interview him. Ask about his system for delivering data and find out how close to “real-time” that data can be sent.

Ask for references, and then call them to learn more.

Finally, if, during the interview, the accountant divulges confidential information about a competing restaurant, send him packing! You need to find an accountant with the utmost integrity to ensure that your operations remain truly secure over the long term.

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.

22 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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Marketing Maven Linda Duke

Leveraging Social Media— Part 2 Success in social media requires a strongly articulated message and the resources to communicate it.

By Linda Duke

I

n last month’s column, I offered some suggestions for creating a social media presence on popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter. As I mentioned in that article, social media has become the new word-of-mouth, particularly for restaurants. It’s an opportunity to extend the “shelf life” of your publicity campaigns and to generate buzz beyond the actual television segment, radio interview or print coverage—post a link to this coverage on your social media site, and it will reach an even larger audience. It’s also a great platform from which to launch new products, showcase popular favorites or daily specials and, above all, to build lasting and rewarding relationships with your customers.

But not everyone is doing social media right, and some operators make the mistake of relying on social media too much, abandoning other tried-and-true marketing strategies for this “next big thing.” Social media cannot exist on its own; you should use it in conjunction with other marketing and PR tactics, or you’ll find that you’re unable to truly build upon

and capitalize on your new “community” and reap all of the potential benefits of fan-building.

To successfully engage your audience and maintain a strong social media presence, restaurateurs must have a strongly articulated message and the resources to communicate it. One big myth about social marketing holds that social media is free.

In fact, someone with knowledge of social media has to manage it, and a solid plan should already be in place before that person gets started. Social media requires daily communications between your pizzeria’s management and your social media director in order to continuously update your sites with engaging content and targeted messages. In other words, creating a strategy that can be implemented—along with reasonable goals based on your brand resources—actually does cost something: It costs time, effort, money and human labor!

Once a social community has been built, you should use it in conjunction with your traditional PR outreach strategies to help print, broadcast and direct mail campaigns gain traction.

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And these campaigns should, in turn, point customers to your social media sites and encourage them to become Facebook fans or Twitter followers.

One brand that has taken a bold—and successful—approach to social media is Starbucks. Although the company has a Facebook page that boasts more than 35 million fans and a Twitter account with more than 4 million followers, Starbucks understands that social media isn’t just about using existing sites.

Sometimes it’s about creating your own social media site. To get a better handle on customer feedback, the company created My Starbucks Idea (mystarbucksidea.com). The site allows users to submit suggestions related to products, community involvement and the overall Starbucks customer experience. Other customers then vote on the ideas, and the most popular suggestions are highlighted and reviewed. Starbucks then took it a step further, adding an “Ideas in Action” blog that gives updates to users on the status of the suggested changes.

By empowering its customers—who tend to be exceptionally Web-savvy folks—Starbucks strengthened its brand and added a personal touch to its customer relations.

Thinking of ways to build and improve your company is great, after all, but asking your customers what they want is even better. And the most important thing is to act on that information—and do so publicly. Granted, most pizzeria operators already have their hands full with one company website and can’t afford to create a second one just to solicit

customer suggestions. But that’s OK—you can use Facebook, Twitter and other sites to get the same results. Whatever platform you’re using, social media gives you an opportunity to build an online community that can make your store outshine your competitors. It’s all about open communications, engaging content and paying attention to what your customers are telling you.

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, as well as The LSM Diet: Improve Your Bottom Line, Not Your Waistline (lsmdiet.com), a self-help guide to local store marketing. 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.

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Feature Story Project Pie

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From MOD Pizza to Project Pie, fast-casual pioneer James Markham blazes a bold new trail into pizza’s future.

By Rick Hynum Photography by Sara Norris

A

s an ex-boxer and straight-talking man’s-man sort of guy, James Markham doesn’t fear too much. The outspoken entrepreneur, a pioneer in the fast-casual pizza movement, has walked away from not one but two successful pizza chains on the West Coast, simply because he didn’t like the way his partners were running things. He has gambled on high-risk pizza ventures in China when he could have been coasting on his portfolio and sipping gin by the pool back home. In his spare time, he even goes looking for brawls in the mixed martial arts arena, braving choke holds and spinning elbows to the head just for the fun of it.

All in all, Markham has led a bold life of corporate derringdo, but one thing scares the heck out of him: being like everyone else. “One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Only dead fish swim with the current,’” says Markham, the brains behind the new “anti-chain chain” called Project Pie (projectpie.com), with stores in Las Vegas, San Diego and Manila, Philippines. “I’m a really passionate dude. Either you dig me or you don’t. And listen, I’m perfectly OK with that. I think people want something that’s real. That’s what I am, and people seem to dig it.”

People also seem to dig his pizza, not to mention the service model that Markham brings to every concept he launches. His October 2013

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As part of his goal to create an “anti-chain chain,” James Markham developed various design packages for Project Pie stores to ensure that no two locations look exactly alike.

“Fast-casual is where the restaurant industry is going.

It has grown by leaps and bounds because it gives you all you want—quality, speed, value and, if you have the right concept, a great vibe and atmosphere.”

—James Markham, Project Pie

philosophy: Keep it simple, make it fast and make it to the customer’s specifications, all for one low price. He unveiled the system when he co-founded the Seattle-based MOD Pizza (modpizza.com) in 2008 and later Pieology (pieology.com) in Southern California. It has spawned imitators everywhere since then, and the fast-casual segment is booming. Market research firm Technomic even declared the made-to-order niche “the next hot concept” in its recent “Concepts 2020” report.

Nobody agrees with that more than Markham. “Fast-casual is where the restaurant industry is going, period,” he says. “It has grown by leaps and bounds because it gives you all you want—quality, speed, value and, if you have the right concept, a great vibe and atmosphere.”

Reinventing Pizza Service A native of Washington, D.C., Markham, 43, owned several Cold Stone Creamery stores before launching Carlsbad, California-based Knockout Pizza, specializing in New Yorkstyle slices, in 1999. By 2006, he’d sold Knockout and, looking for a new challenge, founded the New York Style Pizza chain in Shanghai. “But I was already thinking I wanted to do something totally different in the pizza industry,” he recalls.

What he wanted to do was reinvent the way pizzerias served their customers. “When you offer New York-style pizza, you make a lot of very specific pizzas—cheese, pepperoni, etc.,” he says. “Then you blow through all of these pizzas during a busy lunch, and people come in and say, ‘Aw, you’re out of pesto?’

So how could I make sure someone comes in and gets exactly what they want every single time?”

A visit to Chipotle Mexican Grill, one of the first fast-casual chains, gave him his answer. “I looked around and thought, this is a great way to do it. You get your burrito or taco exactly how you want it—a little more of this, a little more of that— with great speed and at a pretty reasonable price.”

Upon returning to the United States, Markham partnered with Ally and Scott Svenson, founders of the Seattle Coffee Company, in 2008 to create MOD Pizza. MOD (an acronym

for Made On Demand) now has nine locations in Washington.

In typical fast-casual style, it offers a build-your-own assembly line as well as a selection of specialty pies. Markham takes credit for the concept and the house recipes, but he says the partners had conflicting goals for the company’s growth. “They were making changes I didn’t agree with,” he says. “I thought it needed to go in a different direction, so we separated, and I started Pieology.”

Pieology, launched in 2011 in Fullerton, California, duplicated MOD’s build-your-own system and hipster vibe, eventually expanding to eight stores. But something still nagged at the ever-restless Markham, and, before long, he’d sold his share in Pieology to a partner and moved on to Project Pie. This time, he planned to do it his way.

The Fast-Casual Movement It’s hard to say when and where the first fast-casual pizzeria opened in the United States. Solos Pizza Café (solospizza.com),

Customers at Project Pie pay a single price for a pie with limitless toppings, but they can also choose from a selection of seven specialty pies.

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To launch the first Project Pie in Las Vegas, Markham and his team gave away free food for a week, serving anyone who came in and delivering pies around the community.

“We want to do this thing a little differently. We call ourselves the anti-chain chain.”

—James Markham, Project Pie

which opened in February 2007 in Maple Grove, Minnesota, may have kicked off the trend, followed by Athens, Georgiabased Your Pie (yourpie.com) in April 2008. Markham and his partners opened the first MOD Pizza in November 2008.

“I’ve been credited as the guy (who invented the concept), but I don’t know,” he says. “Who knows? The one thing I know is I have done it in multiple geographic areas, starting with MOD and then Pieology.”

The definition of “fast-casual pizza” has evolved, but it generally refers to a quick-service build-your-own model: The customer goes through the line, chooses a crust and toppings, then waits as a super-hot oven bakes it in just a few minutes. Most pizzas sell for a single price ($7.50 at Project Pie), regardless of the number of toppings, and specialty pies are also available.

Several fast-casual pizza chains have created buzz in recent years, from Top That! Pizza (topthatpizza.com) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Pie Five Pizza (piefivepizza.com), a subsidiary of Pizza Inn Holdings. But as far as Markham is concerned, they’re

just rushing to catch up to him. “Project Pie is the culmination of everything I’ve learned and done in various geographic areas,” he says. “This is by far the best one from a food quality standpoint, design, the overall vibe. It’s the first time I’ve had complete control of the concept—I can literally do it any way I want.”

And that means throwing the standard corporate rulebook out the window. Project Pie’s slogan is simple: “Don’t Be Fake.”

Markham expects every member of his team to take that motto to heart. “We want to do this thing a little differently,” he says.

“We call ourselves the anti-chain chain. We want to create something great, to be the pinnacle, and that means being genuine in everything we do.”

Changing the Chain So what makes Project Pie the “anti-chain chain”? For starters, as the company expands, no two Project Pies will look alike.

“A lot of communities don’t like chain restaurants, and the vibe

Project Pie’s menu offers just three salads, while the fountain beverages are sweetened with pure cane sugar and made without preservatives or artificial coloring.

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Project Pie customers can indulge in a dessert pizza made with fresh strawberries, blackberries and Nutella or stick with a simple Caesar salad.

is a big reason—same design, same colors, same everything,” Markham says. “It’s sort of a blight on the community. If you go in and do something that looks and feels more like an independent restaurant, people are more receptive. That’s why we have four different designs, four tile packages, four lighting packages, four flooring packages. This is not a cookie-cutter look—when you walk into our place, it feels like a independent.”

In all cases, Markham went for a female-friendly design with rich hardwood floors and warm lighting. “Women are the ones who decide where the family and kids will eat. And once they find something they like, they become very loyal and share it with their friends.”

Guests who opt to build their own pies choose from nearly 30 toppings, and piling on the pepperoni won’t cost a penny extra. “We don’t limit you on anything,” Markham says. “It’s the customer’s creation—they can do it however they want.

But if you come through the line and ask for pepperoni, pesto, artichokes, candied walnuts and cranberries on one pizza, we’ll tell you that your pizza is going to be nasty. But if you try it and don’t like it, just come on back, and we’ll give you one of our own pies. We won’t charge you for that.”

Employees are hired for their personalities as well as their skills, and they’re paid better than most, Markham notes. “We start everybody at 10 bucks an hour. This industry has a high

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One of Project Pie’s several white pizzas is the No. 3, made with sliced tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, Parmesan and garlic.

“We ran the numbers—it costs us $16 or $17 an hour when you have to constantly retrain people. Why not hire better people and pay them more?”

