PMQ Pizza Magazine September 2014

SEPTEMBER 2014 | WWW.PMQ.COM

National Pizza Month: 8 Profitable Promotions Page 48 Free Art Download Pg 45

Why You Should Raise Your Prices­­­­— And How to Do It Page 54

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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 business and marketing trends.

Recently at The Pizza Insider: Liz explains how to achieve $1 million in sales; how to know when it’s time to fire an employee; and how to drive more traffic to your website.

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

Recently at Pizza Without Borders: Missy describes a Parisian pizzeria’s innovative use of pink balloons; checks out some of the world’s weirdest pizzas; and spins dough at Disneyland Paris.

Pizza TV: 2014 World Pizza Championship Members of the U.S. Pizza Team journey 5,000 miles to test their mettle against the world’s best pizza makers. Along the way, they develop a team spirit and strong personal bonds that fuel some of their best individual performances in years.

SliceofLife.PMQ.com PMQ’s social media director, Melanie Addington, brings you weekly posts on the latest trends and tips in social media.

Recently at Slice of Life: Melanie offers ideas for using Twitter as a customer service tool; shares social media tips from the experts at Moving Targets; and talks to social media expert Ramon DeLeon about turning employees into brand advocates.

Think Tank Hot Topics (thinktank.pmq.com) The PMQ Think Tank is the world’s largest online forum for the pizza industry.

With a membership of 2,500 and more than 80,000 posts, you’re sure to find the answers you’re seeking. Some examples of recent posts: Employee’s Facebook Post – A pizzeria operator seeks advice when an employee posts a complaint about her wages on Facebook—and the pizzeria’s manager even “likes” the post.

Pizza 360: Menu Engineering Your menu is your No. 1 sales tool, but you’re probably not using it correctly. In this wide-ranging interview on menu engineering, consultant Gregg Rapp explains how a few tweaks to your menu’s layout, design and pricing can boost your profits.

Follow Us! PMQ Pizza Magazine @PMQpizzamag

Dealing With Suppliers – Think Tank members discuss strategies for getting better prices from their suppliers—and whether it’s better to shop around or to stick with one supplier.

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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.

PMQ Pizza Magazine

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.

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The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2014 | Septembe r 2014 | Volume 18,

Get Smarter With Your Starters

Issue 7

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PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE

ON THE COVER You already know that a little upselling could do wonders for your bottom line. Our experienced pizzeria operators will show you how to do it, offering six strategies to increase your appetizer sales by 10% or more.

By Liz Barrett

Page 48

Page 54

Business Monthly | PMQ.com

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Go With the Dough

Into the Fryer Americans still love fried foods, so adding a deep fryer to your kitchen makes sound business sense.

Experts offer tips for getting maximum use—and profitability—out of your fryer and fried sides and appetizers.

By Tracy Morin

48

8 Ways to Rock October There’s an entire 31-day period set aside every year just to celebrate your product. Take full advantage of National Pizza Month this year with these eight moneymaking promotional strategies!

By Rick Hynum

54

The Price Is Wrong As commodity prices keep rising, many pizzeria operators need to raise their prices—but everyone’s waiting for someone else to do it first. An expert operator explains why you should charge what your pizza is worth—and how to do it.

By Sean Brauser

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The Coffee Connection With coffee consumption on the rise and 83% of American adults drinking it, now is the time to add signature coffee drinks to your menu. Fortunately, innovative new technologies make serving coffee easier—and more profitable—than ever.

By Tracy Morin

66

Slaying the Neighborhood Goliath—Part 3 Once again, consultant Tom Feltenstein shows how you can take on the big chains with 10 innovative and offbeat promotions that will drive traffic to your pizzeria.

By Tom Feltenstein

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Best of NRA Show 2014 PMQ staff members went in search of 2014’s best moneymaking products and services for pizzeria operators at this year’s National Restaurant Association Show.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

AP PE TI ZE

RS:

6 WAYS TO MA KE TH EM 6 WAYS TO SE LL TH EM

You can use your existing dough formulation to create crowd-pleasing, high-profit, signature appetizers, including cheese pockets, focaccia and fougasse.

By Jeff Zeak

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| WWW.PMQ.COM

Why You Shou ld Raise Your Prices— And How to Do It

The Pizza Industry’s

FEATURES

SEPTEM BER 2014

8 Profitable Promotion s for National Pizza Mon th

26

GET SMARTER WITH YOUR STARTERS

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2014

SEAN BRAUSER

48

MR. COFFEE

8 WAYS TO ROCK OCTOBER

36

60

GO WITH THE DOUGH

THE COFFEE CONNECTION

KARA HOFFMAN

DEPARTMENTS 18

In Lehmann’s Terms: Solving the Soggy Pizza Problem

24

Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann confronts the difficult problem of managing moisture in pizzas with a large number of toppings.

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New York’s Finest: Grilled Shrimp and Pepperoni Pizza

Accountant Michael Rasmussen proposes a system for satisfying the IRS’ ongoing demand for paper documentation in an electronic age.

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Chef Bruno fires up the charcoal grill to create a unique pizza made with shrimp, pepperoni, broccoli and zucchini.

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Marketing Maven: How to Prepare for the 4 Cs—Part 2

Recipe of the Month: Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza Chicken is a go-to meat for countless dishes, and everyone loves bacon and Ranch dressing.

This recipe combines all three popular ingredients in one delicious pie.

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Use smart marketing strategies to keep business booming when construction projects or competitors get in your way.

Meet the Tank: Ron Mathews

Time Capsule: Donatos Jim Grote’s father insisted that pizza was “just a fad.” Luckily, Grote didn’t listen; instead, he opened the first Donatos pizzeria, now a major chain with more than 150 stores.

Click here for Bonus Article: In addition to his recipes in “Go With the Dough,” Jeff Zeak serves up dessert recipes for customers with a sweet tooth.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine

Coming Next Month Soups: Soups aren’t just the ultimate comfort food—they also offer major upsell opportunities and appeal to customers looking for lighter, healthier fare.

Hard Beverages: With new flavors and brands constantly popping up, the alternative alcoholic beverage category— hard ciders, lemonades and teas—offers something for everyone.

POS Innovations: Recent tech-savvy POS innovations, coupled with the ability to augment, upgrade and sync with those systems, has created a perfect storm of peak performance.

The owner of Rockstar Pizza came to PMQ’s Think Tank in 2006 looking for a better dough formula. He has stuck around to help others ever since.

98 Click here for Featured Video: Using recipes from Jeff Zeak’s article, “Go With the Dough,” PMQ’s resident chef Brian Hernandez walks you through the steps of creating two simple but profitable appetizers—breadsticks and focaccia.

Accounting for Your Money: Don’t Throw Away Those Credit Card Receipts

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

IN EVERY ISSUE 6

Online at PMQ.com

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Editor’s Note

14

Letters to the Editor

16

Pizza Press

76

Product Spotlight

85

Advertiser Index

86

Pizza Industry Resource Guide

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EDITOR’S NOTE RICK HYNUM

You Can’t Afford to Ignore Online Reviews

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | September 2014 | Volume 18, Issue 7

SEPTEMBER 2014 | WWW.PMQ.COM

8 Profitable Promotions for National Pizza Month Page 48

Why You Should Raise Your Prices— And How to Do It Page 54

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

APPETIZERS: 6 WAYS TO MAKE THEM 6 WAYS TO SELL THEM

On the cover: PMQ’s resident pizza maker Brian Hernandez puts the finishing touches on some breadsticks in the PMQ Test Kitchen. This month’s special focus on appetizers—how to make them and how to sell them—starts on page 26!

Photo by Kara Hoffman

Remember writing actual letters with pen and paper? You sealed the letter in an envelope, slapped a stamp on it and dropped it in the mail. Then you waited. It could take weeks, even months, to get a response. We were, I suppose, a more patient species then.

Some call that bygone era “the good ol’ days,” but I don’t miss writing letters, and I sure don’t miss waiting a month for a response. On the other hand, instantaneous communication has its drawbacks, too. Carrying a smartphone makes me available to anyone who has my number, anytime, anywhere, whether I want to be available or not. If I don’t reply to a text immediately, I feel like I’m being rude, even if the text is nothing but a “cute” video of a cat with the hiccups.

Fortunately, those who know us well don’t mind if we’re slow to respond to a text or Facebook post. Restaurant customers, however, have different expectations. Yet again and again I see too many customer comments—and, more importantly, complaints—go unaddressed on pizzeria Facebook pages.

I recently visited the Facebook page of a certain pizzeria chain with 100-plus locations. The reviews section teemed with negative comments, and five out of the first 10 starred reviews were one-star ratings. Granted, the remainder were all five-star reviews, so we shouldn’t read too much into these assessments. There will always be complainers. What worried me was that, as the negative ratings and angry comments piled up, no one at this chain was bothering to respond to them. Not even so much as a “Thanks for the feedback.”

This failure to respond is, in a way, a response, and it’s one of the worst I can think of. It suggests that 1) the chain uses Facebook strictly as a sales tool, not as a means to engage with its customers; and 2) the chain doesn’t really give a hoot if its customers go home dissatisfied and angry.

I wish this was an unusual case, but I see the same problem all over Facebook. Too many pizzerias use social media to put out their sales messages while turning a deaf ear to the messages—both positive and negative—that their patrons send back.

And if you think potential customers don’t pay attention to online reviews, you’re mistaken. According to the 2014 Local Consumer Review Survey, a study conducted by the United Kingdom-based BrightLocal, 88% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 72% say positive reviews make them trust a local business more.

So how hard is it, really, to take the time to click “like” or better yet post a quick “thank you” on every positive review you receive each day? And when a disgruntled customer slams you in this very public forum, doesn’t it make more sense to respond quickly and offer to make it right in that same public forum, for all to see, rather than ignore the complaint?

You can’t control online reviews, but you can use social media to show that you care about your customer’s concerns. You need to devote some time to it or assign the responsibility to someone who can. It’s not a passing fad. As a restaurant marketing tool, social media is as essential as your signage and your menu. Use it wisely, and reap the benefits.

Use it foolishly, and you may pay the price in lost business and revenue.

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE Subscribe to PMQ now!

Get your print, digital or mobile edition!

12 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Rick Hynum Editor-in-chief PMQ Pizza Magazine

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR RICK HYNUM A P U B L I C AT I O N O F P M Q , I N C .

An Emotional Experience Thank you so much for featuring Piecasso Pizzeria & Lounge (August 2014). It really means a lot to us. We received the magazines yesterday, and our staff is ecstatic. Opening the box made me emotional as I thought of the struggles my family went through to make it here. I have been overwhelmed by the feeling that I’ve made it! Once again, thank you for choosing Piecasso to grace the cover of your respected magazine!

Winner of 5 ASBPE Awards Winner of 4 GAMMA Awards ISSN 1937-5263

PMQ, INC. Publisher Steve Green sg@pmq.com ext. 123 Co-Publisher Linda Green linda@pmq.com ext. 121 EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Rick Hynum rick@pmq.com ext. 130 Editor at Large Liz Barrett liz@pmq.com Senior Copy Editor Tracy Morin tracy@pmq.com

Eduardo and Sarah Rovetto and the whole Piecasso family Piecasso Pizzeria & Lounge Stowe, VT It was our pleasure. We love the Piecasso’s concept!