—James Markham, Project Pie

turnover rate. We ran the numbers—it costs us $16 or $17 an hour when you have to constantly retrain people. Why not hire better people and pay them more? They’ll be more dedicated to their jobs. It’s these people that make your brand. It’s not me—our guests don’t see me in the store every day. It’s my team—they’re the ones who make this thing rock.”

Markham looks down his nose at corporate types who dream up chain themes based on focus groups. “They hire somebody else to create a concept that isn’t really them—they just do what they think is going to appear cool to other people,” he says. “It’s almost like living a lie. How can you keep doing something that’s so disingenuous? If you didn’t create that brand and that vibe yourself, how are you going to instill it into your team?

With a mission statement? Who wrote that mission statement for you? Me, I want to be creative. I want to do my own thing and show some ingenuity.”

Money Isn’t Enough But the biggest point of distinction between Project Pie and most chains may be its founder’s lack of obsession with EBITDA

(Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization). “People have always known my way works, but they’re so driven by the bottom line,” he observes. “They look at the EBITDA and say, ‘Well, 21% is great, but if we pay everybody less, it can be 22.5%.’ But that isn’t actually true. It’s not going to be another point and a half to you because your employees will suck, your productivity will go down and you won’t create the buzz you want. You’ve got to look past how much money you stick in your pocket. That’s important, but it’s not the most important thing. If you want to be successful, do the right thing, work your butt off, treat your employees well, and good things will happen. If you’re just out to make money, chances are, you won’t—chances are, you’ll have something that isn’t very good, something you won’t be proud of.”

So how will Markham keep Project Pie from devolving into a soulless, bottom line-obsessed company as it expands? “Most people would tell me not to say this in an interview, but the minute this thing starts going down that route, when we’re not thinking about our guests first and sticking with our core philosophy, I’m out,” Markham says. “I’m not gonna do it. If

Markham insists that Project Pie will always be, first and foremost, a pizza restaurant. “You’re never going to see sandwiches and paninis on my menu,” he says.

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I’ve got to battle with someone saying, ‘We could save another half a point by doing this,’ I’ll be like, ‘Dude, you don’t get it.

We got this far because of what we’ve been doing all along. Stay the course, man!’”

And Markham has little doubt he’s on the right course—the fast-casual model is the wave of the future, he insists. “You’ve always had the higher-end pizza restaurants, delivery and pizza by the slice—and there will always be a demand for them—but you’ve never had this middle-of-the-road thing before. You saw how fine dining took a monstrous hit when the economy tanked. Fast-casual and QSR didn’t take that kind of hit. An investor looks at that, and it makes sense.

“What it will come down to is, who’ll be left standing?” he continues. “It’s going to be the ones who can execute, create the right product and the right vibe. And I can tell you for a fact that nobody does that better than my team and I, because we’ve been doing it longer and we’ve done it in multiple geographic areas with different concepts. We’ve been through all the trial and error already.”

But as Project Pie expands—plans called for a new store to open in Boulder, Colorado, around press time, and leases have been signed in New York and Southern California cities— Markham will work only with partners and franchisees that subscribe to his own singular vision. “It’s important to me that people understand what we’re doing and recognize that this is

“We don’t believe in mission statements,” Markham says. “Mission statements are b.s.”

part of something special,” he says. “We’ve turned down a lot of people who come in and go, ‘Here’s my balance sheet!’ I’m like, OK, but do you get what we’re trying to do? Money alone can’t create something great. The hard part is getting the right people to do it with you.”

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

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Uncle Peteza’s Pizzeria (unclepetezas.net), in Bothell, Washington, prepares its BLT pie with a Ranch dressing for the base and loads it with bacon, red onions, mozzarella, lettuce and tomatoes.

With 16 locations in five Southern states, Brixx Wood Fired Pizza (brixxpizza.com) rocks taste buds with its Spicy BLT Pizza, made with strips of applewood-smoked bacon, mozzarella, shaved jalapenos and red onions, then topped with diced Roma tomatoes and chopped Romaine lettuce tossed in Caesar salad dressing.

Specializing in northern Italian cuisine, Clayton, Missouri’s Bocci Bar (boccibar.com) has made a name for itself with the Lobster BLT, featuring lobster claws, bacon, tomatoes, field greens and crème fraîche.

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Feature Story Flavorful Crusts

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5Flavorful Crust Tips More for a

Listen in as pizzeria chefs and owners spill their secrets for infusing a little “oomph” into their pizza dough.

By Tracy Morin

P

erhaps it’s impossible to explain the hows and whys behind individual tastes in food—and that definitely holds true for pizza. Some people swear by hefty deep-dish or doughy pan styles, while others crave cracker-thin, Neapolitan, New York-style, or something off the beaten pizza path. But whatever results you desire, there are plenty of ways to infuse more flavor into your finished crusts, whether through the baking process, prep, mixing, dough additives and more. Here, PMQ chats with operators who subscribe to a wide variety of pizza styles to find out how they ensure the most flavorful crusts possible.

1. A Better Flour Most operators would agree: Great pizza begins with topnotch ingredients. When CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries, which operates the Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom (oldchicago.com) chain, with nearly 100 locations nationwide and headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Bloomfield, Colorado, recently revamped its decades-old dough recipes, the first step was selecting a better flour. “With today’s focus on health and nutrition, we sought out a flour with no enzymes or additives that’s made from a single ingredient: wheat,” says Mike Thom, senior director of CraftWorks. With several different styles of pizza and baked goods on the menu, the pizzeria now uses two flours: one with a lower protein content, used

for its tavern-style thin-crust and ciabatta bread, and one with a higher protein content, ideal for Chicago-style pizzas and calzone dough.

Will Bingham, owner of The Pizza Peel and Tap Room (tapandpeel.com) in Charlotte, North Carolina, used to offer both white and wheat pizzas at his operation, but now he fuses the two into one signature crust—creating his dough with white high-gluten and wheat flours to create “more body” in the finished product.

Shawn McClain, chef and managing partner at Five50 Pizza Bar (arialasvegas.com/dining/restaurants/five50) in Las Vegas, developed his own hybrid crust, but instead of combining flours, he merged Neapolitan and New York styles. “We combined dry yeast and a starter, plus a little olive oil,” he recalls.

“We wanted the dough to have a little air and texture. The starter helps with the maturation process and flavor profilebuilding, and the dry yeast acts as a stabilizer so we’re not at the whim of the elements, as you’d be with a strictly starter dough.”

In addition, high-quality ingredients—including fresh-milled flour from a San Francisco-based supplier—are an important part of the process for great crusts at Five50.

2. Rising to the Occasion Neapolitan-style dough is known for its signature light texture, crispy exterior and chewy interior. The secret, according to

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“Quality of ingredients is the most important factor in a flavorful crust. Proofing the dough allows it to rise properly, ensuring that you have the correct texture to impart the desired flavor” —Mark Snyder, ItalCrust Wood Fired Pizza Crusts

OLD CHICAGO

Matteo Schiavone, executive chef at Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana (pomopizzeria.com), with two locations in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona, is double fermentation. “It’s very important to raise the dough twice, for four hours and then again (after balling) for eight to 12 hours—it’s a process!” he says. “Raising the dough too quickly makes the pizza heavy, and warm temperatures make the dough rise faster; we put the dough in the walk-in, and then the second fermentation is done at 70° to 75° for a soft dough.”

Chef Joseph Boness, owner of Vella Pizza (vellapizza.com), a mobile pizzeria based in Redondo Beach, California, adheres to a Neapolitan-inspired style, but he has made his own tweaks to the traditional Italian format. For operators who want to experiment with a slower rise for their dough, he suggests the following: Try a double fermentation process, then reserve a cup of the finished dough in the freezer. When making the next dough batch, bring the frozen dough to room temperature, then add it to your new dough batch. “That dough has developed completely, and there’s a huge difference in fast-rising dough, with a lot of yeast, versus a slow rise,” he explains. “You get more strength and elasticity out of the dough, and it’s easier to work with by hand.” The formula he recommends: 4 ounces of old dough for each quart of new dough.

To experiment with the double fermentation process, Boness says, try using 1/10 of the amount of yeast and work two days ahead. Work in small batches and play around with ratios; for a batch that will create 100 8-ounce dough balls, try 5 grams of yeast; letting it rise slowly over a couple of days will impart more chewiness and better flavor. “You can even play around with adding leftover dough instead of yeast,” he says. “If you start today, you can eventually have yeast strains that are five years old—which can also be a marketing point.”

Indeed, during the dough revamp at Old Chicago, one major tweak involved allowing for a slower development process, which, according to Thom, results in bigger flavor and better-tasting results. Part of this change required a switch from instant yeast to dry active yeast, and now the Chicago-style dough, for example, has a 24- to 48-hour development time.

At Five50, McClain adheres to a three-day process—a 24-hour fermentation, followed by balling and cooling for 48 hours.

Old Chicago recently revamped its recipes for its crusts, including its famous Chicago-style pizzas, which incorporate flour with a higher protein content.

3. The Joy of Baking Chefs at Pomo, true to Neapolitan style, cook their pizzas in a 900° oven, creating what Schiavone refers to as “leopard skin” on the pizza—spots of char that lend a seductively smoky characteristic to the finished pie. McClain works with combination fire-deck ovens; the decks maintain a consistent cooking surface temperature, but he can also add apricot wood for smoke, top heat and color. Crunchy crusts at The Pizza Peel also stem from a high-heat oven—about 600°—and a longer bake. “The hotter the better—this gives the crust some extra crunch, plus nice browning and caramelization,” says Bingham.

However, utilizing certain dough recipes can also allow for other types of ovens, such as conveyors and convections, to create crispier outcomes. At Old Chicago, its tavern-style dough is proofed quickly, then baked to set the crust, adding a little height to the dough and some airiness. Because this dough style has a lot of yeast and is very fast-rising, a brief time in the oven sets the structure to give it a crispy, crunchy texture (and, to maintain this effect, the pizza is served on a wire rack ¼” above the pan for improved airflow and no sogginess).

w VELLA PIZZA

Chef Joseph Boness at Vella Pizza uses a slow fermentation process to create his Neapolitan-inspired pizzas.

40 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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Matteo Schiavone at Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana tosses his Neapolitan-style dough, which undergoes double fermentation and gentle mixing processes.

4. Extra! Extra!

While dough may, in its simplest form, require only a few ingredients, there are also ways to boost flavor through additives.

Old Chicago adds powdered egg white to the dough used for its calzones, pepperoni rolls and stromboli, which adds a “great crispy texture and hearth-baked color,” Thom says. Meanwhile, its ciabatta dough (a wet dough formed into 18” loaves) creates all of the garlic breads for salads, pastas, bruschetta and dips and is brushed with egg white mixture, then sprinkled with kosher salt to bring out the flavors in the bread. For tavern-style pizzas, which have enjoyed a surge of popularity since being introduced on the menu, Asiago cheese is sprinkled around the outside edge of the crust to impart a nutty taste as it browns in

the oven. Finally, for the Chicago-style crust, oil in the bottom of the pans, plus a brush with clarified butter, gives a deep-fried texture. “Customers today really appreciate a depth of flavors and textures,” Thom says.

Boness notes that adding oil to the dough during initial mixing can help add strength and make it easier to work with, but he doesn’t advocate “drowning” the dough in oil—simply let the mixture turn two to three times in the mixer while adding a slow drizzle. You can also experiment with adding starter cultures—mix a cup each of flour and water and put the mixture in the refrigerator. “It’ll change each day, getting denser, then thinner,” says Boness. “Once it thins, it’s time to feed it—a tablespoon of flour each day.” This starter culture can then be added to your dough recipe; simply replace any used starter with flour.

Meanwhile, some pizzeria chefs have a definitive sweet spot—adding ingredients such as honey or sugar to their dough. Bingham uses molasses in his dough recipe, which, he says, lends a unique flavor profile. “The molasses creates caramelization, leading to a darker bake,” he notes. “And it helps in fermentation, because it takes longer for the yeast to break down molasses than sugar.” Adding olive oil to his dough also lends extra flavor so that the dough never gets “cardboard-y,” he says—even after the pizza cools, the oil helps the crust retain its flavor and texture when reheated.

VELLA PIZZA

A light, digestible dough and simple, high-quality ingredients are the hallmarks of the Neapolitan-style pies at Vella Pizza.

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“For Neapolitan-style dough, it’s very important to raise the dough twice, for four hours and then again (after balling) for eight to 12 hours—it’s a process!”

—Matteo Schiavone, Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana

At Five50 Pizza Bar in Las Vegas, chef Shawn McClain developed his own hybrid crust that merges Neapolitan and New York styles.

FIVE50 PIZZA BAR

5. In the Mix Finally, some pizzerias are very particular about their mixing strategies—often a concern for those who take their inspiration from Neapolitan styles. Pomo Pizzeria uses an imported mixer from Italy that has a fork-like (instead of spiral) attachment to handle the dough gently—thus making the finished product light, puffy and more digestible. Five50 utilizes mixers that are programmed to have rest time built into the process, and air is retained in the dough through proper hand-stretching technique. “In New York-style pies, pizza makers may push air out of the dough when they stretch it, leading to the thin crust and thin edges on these pizzas,” McClain says. “Instead, we keep a 3/4” edge and pull the dough rather than pushing the dough down on a table; our method traps air inside, allowing

for more chew versus a denser finished product.”

The old boxing adage says, “Styles make fights,” but there’s no reason to argue about the merits of one pizza style over another as long as you select the best ingredients and prep procedures to ensure the most flavorful product for customers.

Although many may claim to know the “secret” of creating the perfect pizza dough, perhaps the real secret is simply to not be afraid of experimentation. After all, even massive chains like Old Chicago and Domino’s (dominos.com) recently realized a need to keep up with the times and try out new recipes to remain relevant to their customer bases. What new tweaks will you try next?

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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Feature Story Dough Equipment

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KARA HOFFMAN

Rolling in the Dough Choose the right piece of equipment for the right type of pizza.

By Tom Lehmann

P

izza dough is sensitive stuff, and making it just right requires both an artist’s touch and a scientist’s knack for calculation and precision. This is particularly true when it comes to using dough forming equipment, such as sheeters and presses, as well as tossing and stretching dough by hand. Every crust forming method or procedure imparts its own unique characteristics to the dough, which, in turn, affects the finished crust and, of course, your pizza.

If your business is growing and you’re thinking about purchasing some new pieces of dough equipment or switching from one type of equipment to another, you’ll want to consider all the myriad possibilities and make sure you understand their

capabilities and their limitations. Here’s an overview of some of the most common types of dough equipment available to pizzeria operators today:

Planetary vs. Spiral Mixers Planetary mixers aren’t just for mixing; most come with an attachment hub that can also drive attachments used for cutting and grinding meats, cheeses and vegetables. Simply install a different agitator, and the mixer can be used for mixing sauce or whipping up a fancy dessert. A spiral mixer can be sized to mix between 12.5 and 300 pounds of flour, while planetary mixers typically used in pizzerias are limited to mixing between

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“You don’t have to own a high-volume restaurant to benefit from dividers/rounders or pizza presses. Each machine will allow you to be more productive with your time and grow your sales. Putting out the most consistent product that you can is a key to growing your sales and, ultimately, your profits.”

—Tony Marino, National Sales Manager,

Dutchess Bakers’ Machinery Company

KARA HOFFMAN

2.5 and 80 pounds of dough. When loaded to between 50% and 100% of their capacities, both mixer types work at similar speeds and boast similar friction factors (hence, you can use the same water temperature with both mixers).

Some pizzeria operators outfit their kitchens with both a spiral mixer for general dough mixing as well as a smaller planetary mixer for backup and to mix sauces and prepare cheese, meats and other toppings. The biggest drawback of spiral mixers in most pizzerias is the lack of an attachment hub for all of those grinding and slicing chores; on the other hand, spiral mixers are very efficient at mixing dough and may provide more dough mixing capacity than a typical planetary mixer.

Some pizzeria operators outfit their kitchens with a spiral mixer for general dough mixing as well as a smaller planetary mixer for backup and to prepare sauces, cheeses and other items.

a unique crispiness to the crust. This dry skin also helps to control browning so that the crust can be baked longer—or at a slightly higher temperature—for an even crispier texture.

Cold presses, unlike hot presses, don’t rely on heat to help form the crust or to help form a skin to retain the shape of the crust (especially raised edges). For cold pressing, you need a soft and “flowing” dough, which can be achieved through a high water-absorption process, high finished dough temperature (90° to 100°) and reducing agents. The softness of the dough

Hot and Cold Presses Hot presses use a heated head to press a dough ball into a die cavity or onto a flat platen. A hot press can create various shapes, including round and rectangular crusts, and hot presses work especially well for forming oven-rising (take-and-bake) pizzas with a well-defined, raised edge. But formulas for hotpressed doughs typically call for a relaxing agent of some kind to help the dough stretch and to reduce shrinkage or dough memory after pressing. In some hot presses, only the top head of the press is heated—in these cases, the dough will have to be put on a pan or tray after pressing, since the bottom of the dough will still be raw and sticky. Remember that the heated platen will activate the yeast to some degree, so the dough will need to be baked immediately after it’s pressed when making thin-crust pizzas. However, when making thick-crust or deep-dish pizzas, the heated dough can work in your favor by helping to reduce the rising/proofing time needed to give the desired finished crust characteristics.

Also, hot pressing of the dough imparts an open, somewhat coarse internal cell structure that’s quite uniform, resulting in more uniform baking characteristics for the finished crust.

If you use a press that’s heated at the top and bottom, a dry skin can be formed on the dough, imparting the potential for

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46 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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Dough sheeters can help produce large quantities of dough, flattened out as pizza skins, in an efficient manner.

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makes it much harder to achieve a well-defined, raised edge for the crust.

Cold pressing is a great way to make focaccia bread and can produce a unique, fried-bottom pizza crust, a characteristic that cannot be achieved through any other forming method.

On the other hand, the greatest negative factor in the cold press forming method may be the fact that you’ll need special pans onto which to press the dough. Additionally, you may experience increased difficulty in producing a crust with a pronounced raised edge.

Sheeters, Rollers and Die-Cuts Dough sheeters and rollers take dough balls and form them into flat pieces of dough known as pizza skins. In many cases, a large dough sheeter may be used to create long or continuous ribbons of dough from which individual pizza skins can be cut using circular cutting dies. This approach can produce dough in mass quantities in an efficient manner, such as when operating a pizzeria as a commissary or for use in a free-standing commissary operation in which dough skins are made for a number of different stores.

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“When selecting dough trays, make sure they nest within each other, eliminating the need for racks and lids, as the dough tray becomes the lid.”

—Terri Cox, KY Manufacturing & Technology The sheeting method generally produces a crust with a thick, heavy internal cell structure. This can be attributed to the way the dough passes through the sheeting roll, which disrupts the gas cells, degassing the dough along the way. If you desire a more open, porous

TOM BOYLES

cellular structure, consider allowing the dough to proof/rise for a period of time—preferably between 20 and 70 minutes—between the forming and baking stages.

Another problem with sheeters is that, as the dough passes through the sheeting

roll, it receives additional work, similar to additional mixing time. This extra work further toughens the dough through gluten development, resulting in unwanted snap-back. However, you can address this problem with the use of additives that contain dough relaxing materials, such as L-cysteine, glutathione, deodorized vegetable powder or sodium metebisulfite.

Otherwise, the formed dough piece may need to be set aside for between 10 and 15 minutes, allowing it to relax somewhat, then passed through the sheeter again or manually stretched to bring the skin out to full diameter.

Because sheeted doughs come out flat across their entire surface, the finished crusts tend to be somewhat flat, too, lacking a high, rolled or raised edge. In many cases, they’ll resemble a poker chip. If you don’t like a uniformly flat crust, consider proofing the dough for a short time after forming—this will allow the edge portion of the skin to rise more than the center portion, which is weighted down by ingredients, thus forming something of a raised edge.

Dividers/Rounders If you’re making several hundred dough balls a day, a divider/rounder may be the right piece of equipment for you.

A divider/rounder divides your dough into equal weight pieces, then rounds them into dough balls. This piece of equipment requires a financial investment, but it can also turn dough making—ordinarily a time-consuming and labor-intensive task—into a one-man job. You can also purchase a divider and a rounder separately. In fact, more and more pizzerias nowadays are using a dough rounder alone. In this case, a person at the bench can divide an entire 80-pound dough into 10-ounce dough pieces in about 15 minutes; as the dough is scaled into pieces, each piece is tossed into the rounder and another person

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Think Plastics

TOM BOYLES

catches the dough balls as they come out of the rounder. Using this method, with practice, two people can divide, round and box an entire 80-pound dough batch within 20 minutes!

Before purchasing any piece of dough equipment, think long and hard about all the functions it will need to perform.

Also give serious consideration to the type of pizzas that you’ll be making with the finished dough. Do your research, and don’t be afraid to ask the vendor a lot of questions. It’s an important decision that will affect your bottom line in many ways!

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.

When it comes to dough proofing and storage, Chef Santo Bruno has one word of advice for you: plastics.

Long before plastic and aluminum materials became common, pizzaioli proofed their doughs in wooden boxes. But wood absorbs moisture from the bottom of the dough, resulting in a very crispy crust—too crispy for some pizza makers. Over time, many operators turned to aluminum pans, which are great for proofing and retarding dough but can be difficult to clean.

Bruno now uses a plastic product called the Super Dough Bowl. “The dough ball comes out easily from the bowl, and the bowls nest snugly, which eliminates excess air and makes it easy to control the rising of the dough,” he says.

The plastic bowls save space on the prep table, he notes, and they’re practically indestructible. They’re also easy to clean. “Just put them in hot water with a detergent and let them soak for a while,” Bruno says. “Use a sponge if necessary, but never use an abrasive or steel wool—it’ll destroy the finish.”

Jay Burton is another dough pro who’s sold on plastic. “My commissary turns out well over a quarter-million dough balls annually,” says Burton, general manager of One World Commissary, which handles the dough needs of the Pizza X (pizzaxbloomington.com) chain and Lennie’s Restaurant and Brewpub (lenniesgourmetpizza.com) in Bloomington, Indiana. His staff uses co-polymer polypropolene trays, placing six sheeted dough balls in each tray. The trays lock together, he says, “for an all-but-airtight seal.”

Burton says the plastic trays “are much easier to clean than anything I have ever used. The dough just scrapes right off using a plastic putty scraper, even if the dough has dried on.”

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Learn from AIB’s “Dough Doctor” Tom Lehmann, Jeff Zeak, and other Industry Experts 800-242-2534 • www.aibonline.org/pizza.html 50 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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feature story gluten-free

JOHNNY CARINO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

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Gluten-free pizza was recently added to Johnny Carino’s Italian Restaurants through partnership with a well-known gluten-free supplier; The Loop Pizza Grill (right) aggressively promotes its gluten-free pies with coupons, samples, Facebook, email blasts and more.