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 Account Executive Anna Zemek anna@pmq.com ext 140 Sales Assistant Brandy Pinion brandy@pmq.com ext. 127

Say “I Do” to Pizza Weddings I wanted to share our business model with you. We are LouEddie’s Pizza and, besides offering the best pizza in Southern California, we also host pizza weddings. We weren’t sure if it all made sense at first, but it’s working out well. We are located in a cabin that was originally part of a logging camp circa 1923. During the summer months, we host pizza weddings almost every weekend. This means that our pizza is featured on the catering menu that we offer for our hosted parties. It appeals to customers because it’s cost-effective and we create for them a true foodie experience.

It’s appealing to us because we can host the parties for up to $100 per person. We also offer service for rehearsal dinners. Weddings are good business—the industry continues to track at 14% growth per year!

Louise York LouEddie’s Pizza at Willow Woods Park Skyforest, CA

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 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

This is a terrific idea, Louise, and we definitely want to learn more. We’ll be reaching out to you for a future article on the concept. Thanks for writing!

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, 612 McLarty Rd., 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

14 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

EDITORIAL ADVISORS Chef Santo Bruno Tom Feltenstein Tom Lehmann Joey Todaro Ed Zimmerman CONTRIBUTORS Sean Brauser Chef Santo Bruno Linda Duke Tom Feltenstein Tom Lehmann Michael J. Rasmussen Volume 18, Issue 7 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

Don Antonio by Starita (donantoniopizza.com) celebrated two of Italy’s most beloved passions— soccer and pizza—when award-winning pizzaiola Giorgia Caporuscio (daughter of owner Roberto) hosted a World Cup Kick-Off Party at the New York pizzeria on June 11. The party’s signature appetizers and specially crafted pizza and cocktails were then offered as specials at Don Antonio’s New York and Atlanta locations throughout June. Named after Italy’s all-time best World Cup players, the menu included Pizza Baggio, topped with homemade mozzarella, pesto, sundried tomatoes and extra-virgin olive oil, plus cocktails such as the Meazza Mintonic, featuring muddled mint and lime, Fernet Branca, soda water and sugar. Sounds like a culinary goooaaaallllll!

DON ANTONIO BY STARITA

Scoring With the World Cup

Ray Clapp, owner of Pizzarageous (pizzarageous.com) in Huntington Beach, California, kicked his menu up a notch with a new menu of alcohol-infused pizzas, dubbed the Boozzaa line. When Clapp read about recipes utilizing alcohol—think pulled pork cooked with Kahlua—he thought, “Why not go all out and use top-shelf alcohol brands in our pizza?”

New signature pizzas include the Bakon Triple Cheese Burger Pizza, with seasoned ground beef, red onion, fresh tomato and Bakon Vodka; and the VegGINrageous Pizza, with “all of the vegetables we can find” and a three-cheese blend added atop Tanqueray gin-spiked red sauce. Other Boozzaa pizzas incorporate Jack Daniels, Absolut Cilantro vodka and tequilasoaked jalapeños. “For grilled pizzas, I first grill the top, then pour on the alcohol and light it, which infuses the alcohol down into the crust,” Clapp explains. “For the baked pizzas, I pour alcohol right into the sauce. Our new Boozzaa line is something we’ve been having a lot of fun with!”

Born On the Bayou

PIZZA FACTORY

A customer eagerly samples alcohol-infused pizza from Pizzarageous.

Pizzarageous Makes News With Booze

Pizza Factory's first refresh in nearly 30 years includes updated interiors and signage.

Getting Fresh While expanding into the San Jose area, Pizza Factory (pizzafactory.com), based in Oakhurst, California, is also spicing up its image, unveiling a new look and rebranding for the first time in its nearly 30-year history. CEO Mary Jane Riva acquired the 110-location chain—known for its “We Toss ’em, They’re Awesome” slogan—in September 2012, and now all franchisees will update merchandising, signage and dinnerware with a new look (while still having the freedom to localize their stores). Pizza Factory is also revamping its marketing materials, including the debut of a new website and advertising campaign.

“We’re approaching the brand rollout as an evolution rather than a complete overhaul,” Riva notes. “Our goal is authenticity and freshness in everything we do and everything we make, and our vibrant new image does just that, while remaining true to our roots.”

16 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

New Orleans-based Reginelli’s Pizzeria (reginellispizzeria.com), with 10 locations, has partnered with chef Tory McPhail from the Big Easy institution Commander’s Palace to create new menu items with a Creole-Italian flair. Results included Reginelli’s Gumbo Pizza, with andouille, Crystalmarinated shrimp and pickled okra; and the Honey Island Swamp Pizza, topped with portabello and shiitake mushrooms, wilted arugula and Fontina cheese.

REGINELLI'S PIZZERIA

PIZZARAGEOUS

Giorgia Caporuscio shows off the Pizza Baggio she created for the World Cup Kickoff Party.

Reginelli's Pizzeria owners Darryl Reginelli and Bruce Erhardt sample new menu items with Commander's Palace executive chef Tory McPhail.

Editors at Large Last June, PMQ senior copy editor Tracy Morin sampled pies all over the Northeast— and noted these savvy business moves along the way: At the BYOB Ah’ Pizz (ahpizz.com) in Montclair, New Jersey, owners forged a partnership with a nearby liquor store that offers a menu of wine, beer and booze—with free delivery by bicycle right to the customer’s table in minutes.

Since 1953, Mack’s Pizza in Wildwood, New Jersey, has been a classic boardwalk experience where pies are premade and slices are heated in deck ovens in minutes—perfect for beachgoers who crave a quick slice—while massive pies are custom-made for the extra-hungry.

Forcella (forcellaeatery.com), with three locations in New York, has had no problem getting free press (including from The New York Times) thanks to its most unique menu item—pizza that’s flash-fried, topped and baked. But in case any customer missed the memo on the champion pizzaiolo behind the concept—Giulio Adriani— checks are delivered with a postcard featuring his likeness.

Grotto Pizza (grottopizza.com), another boardwalk classic in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was featured in PMQ’s Jan/Feb Time Capsule. Founder Dominick Pulieri and director of marketing Vinnie DiNatale hosted a tour of three locations, all within a few blocks, that serve up cheddar-infused cheese pies topped with signature tomato sauce swirls. With prominently displayed gelato cases, balloons for kids, and beachside bars pouring specialty cocktails such as caipirinhas in honor of the World Cup, this pizzeria has become a must-visit for families through the generations.

(Top to bottom) New York's Forcella has become known for its fried pies, including the Montanara, shown here; Mack's Pizza slices have become a boardwalk tradition in Wildwood, New Jersey; senior copy editor Tracy Morin poses with Dominick Pulieri and a framed copy of the PMQ Time Capsule that featured Grotto Pizza.`

TRACY MORIN

New Study Reveals Americans’ Pizza Preferences The Culinary Visions Panel, a Chicago-based research and trend forecasting firm, recently asked 500 consumers how likely they were to order Meat Lovers, Four-Cheese, Garden, Dessert, Breakfast and Salad pizzas. Use these findings to target your pizzeria’s demographics: Seventy-six percent of the consumers surveyed prefer Meat Lovers, while 71% favor Four-Cheese. Men are more likely to order meat toppings, while women prefer pizza with various cheese toppings.

Men list their favorite pizza types as Meat Lovers, Breakfast, Salad and Four-Cheese, while women are more likely to choose Garden and Dessert.

Mozzarella, pepperoni and mushrooms are the most popular toppings overall, while top meat choices are pepperoni, Italian sausage and bacon.

Consumers across all age groups selected mozzarella and Parmesan as their favorite cheeses, with cheddar third in all regions except the Northeast, where respondents prefer Asiago.

Those who live in the Midwest, South and Northeast list their first pizza preference as Meat Lovers, while consumers in the West are more likely to order Four-Cheese and Garden pizzas.

In terms of veggies, onions, green peppers and mushrooms are Midwestern favorites; folks in the West prefer mushrooms, olives and onions; and Northeast and Southern consumers favor mushrooms, onions and tomatoes.

Consumers 18 to 34 years old are the most likely age group to order Four-Cheese, Garden, Dessert and Breakfast pizzas.

September 2014

pmq.com 17

IN LEHMANN’S TERMS TOM “THE DOUGH DOCTOR” LEHMANN

Solving the Soggy Pizza Problem Managing moisture is key to creating a perfectly baked pizza with vegetable toppings.

By Tom Lehmann

QUESTION: We have been struggling with soggy pizzas and soft crusts for some time now. No matter what we do, we can’t fix the problem. We bake our pies in deck ovens at 550°F, and we probably use more toppings than we should, but that’s what our customers want. Any suggestions?

ANSWER: This is a tough one. The logical approach would be to use fewer vegetable toppings, but that isn’t an option for you. By reducing your oven temperature to a range between 475°F and 500°F, you can bake the pizzas longer, potentially developing a thicker, drier bottom crust while allowing more time for the excess moisture to evaporate from the top of the pizza. To me, however, the ultimate fix—and the one you probably don’t want to hear—is to replace your existing ovens with air impingement ovens, either in the form of air deck ovens or conveyor air impingement ovens. The high air velocity in the air impingement ovens will act much like a hair dryer, helping to evaporate moisture from the top of the pie during baking and yielding a significantly drier product coming out of the oven.

QUESTION: We use fresh tomato slices on many of our pies, but they contribute a significant amount of moisture to the top of the pizzas. What is the best way to address this problem?

ANSWER: There are a couple of things that can be done to keep the tomato slices from watering out all over your pie. For starters, you could thin-slice the tomato into pieces no thicker than ¼”, but I’d say that 3/16” is even better. With this approach, the moisture will be flashed off the tomato as it is released, making for a drier finished pizza.

18 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

You could also place the tomato slices in a container with pieces of absorbent paper or towels between each layer. This helps to draw a good deal of the moisture out of the tomato before it even gets onto the pizza, thus reducing the amount of water that’s released during baking. You should also try to keep the tomato pieces on the very top of the pizza, allowing for maximum exposure to heat and airflow.

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

Grilled Shrimp and Pepperoni Pizza Chef Bruno fires up the charcoal grill to create a special late-summer treat.

By Chef Santo Bruno

SLNY PRODUCTIONS

You’ll Need: 1 c. broccoli florets 1 small zucchini, cut into ¼” slices 10 oz. pizza dough ¾ c. pizza sauce ¾ lb. shrimp, peeled and cooked 15 pepperoni slices 6 oz. mozzarella cheese

Chef Santo Bruno (right) spends a little time with his brother, Salvatore, at the Marsal & Sons office.

G

rilled pizza is a rare treat. Most people don’t think to cook a pizza on an outdoor grill, but some pizzerias— such as Al Forno (alforno.com) in Providence, Rhode Island—have become famous for it. Charcoal grilling lends unique flavor to a pizza, but it’s also easy to burn your crust if you set the heat too high. Chef Craig W. Priebe, author of Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas, recommends grilling your pizza on medium-high heat.

Craig and I have different techniques, but one thing’s for sure: Once you’ve tried a grilled pizza, especially one with these ingredients, you’ll want to try it again!

Mangia!

20 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Directions: Cook the broccoli and zucchini in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse immediately in cold water and set aside.

Lightly grease an 11” pizza pan. Roll the dough and transfer to the pan. Start pressing the dough out with your hands. Build up the edges and prick slightly with a fork. Bake the pizza dough in an oven until half-cooked.

Take out the dough and spread pizza sauce over it. Add the shrimp, broccoli and zucchini and spread mozzarella cheese on top.

Place the pan in a heated charcoal grill and cover. Cook for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Make sure the pizza is heated through. Check periodically to make sure that the crust does not brown. When it looks done, remove from the grill and enjoy!

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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MARKETING MAVEN LINDA DUKE

How to Prepare for the 4 Cs—Part 2 When construction projects or new competitors threaten your business, don’t panic: Smart marketing will carry you through the hard times.

By Linda Duke As I explained in last month’s column, pizzeria operators sometimes encounter unexpected problems that can drive away customers. I call them the four Cs: Crisis (a robbery or violent crime committed at your pizzeria, a food-borne illness, etc.); Catastrophe (fire, tornado, flood, etc.); Construction (loss of business due to construction in your area); and Competition (the arrival of another pizzeria near your location).

We considered the first two Cs—Crisis and Catastrophe—in detail last month. Now let’s discuss how to deal with the next two Cs—Construction and Competition.

Many pizzerias have faced a situation in which a construction project in the area hurt their business. Not only does the dust and debris cause problems, but so does the change in traffic patterns. Even a short-term project can do lasting damage if your guests can’t easily gain access to your building or parking lot.

So how do you keep business booming during these difficult times? It all comes down to smart marketing.

1. Create temporary signage. For example, create a sign that reads, “Pardon Our Dust—Still Open for Business” and place it in a highly visible area. To draw further attention, tie balloons to the sign. Do whatever it takes to get attention.

2. Move beyond your four walls. Get out and meet owners of nearby businesses. Offer to deliver pizzas for lunch or for meetings with clients, even if you don’t normally deliver.

If you don’t have a catering component, now may be the time to create one. Building a catering or large to-go business helps increase sales without customers having to fight for parking spaces or deal with construction issues. Set appointments to meet with these local business owners and go after their business!

3. Feed the construction crew. Offer samples and drinks to the workers and turn them into brand ambassadors. Give them 22 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

stickers to put on their hard hats or logoed T-shirts to wear on the job. They’ll appreciate the promotional items, and you’ll get your reward when they come back to eat in your restaurant and tell their friends about you.

4. Create special events or promotions. Offer happy hour specials to the construction crew at the end of each working day.

After construction is complete, host an “After the Dust Settles” event with food and drink specials to lure back your old customers. Invite the construction crew to the event as well.

And then there’s the age-old problem of dealing with a new business rival. The best strategy is to always provide the best product and service from day one, regardless of your competition. Beyond that, here are some other smart marketing ideas: 1. Don’t bad-mouth the competitor. If anyone asks, your response should be, “We’re lucky to have such a great clientele here at our restaurant” and “There is plenty

of business for everyone.” If you bad-mouth your competitor, your employees will do the same. This causes negative attitudes, and it won’t make you look or sound successful.

believe your food is worth the prices you’ve always charged. Just keep offering great service and quality food in a friendly, inviting atmosphere and market aggressively, and your regular customers will come back.

2. Be different. Create a promotion or program that highlights the traits that make you different. If you’re famous for your chicken wings or your awesome kids menu, build on that success and make your customers aware of it. Establish a strong marketing plan and toot your own horn about what you do best.

5. Check out your competitor. Find out what makes them different. Understand their pricing and their business philosophy. What you learn from them will help you make your own business better. Introduce yourself to the owner and welcome him or her to the neighborhood.

Your competitor is not your enemy. If you think of your rival as another pizzeria that’s bringing more potential customers to your area, it could actually be good for your business!

3. Don’t stress out. Most new restaurants will enjoy a honeymoon period. You may even see your own sales decrease for a short time; people like to try new things.

But you can lure customers back by providing a better overall customer experience, offering superior food and service and building relationships.

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.

4. Don’t coupon or discount. Some operators panic when a competitor moves into their area. They assume they need to offer discounts to compete. But this is not the time for that—it merely suggests that you don’t really

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September 2014

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ACCOUNTING FOR YOUR MONEY MICHAEL J. RASMUSSEN, CPA

Don’t Throw Away Those Credit Card Receipts The IRS encourages electronic documentation, but a lack of paper receipts can still lead to tax audit headaches.

By Michael J. Rasmussen

QUESTION: How long must I keep credit card receipts?

ANSWER: I recently discussed this subject with the director of the IRS Self-Employed Division. I had been involved in an IRS field audit with a restaurant operator who had failed to keep all credit card receipts related to net sales reported on his corporate tax return. The problem was, the restaurateur had contributed excess monies to the restaurant’s checking account, so the cash deposits to the bank were greater than the net sales of the restaurant. Since the restaurateur wasn’t able to fully detail his cash contributions, the IRS auditor proposed to treat all of the bank deposits (credit card deposits plus cash deposits) as income for the restaurant and tax them accordingly!

Saving the credit card receipts would have helped my client clear up this problem. With that in mind, I pointed out to the IRS director that her agency promotes and encourages paperless documentation that is stored electronically. But restaurant owners are still required to keep paper receipts for the field auditors! I proposed the following: I will have my restaurant owner clients keep all daily credit card receipts in paper form for one year to support all other electronic documentation. For year two, I will keep paper receipts for four random months, and I will keep one month’s worth of paper receipts for year three.

This system of paper retention to support credit card receipts will meet the record-keeping requirements set forth by the IRS in Section 274(d). I encourage all of my PMQ readers to ask their tax preparers about this method.

QUESTION: How do I get answers to some of my tax questions without paying accounting fees?

ANSWER: The IRS website, taxmap.ntis.gov/taxmap, allows taxpayers to drill down into any tax-related topic. For example, the home page has a section on the Affordable Care Act, which affects 24 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

many taxpayers in one way or another. Whether you are a pizzeria owner or employee, you need to make sure you understand the law’s requirements and comply with the rules. Fortunately, you don’t have to pay your accountant for basic information about it—you can start with this website.

Another example: I wanted to know if the IRS had a form that supports the documentation of a restaurant employee’s daily record of tips received; I now advise restaurateurs to keep such forms on file to support tip reporting, which is becoming a topic of interest to IRS investigators these days. I simply typed in “employee record tips” and found exactly what I was looking for. The search function works like a Google search and can save you money in accountant fees!

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

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

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FEATURE STORY APPETIZERS

26 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

GET

SMARTER

WITH YOUR

STARTERS If you raised your appetizer sales by only 10% this year, imagine how that would affect your bottom line. Here are six ways to do it!

By Liz Barrett

C

onsumers dine out for a number of reasons—they may be celebrating special occasions, looking to try something new or simply don’t feel like cooking at home. In all of these scenarios, they expect you and your staff to provide an experience that ensures they come away with a delicious meal. For your guests, appetizers—or starters, as some refer to them—are the beginning of a full and satisfying dining experience. For pizzeria operators, they are key to increasing check averages and, ultimately, boosting your bottom line. Have you calculated how much revenue is hiding in your appetizers? If you could persuade an additional 10% of your customer base to order appetizers, what would that do for your bottom line?

Incorporating a few simple tactics to increase appetizer sales, while simultaneously monitoring your appetizer food cost, can dramatically increase your sales.

“We try to stay at about 25% food cost on appetizers,” says Scot Cosentino, owner of Goodfella’s Pizza (goodfellaspizza.com), in Staten Island, New York.

“It’s important to raise the average transaction per person; just selling pizza won’t do.”

After talking to several leading industry operators, we came up with these six strategies for selling more appetizers:

September 2014

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Sliders and onion rings are both popular starters or sides that can be served in a pizzeria setting.

“If every waitstaff employee can add an appetizer to the bill, it adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales and can make the difference between the success and failure of a business.”

—Scott Cosentino, Goodfella’s Pizza

1

Hit ’Em While They’re Hungry

As soon as your customers sit down in your pizzeria, they’re probably already hungry. A great way to sell appetizers is for servers to remind patrons that they can put in an order of breadsticks, wings, etc. for them right away and have it out in a few minutes while they wait for their pizza. Most of those who are hungry will welcome the suggestion to start eating sooner rather than later.

And the more choices you have on the menu, the better your chances of upselling those customers who are a little picky about their starters. Offering a range of options and prices will sell far more appetizers than the alternative. Someone who would not normally order appetizers may change his mind when he sees breadsticks for $2 or a house-made dip with chips. “Our chips and salsa is our most popular appetizer,” says Bill Jacobs, who owns Chicago’s Piece Brewery & Pub (piecechicago.com). “We make everything fresh and created our apps to complement our pizzas. We don’t do breadsticks, which can be redundant sometimes.”

KARA HOFFMAN

A simple but delicious focaccia is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

28 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

2

Keep It Simple

When you’re trying to keep costs down and profits up, think simple. “We love simple appetizers,” Cosentino says. “Garlic bread in our wood-fired oven is simple and fantastic. We use a roasted garlic spread that has olive oil, butter, chopped garlic and grated cheese. Just pull a small dough ball longways and press down hard with your fingertips throughout the dough. Cover with the spread and cook it hot and fast. Cut it up and cover with a parsley and grated cheese. It’s nothing but profit and made fresh to order!”

Cosentino adds that he tries not to bring in any extra items to avoid wasted inventory. The fried ravioli, bruschetta, and spinach and artichoke dip are all easy-to-make items with great margins, he notes. “Our Mozzarella ’n Carrozza (mozzarella between two slices of bread, breaded and lightly fried, served with marinara) is a bestseller and, again, simple.”

3

Signage and Sampling

One of the easiest ways to get appetizers in front of customers is to use eye-catching visuals. This can be accomplished via direct-mail fliers, photos on social media, tent cards on tabletops, and sampling in the store. How much would it cost to cut up an order of homemade mozzarella sticks and walk around the dining room with bite-size samples?

Do you think you’d sell an order or two afterward?

In addition to customer sampling, your servers also need to sample the appetizers in order to recommend them to guests.

“During preshift meetings, invite employees to try the appetizers,” says restaurant expert witness and consultant Howard Cannon of Birmingham, Alabama-based Restaurant Operations Institute. “This is an easy way to let servers know the appetizers by sight and taste.”

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4

Be Suggestive, Not Aggressive

While you never want to aggressively push food on customers, a certain amount of suggestion from the server is expected, since servers should know the menu better than customers. You can start out by greeting the customer with a genuine recommendation, such as, “Can I get you started with some of our homemade garlic knots? I just tried them earlier, and they’re delicious!”

“We are in the business of selling,” Cosentino says. “If your staff doesn’t know that, then you’d better retrain them. If every waitstaff employee can add an appetizer to the bill, it adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales and can make the difference between the success and failure of a business.”

5

Incentivize Your Staff

While many operators avoid running sales contests— after all, sales is part of your employees’ job descriptions—others have found success in offering perks to those who make an effort to sell more appetizers. Travis Davis, a manager at Pizza Junction (pizzajunctionhillsboro.com) in Hillsboro, Missouri, says that the pizzeria has started holding selling competitions for the servers. “We give the winners a small gift certificate for our store as a reward,” Davis says. “So far, it’s been very successful.”