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THE LOOP PIZZA GRILL

Learn how to successfully target the gluten-free community to win their business—and encourage them to spread the word about your pizzeria.

By Tracy Morin

Y

ou’ve seen the stats that say 1 in 133 Americans has celiac disease, and you’ve heard the tales from other operators reporting that sales have grown by double digits since they added gluten-free options. So you’ve added these items to your menu, too—or, at least, you’re seriously considering a leap into the gluten-free fray. Easy, right?

Not so fast—adding gluten-free menu items is only part of the process. The fact is, you still have to get these customers in your door and keep them coming back, all while encouraging them to let the gluten-free community know your pizzeria is a safe haven that makes their dietary needs a priority. Fortunately, with some patience, a display of genuine concern and a few savvy marketing tactics to spread the word, you can not only attract these customers but generate an entirely new (and very loyal) following for your pizzeria.

Understanding the Market For those with celiac disease, a gluten-free lifestyle is the only “treatment” available, and in recent years products that target this population have exploded onto the scene, with no signs of slowing. Thus, according to some, it’s a no-brainer to offer gluten-free foods. “Gluten-free has become so popular these days, so offering these options attracts and maintains new guests,” says Cathy Manzon, marketing director for The Loop Pizza Grill (looppizzagrill.com), based in Jacksonville, Florida. “There are a lot of people who have to choose gluten-free products based on their dietary needs.”

Then there are those customers who have gone gluten-free as a dietary choice rather than on doctor’s orders—plus the much larger number of customers who know someone who is on a

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Spread the Gluten-Free Gospel

W.O.W.

At W.O.W. in Okemos, Michigan, all employees have celiac disease or other food allergies and make sure to follow painstaking protocols to prevent cross-contamination of gluten-free items.

“By offering gluten-free items, you fill a specific need for a very specific customer, so they’ll seek you out and tell their friends, who will travel from farther distances to visit your pizzeria.”

—Beckee Moreland, National Foundation for Celiac Awareness

gluten-free diet but still craves pizza and pasta. Best of all, those who require gluten-free foods make extremely loyal customers when they find a pizzeria that offers the safe handling practices and great-tasting food they seek—and they’re often the ones in a group who select where to eat. “Gluten-free diners make the reservations and bring in guests; then they spread the word through social media, because this is a very active community,” says Beckee Moreland, director of gluten-free industry initiatives for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), based in Ambler, Pennsylvania. “By offering glutenfree items, you fill a specific need for a very specific customer, so they’ll seek you out and tell their friends, who will travel from farther distances to visit your pizzeria.”

But keep in mind that these customers now have more choices than they used to, and the competition is getting stiffer.

“Just because you offer a solution, it doesn’t mean people are going to eat anything you serve,” says Steven Negri, owner of Mandy’s Pizza & More (mandyspizza.com) in Pittsburgh.

“Besides a safe environment, these customers are looking for great taste, texture and pricing. Gluten-free customers can be pickier now, so it’s more important than ever to truly understand the market.”

There’s no cure for celiac disease or gluten sensitivity—the only solution is to avoid foods with gluten, period. But these customers still want to enjoy all the same foods they’ve always loved. Cater to them, research shows, and they’ll stay loyal to your pizzeria for a long time. In addition to offering a wide selection of gluten-free options on your menu and training all staff members to answer questions about gluten-free fare, here are more marketing tips from Beckee Moreland, director of gluten-free industry initiatives for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA): 1. Get out into the community. Make connections by participating in local or regional gluten-free-focused events. Whenever possible, a booth with samples from your menu will work wonders to make your pizzeria stand out.

2. Explain your practices. Put your gluten-free patrons at ease by being transparent on menus about your kitchen and prep procedures. Explain how you prevent crosscontamination in the kitchen and reassure them that every gluten-free product is truly gluten-free.

3. Find the right partner. Align your restaurant with a reputable gluten-free organization or training program to show your dedication.

Showing You Care Many gluten-free customers have been burned in the past by foods that restaurant operators falsely claimed were gluten-free, so it’s crucial that you show you’re genuinely concerned about them and do everything in your power to meet their special needs. Even a single bad experience will spread like wildfire, so make sure you have strict standards in the kitchen to avoid possible cross-contamination.

Moreland suggests showing you care about this segment by offering not just gluten-free pizza, but something gluten-free for each part of your menu, from appetizers to desserts. Even more importantly, she adds, make sure your staff is trained to know what gluten-free customers are looking for and how to answer questions—a must to build trust with these customers and create a consistent message that you’re concerned about their needs. “These customers will call ahead and ask questions, and if they get a bad feeling about the establishment, they won’t

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W.O.W. in Okemos, Michigan, specializes in gluten-free fare, including pizzas, pastas and breadsticks.

W.O.W.

visit, so everybody in the restaurant must have a good understanding of gluten-free,” she says. “Plus, gluten-free customers love going somewhere to eat where they don’t have to explain their condition; they just want to be normal customers.”

Partnering with a brand that’s already established in the gluten-free market can also lend credibility to your gluten-free commitment. At Austin, Texas-based Johnny Carino’s Italian Restaurants (carinos.com), with more than 100 locations in the United States and abroad, the gluten-free menu was recently expanded with the addition of pasta and pizza from a well-known supplier. “We want to provide the best products

possible, so we partnered with a strong brand, Udi’s, for our pizza crusts,” says Ryan Bearden, VP of marketing for Fired Up Restaurant Concepts, which owns Johnny Carino’s. “The company also has a gold mine of an email and Facebook following, and they have promoted us within those channels because we carry their products.”

Johnny Carino’s also had its executive chef go through a rigorous process to certify foods as gluten-free and establish proper procedures to be followed at all locations to avoid crosscontamination. The company works with Analytical Food Laboratories to test everything on its menu and ensures that guests are informed on menus about the restaurant’s strict protocol for the safest products possible. “These customers talk a lot, so it’s imperative to follow protocol consistently,” Bearden says. “You have to be committed to a great product and a safe environment, because there’s no better marketing than wordof-mouth.”

Creating a Buzz Chances are, customers won’t know that you offer glutenfree options unless you tell them at every opportunity.

Johnny Carino’s servers make sure to leave a gluten-free

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Brandon Negri, son of owner Steve Negri, prepares an allergen-free pizza in the kitchen at Mandy’s Pizza & More.

MANDY’S PIZZA & MORE

menu at each table—“a great way to build word-of-mouth,” Bearden says.

After all, even if no one at that table is a gluten-free customer, they probably know someone who is. Other in-store tactics, including table tents, POP materials and servers’ recommendations, have helped those with celiac, and their friends and family members, become familiar with the options.

When The Loop first introduced gluten-free pizza, each location offered small samples and used Facebook and its email club to spread the word. “Effective marketing tools include using great photography in our print ads and within our four walls, but we also sent out $3off coupons to give our guests incentive to try it,” Manzon recalls. “We use a lot of flyers that we include with all to-go orders and on pizza boxes, and we use in store counter cards that make the pizza very appealing.”

Execs at Johnny Carino’s also let people know about the expanded menu offerings through its email database, text message marketing and press releases sent to specialty and local publications.

But one of the company’s most creative—and successful—tactics targeted gluten-free bloggers. “This hits a very specific audience, so we invited them to try the menu and then blog about it; the blog then hits the people who care the most,” Bearden explains. “Bloggers gave us a very good response.”

Another great place to find potential gluten-free customers: local celiac support groups. Moreland reports that most towns have them (look in surrounding areas, too—remember, these customers are willing to travel farther than most).

You can then invite the group out for a special dinner or tasting at your pizzeria or host a celiac awareness night. “You’ll establish that you care about these customers, and you can get great feedback on your products as well, because they’re the experts,” Moreland says.

Other ideas Moreland recommends: Invite a local gluten-free producer or baker to come to your pizzeria and answer customers’ questions, or host a rep from a celiac organization to answer questions about your restaurant’s training.

You should also mention your offerings on your website, get your pizzeria listed on gluten-free travel or dining apps, and look into certifications or staff training programs from celiac organizations.

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MANDY’S PIZZA & MORE

Steve and Brandon Negri from Mandy’s Pizza & More have attracted pizza lovers from around the region, thanks to their commitment to safe preparation and great-tasting menu items that are allergen-free.

Negri, whose son Brandon copes with severe food allergies, agrees that establishing yourself in the gluten-free community is a must to reach these customers; he speaks at conferences to raise awareness and regularly hosts holiday-themed events for kids (such as allergen-free trick or treating or doughnuts with Santa parties). He also tells his son’s story on the back of menus to explain and demonstrate his personal commitment to allergen-free items. In fact, Negri recommends that, before operators even offer gluten-free foods, they should reach out to local support groups for celiac disease. “Contact the person in charge and have them come in to sit down with you and discuss their condition. Ask them what foods they miss most; ask where they’ve eaten gluten-free and what they do or don’t like about those places,” he suggests.

“Find out the group’s next meeting date and ship a bunch of pizzas for them to try.

When you get the support of support groups, they’ll do grassroots marketing for you because you cared enough to ask.” When your menu items are established, you can then send out a press release to other local media and support groups touting your new options, he adds.

Finally, if you have a loyal gluten-free customer or family member that can act as an informal spokesperson for your efforts, don’t hesitate to make them a part of your message, too. Negri has found success (to the tune of 300-plus gluten-free pizzas sold at Mandy’s Pizza & More per week) by making it clear to customers that his son can eat Mandy’s allergen-free offerings; the customers are more apt to trust a recommendation from someone who shares their concerns, he says. “It’s always an advantage to have someone to put a face to your message, or build up customers who will recommend you online through Facebook, blogs, etc.,” Negri explains.

“Ultimately, you have to care and build a rapport with these customers—not just sell or give them a bunch of PR fluff.”

When you develop your recipes and procedures carefully, create buzz about your gluten-free menu, and show a real commitment to making sure these customers are safe and satisfied, you can easily find yourself with an entirely new loyal following.

In fact, Negri has one final piece of advice to make sure these customers are kept happy: “Be prepared, because as soon as people find out about your food, you’ll have a very long line!”

Click here bonus content on gluten-free pizza, including an opinion piece by Gregg Johnson, founder and CEO of Minsky’s Pizza.

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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feature story gluten-free regulations

Gluten free: The FDA’s New Rule

The FDA’s new standard for gluten-free labeling is a victory for watchdog groups, but its impact on restaurants remains unclear.

By Rick Hynum

I

t took nine years, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently set a standard for gluten-free claims on food labels, establishing a gluten limit of 20 parts per million in all food products labeled as gluten-free.

Watchdog groups have hailed it as a major step in the right direction for people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. But how will it affect restaurants that serve gluten-free foods, such as pizza?

The new rule, established in response to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, technically applies only to manufacturers of food products, not restaurants, notes Mary Schluckebier, executive director of the Celiac Sprue Association (CSA), a nonprofit celiac support group.

But in a Q&A about the new rule published on the FDA’s website, the agency “suggests that any use of an FDA-defined food labeling claim (such as ‘fat-free’ or ‘low-cholesterol’) on restaurant menus should be consistent with the respective regulatory definitions. This same approach would be followed with respect to ‘gluten-free’ claims made in restaurants or other retail food service establishments.”