Following the Trends Sometimes breadsticks and chicken wings just aren’t good enough. If your customers keep up with food trends, you need to do the same. Here are some examples of starters and styles that are popping up on menus throughout the restaurant industry: • Street food • Sliders • Charcuterie plates • Cheese plates • Flatbreads • Bruschetta and crostini • Vegetarian options • Trio of dips and spreads • Combo platters

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Your server should remind patrons that he can bring out an order for chips and salsa in just a few minutes while they wait for their pizza.

12 More Tips for Better Appetizer Sales Six tips aren't enough for you? How about a dozen more?

1. Send free appetizer coupons to your best customers to get them hooked.

“Servers should recommend an appetizer that features a few different options on one plate to be shared. From there, the customer can order the most mouth-pleasing sample.”

—Tony Saldutto, TETI Bakery Cannon, on the other hand, suggests a different approach: Think of upselling appetizers as a way of enhancing your guests’ overall experience at your restaurant. “Instead of making it a contest or upsell, think of it as giving the customer the opportunity to taste the appetizer,” he says. “By suggesting an appetizer, you’re giving the customer a better experience and the chance to taste a great product they may not have known about otherwise.”

6

Create a Snack Menu

Snacking in restaurants, complete with happy hour and late-night menus, has become more popular over the past few years. If your pizzeria has a bar—or even if it doesn’t—you can easily create a separate menu for those coming in for a light snack. Utilize this special menu during your regular hours, or open an hour earlier or close an hour later. The idea is to have a menu dedicated to your appetizers, showcasing each one, maybe even pairing them with stellar craft brews, craft sodas or signature cocktails. The profit potential is endless.

Start big or start small, but start somewhere. Your appetizers may be the most underutilized part of your menu now, but they don’t have to be. Set a goal for increasing appetizer sales and watch your revenue grow!

Liz Barrett is PMQ’s editor-at-large.

2. Make appetizers new, trendy and enticing, but keep them simple—think flatbreads, bruschetta, etc.

3. Call them “small plates” or “sharing plates” and the appeal—and price— naturally rises.

4. Highlight an “appetizer of the week” on social media to get stomachs grumbling.

5. Promote appetizers during your on-hold message, on your website and on your social media platforms.

6. Use social media to build up slow days by offering customers a free appetizer with purchase.

7. Try to strike a balance between what’s expected and unexpected (i.e., breadsticks and chips and salsa).

8. Feature high-quality photos of your most delicious-looking appetizers in your menus and post them on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

9. Offer combo platters that several diners can share.

10. Reward loyal or favored takeout/delivery customers with a sample appetizer that they’ll remember the next time they place an order.

11. Use tent cards on tables and counters to remind customers about your appetizers.

12. Each month, offer a different appetizer on special to highlight your offerings.

32 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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FEATURE ARTICLE DOUGH VERSATILITY

KARA HOFFMAN

36 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

PMQ’s Brian Hernandez demonstrates an appetizer recipe in the PMQ Test Kitchen.

Go Dough With the

You can expand your menu with these six highprofit, easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing signature appetizers using your everyday dough formulation.

By Jeff Zeak

T

he unknown person who first hit upon the secret of mixing flour and water to create dough did a big favor for the human race. Dough is one of the most versatile foodstuffs in the world, the basis of everything from flatbreads and dumplings to biscuits, cookies, pastries, pasta and, of course, pizza. Regrettably, most pizzeria operators don’t take full advantage of their dough. In fact, you can use your dough to create a multitude of signature appetizers, from cheese pockets to focaccia, all with a minimum of additional labor on your part. Best of all, you won’t need to change your basic dough formulation.

In this article, we’ll take you through the steps of creating a number of crowd-pleasing appetizers. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for additional recipe ideas for desserts, we will cover that as well in a bonus article in this month’s digital edition at pmq.com/digital. As for specific ingredients, I’ll let you choose your own meat and vegetable toppings for most of these dishes.

Follow my general instructions to get started, but feel free to put your own personal artisan twist on these dough-based items. Get creative, and have fun with them!

Note: Times and temperatures listed below refer to suggested settings for impingement ovens.

September 2014

pmq.com 37

Pepperoni and Cheese Rolls • •

• • • • • •

Sheet/roll 10 oz. dough ball to desired thickness (about 1/8”).

Arrange desired ingredients over dough sheet, leaving a ½” strip of bare dough exposed at one side of the dough circle.

Lightly moisten the exposed dough strip with water.

Roll up cinnamon roll-style, pinch end seam well and turn seam to bottom.

Even and size dough string to 12” in length.

Using a French knife or bench scraper, cut string into three even pieces (about 4” long).

Place cut dough pieces seam-side down in a greased deep-dish pizza pan. Brush with liquid milk.

Cover pan and allow to rest/proof for 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake in an impingement oven for 5 minutes at 465°F.

Breadsticks • • • • • •

Grease a 10” deep-dish pizza pan with nonhydrogenated shortening.

Press a 10 oz. dough ball into the greased pan, cover and proof in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours.

After proofing, brush with olive oil.

Dress with herbs, spices and cheese, if desired.

Bake in an impingement oven for 4½ minutes at 465°F. After baking, cut into desired strip sizes. Serve with dipping sauce if desired.

Focaccia • • •

• • • •

38 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Grease a 10” deep-dish pizza pan with nonhydrogenated shortening.

Press a 10-oz. dough ball into the greased pan, cover and proof in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours.

After proofing, brush the dough with olive oil and dress as desired (possible ingredients include ground rosemary, very thinly sliced Roma tomatoes, onions, etc.).

Dimple the dough with your fingertips.

Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake for 4½ minutes at 465°F. After baking, cut into wedge-shape pieces to serve as dipping bread. Serve with seasoned dipping oils if desired. (Or cut wedge-shape pieces horizontally to make sandwiches.)

Tomato Pie • • • • •

Grease a 10” deep-dish pizza pan with nonhydrogenated shortening.

Press a 10-oz. dough ball into the greased pan, cover and proof in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours.

After proofing, dress with well-drained tomato filets and fresh basil.

Bake for 7 minutes at 465°F. After baking, top the pie lightly with shredded Parmigiano cheese. Return to oven and reheat until cheese is barely melted.

Cheese Pockets • • • • • • • • •

Sheet/roll 10 oz. dough ball to desired diameter (about 13”).

Cut dough circle into six wedge-shaped pieces. Lightly moisten all edges with water.

Place 1 oz. of desired cheese (cubed or shredded cheese compressed together) in the center of each dough wedge.

Pull rounded heel edge of dough over centered cheese ball.

Pull one of the side edges over the top and tuck one of the side edges to the bottom and pinch tightly.

Pull point edge of dough over cheese ball and tuck underneath dough ball.

Place pieces seam-side down in greased deep-dish pizza pan.

Brush with liquid milk.

Cut vent hole in top or side.

Bake in an impingement oven for 5 minutes at 465°.

Fougasse • • • • • •

•

Grease a 10” deep-dish pizza pan with nonhydrogenated shortening.

Press a 10-oz. dough ball into the greased pan, cover and proof in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours.

After proofing, invert proofed dough circle onto a greased 12” pan.

Elongate dough circle into a rectangle by pulling at the ends.

Using a pair of scissors, cut as desired.

Dress with your favorite toppings (such as bacon, onions, black olives, etc.) and bake for 5 to 6 minutes at 465°F. Serve with seasoned dipping oils if desired.

Jeff Zeak is a bakery sales specialist with Robert Reiser & Company.

September 2014

pmq.com 39

RECIPE OF THE MONTH CHICKEN BACON RANCH PIZZA

Recipe Month:

of the

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza Recipe and photo provided by DeIorio’s

Ingredients: 20 oz.-24 oz. pizza dough ball 2 garlic cloves, crushed or pressed 1 tbsp. olive oil 10 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded 2 oz. applewood smoked bacon 4 oz. shredded chicken—rotisserie, tenders or wings 2 oz. ranch dressing 2 oz. Buffalo sauce for drizzling or dipping (optional) Instructions: Preheat oven to 550°F. Prepare toppings and set aside. Sauté bacon until browned and remove from pan before it turns crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels, then cut into 1” slices.

Shred chicken meat. (For Buffalo style, toss chicken with your favorite Buffalo sauce.)

Toss, stretch, roll or press pizza dough into desired size.

Spread with olive oil and crushed/pressed garlic, then add mozzarella. Top with shredded chicken and bacon. Bake in oven until mozzarella begins to bubble and bubbles show a hint of brown. Remove from oven and drizzle with Ranch dressing.

(For a Buffalo-style Chicken Bacon Ranch pizza, serve with more Buffalo sauce for drizzling or dipping.)

40 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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With stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and Hawaii, Russo’s New York Pizzeria (nypizzeria.com) offers the Chicken Rustica, featuring grilled chicken, organic spinach, feta cheese, Roma tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and garlic with an extra-virgin olive oil sauce.

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FEATURE STORY DEEP FRYERS

Deep fryers enable you to offer some of the most popular sides in a pizzeria, including chicken wings and tenders, to complement your pies.

42 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

By Tracy Morin

Add a deep fryer to your kitchen and let it light up your menu with classic crowd-pleasers and creative combinations.

D

espite the trend of healthier menus, deep-fried foods never went away—they just got crazier.

Today, in state fairs, boardwalk eateries and restaurants around the country, creative chefs are frying just about everything, from Twinkies to meatloaf to sticks of butter, and Americans are gobbling them up.

From a pizzeria standpoint, adding a deep fryer just makes sound business sense. “Deep fryers open up new possibilities, and they cook foods very quickly,” says Christopher Wells, a restaurant coach and founder of Restaurant Building Blocks in Montreal. “They make it easy to diversify your menu and add high-profit items, without a lot of expense or labor—and without slowing down your execution.”

First, however, operators need to make sure they buy the right fryer for their restaurants. For starters, consider your building and required infrastructure, advises Mark Ladisky, senior operations associate at Synergy Restaurant Consultants in Laguna Niguel, California. “Do you have gas or electric power? What ventilation would you need? Those are the first two considerations, as well as making sure you have reviewed all of the needed safety requirements, such as a fire suppression system,” he says. “The factors that would have the biggest impact are maintenance and recovery time. In a pizzeria, both should be considered.”

David Kincheloe, president of Denver-based National Restaurant Consultants, notes that operators should also think about kitchen size and the menu items they’ll cook. Additionally, consider the width of the machine, since space under a hood is expensive, as well as how much energy the model uses, notes Chad Vendette, director of marketing for Broaster Company in Beloit, Wisconsin. “The reputation and support level that the manufacturer offers is also important,” Vendette says.

“It’s better to buy a quality product up front. Talk to operators who have the system you’re looking to buy and ask how long the company has been in business.”

Tank capacity—or the amount of oil the fryer will hold— is another key factor, according to Andre Neyrey, president and CEO of Manhattan Restaurant Consultants in New York.

Forty-pound capacity is standard, he says. “Then decide if you want a gas or electric fryer,” he adds. “In my opinion, gas is more reliable than electric. The fryer should go up to 400° and shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to heat up to about 375°.”

Wells agrees that many operators (especially in high-volume locations) prefer gas fryers, since electric models take longer to heat and have more difficulty maintaining temperature. He advises looking at online reviews and estimating your usage before buying. But, most importantly, don’t get complacent after you purchase the equipment. “People fail to maintain

September 2014

pmq.com 43

“People love fried chicken, fish and chips, and shrimp tempura, but you can also do sweets like doughnuts and funnel cakes. The possibilities of what you can fry are endless. I like using the fryer to make garnishes, like fried shallots or crispy puffed grains like barley for composed dishes.

People love the crunch.”

—Andre Neyrey, Manhattan Restaurant Consultants

equipment properly,” Wells says. “Read and keep the manual, which offers troubleshooting help in case something goes wrong and outlines preventative maintenance—cleaning the burner, boiling out, changing filters, etc. Proper maintenance can prolong the life of your fryer for years.”

Going Deep Now that you’ve got the deep fryer installed and ready to go, what will you make with it? Deep-fried sides and appetizers— such as French fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, battered mushrooms, fried ravioli and chicken wings—are perennially popular with customers. Wells believes these are no-brainers for pizzerias because, like pizza, they’re sharable. “For standard fried foods, there are fantastic frozen products out there,” he says. “You can order a little at a time, so there’s not much money needed up front, and they can be portioned out in advance to save time. But you can also create items from scratch, like making your own nachos—just cut up corn tortillas and fry them for an inexpensive appetizer.”

Wells offers several other from-scratch suggestions: qq Fried dough: Add a savory appetizer option by brushing deep-fried dough with oil and herbs, or offer it dessertstyle, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

The PYT Deep-Fried Ellio’s Burger features a “bun” made of two deepfried Ellio’s frozen pizza slices stuffed with an Italian meatball burger patty, mozzarella, provolone and marinara.

qq Poutin: This Canadian staple (French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy) allows for countless variations, such as adding bacon, fried onions or pulled pork on top. qq Short ribs: Try eight- or 12-piece servings for an easy-tomake, sharable appetizer that cooks within minutes. Serve with housemade sauces for added value.

“The key is to ask, ‘What can we make while the pizzas are cooking?’” Wells says. “A fryer opens up that time—so experiment with things like fish and chips, fried candy bars or

Fried Bananas Courtesy of Manhattan Restaurant Brokers & Consultants 4-5 bananas Flour (for dredging bananas) Vegetable oil (for deep-frying) 1 egg 8 oz. ice-cold water ½ c. flour, sifted with ½ tsp. baking soda Honey Heat the oil in the deep fryer to 375°F. Mix up the batter ingredients with a whip until somewhat frothy.

Cut the bananas into 1” chunks. Roll them around in the flour until lightly coated. Dip a few banana pieces into the batter and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. Fry in small batches until they’re all used. Heat honey in saucepan or microwave until liquid and hot; pour over the bananas. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

44 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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Thursdays for dine-in,” Haberer says. “We add and subtract menu items, so it’s trial and error, but choice equals value to customers.” Finally, to keep fried foods tasting great from the kitchen to a customer’s home, he spends a little extra for foil liner and vented boxes to maintain crispness.

Frying Outside the Box

Deep fryers allow your menu to expand into classic sides and appetizers, like chicken nuggets, as well as creative concoctions, such as fried vegetables and desserts.

arancini (fried risotto balls).” Vendette has witnessed deep-fried whole turkeys, deep-fried lobster and tempura vegetables at restaurants across the country. Kincheloe, meanwhile, suggests deep-frying donut holes and pickles, and Nadisky says many customers get excited about fried vegetables (think crunchy green beans and battered asparagus) because they’re perceived as both healthier and an indulgence.

Ultimately, Neyrey says, deep fryers offer maximum versatility. “People love fried chicken, fish and chips, and shrimp tempura, but you can also do sweets like doughnuts and funnel cakes—the possibilities of what you can fry are endless,” he says. “I like using the fryer to make garnishes, like fried shallots or crispy puffed grains like barley for composed dishes. People love the crunch.” He also suggests frying cheesecake, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and ice cream.

Bob Haberer, owner/operator of Homeslice Pizza and Subs (homeslicepizzaandsubs.com) in Greensboro, North Carolina, has found that a mix of ever-rotating fried items both engages his customers and allows him to test their tastes. He sells a slew of traditional favorites such as Buffalo wings, jumbo chicken fingers, house-cut chips and fried ravioli, while past experiments with pizza logs, pretzel bites and jalapeño poppers have been less successful. However, his bestsellers are Pizza Balls, deep-fried dough balls stuffed with mozzarella and pepperoni.

“We’ve put in other ingredients as well, like spinach, steak and chicken. They’re tennis ball-size, and we offer them for $1 on 46 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Everyone loves traditional favorites, but some chefs are getting crazily creative with their deep fryers. At PYT, a burger spot in Philadelphia, executive chef Kim Nalcoln has fried up everything from PB&J sandwiches to Twinkies for use as hamburger buns. Recently, her Deep-Fried Ellio’s Burger featured a “bun” made of two Ellio’s frozen pizza slices (dredged in flour, egg and homemade Italian breadcrumbs, then deep-fried) filled with an Italian meatball burger patty, mozzarella, provolone and marinara. Deep-fried wontons filled with frozen Pabst Blue Ribbon beer topped The Fried Chicken & Beer Burger.

Nalcoln has also experimented with taco shells made solely of fried bacon and deep-fried French toast for brunch. “We like trying novelty items as something to indulge in—it’s a science lab in our kitchen!” laughs Nalcoln. “We have ‘regular’ burgers, but our deep fryers allow us to escape from the seriousness. It’s fun to take things over the top.”

Meanwhile, Forcella (forcellaeatery.com) has grown to three locations in New York based on the success of its fried pizzas, brought to the States by owner Giulio Adriani, who was inspired by regional montanara pies from Italy. He flash-fries pizza dough, tops it and bakes it in a wood-fired oven just long enough for the crust to color and the cheese to melt (the baking also helps evaporate some of the oil). “When we started, The New York Times did a big article on the fried pizzas, and they became very popular,” Adriani recalls. “Now they’re my best-selling items. We also do a fried calzone, which we can stuff with anything and put right into the deep fryer, with no oven needed.”

But Adriani isn’t resting on his fried-pie laurels; he also uses his deep fryer for arancini stuffed with tomato, basil and mozzarella; eggplant Parmigiana; calamari; and Graffe, a new donutlike creation made with a potato-and-flour dough stuffed with cream custard or marmalade and dusted with sugar. “In general, using simple ingredients makes a lot of profit for a pizzeria,” says Adriani, who shoots for 18% food cost for his dishes. “And, of course, a deep fryer is very helpful for making those profits!”

The Safety Factor Hot temperatures plus slippery liquids can lead to nasty accidents if employees don’t practice safe habits, so proper training is a must when dealing with deep fryers. “Make sure there’s a place to unload the cooked foods; it has to be close so an employee isn’t dripping oil on the floor,” Wells advises. “You

may want to invest in a rack on the side of the fryer on which to put finished food. Also make sure employees working the fryer aren’t using their cell phones—these can fall in and create a huge mess! Treat the area near the fryer as a major safety zone; employees need to be very cautious, even during a rush.”

PYT engages in thorough training on how to use equipment, including when and how to drop finished items from the fryer, while posted signs remind employees how often to change the oil. For his part, Haberer notes that he hasn’t had a single worker’s comp issue in two years, thanks to training employees to be clean and safe when working with fryers (i.e., not swinging baskets outside the frying area). Ladisky also advises that employees wear heat-resistant gloves and eye protection when working with hot oil or cleaning chemicals and use timers when cooking items in the fryer for optimal product consistency.

“It’s also really important to make sure the fryer is in a sturdy location,” Neyrey adds. “I prefer to have wheels on my deep fryer, because the peg legs that come on deep fryers can bend and eventually break off completely, which can be incredibly dangerous. Also, make sure the oil is filled up to the fill line; if there’s too much oil in the fryer, it can overflow when you add food.”

Finally, filtering and changing the oil will be a frequent requirement. Like changing a car’s oil, this is based on the usage and model of fryer, Wells says. Generally, you should change

“For standard fried foods, there are some fantastic frozen products out there. You can order a little at a time, so there’s not much money needed up front, and they can be portioned out in advance to save time. But you can also create items from scratch, like making your own nachos. Just cut up corn tortillas and fry them for an inexpensive appetizer.”

—Christopher Wells, Restaurant Building Blocks

the oil when it’s difficult to see the bottom of the fryer due to discoloration. Some pizzerias will need to change oil every week or two but should filter every day or couple of days; others will need to change oil every day. “Simply put, change the oil as soon as flavor or operations are impacted in a negative way,” Ladisky recommends. “How hot you run the fryer, how much product it handles and what products you cook all impact the fryer’s lifespan, so if it looks bad, smells bad or tastes bad, that would be a clear sign that it is time for an oil change. Turning off fryers or turning them down during off-peak periods can not only save on equipment wear and utility usage but will also extend the life of the oil.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

Checking the Oil Using the right oils in your recipes can make the difference between a finger-lickin’ phenomenon and a deep-fried dud. We asked our experts for their insights on this key issue: Canola and Peanut Oils—Canola oil gets the nod from Chad Vendette, director of marketing for Broaster Company in Beloit, Wisconsin. It has no trans fat, has a general lower fat content and doesn’t transfer flavors as easily. Andre Neyrey, president and CEO of Manhattan Restaurant Consultants in New York, also prefers canola for its neutral flavor and high smoke point. Some businesses add a percentage of peanut oil for flavor, but this can be tricky among today’s allergen-sensitive population.

Sunflower and Soybean Oils—In addition to canola oil, Forcella, a threestore pizzeria chain in New York, uses sunflower oil for its healthier properties. Kim Nalcoln, executive chef at PYT in Philadelphia, uses soybean oil for its high-consistency burn, but she notes that canola or peanut oil are ideal for jazzing up blander foods.

Mixes—Bob Haberer, owner of Homeslice Pizza and Subs in Greensboro, North Carolina, creates a mix of half rice bran oil and half standard frying oil. He likes the rice bran because it’s healthier and doesn’t burn.

Grapeseed Oil—Pressed from the seeds of grapes, grapeseed oil allows for superhigh temperatures, but it’s also very expensive and therefore generally unsuitable for deepfrying in a restaurant setting.

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FEATURE STORY NATIONAL PIZZA MONTH

48 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

8Rock

Ways to October

OCTOBER IS

NATIONAL PIZZA MONTH!

Make every day a busy day during National Pizza Month with these traffic-building promotional ideas. By Rick Hynum

T

here is no National Vacuum Cleaner Day. Nobody ever thought to designate a special week to celebrate sweatpants or toilet paper or patio furniture. Aren’t you lucky to be in the pizza business? An entire month has been set aside to celebrate and promote your product. That’s 31 straight days of marketing opportunities focused on driving traffic to your pizzeria. It all happens in October with National Pizza Month, and if you start planning now, you can be ready to promote your business—and ramp up your sales—all month long. Here are some ideas and examples from pizzerias around the country:

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Village Pizzeria (villagepizzeriacoronado.com) in Coronado, California, will roll out its own specialty pie for National Pizza Month in 2014: a fall-themed Squash Pizza that features blue cheese, roasted shallots and arugula. Village Pizzeria is known for shipping in more than 3,000 gallons of water from New York City every year for its New York-style dough recipe.