MARTINO’S PIZZERIA

The New Rules Under the new FDA guidelines, manufacturers can label a food as “gluten-free” if it does not contain any of the following: qq An ingredient that is any type of wheat, rye or barley (or crossbreeds of these grains) qq An ingredient derived from these grains that has not been processed to remove gluten qq An ingredient derived from one of these grains that has not been processed to remove gluten if it results in the food containing 20 or more parts per million (ppm) gluten

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MARTINO’S PIZZERIA

Martino’s Pizzeria, with locations in Lafayette, Erie and Louisville, Colorado, has a special section on its menu called “Gluten Freedom,” featuring pizza and pastas as well as sandwiches made with gluten-free bread.

As Schluckebier explains, “The use of the terms ‘suggests’ and ‘should’ by the FDA indicates that the regulations are not mandatory for restaurants.” But she adds that the National Restaurant Association (NRA) has thrown its considerable weight behind the new rule. In an August 12 press release published on the NRA’s website, Joy Dubost, the organization’s director of nutrition, urged restaurant operators to make sure their gluten-free items meet the new requirements. “Restaurants will be well-served to ensure they comply with FDA-defined claims,” Dubost said.

Beckee Moreland, director of gluten-free industry initiatives for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), says the rule, although voluntary for restaurants, will help pizzeria operators more easily identify and select gluten-free ingredients for their recipes. “They will be able to trust that a crust or sauce labeled gluten-free will be safe for their customers with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity,” Moreland says.

Clarity and Uncertainty As many as 3 million Americans have celiac disease. For these people, eating a product containing gluten—found in wheat,

barley and rye—can trigger the production of antibodies that damage the small intestine and interfere with absorption of nutrients from food. With heightened awareness of the disease, the demand for gluten-free products, especially pizzas, has risen steadily in recent years, creating a $4 billion market.

But not everyone who avoids gluten has celiac disease or gluten sensitivity; some opt for gluten-free products because they think they’re healthier or will help them lose weight, according to a 2012 poll by Packaged Facts. “The gluten-free labeling rule is especially important in light of the recent fad surrounding gluten-free diets,” Moreland says. “The rule makes it clear that gluten-free food is a serious medical need for people with celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders. It has also brought more attention to these medical needs in the press, so it’s a strong statement on behalf of these consumers.”

Aside from providing clarity in gluten-free labeling by manufacturers, the FDA rule’s effect on restaurants remains unclear for now. “Since the regulations were issued on August 4, the FDA has already been requested to clarify the impact of the regulations as they pertain to restaurants,” Schluckebier says. “Until the uncertainty is resolved, the safe course for October 2013

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“Until the uncertainty is resolved, the safe course for restaurants is to follow the recommendations of the NRA, and any restaurant making a gluten-free claim on a product should have information available to the customer detailing what the claim means.”

—Mary Schluckebier, Celiac Sprue Association restaurants is to follow the recommendations of the NRA, and any restaurant making a gluten-free claim on a product should have information available to the customer detailing what the claim means.”

Meanwhile, restaurant operators should also consider seeking gluten-free certification through third parties such as the CSA or the NFCA. After all, experts point out, simply using gluten-free products when preparing menu items doesn’t guarantee your customers’ safety; if a gluten-free product comes

into contact with other products made from wheat, barley, rye or other oats during preparation, cross-contamination can occur, and the customer could become sick. “If restaurant staff are trained to start the cooking process with products that are naturally gluten-free or labeled gluten-free and to use glutenfree protocols in both the back-of-house and front-of-house, they can be more confident that the prepared dish provides the same level of safety as the original ingredients,” Moreland says.

Regardless, the rule was a victory for celiac disease patients and the organizations that support them. “We are so glad to finally reach this milestone, and it has truly been an effort involving the whole gluten-free community,” Moreland adds.

“The gluten-free labeling rule means there will be more safety and accountability in gluten-free manufacturing, and consumers will have a clear process for alerting the government about potential violations. For me, personally, I think the rule will also mean that we’ll see even more gluten-free products on store shelves. I know that some manufacturers have been waiting for this rule, and now that it has been finalized, the doors have opened to usher in new products.”

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s Editor-in-chief.

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feature story Developing A Loyalty Program

The Loyalty Test Follow these eight tips for developing a loyalty program that makes customers feel genuinely appreciated.

By Liz Barrett

Y

our customers are already members of at least three or four loyalty programs tied to, say, the local grocery store, office supply chain store and pharmacy.

Offering a program with rewards and discounts from your pizzeria would likely be welcomed with open arms. However, printing out a business card and purchasing a fancy hole puncher isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Colloquy, a Cincinnati-based provider of loyalty publications, education and research, reports that, since its first loyalty census in 2000, the number of loyalty memberships in the United States has more than doubled, from 973 million to 2.09 billion, with the number of programs per household

growing from 12 to 18. That’s the good news. The bad news is that less than half of the total memberships (8.4 per household) are actually active. Why are less than half of them being used? Look at it from the customer’s perspective. Think about how many loyalty programs you belong to and how they are structured. What sort of rewards do you receive, and how are they redeemed? How often do you hear from the merchants?

And, most importantly, when was the last time they made you feel like an appreciated member of their program?

Beginning to see the picture?

Let’s look at the eight most important steps in running a successful loyalty program, and why you’ll need to implement

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“The ability to monitor customer purchases through a software-based loyalty program yields information that is simply priceless.” them if you want to build a bevy of happy members. If at the end you decide that you aren’t ready to begin a loyalty program, many of these same tips can still assist in getting you in the right mindset for other customer engagement projects that will prepare your customers for a loyalty program down the line.

1. Check Your Budget Loyalty programs can be one of the best ways to build brand awareness and customer loyalty, but you’ll also need to figure in the costs of setup, product rewards, accounting fees, possible software or computer upgrades, and any additional staff you may need to hire. Most importantly, calculate the amount of time that it will take to market and promote the program properly.

2. Find Out What They Want Many retailers neglect to ask what customers want from a reward program. Do they favor discounts? Freebies? Exclusive invitations to store events? The short answer is that they want relevant rewards that are tailored to them. The only way you’ll know for sure, however, is by asking them—either during the sign-up process or through email and social marketing polls.

3. Put It In Writing—and Make It Easy!

No one wants to read five pages of small print to figure out how many points they just earned from the pizza they purchased.

They also don’t want to spend a year gathering points that go toward a mysterious goal or possibly nothing at all. Find a happy medium by laying it out for customers from the start.

Explain it clearly, and make it as simple as possible.

To keep customers active in your loyalty program, you have to offer relevant rewards that are tailored to their interests.

4. Know Your Members One of the reasons so many stores have transitioned away from punch cards over the years is because you will never know anything about a customer who carries a punch card. More current technologies give you the ability to gather important information about your customers up front and on an ongoing basis. In return, this data will help you with future sales, promotions and even remembering your guests’ most-ordered menu items. The ability to monitor customer purchases through a software-based loyalty program yields information that is simply priceless.

5. Stay in Touch All too often, loyalty cards end up in a desk drawer or the bottom of an old purse. In order for a loyalty program to succeed, it’s imperative to follow up with your members. Whether that means through periodic emails, mobile alerts or a note dropped in the mailbox, your customers need to be reminded why they are being loyal to you and not the pizzeria down the street.

6. Keep the Perks Coming

Make your loyalty club members feel special by giving them sneak previews of your pizzeria’s new menu before other customers see it.

If you want people to eat at your pizzeria and not at your competitors’, offer regular bonuses and perks to your VIP customers. Have a new menu debuting in a couple of weeks? Reveal it to loyalty members before everyone else. They’ll love the exclusivity of the preview.

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“Whether through periodic emails, mobile alerts or a note dropped in the mailbox, your customers need to be reminded why they are being loyal to you and not the pizzeria down the street.”

Creating a loyalty program isn’t just about handing guests a card and offering vaguely defined, hard-to-earn rewards a few times a year. It’s about making them feel welcome and important every time they walk in the door.

at the register. With a loyalty program that’s tied into a mobile phone, the consumer also has constant access to the loyalty program, benefiting you and them.

8. Stand Out!

7. Take It Mobile The ability to tie a loyalty membership number to a mobile phone not only dramatically increases consumer participation in a loyalty program; it also enhances the data that is collected about the consumer. A mobile phone allows you to gather extra data in addition to information about what the consumer does

With more than two billion loyalty memberships in the United States, how will yours stand out from the competition? Will you reveal secret specials to members or invite them to share what they’ve earned through social media for the chance to earn more rewards? Making members feel special and valued will show them that loyalty is a two-way street at your pizzeria—one that they’ll want to return to again and again.

Liz Barrett is PMQ’s editor at large.

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feature story Pizza Industry Census

2013 Pizza Industry Census

Take it, for pizza’s sake!

You have the power to effect change within the pizza industry simply by answering the following survey questions. With your input from last year’s survey, we’ve integrated fresh, reader-requested questions into the current census, helping to further boost the value of this always insightful report.

Please take a few moments to visit PMQ.com/census13 to complete the survey online. You can also tear out or copy the form included here and mail your responses to PMQ, 612 McLarty Rd., Oxford, MS 38655, or fax the form to 662-234-0665.

1. Which of the following best describes your operation? r Independent operator r Franchise operator r Chain operator r Manufacturer r Distributor r Future pizza operator r Consultant r Association r Other: ____________________ 2. What is your current position? r Owner/partner/CEO r Manager r Chef r Marketing manager r Industry/vendor r Other: ____________________ 3. How many hours a week do you work? r 20-30 hours r 30-40 hours r 40-50 hours r 50-60 hours r 60 or more hours 4. In general, are your sales increasing, decreasing or about the same compared to last year? r Increasing r Decreasing r Same

5. What type of location do you have? r Stand-alone r In a stip mall r Inside a shopping center r In an industrial park r Mobile unit r C-store 6. How long have you been in the pizza business? r Haven’t opened yet r Less than 5 years r 5-10 years r 10-15 years r 15-25 years r 25-35 years r 35-50 years r More than 50 years 7. How many units do you have? r 1 unit r 2-3 units r 4-10 units

r 10-20 units r More than 20 units r More than 50 units 8. What are the average yearly sales at each of your stores? r Less than $300,000 r $300,000-$550,000 r $550,000-$750,000 r $750,000-$1 million r $1 million-$2 million r More than $2 million r More than $5 million 9. During which daypart(s) is your operation open (check all that apply)? r Breakfast r Lunch r Dinner r Late night r 24/7 r Other: ____________________

WIN 100 Pounds of Pepperoni!

A fully completed survey qualifies you to enter a drawing to win 100 pounds of pepperoni from Liguria.

Completing the survey and including your email address guarantees your entry.

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18. Do you have a POS system? r No r Planning to get one r Yes. If yes, which system do you use?_____________________

19. Does your restaurant have a website? r Yes r No r Not now, but will in the next 6-12 months

10. During which daypart have you seen the most growth during the past year? r Breakfast r Lunch r Dinner r Late night r 24/7 r None 11. In what area have you seen the highest increase in sales at your pizzeria? r Gourmet toppings r Healthy options r Sandwiches r Appetizers r Wings r Salad r Pasta r Sodas r Flatbreads r Alcoholic Beverages r Other:____________________ r No increase 12. Approximately, what are your sales percentage breakdowns? r Food ____% r Labor ____% r Coupons ____% r Advertising ____% 13. Approximately, what are your sales percentage breakdowns? r Dine-in ____% r Takeout ____% r Take and bake ____% r Delivery ____% r Catering ____% r Buffet ____%

14. Which segment of your sales, as reported above, has seen the most growth during the last year? r Dine-in r Takeout r Take and bake r Delivery r Catering r Buffet r None 15. What is your approximate percentage of sales for the following products? r Pizza ____% r Entrees ____% r Wings ____% r Sandwiches ____% r Appetizers ____% r Salads ____% r Desserts ____% r Beverages ____% 16. What method do you use to track your food costs? r Manually track r Use stand-alone food

20. Do you offer online ordering through any of the following platforms? r Website r Mobile app r Third-party service provider r Other:____________________ r We don’t offer online ordering.

If you answered yes, what percentage of your sales comes through online ordering? ___________________________

21. Does your restaurant have a presence on social media?

(Check all that apply.) r Facebook r Twitter r Google Plus r YouTube r LinkedIn r Pinterest r Other: ___________________ r No, we don’t have a social media presence.

costing software

r Use a program within my POS system

r Compare monthly profit and loss statements

r Other: __________________ r I don’t track my food costs 17. How many primary food suppliers do you use on a regular basis? r 1 r 2-3 r 4-6 r More than 6 October 2013

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22. Do you offer a loyalty/customer rewards program? r Yes r No r Not now, but will in the next six months

23. Do you use email marketing? r Yes r No r Not now, but will in the next 6-12 months

24. Do you use text marketing? r Yes r No r Not now, but will in the next 6-12 months

25. Which restaurant review websites do you respect the most? r Yelp r Urbanspoon r Zagat r Dine.com r Other: ___________________

27. In how many charity/fundraiser events did your pizzeria participate this past year? r 1-5 r 5-10 r More than 10 r None 28. What marketing promotion in the past 12 months yielded the most dramatic results for you? ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

29. What is your most popular crust style? r Hand-tossed r Deep-dish r Thin r Other:____________________ 30. Do you offer alternative crusts? r Gluten-free r Whole-wheat r Low-carb r Other:____________________ r Don’t offer

26. Which methods of coupon distribution have been the most successful for you during the last year? r Door hangers r Pizza box flyers r Email/newsletter r Text messages r Your website r Third-party website r Other:____________________

31. Do you sell pizza by the slice? r Yes r No 32. Which of the following nonpizza items do you offer on your menu (check all that apply)? r Wings r Sandwiches r Pasta r Salads r Dessert

r Other:____________________ r None 33. What percentage of your menu items are obtained from local farmers/producers? r None r 1%-10% r 10%-20% r 20%-30% r 30%-40% r More than 40% 34. What types of beverages do you offer? r Fountain sodas r Bottled sodas r Tea r Coffee r Bottled water r Beer r Wine r Cocktails 35. What types of desserts do you offer? r Ice cream r Gelato r Italian ice r Tiramisu r Cannoli r Pie/cake/brownies 36. What type of oven do you use? r Conveyor r Deck r Wood-fired r Coal-fired r Other:____________________ 37. What type of dough do you use? r Make our own

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r Use preformed crusts r Buy frozen dough r Fresh dough balls are delivered to our store

r Subcontract r Other:____________________ 38. Which method do you use to form dough in your store(s)? r Formed by hand r Sheeter r Dough press r Other:____________________ r Not applicable 39. What type of sauce do you use? r Make our own r Use canned sauce r Add ingredients to canned sauce r Other:____________________ 40. What form of cheese do you purchase? r Block r Diced r Shredded r Sliced r We make our own r Other:____________________ 41. What types of cheese do you use (check all that apply)? r Mozzarella r Provolone r Cheddar r Romano r Ricotta r Parmesan

r Other:____________________ 42. How much do you charge for delivery? r __________ r No charge r Don’t offer delivery 43. How many employees do you have per store? r Less than 5 r 5-15 r 15-25 r 25-35 r 35-45 r 45-55 r More than 55 44. What is your average hourly pay rate for the following positions: r Manager__________________ r Assistant manager __________

Thank you

for participating in the 2013 PMQ Pizza Industry Census. To enter a drawing for 100 pounds of pepperoni, please complete the following information. A winner will be selected at random from all completed surveys. Mail your complete survey to PMQ, 612 McLarty Rd., Oxford, MS 38655, or fax to 662-234-0065.

Name ________________________________________________ Pizzeria ________________________________________________ City/State _____________________________________________ Phone_________________________________________________ Email _________________________________________________

r Pizza maker _______________ r Delivery driver _____________ 45. Where do you go for industry advice (check all that apply)? r Magazines r Web r Consultant r Books r Food sales rep r Other:____________________ 46. On which topics would you like to see more coverage by PMQ (choose your top three)? r Food r Marketing r Operations r Management r Equipment r Pizzeria profiles r Finance r Trends r Other:____________________ If you have any questions you’d like to suggest for our next survey, please submit them here: ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

Would you like to start/renew your free subscription to PMQ Pizza Magazine? r Yes r No

___________________________ __________________________

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feature story Saucing a Pizza

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The Pizza

Trainer:

Cheese

Manage your food costs and ensure customer satisfaction by training your employees to apply cheese correctly and consistently.

By Dan Risner

Y

ou can make a pizza without cheese, but you probably won’t sell many of them. Customers love the stuff. Whatever their favorite type of pizza, most folks want it to come with cheese. So, needless to say, adding cheese to a pie is a very important task for your pizza makers. It’s essential to teach them how to apply cheese correctly.

Two styles of cheese are most common in pizzerias: diced or shredded. While many pizza makers feel that diced cheese is easier to portion and spread, there’s no point in debating the question. The answer is easy: Go with the cheese that works best for you. Instead, this article will cover the basics of training your team members on how to add cheese to pizzas.

Portioning Cheese First, let’s talk about portioning. Let’s say that, on the first week of the month, a customer named Bob orders a large pie from your pizzeria, and the pizza maker puts eight ounces of cheese on it. Bob returns the next week and orders another large pizza,

but this one has only six ounces of cheese. Do you think Bob will be happy? In fact, he would probably feel cheated. That’s why portioning cheese consistently and correctly is very important. Bob should know that he will get the same amount of cheese each and every time he orders. If he wants more cheese, he can ask for extra. But he first needs to have a standard by which to judge each pizza and make his decision.

Portioning is also important for cheese because of its cost.

Cheese is a major food cost; it can drive your profits or drive you to the poorhouse.

With that in mind, portion training is obviously a must.

You should provide constant training on the importance of consistency, follow up as your pizza makers learn their craft, and give them feedback and coaching. You’ll need to invest in the training of every team member to achieve the consistency that will bring your customers back again and again. Here are the key elements of a solid plan for training your employees in applying cheese to pizzas: October 2013

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Using a portion chart, your employees should be taught in a step-bystep manner to measure and apply cheese correctly to every pizza they make.

Follow a Chart. Every pizzeria should have a cheese portion chart. It should list the exact portions for all styles and sizes of pizzas, including portions for special requests, such as light cheese, extra cheese and double cheese. This chart needs to be posted in the appropriate area of the kitchen, and it should be highly visible so that your pizza makers can reference it. Pizza makers should be trained to refer to the portion chart every single time until they know the correct amount for each pizza

size. Visit pizzaskool.com/demo to download a free customizable template for a cheese portion chart.

For Good Measure. You’ll also need the right tools to achieve the prescribed portion every time. A scale is probably the most accurate way to do this. Alternatively, the pizza maker can use a bowl to weigh out the correct portion of cheese on the scale, then spread the cheese by hand across the crust. A measuring cup also does the trick. Pizza makers fill premeasured cups with the desired amount and then spread the cheese over the pizza.

(Measuring cups have been found to deliver a more accurate portion when used with diced cheese as opposed to shredded.)

With measuring cups, though, it’s important to make sure the pizza maker doesn’t scoop out the cheese with the cup—this packs the cheese into the cup, yielding a larger portion than intended. Instead, teach the employee to loosely fill the cup by hand, allowing the cheese to drop from his hand into the cup.

The cups should be well-marked with the desired portions so there is no confusion. Or you may wish to use different color cups for each portion size.

What’s the downside to all of this careful measuring? It’s more time-consuming than free-throwing—that is, using only your eye to gauge the amount of cheese to be applied (often called “guesstimating”). But the problem with freethrowing is that it’s not free. Every ounce of cheese over the prescribed amount costs you money. And every ounce under the prescribed amount brings the risk of disappointing a customer. So, granted, free-throwing is faster, but aren’t you just throwing away money at a quicker rate? Scales are proven to pay for themselves.

Spreading the Cheese Now that you’ve portioned the cheese, it’s time to spread it onto the pizza crust. Where there’s sauce on the crust, there should also be cheese in proportionate amounts. The pizza maker should be instructed not to leave bare spots or large piles of cheese in one particular area. With that in mind, there are two ways to spread the cheese, depending on your portioning technique:

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Using a Scale. After the pizza is sauced, it should be placed onto the scale, and the scale should be zeroed out. Now it’s time to apply the cheese and spread it out over the crust. The pizza maker should grab the cheese with both hands and let the cheese sprinkle through his fingers about 6” above the pizza. As he applies the cheese, he needs to watch the scale closely and stop when he reaches

the desired portion. He should then return the remaining cheese in his hands to the cheese bin.

A good way to train on this cheesing technique is to employ a clean pizza screen. Use the portion guide to determine the desired portion for the size of the pizza that matches this screen.

The pizza maker should be able to dip into the cheese bin only once and grab

enough cheese to do the job—this saves valuable time during a busy dinner rush.

Using Cups. If you choose to portion cheese with measuring cups, the employee should fill the cup by hand, as mentioned previously, without packing the cheese. Holding the cup in one hand, the pizza maker should then disperse the cheese evenly around the crust with the fingers of his other hand. He should continue sprinkling the cheese until he has emptied the cup.

Alternatively, the employee can measure the prescribed amount of cheese, then dump the cup of cheese into the center of the pizza. He should then use his fingers and push the cheese across the crust. This is called the “bulldozer” method of cheesing. Again, try to cover all of the sauce and don’t leave piles of cheese.

One last note: Taking inventory is another cost control technique that every pizzeria owner should employ. It’s critical, in fact, to keeping your cheese costs in line. We mentioned earlier that customers love cheese. Unfortunately, so do your team members! If you don’t take inventory regularly, your cheese may be walking out the back door. Inventory control is imperative for maintaining the margins needed to keep your pizzeria’s doors open and your retirement account funded.

Using a consistent way to apply cheese to your pizzas will save you money and keep your customers happy.

If you don’t already cover this topic in employee meetings and training sessions, I recommend that you schedule a meeting with your pizza makers soon and talk to them about the importance of cheese consistency.

Train your team, exceed your customer’s expectations and watch the dough rise!

Dan Risner is president of PizzaSkool, a fully hosted e-learning solution for all pizzeria employees’ training needs. PizzaSkool’s video-based program provides training, testing and certification for driver, order taker, pizza maker and manager-in-training positions. Training courses cover customer service in the store and at the door, upselling and all aspects of pizza making and safe delivery. Visit traintogreatness.com for more information.

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The pizza exchange product spotlight Comfort and Performance MOZO Shoes’ Green Skull honors Mexico’s celebrated holiday, Día de Los Muertos, with an embroidered Mexican sugar skull stitched on the upper part in neon green. The ultra-lightweight frame, gel insoles, side vents and slip-resistant outsoles provide premium comfort and performance. MOZO’s footwear can handle the heat of any kitchen and the scrutiny of any dining room. 866-684-1832, mozoshoes.com.