2

To draw a crowd for National Pizza Month, many pizzerias choose October to roll out new specialty pizzas.

1

Create new signature pizzas and food specials.

Tesori (tesorichicago.com), an upscale pizzeria in Chicago, marked the occasion last year with a new specialty pizza every day throughout October. The restaurant released menu details in advance so customers knew what to look for each day. Specialty pizzas, which sold for $15, included Kale and Butternut Squash; Sweet Potato, Speck and Burrata; Pickled Squash and Soppressata; and Veal, Tonnato and Capers.

If that’s too ambitious for you, simply create and publicize one or two new specialty pizzas—preferably featuring at least some locally grown ingredients—for October and offer them at an attractive price. The Toledo, Ohio-based chain Marco’s Pizza (marcos.com), with stores in 34 states, rolled out its new signature pie, the Grilled Chicken Florentine LTO, and made spinach an official menu item for pizzas, salads and subs after the limited-time offer ended. Although this promo actually ran from March through June 2013, it could be easily tweaked for National Pizza Month. In conjunction with the launch of the new pizza—made with grilled chicken, fresh spinach, a Parmesan garlic sauce, four cheeses, red onions and tomatoes—Marco’s celebrated National Spinach Day and gave away free medium Grilled Chicken Florentine pizzas to customers who brought in cans of spinach, which were donated to local food banks. The Spinach Day campaign drew media attention from TV stations, newspapers and trade magazines around the country.

50 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Support a worthy cause.

You can’t go wrong by showing your support for a national, regional or local nonprofit. Last year, La Tagliatella (latagliatella.us) in Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted $1 pizza dinners on the first three Mondays of October as well as from October 28 through November 1.

All proceeds went to No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood hunger. The promotion featured various specialty pizzas, including the Tagliatella (fried eggplant, Parmigiano-Reggiano, honey and balsamic glaze) and the Bismarck (mozzarella, ham and a fresh cracked egg in the middle).

To encourage repeat business, La Taglietella also offered the Pizza Passport, allowing guests who purchased the $1 pizza dinners to get a free pie after buying four regular-price pizzas anytime in November or December.

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so San Francisco chain Red Boy Pizza (redboypizza.com) developed a new gourmet Margherita pizza in 2013 and donated a percentage of its sales to the American Cancer Society. Smaller independent operators can partner with a local charity, such as the Boys & Girls Club, a food bank or a conservation group.

MARCO'S PIZZA

Toledo, Ohio-based Marco's Pizza gave away free Grilled Chicken Florentine pizzas to customers who brought in cans of spinach to be donated to local food banks. The promo drew nationwide media attention.

DOM DEMARCO'S PIZZERIA & BAR

Dom DeMarco's Pizzeria & Bar in Las Vegas celebrated National Pizza Month last year with a promotion that pitted local firefighters against law enforcement officers in a pizza making competition, all for the benefit of related nonprofits.

3

Engage customers with social media contests.

National Pizza Month is your chance to build lasting relationships with your customers. Show them a good time through social media contests and events that encourage their participation. Based in Palo Alto, California, Patxi’s Pizza (patxispizza.com) last year created the Pizza PhotoBomb Challenge, a photo contest in which customers submitted pictures of their far-flung outdoor adventures with a Patxi’s pie.

Customers posted the entry photos on Patxi’s Facebook wall or tweeted them using the hashtag #PatxisPhotoBomb. A panel of judges picked the winning entry while taking into account the number of “likes” each one received from fans. (The winner received a free Kindle Fire HD, and second place earned an iPod Nano.)

If that sounds too complicated, try a simple Fan of the Week contest. Encourage customers to submit photos of themselves

enjoying your pizza anywhere, anytime, and let fans vote on their favorite. Or hold a daily Name Game contest; announce a different name every day on Facebook and Twitter throughout October, and customers with that name can come in to receive a free pizza, appetizer or slice (with proper ID, of course). It’s a great way to build your social media fan base, and the winners will often bring their friends along when they redeem the offer.

4

Back in 2009, Uno Chicago Grill (unos.com) in Boston celebrated National Pizza Month by concocting specialty pizzas for some of the city’s most prominent individuals. Uno’s chefs created unique pizzas based on each citizen’s personality (or “pizzanality”) and delivered the pies to them in pedicabs that crisscrossed the city. Among the 25 Bostonians honored were Governor Deval Patrick, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, radio host Matt Siegel and meteorologist Harvey Leonard.

5 VILLAGE PIZZERIA

Village Pizzeria in Coronado, California, will celebrate National Pizza Month this year with a new specialty pie made with squash, blue cheese, roasted shallots and arugula.

Reach out to local celebrities.

Honor your hometown heroes.

You know who the true heroes are—firefighters, police officers, military veterans, paramedics and community volunteers who strive to improve the lives of their fellow citizens. Last October in Las Vegas, Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria & Bar (domdemarcos.com) hosted the “Pizza Challenge,” pitting the Firefighters of Southern Nevada Burn Foundation against the Las Vegas Metro Police Foundation in a pizza making contest. Each group created a signature pie that was featured on Dom DeMarco’s menu throughout October. A portion of every sale of these two specialty pies was donated to the organizations,

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Getting the Word Out Many customers haven't heard of National Pizza Month, so it’s up to you to raise awareness about the month and your promo. Here’s how to do it: • Start hyping the promotion in late September with in-store signage and exterior banners.

• Create a press release that details the promotion and distribute it to local newspapers, TV stations, food bloggers and other media.

• Develop box toppers for your National Pizza Month promotion and include them with every delivery and carryout order. If your budget allows, create table tents for the promotion, too.

• Create an e-newsletter for your loyalty program members and offer exclusive National Pizza Month specials just for them.

BUDDY'S RENDEZVOUS PIZZA

An anteater in the Detroit Zoo enjoys a bug-topped pizza delivered by Buddy's Rendezvous Pizza in a promo that raised funds for the zoo.

and the organization with the highest sales at the end of the month earned an additional 10% donation.

Another possibility: Simply offer a substantial discount to local heroes throughout the month and advertise it via social media, your website, direct mail and other materials. San Ramon, California-based Straw Hat Pizza (strawhatpizza.com), for example, dedicated May 2011 to such a promotion, offering a 25% discount to members of the armed forces, law enforcement and fire departments and to EMTs and paramedics.

6

Throw a pizza party for the entire town.

That’s what Pizza Pizza (pizzapizza.ca), a Canadian chain, did last year at three locations in Hamilton, Ontario. Held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 12, the celebration featured games, clowns and face painting for kids, plus cheese and pepperoni slices, onion rings and French fries for 99 cents and $10 gift cards awarded to the first 25 customers. Put your own spin on the idea by inviting local celebrities—think TV news anchors, deejays, athletes and government officials—to participate in dunking booths. To further show your commitment to the community, turn the entire promotion into a fundraiser for a local nonprofit or school.

7

Team up with a local zoo or animal shelter.

This one wasn’t a National Pizza Month promotion, but it was a doozy: In 2011, Buddy’s Rendezvous Pizza (buddyspizza.com) made a special delivery to the Detroit Zoo: various pies topped with bugs, worms, fish and other

52 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

• For a monthlong promotion, advertise it on social media several times a week, starting in late September and continuing throughout October. If you’re offering special prices on certain menu items, upload a high-quality image of the food with your posts and tweets.

• Create National Pizza Month buttons and let your servers hand them out to every customer.

weird delicacies. The order was perfect for the customers, such as anteaters, penguins, snow monkeys and wolverines. The pies were prepared in collaboration with the zoo’s staff, all with the goal of raising awareness about the zoo. Buddy’s also donated $150,000 to sponsor field trips for local schoolchildren over the next five years; meanwhile, zoo visitors received Buddy’s pizza coupons with their purchase of tickets. Even if you don’t have a zoo in your area, this idea can be tweaked to help raise funds for your local animal shelter, an always popular cause, throughout October.

8

Let your customers be the judge.

Kitchen Zinc (kitchenzinc.com), an artisan pizza restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut, celebrated National Pizza Month last year with its “Pie Fights” promotion. Using a boxing theme and graphics, Kitchen Zinc set up weekly contests between its various specialty pizzas and asked Facebook fans to vote on their favorites. New posts went up on Tuesday, the votes were tallied on Saturday and the winner was declared on the following Monday—customers received a 50% discount on the winning pie that night only.

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief

Are you planning your own promotion? Download free National Pizza Month promotional artwork at pmq.com/freedownload

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September 2014

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FEATURE STORY RAISING PRICES

54 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

It’s time for pizzeria operators to raise their prices and charge what their pizza is really worth. Here’s how to do it. By Sean Brauser

W

hen it comes to raising prices, most pizzeria operators prefer to raise them very slowly while trying to match their prices closely to their nearest competitors’. So, if their competitors do not raise prices, they don’t raise prices. Unfortunately, that means everyone is waiting for someone else to raise his prices. This approach has left all of us in a position where $10 is still the going price for a pizza—the same amount pizzerias charged when I was in college, which is longer ago than I care to admit! Pizzeria operators have been left in the dust in terms of demanding a fair price for their product as compared to other food options. After all, the value proposition of pizza is higher than most, much higher than even that of fast-food purveyors like McDonald’s.

Now we are all faced with a huge problem. Cheese, pork and beef prices are soaring. Employee wages are on the rise. Fuel costs are out of control. Suddenly, the decision to raise prices

isn’t arbitrary—it’s mandatory for survival. So what’s holding you back from making this decision? One word: Fear. Fear that customers will get angry, or worse yet, stop coming to your restaurant. How can we overcome this fear and surmount the objections of those few customers who will actually notice a price increase? I think it starts with understanding how money and value work.

Creating Value Perception We all need money, yet money is a silly concept. Most people, including business owners, don’t really understand money or how it works. Money isn’t real. Money isn’t worth anything by itself. Money is just a perception. It’s nothing more than buying power. Let’s say I offer to trade you my $20 bill for your large pizza. Since I had to work for that $20 bill, my perception of value is based on what I did to earn it, along with my preconceived notions as to what your large pizza is worth versus

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ROMEO’S PIZZA If rising food costs are hurting your business, you’ve got two choices: cut back on the quality of your food and your service or raise your prices. Sean Brauser, founder and CEO of the Romeo’s Pizza chain, recommends the latter option and says most customers won’t even notice the hike.

other pizzas I could buy instead. As long as I believe that your pizza is worth $20 of my labor and that the perceived value of your pizza matches the $20 you’re charging, I will happily buy it. However, if either of those two criteria is not met, I will probably go somewhere else. (This is known as price elasticity.)

Customers make their buying decisions based on perceived value. The greater the perceived value, the more they will pay for it. So, when it’s time to think about raising your prices, you must first ask yourself this question: How much perceived value does your pizza carry? Have you spent your marketing dollars building up that value perception or tearing it down?

And remember, value is not the same thing as price. How you create this value perception in your customer’s mind is called brand positioning. You can position your brand as the highquality, high-price brand or as the low-quality, low-price brand.