On the Level LevelUp is the largest mobile payment network in the country, with more than 1 million consumers paying with LevelUp at 5,000-plus businesses. To use LevelUp, consumers download the free app, link any card, then scan the QR code on their phone at the point-of-sale to pay.

Restaurants of all sizes use LevelUp to pay lower processing fees, make money with automated campaigns and learn more about their customers. 855-538-3542, thelevelup.com

P

r Helping the Small Independent Eye Candy For Your Pizza User-friendly, artfully crafted and decoratively appealing, Perfect Peel’s gourmet baking boards are created with more than 25 years of woodworking experience from some of America’s finest sustainable forests. Available in cherry, maple or basswood in a variety of shapes and sizes, the peels can be engraved with your personal message, logo or favorite recipe.

920-882-1628, thebakersboard.com

Table Transformations Looking for an easy way to update your restaurant’s decor? Americo Inc. offers durable vinyl and laminate table covers in hundreds of colors and mix-and-match patterns. Each table cover is cut and sewn to the customer’s specifications and shipped within five to 15 working days. Covers can be made with umbrella holes, elastic or Velcro to fit outdoor tables or booths. 800-626-2350, americo-inc.com

With nearly 90% of all online pizza orders being placed with large national chains, MyPizza.com set out in 2011 to help bridge this gap and assist small, independent pizzerias. MyPizza.com represents local pizzerias online, making them available to online customers through one easy-to-use portal, and has logged more than $50 million in food sales on behalf of thousands of small-business pizzerias nationwide. 888-974-9928, mypizza.com

The Perfect Blend Fa m i l y - ow n e d a n d operated since 1976, California Blending specializes in confidential custom blending and private labeling of herbs and spices. The company is committed to providing top-notch service and quality to any business, large or small. Specialties include pizza spices, dough mixes and steak salts. All orders are processed and shipped in seven days. 626-448-1918, calblending.com

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D

X

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October 2013.indb 75

Visit pizzaskool.com/demo to see how it works!

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The Pizza exchange bulletin board

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• Unsurpassed quality, durability, workmanship and performance!

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The Pizza exchange bulletin board

78 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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The Pizza exchange bulletin board Phone: 800.682.8203 |

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80 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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COMPETE TO WIN A TRIP TO ITALY!

Compete in the Acrobatic U.S. Pizza Team Trials or Culinary American Pizza Championships for a chance to win a paid trip to compete in the 2014 World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy.

Las Vegas Convention Center October 6-9, 2013.

For more information or to register to compete, please visit uspizzateam.com, or contact Brian Hernandez at 662-234-5481 x129 or brian@pmq.com

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

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

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!

advertiser index October 2013 Advertiser

Phone Website

Page

AIB International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

AM Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

American Baking Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Avantec Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bacio Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Belleco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bay State Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bellissimo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Caputo Flour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Celiac Spruce Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Deiorios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Delivery Bags USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DoughMate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dutchess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Erika Record LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Escalon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

EZ Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

800-242-2534 . . . . . .

708-841-0959 . . . . . .

319-373-5006 . . . . . . .

800-322-4374 . . . . . . .

855-222-4685 . . . . . .

877-854-8006 . . . . . . .

800-553-5687 . . . . . .

800-813-2974 . . . . . . .

201-368-9197 . . . . . .

877-272-4272 . . . . . .

800-649-7612 . . . . . . .

888-501-2247 . . . . . .

800-501-2458 . . . . . .

800-777-4498 . . . . . . .

800-682-8203 . . . . . .

888-ESCALON . . . . .

877-853-1263 . . . . . .

aibonline.org/pizza.html . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 ammfg.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 abs1.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 avantecovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 baciocheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 35 bellecocooking.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 baystatemilling.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 bellissimofoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 caputoflour.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 csaceliacs.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 deiorios.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 deliverybagsusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 doughmate.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 dutchessbakers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 erikarecord.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 escalon.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3 ezdinepos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Fired Up Kitchens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fontanini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Grande Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ital Crust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

La Nova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Le 5 Stagioni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lillsun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Liguria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MF&B Restaurant Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Marsal & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Menu Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Merchant Capital Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Microworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Middleby Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Moving Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

National Foundation for Celiac Awareness . .

NJ Restaurant Equipment Corp . . . . . . . . . . . .

North American Bancard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One Two 3 Print It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Our Town America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Peerless Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Perfect Crust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Petra Molino Quaglia Flour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Picard Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pizza Skool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

RockTenn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Somerset Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Stanislaus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

XLT Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

914-733-2845 . . . . . .

800-331-6370 . . . . . . .

800-8-GRANDE . . . . .

800-321-1850 . . . . . .

617-484-8212 . . . . . . .

716-881-3366 . . . . . .

800-780-2280 . . . . . . .

260-356-6514 . . . . . .

800-765-1452 . . . . . . .

888-480-EDGE . . . . .

631-226-6688 . . . . . .

856-216-7777 . . . . . . .

866-969-7878 . . . . . . .

800-787-2068 . . . . . . .

877-34-OVENS . . . . . .

800-926-2451 . . . . . .

215-325-1306 . . . . . .

888-770-4479 . . . . . . .

866-481-4604 . . . . . .

888-800-4455 . . . . . .

800-497-8360 . . . . . .

800-548-4514 . . . . . .

800-783-5343 . . . . . . .

631-804-1879 . . . . . . .

800-668-1883 . . . . . .

517-395-4765 . . . . . . .

816-415-7359 . . . . . . .

800-772-4404 . . . . . . .

800-327-7201 . . . . . . .

888-443-2751 . . . . . .

firedupkitchens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42, 50 fontanini.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 grandecheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 hthsigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 italcrust.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 lanova.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4 le5stagioni.it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 lillsun.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 liguriafoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 edgeovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 marsalsons.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 themenuexpress.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 merchantcapitalsource.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 microworks.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 wowoven.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 movingtargets.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 celiaccentral.org/great . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 njrecorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 nynab.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 123printit.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 ourtownamerica.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 peerlessovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 perfectcrust.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 farinapetra.it/benvenuto/eng_petra.html . . . . . . . . . . . 77 picardovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 traintogreatness.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 rocktenn.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 smrset.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 stanislaus.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 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

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1-888-978-3117 1

8/2/13

2:59 PM

Mobile Voice Recognition For Hands Free Ordering www.redshiftcompany.com (720) 884-6853 baking schools AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BAKING..........................................................Manhattan, KS 785-537-4750.................................................................................Fax: 785-537-1493

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Self Serve Kiosk ordering Automated customer loyalty marketing

800.750.3947 www.granburyrs.com

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide

$99 POS SYSTEM

Meridian Star offers a $99 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 restaurant management software, all at no cost.

consulting As Seen in Product Spotlight!

Credit Card Processing

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

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide dough

dough presses, rollers

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

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AIRTIGHT

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ORDER DIRECT

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

WWW.DOUGHTRAYS.COM

68285 1x3.5 Pizza Ad outlined.pdf

1

1/23/12

6:56 AM

flour, Gluten-free

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide flour, Gluten-free Cont.

food distributors Cont.

Bay State MIlling Gluten-free Pizza mix............................................ baystatemilling.com Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, Custom-blends and Co-Packing Dedicated production area for exceptional purity...........................................................800-55-FLOUR

flour

franchising Should You Franchise Your Restaurant?

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FRANCHISE CONSULTANTS

gelato

food distributors

True Artisan Gelato

(888) 316-1545 www.stefanosgelato.com

gluten-free W Hproducts O L E S O

M E

&

D E L I C I O U S ™

hygiene

A FLY KILLER Kills all flies, cockroaches & spiders Guaranteed elimination

888-282-3079, or 631-237-1414 www.fruitflybarpro.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

88 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide marketing ideas Cont.

meat toppings

magnets

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

mailing services

menu boards

management 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

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

American Baking Systems

marketing ideas 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.

319-373-5006 • www.abs1.net

• • • •

Spiral Mixers Planetary Mixers Dough Sheeters Deck Ovens and more!

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

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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

Pizza Training

on hold marketing

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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

pizza ovens Cont.

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

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

ELECTRIC HOTBAG

DELIVER GUARANTEED OVEN-HOT PIZZA EARTHSTONE OVENS, INC. ................6717 San Fernando Rd....................Glendale, CA 91201 800-840-4915........................Fax: 818-553-1133........................... www.earthstoneovens.com All units UI listed.

• Heats and stays at 160-175° • Dry electric heat = no moisture • Removable heating elements • Made of rugged 1000 Denier nylon • Easily cleaned

Fired Up Kitchens ...................................PO Box 698........................ Bedford Hills, NY 10507 914-733-2845.................... info@firedupkitchens.com..........www.firedupkitchens.com 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

• Buy one bag or make a system • Wired with AC power • Heats all bags simultaneously • Quick release connectors, no hassle

800-927-6787

Made in the USA

www.HOTBAG.com

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 92 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza ovens Cont.

pizza pans

Inventor of

The Quik-Disk™

The best screen replacement since 1989.

LLOYD INDU STR IES ®

100’s OF SMART PIZZA PRODUCTS ONLINE!

Buy Direct and Save $$ • www.lloydpans.com • 1-800-748-6251

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

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

The

Pizza Pages

Pizza industry vendors, reach the pizza owners and decision makers online 24/7 thepizzapages.com

Listing Includes: Company Info • Logo • Three Catagories • One Year Listing Two product pictures w/brief description

Call Brandy at 662-234-5481 ext 127

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide pizza supplies

printing

We Will Beat Any Advertised Menu Deal

• Pizza Preparation and Delivery Products •

Full Color Glossy TakeouT Menus

11 x 17 ~ PrinTed Full Color on BoTh sides ~ 80 lB Glossy PaPer 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

INGREDIENTS...

$ 16.00

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

ALL FOR ONLY

$ 19.95

(pick up only)

National Marketing, Inc.

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

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.

Weddings? Graduations? Baptisms?

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Parties? No matter what the Christmas occasion, let Mama do the cooking for you. From 30 over 300 people we will provide to the best of the best in food service to you at a price that can’t be beat.

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www.nminc.com 800-994-4664

734-266-2222

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1 tray of Reg. Pizza (28 pieces) and 1 - 2 liter of pop

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ECRWSS

Our selection of delicious Sara Lee Bistro Collection Desserts vary, please ask your server for selections. $2.75 each or 3 for $7.50

ONLY THE FRESHEST

$ 16.00

...CAN MAKE A PIZZA

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

100,000

$895 $1295 $2350 $3950

Shipping Not Included

Fax: 734-266-2121

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

Free Custom Design ~ Free Folding Free Trimming ~ Free Typeset ~ Free Setup Please Mention this Ad When You Order

1,000 Full Color Business Card Sized Magnets 25 mil ~ 3½” x 2”

FREE DESIGN with any menu order

We Design & Print & You Mail Your 11 x 17 Takeout Menu for only

16¢ FREE REPORT

Postage

per EDDM mailer

10¢ each +s&h

P FREE (EDDM) mailing permit P FREE restaurant & mailing consultation P Low Cost ~ High Quality Printing P No Postage up front P No Contracts P Pay postage as you go !!!

EvEry Door DirEct SEcrEtS rEvEalED !!!

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*Some restrictions may apply, limited time offers, call for details

No shading/shadow Visit Our Website for Our Free Reports, Photo Library & Restaurant Marketing Ideas

www.takeoutprinting.com 1 - 845 - 564 - 2609

Gray, no shading

No shadow

1 - 877 - 25 - PRINT (77468)

Food Flyer One Color Solid Shadow

Actual 3D Non-Vector

Stock Design or Custom Print Paper Plates, Souvenir Cups, Plastic Cutlery, Pizza Lid Supports and Much More!!!