Or you can position it somewhere in between. The problem is, “somewhere in between” is often where pizzeria owners get into major trouble. They aim to provide high quality at low prices. They compete on price at all times, attempting to match 56 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

major players like Pizza Hut and Papa John’s. Yet these operators use much better ingredients and make the best pizza they can make, all while still charging a price comparable to that Papa John’s down the street. So what happens? They end up getting crushed underneath the weight of their big-chain competitor’s massive marketing budget. Fortunately, there are better ways to compete and win!

Positioning Your Brand Big Dave Ostrander once told me, “You can make money being the high-quality, high-cost competitor, and you can make money being the low-cost, low-quality competitor, but you will go out of business trying to be the high-quality, lowcost competitor.” These words have never rung truer than in today’s highly competitive, price-conscious pizza culture. On a daily basis, customers get bombarded with TV ads telling them how much a pizza should cost. Mass media advertising trains them to look for deals, coupons and bargains. As a small pizzeria operator with bills and wages and rent to pay, how do

ROMEO’S PIZZA

Brand position is the key factor in your ability to raise prices. Position yourself as a premium brand, and you can raise your prices without worry. Position yourself as a discount brand or as an in-between, and you’ll have more trouble.

you overcome this mindset? By positioning your brand as the high-quality, high-value pizza restaurant.

How you have positioned your brand in the past will determine your specific price elasticity. Have you consistently promoted your brand as the high-quality provider? Have you ensured that your special offers and coupons conform with and maintain that brand position in the consumer’s mind? Or have you confused your customers about your brand, leaving them unsure of the difference between your pizza and that of the competition? Brand position is the key factor in your ability to raise prices. Position yourself as a premium brand, and you can raise your prices without worry. Position yourself as a discount brand or as an in-between, and you will have a lot more trouble with a price increase.

I have always tried to position my company, Medina, Ohiobased Romeo’s Pizza (romeospizza.com), as a high-quality competitor. We don’t just use better ingredients—we use the best ones: real cheese, fresh-packed tomato sauce, fresh-made dough in every store, high-quality meat toppings, and fresh-cut veggies. These are all standard for our restaurants, and I charge appropriately. I do offer coupons and specials through different advertising mediums, but they never undercut the brand message that I intend to deliver, which is quality. Usually, our offers consist of family packs or multi-item promotions. And here’s the best part: We just recently enacted a price increase, yet we saw very little reaction from our customers. Most people didn’t even notice! We may have to increase our prices again in the near future, and we expect the same reaction—or, rather,

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ROMEO’S PIZZA

lack of reaction. Most of our customers order from us because of our perceived value, the customer experience we give, and the taste of our pizza—not because of our prices. As long as we deliver on that value promise, those customers will continue to order from us and pay more for our product.

The Time Is Now So when is the right time to raise prices? Right now! As our costs increase, the pressure on our margins gets tighter and tighter. As a result, the level of your service will often take a hit.

You will staff your pizzeria with fewer employees; your delivery times will slow down, and you’ll start to wear yourself and your staff out, which leads to bad customer service. Once margins start contracting, you may begin to consider lowering the quality of your pizza. You think about cutting back on advertising, and you may even try to reduce your hours. Yet you can solve all of these problems by simply raising your prices!

As long as you think through your price increases carefully, chances are that no one will even notice the change. Right before a new menu comes out, I have spent many a sleepless night worrying about the price increase and how customers will react. But the reality is, hardly anybody even notices. For the few customers that did notice and asked about the change, we simply explained that, due to the rising cost of commodities, we were forced to raise our prices so that we could maintain our quality and service. I would always rather defend my prices than have to apologize for my quality!

You can also justify raising prices when the minimum wage goes up in your city or state or if the news channels are covering rising food costs at grocery stores. Most people understand this, and it can make the price increase less impactful. Moreover, I believe you should set an annual date on which you raise some of your items’ prices every year to account for normal inflation.

Some pizza operators wait until they run out of menus 58 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Ask your customers to list their top three reasons for ordering from your restaurant.

If the majority lists price as No. 1 or No. 2, you’ll want to raise your prices gradually over a couple of months. If price is lower on the list, one larger price increase may be the way to go. before boosting their prices. But look at the opportunity cost of maintaining your current prices versus printing a new set of menus. In today’s volatile commodity world, I recommend keeping your printed menus to a minimum and simply print them more often to avoid this dilemma. Digital menus and online menus, which can be easily changed at little or no cost, are another great way to save money.

How to Raise Prices So once you’ve decided to raise your prices, how should you go about it? Some businesses like to raise prices slowly or in multiple steps, while others opt to raise prices all at once. There really is no “right” answer. It all comes down to your pizza’s perceived value. You could start out by asking your customers.

If your pizzeria has a Facebook account or email database, create a poll and ask your customers to list their top three reasons for ordering from your restaurant. If the majority lists price as No. 1 or No. 2, you’ll want to raise your prices gradually over a couple of months. If price is lower on the list, one larger price increase may be the way to go.

This poll will also help you better understand exactly where your restaurant is positioned in the minds of your customers.

If they say price is an important factor, you need to work on building your brand position more around quality and less on price. All of your marketing materials and messages should place an emphasis on quality, and this brand statement of quality should reach beyond your food. It should encompass your entire brand image, from uniforms to menus, from signage to advertising. Every aspect of your pizzeria must convey the same message of quality, or else the consumer will get confused as to what your brand stands for.

Once you have decided to raise prices, I believe that all of your prices should be uniform. If you add .99 to many item prices, then use that .99 figure throughout your menu. If you

don’t use the .99 number, raise your prices so that you can capture those extra cents on every item. Imagine getting an extra nine cents on every order merely by ending the price in .99 instead of .90. If you average 500 orders per week, that’s an extra $45 dollars a week, or $2,340 per year of pure profit.

And most customers wouldn’t even notice the change. That’s a nice seven-day vacation somewhere warm and sunny—be sure to send me a postcard!

ROMEO’S PIZZA

Controlling Food Costs If your pizzeria is positioned as the low-cost provider and that’s the way it has to be, there may be some alternatives to raising prices. You can start by using scales to control your portions on every menu item. If you are free-throwing cheese—or any topping, for that matter—you could be losing hundreds of dollars per week. With profitability in mind, determine the exact portions for every ingredient on every pizza, make that the standard amount and weigh out every pizza on a high-quality scale. Additionally, perform a cost-price analysis of every item on your menu. You may find that you’re selling items that don’t make much money, or worse yet, that you’re actually losing money on them!

Ultimately, don’t be afraid to raise your prices. If you provide a high-quality, high-value experience for your customers, you should be proud of it. Position your brand accordingly so that customers will recognize that your pizza is worth the extra money. Your customers demand high levels of quality and service. Give them what they want, charge what it’s worth and don’t be afraid of negative feedback. If you get any complaints, you can easily justify your prices because you have successfully positioned your brand and established its value!

Sean Brauser is founder and CEO of Romeo’s Pizza, a regional chain with 35 locations throughout Ohio.

September 2014

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FEATURE STORY COFFEE EQUIPMENT

The Coffee Perk up your profits and create a more authentic Italian dining experience by

Innovations in coffee blends, flavors and equipment are keeping up with the demands from today’s coffee-crazed consumers.

60 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Connection adding signature coffees, cappuccinos and espressos to your menu. By Tracy Morin

MR. ESPRESSO

September 2014

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Manufacturers are seeking the freshest coffee possible and discovering new coffee territories for improved flavors.

“At the end of the day, coffee is extremely profitable; the cost of a cup can be about 10% to 15% of your sales price.”

—Steven Sutton, Devocion Coffee

A

ccording to market research by the National Coffee Association, coffee consumption jumped by five percentage points in 2013, with 83% of the U.S. adult population now drinking coffee. The report, NCA National Coffee Drinking Trends, also noted that daily consumption remained strong and steady at 63%, while those who drink coffee at least once per week was up slightly, to 75%.

Pizzerias need to take advantage of the coffee craze as more Americans look to score a high-quality cup of joe, not to mention more elaborate java-based beverages. Today’s consumers are now accustomed to ordering everything from cappuccinos and espressos to lattes and frappés at upscale coffee shops. Even McDonald’s jumped on the bandwagon, launching its McCafé menu back in 2009. And thanks to myriad new blends and equipment innovations, it’s easier than ever to offer a creative, well-thought-out coffee menu and set yourself apart from competitors while reaping impressive profit margins.

The Java Jolt Some pizzeria owners may overlook coffee as a potential revenue stream—or, worse, treat their coffee as an afterthought— but experts insist that pizza and coffee drinks make a natural pair. After all, in Italy, the birthplace of pizza, post-meal cappuccinos and espressos are often part of the dining experience.

“Coffee and pizza go extremely well together,” says Steven Sutton, New York-based founder and CEO of Devocion Coffee.

“When you offer a great cup of joe with flavors that pair well with your pizza and use quality coffee—even if it’s at a higher 62 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

cost than what you’re used to—the profit margin is extremely high. You’ll get a return on your investment very quickly.”

If you don’t serve coffee, Sutton adds, your customer will go elsewhere to get a cup after a meal—so you’ll lose that extra revenue and the chance to provide a full dining experience. “At the end of the day, coffee is extremely profitable; the cost of a cup can be about 10% to 15% of your sales price,” he explains.

Katy Boyd Dutt, director of tactical marketing for Boyd Coffee Company in Portland, Oregon, agrees that coffee is one of the most profitable items in restaurants, next to iced tea. But be aware that customers are increasingly expecting top-quality coffees, even from foodservice outlets. “The bar continues to rise; you don’t have to be a coffee snob anymore to want and appreciate a good cup,” she notes. “Today’s consumers expect high-quality coffees wherever they go, not just from premium coffee shops.”

Boyd Dutt adds that there has also been increased consumption of gourmet coffee, especially by those in the Millennial age group (a demographic that is more likely to consume coffee outside the home than older consumers). “Enjoying espressobased drinks like lattes and mochas are the norm for this generation, as well as iced coffees and frozen/blended coffee drinks, which are consumed in all dayparts,” she notes.

As far as consumer taste trends, Luigi Di Ruocco, vice president of Mr. Espresso in Oakland, California, agrees that product quality and integrity is very important today—a good thing for operators who select the best for their operations. “In terms of flavor, there has been a trend toward lighter roasts and more floral/exotic flavor profiles,” he says. “In my opinion, the trend will continue to balance out, with people enjoying coffees that span the entire roast spectrum, from light to dark.”

Sutton believes many consumers are also looking for more intense, flavorful coffees. Because tastes will differ, don’t be afraid to ask customers about their preferences. You might offer samples of different brews to employees and customers and ask for their feedback—then, as you would with any menu item, take notes of what’s selling best and tweak as necessary.

The Latest and Greatest Coffee sales are no longer about stashing a drip coffeemaker on the counter “just in case.” But what kind of equipment you choose will be determined by how much training and detail you want to dedicate to your coffee program. “The coolest innovation that I’ve seen this year is the Rancilio XCelsius espresso machine, which allows us to do temperature profiling in our espresso blends; this has never been done before,” says Sutton. “This tool gives us the chance to highlight different notes within the same coffee blend at any given time.”