800-323-3547 • www.BerkleySquare.net

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

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide

E S A E INCR printing Cont.

JOIN THE

Your Profit YOUR SALES

BEST CHOICE PRINT & MAIL PROGRAM

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Relax let us do It all for you  11” x 17” Large Menu or Large Post Card 6” x 11”  High Quality FULL COLOR PRINTING  FREE High Quality Photo Library to chose from  FREE Folding (your choice)  FREE Mapping  All USPS® Paper Included  Postage Included  Deliver to Homes  Deliver to Businesses (if you choose to)

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bcms.us

The

Pizza Pages

Pizza industry vendors, reach the pizza owners and decision makers online 24/7 thepizzapages.com

Listing Includes: Company Info • Logo • Three Catagories • One Year Listing Two product pictures w/brief description

Call Brandy at 662-234-5481 ext 127

PIZZA BUSINESS CARD PACK

Get in on our Spring 2014 mailing!

Get your message into the hands of: • Every subscriber of PMQ Pizza Magazine (a BPA audited circulation) • Top officers of the 500 largest U.S. pizza chains • Pizza industry vendors and promoters SPACE IS LIMITED! CALL TO RESERVE YOUR CARD NOW! Tom Boyles | tom@pmq.com | 662-234-5481 x122 Linda Green | linda@pmq.com | 662-234-5481 x121 Clifton Moody | clifton@pmq.com | 662-234-5481 x138

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View the pizza industry’s best deals online at www.pizzacardpack.com!

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide refrigeration

specialty foods Castella Imports, Inc. ................................................................................... www.castella.com 60 Davids Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788.................................................................................866-Castella

spice formulation, blending & packaging Castella Imports, Inc. .................................................................................. www.castella.com 60 Davids Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788.................................................................................866-Castella

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

McClancy Seasoning............................................................One Spice Road, Fort Mill, SC 29707 Contact: Dominic Damore..................................................................... dominic.damore@mcclancy.com 800-843-1968..........................................................................................................info@mcclancy.com

sticky notes

Super Dough Bowls

SUPER DOUGH BOWLS Non Stick • Easy to Clean • FDA Approved Plastic Heavy Weight • Last 10X longer than metal!

Replace your dented ones TODAY !

MADE IN THE USA Manufacturer’s Direct Pricing Free Sample Available - $15 del/hand REBATED on first order. email us at: bhausen@aol.com

Call Sid

security

516-546-7744

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The pizza exchange Pizza Industry Resource Guide telephone equipment/supplies/service

ventilation

THE ONLY PHONE SYSTEM SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR A PIZZERIA • FREE Phone System • UPSELL every customer • UNLIMITED Phone Lines • REDUCE Hangups • UNLIMITED Phone Calls • INCREASE Customer Satisfaction • 60 Days of FREE Professionally-Recorded Messages • Only $199.99 per month - includes phone system and phone service

866-317-7396

www.pizzaphonesystem.com Specializing in voice and data communications service, repair, installation, sequencers and on-hold messaging.

GUARANTEED LOWEST INDUSTRY PRICE!

Vinyl Repair

www.fidelitycom.com.........................800-683-5600

Restaurant Upholstery Experts

tomato products RepaiR

Remodeling Custom Build

561.981.6200

www.vinylrepairmaster.com

Water

Web Apps Use Simple Marketing Technology to...

FIND HIDDEN PIZZA PROFITS You must read this!

Mobi website? Apps? TXT? FB? Costly & Confusing? NO!!

“The Pizzaman’s

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ventilation Sign up at:

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Or Call 24/7 voicemail:

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1-888-978-3116

wings

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DEPARTMENT time capsule

Zuppardi’s Apizza This legendary Connecticut pizzeria creates madly loyal customers and attracts major mass-media attention for its iconic pies.

Nearly 80 years ago, Dominick Zuppardi, a baker who emigrated from Italy, opened a bread bakery in New Haven, Connecticut, with his wife, Angelina. By the time his son Anthony took over the business, pizza had been introduced and sold alongside the well-loved loaves. Eventually, though, he had to choose one or the other, and pizza—by this time becoming more popular—won the battle.

In 1960, as Anthony and his wife Frances grew the business, they moved Zuppardi’s Apizza (zuppardisapizza.com) to West Haven, taking over and remodeling an old laundromat, where the pizzeria remains today.

“We grew up above the restaurant and lived there most of our lives,” recalls Lori Zuppardi, Anthony’s daughter and current co-owner with her sister, Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce. “It’s been our way of life.”

Though the pizzeria has incorporated a few newer toppings (think Buffalo chicken) to satisfy modern customers, the menu has remained largely the same. The pies are carefully crafted in the traditional New Haven style, with a slight char developed on the brick oven-baked crust.

And though there are no plans for expansion in the works, the Zuppardi’s reach has expanded through frozen personal-size pizzas sold in local convenience stores and bars, plus nationwide shipping. “Our customers have turned into family; they’ve been with us through thick and thin,” Zuppardi says. “Those personal relationships we’ve developed say a lot for the business.”

Of course, larger entities have also helped spread the word.

Zuppardi’s has been named on major TV networks and in travel guides as the best pizza in Connecticut and has tallied numerous awards in the local press. “We’re proud of our awards, our family and our kids, and we value every customer,” Zuppardi says. “It’s nice to be able to work with a smile on your face every day. You just have to be prepared to work—and be humble and grateful for everything.” —Tracy Morin

(Top to bottom) A newspaper article celebrates 50 years of business for Zuppardi’s in the early ’80s; Angelina Zuppardi (left) poses with daughter Lucille Barrett and a young Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce in the early ’60s, in front of the original pizzeria location; Angelina holds her firstborn son in front of the original pizzeria; Frances and Anthony Zuppardi (second and third from left), the second generation of the business, celebrate Zuppardi’s 50th anniversary with their kids, Robert, Cheryl and Lori.

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

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

9/10/13 4:58 PM

64192 D

“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.

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Links to Extra Content

PMQ Extra- Behind the scenes at PMQ

Featured Video: Bar Rescue

Turn the Page to read:  Extra Pizza Press  “Gluten-Free is Serious Business”

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Exclusive digital content Pizza Press

Good Deeds and Bobble Heads Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers’ (mellowmushroom.com) in Kennesaw, Georgia, threw a groovy party to raise money for breast cancer and kick off the Atlanta Falcons’ football season last month. The event benefited the Atlanta 2-Day Walk For Breast Cancer and featured Falcons memorabilia that was raffled off as part of the fundraiser. The items included helmets, jerseys and footballs signed by star players Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, Osi Umenyiora and Jacquizz Rodgers, plus 25 Falcons hats and five pairs of tickets for a Falcons home game.

The Falcons also partnered with Mellow Mushroom to unveil the team’s new series of player bobble heads. When a guest orders a large specialty pizza and two Coca-Cola beverages, he’ll receive a free bobble head based on that week’s featured player. Sean Weatherspoon and Thomas DeCoud, along with members of the Falcons’ cheerleader squad, helped kick off the promotion by signing autographs at Mellow Mushroom’s Cumming, Georgia, location. Weatherspoon and DeCoud will both have their own bobble heads, along with Jones, Ryan, Steven Jackson, and Tony Gonzalez.

Gluten-Free Cider Leads to Sin Can’t handle gluten? You’re not alone. According to a study

by Packaged Facts, nearly one in five adults (18%) are now consuming gluten-free products. And pizza restaurants such as Pizzeria Biga (pizzeriabiga.com) in Southfield, Michigan, have responded to the demand. Pizzeria Biga, which already offers a number of gluten-free options on its menu, recently added hard cider to the list just in time for fall. They went with the Original Sin brand, a company known in New York for its edgy “Sin Here” advertising campaigns featuring the work of underground rock concert poster artist R. Black.

Help For the Homeless A summer-long promotion at Chanello’s Pizza (chanellospizza.com) in Norfolk, Virginia, benefited ForKids, a local nonprofit that aims to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty for families and children. Chanello’s offered two pizza specials, both priced at $10, and gave 10% of every sale to ForKids.

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Exclusive digital content Gluten-Free Op Education

Gluten-Free Is Serious Business Restaurant owners must be willing to address guests’ dietary needs and lifestyle choices through their menus.

By Gregg Johnson

F

or restaurateurs, meeting consumer demand goes beyond delivering high quality food and obtaining the freshest and best ingredients. Because food choices are so integral to customers’ everyday lives, restaurant owners must be willing to also address special dietary needs and lifestyle choices through their menus.

Current consumer trends toward healthier lifestyles through better nutrition are key components for restaurant owners looking to build (and retain) their customer base. Recently, one particularly hot aspect of the healthy food trend has been “gluten-free.”

Wheat, rye, barley and their crossbred varieties like triticale contain the protein gluten. For some people, this protein wreaks havoc on the digestive system and prevents proper food-nutrient absorption, leading to some very serious health issues. These individuals have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that manifests itself with broad and often serious chronic symptoms that can mimic other conditions, making it difficult for doctors to diagnose.

Celiac disease affects an estimated 3 million Americans, according to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA). Gluten sensitiv-

“Meeting consumer diet needs and preferences entails more than purchasing a particular form of flour for a dish and then sticking a gluten-free label on it.”

ity is also a growing concern for many.

This is a separate condition from celiac disease, but it causes many of the same debilitating symptoms. As many as 18 million Americans fall into this category. And, in recent years, gluten awareness has become pervasive among those who make the correlation between good nutrition and health. For instance, nearly one-third of respondents to a survey by market research company NPD Group agreed with the statement, “I’m trying to cut back/avoid gluten in my diet.” According to NPD, more than 200 million restaurants report double the rate of food orders described as “glutenfree” or “wheat-free” from only four years ago. Market research company Packaged Facts estimated the glutenfree market in the United States at $4.2 billion last year with projections of growth in the category to $6.6 billion by 2017.

But meeting consumer diet needs and preferences entails more than purchasing a particular form of flour for a dish and sticking a gluten-free label on it.

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness website (www.CeliacCentral. org) gives restaurant professionals the facts on gluten-free. They’ve also developed Gluten-Free Resource Education and Awareness Training (GREAT), an online, multimedia program that prepares foodservice professionals to meet their customers’ gluten-free needs (www.CeliacCentral.org/GREAT).

With the GREAT program, restaurants have access to staff training on

gluten and celiac disease for a minimal cost. The program provides valuable information on gluten-free food preparation and food handling guidelines. More importantly, it provides an educational framework from which restaurant owners and their staffs can better engage with their customers.

At Minsky’s, we’re into healthy dining options for all of our customers, and we’re now in our third year as one of NFCA’s GREAT Kitchens. Our goal is not only to serve the best gourmet pizzas in the city, but also to provide an option for all pizza lovers to enjoy their meal in a safe and healthy way. In fact, we used the entire month of August this year to promote our dedication to our customers’ gluten-free health needs by offering special discounts on gluten-free pizzas.

For Minsky’s, this is not a fad, and it is not about profit—it’s just the right thing to do for our customers.

In short, if you’re a restaurant owner and you’re not offering gluten-free menu items, not only are potential customers avoiding your establishment, but you are, in essence, also making a statement about your lack of concern for the lifestyle preferences and dietary needs of your guests.

Gregg Johnson is founder and CEO of Minsky’s Pizza.

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