Even if you aren’t interested in purchasing high-end espresso machines, you can still offer fresh, top-quality coffees in a variety of flavors and blends. Howie Greenspan, owner and president of SCS Direct in Milford, Connecticut, notes that many restaurants are purchasing single-use, single-serve cups

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(like those used in Keurig machines) to streamline operations and generate added revenue—without having to make an entire coffee pot at a time or fuss with complicated equipment. “What makes this unique for restaurants is that the coffee is made very quickly and is always fresh, with no mess,” he explains. “Also, this allows a pizzeria to offer many different blends, because each is brewed to order. Restaurants have been able to create coffee menus with 20 or more varieties because of these types of cups, instead of having a different machine for each type.” He adds that some restaurants have even increased profits by selling these cups, emblazoned with their logos, for customers to purchase.

Boyd Dutt agrees that the single-cup format has been “a major game-changer for the coffee industry,” altering both the consumer and business landscapes. “As better-quality singlecup coffee and equipment options have come to market, foodservice operators are discovering that the single-cup option gives them greater flexibility and profitability,” she notes. “For example, a restaurant owner can now brew a single cup of decaf rather than a full pot during a slower daypart, which provides the freshest cup with the least amount of waste.” With these systems, if you initially have lower demand for coffee, you won’t end up tossing out unused portions.

Single-cup equipment has also evolved as the option becomes more popular among consumers and businesses alike.

“For a pizzeria operator, we suggest the Bunn MCR My Cafe, a commercially rated system that brews single cups quickly,” Boyd Dutt says. “It requires less than 9” of counter space, and it’s available in pour-over style (no plumbing required) or a plumbed-in style.” She adds that popularity of the single-cup

September 2014

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5 Coffee Craze Takeaways “There has been a trend toward lighter roasts and more floral/exotic flavor profiles. In my opinion, the trend will continue to balance out, with people enjoying coffees that span the entire roast spectrum, from light to dark.”

—Luigi Di Ruocco, Mr. Espresso

format is still growing, with single-cup sales now accounting for more than a quarter of every dollar Americans spend on coffee to drink at home; by 2018, market research group Mintel expects consumers to spend nearly as much on coffee pods as they do on bulk coffee.

In terms of flavor innovations, Sutton believes that, as the specialty coffee industry grows, operators are achieving bolder, more intense coffees without having to utilize dark roasts.

“This is because we’re constantly getting closer to the source and discovering new coffee territories with better flavors,” he says. “I believe the trend to follow is that of the freshest green coffee possible—something that until now nobody has really promoted. At the end of the day, it’s as important as freshroasted coffee.”

64 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

For pizzeria operators, selling coffee is a lot like selling craft beers—today’s customers care about quality and often will pay more for gourmet roasts and signature iced coffee drinks. And considering the high profit margins, adding coffee to your beverage menu is a no-brainer. Here are five key tips from our experts to keep in mind: 1. Restaurant customers in Italy often enjoy postmeal cappuccinos and espressos. By offering coffee drinks, you can create a more authentic Italian dining experience.

2. To choose the right roasts or blends for your menu, offer samples of different brews to coffee-loving customers and employees and ask for their feedback.

3. Single-cup brewing systems allow you to offer fresh, hot coffee in a wide variety of trendy blends for maximum profit and minimum waste.

4. Use flavored syrups, such as raspberry and peach, to create signature coffee drinks for the happy hour crowd.

5. Pair well-executed espresso and coffee drinks with well-executed signature desserts to boost average tickets.

New methods of brewing help pizzerias deliver fresh coffee to customers without requiring intensive training for staff.

Making the Sale Of course, you can’t simply toss coffee on the menu and expect it to sell. Creative concoctions and smart marketing tactics will help build buzz about your new beverages. “Adding iced coffee and other gourmet coffee is a great way to sell this beverage after the breakfast daypart and appeal to younger consumers,” sug-

Proudly made in the

gests Boyd Dutt. “Try promoting it with a discount as a happy hour treat in the afternoon. You can even create signature drinks with a few flavored syrups, such as raspberry and peach, which can also be used to flavor iced teas and sodas.”

And, as with any beverage, don’t overlook the possibility of food-coffee pairings. “As coffees become more like wine, consumers want to have the ability of pairing their coffees with food,” notes Sutton. “Each coffee should have different pairings and offer different gastronomical experiences.” For example, kick up your dessert menu by suggesting coffee drinks that can best complement each item—and don’t forget to prep your servers to go for the upsell after every meal. Di Ruocco notes that his coffee complements Italian specialties in San Francisco-based Pizzeria Delfina (pizzeriadelfina.com). “Pizzeria owners can market and promote their coffee first by focusing on execution,” he says.

“My educated guess is that most pizzerias serve lousy espresso and coffee, so this is a great way to differentiate yourself. You can pair well-executed espresso and coffee drinks with well-executed and delicious desserts. So if you’re planning on spending time improving your espresso and coffee program, you might as well do the same with your dessert and pastry program.”

Ultimately, if you do choose to serve coffee, make sure it’s an addition that you consider as carefully as you would anything else on your menu. “Pizzerias should try to get coffees that enhance the overall food experience: high-end coffees that will provide a great finish to a great slice,” Sutton advises. “Whether it be cold-brew, drip or espresso-based coffees—macchiatos, cappuccinos, lattes, Americanos or espressos—coffee is the last thing a customer normally consumes during the meal. Don’t let a bad coffee destroy a good overall experience!”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

September 2014

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FEATURE STORY OUTMANEUVERING THE NATIONAL CHAINS

SLAYING the Neighborhood GOLIATH

Part 3

In part three of a four-part series, marketing consultant Tom Feltenstein shares 10 off-the-wall promotions to help you take down the chain giants.

By Tom Feltenstein

66 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

W

hen the big chain giants come stomping into your neighborhood, you need to be ready to fight back. No one thought David had a chance using a slingshot against the towering Goliath, but a couple of well-aimed stones lay the behemoth low and saved Israel from a menacing invasion. David could have gone up against Goliath with a sword—that would have been the more predictable choice—but instead the enterprising youth chose a weapon that was, to say the least, unorthodox.

And it worked like a charm. Goliath never saw it coming!

You can do the same when the national chain pizzerias try to invade your territory. Here are some more suggestions for arming your slingshot:

1.

2.

3.

Menu Merchandising. A well-designed menu drives profit and cash flow by guiding the guest to select those items that have the highest gross profit margin. A good menu entices your customers to buy the items you want to sell. Achieve added sales by strategically engineering your menu’s layout, design, graphics, format, item presentation and descriptions, with price points designed to stimulate selection of highly profitable items.

Dash Back for Cash. Distribute a bounce-back coupon good for 50% off if the customer returns within a very short period of time—say 24 hours. The bounceback can be used to get customers to return at a generally slower time. This promotion also makes your guests feel special and valued.

A smartly designed menu can stimulate sales of items that have the highest gross profit margin.

4.

5.

In Training. This tactic always leaves a lasting impression on your customers. Place an “In Training” button on your best waitstaff employee. Customers will be so impressed by his outstanding performance as a supposed “trainee” that they can only imagine how good your more experienced employees must be! This helps you build a reputation for phenomenal service and will keep customers coming back for more.

6.

Recognize and reward those employees that regularly offer the best service or show the highest level of improvement.

The Answer Is Yes! The best customer service always starts with an enthusiastic “yes!” Provide your employees with a button to wear that reads, “The Answer Is Yes! What’s the Question?” This strategy reinforces your pizzeria’s reputation for customer satisfaction.

You always want to say “yes” to your customer. In fact, anything other than an immediate “yes” translates as a “no” to guests. You never want them to feel that you are not willing to meet their needs.

Single Out Good Employees. You should recognize and reward your finest employees based on overall performance or improvement. (You may want to delegate these decisions to your manager.) Select honorees on predetermined criteria, such as punctuality, appearance, attitude, job performance, cooperation with others and willingness to go above and beyond to make your guests happy. If your staff needs improvement in certain areas, emphasize these factors in your criteria to encourage better performance. Find out what sort of rewards will motivate your employees and incorporate them into the program.

Selling in the Bathroom. You may not think about your bathroom as a revenue center, but it can be an effective place to get your customers’ attention. What else have they got to do when they’re in there? Give them something to read! Display promotional posters in both men’s and ladies’ rooms to market upcoming special events, current specials, and signature menu and bar items. If, for instance, your goal is to boost beverage and alcohol sales, feature items with high profit margins, such as specialty cocktails and bottles of wine. Use this space to communicate happy hour value or to remind bar customers that you’ve also got a great selection of coffee drinks to perk them up before they head home. Whatever you do, be sure to keep these materials up-to-date and hire a talented designer to make sure they catch the customer’s eye. Finally, September 2014

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By asking for customers’ cell phone numbers to be stored in your POS database, you can then send exclusive special offers and mobile coupons straight to their phones.

7.

here’s another off-the-wall idea: Create “toilet paper certificates” with special offers and discounts—such as “15% Off Your Next Large Pizza”—printed right on the bathroom tissue. Customers will never forget it, and they’ll tell their friends, too!

Scratch-Off Mailers. This idea has been around for decades, but it never gets old. Create a flier with mystery gift certificates hidden under a scratch-off box. Make sure the flier explains what the prizes are, and make sure they’re of sufficient value to get people to come in. Mail the fliers to your entire database or do a selective mailing by neighborhood. You can also send out some employees to distribute the fliers in your trade area. Customers

can scratch off the boxes and bring the flier to your pizzeria to redeem their prizes.

8.

9.

Positive Picketing. Designed to build awareness for your business in a can’t-miss, high-profile way, this promotion can be executed right outside your pizzeria’s doors. Pay off-shift employees or high-energy, friendly, neatly dressed people to stand in front of your pizzeria with picket signs that promote your restaurant in a positive way. Come up with brief, fun and humorous slogans or phrases—five or so words at the most—for the signs, then let your crew parade up and down in front of the pizzeria, holding up the signs as traffic goes by. Choose a day of the week when traffic will be heavy to get the most exposure. Keep the signs tasteful!

Mobile Coupons. Have your employees request guests’ cell phone numbers and store them in your POS database. Tell the customers that you’ll be sending exclusive special offers straight to their phones.

Create mobile coupons and text them to your database. With mobile coupons, you can create a promotional campaign, broadcast it and initiate an immediate boost in customer traffic—all in a single day. Promote your text message plan in your direct mail pieces and table tents, on your website and social media, and in print ads and radio spots. (Make it clear that you will never share your guests’ phone numbers with anyone else.)

10.

Have a Ball! Order a large number of specially customized rubber balls and give them out to your customers. Include your pizzeria’s logo, website and phone number, along with the slogan “Bounce back soon!” This is a quirky and inventive way to capture guests’ attention and earn top-of-mind position.

Kids will love the balls, too—many will remember your pizzeria as the place that gives away free bouncy balls, and they will want to go back for another one!

Tom Feltenstein is a restaurant marketing consultant and the CEO/founder of Tom Feltenstein’s Power Marketing Academy. Learn more at PowerMarketingAcademy.com.

68 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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SHOW RECAP NRA

Best of NRA Show 2014

Click here for our Featured Video: PMQ reviews hot products at the 2014 National Restaurant Association Show.

PMQ’s staff members review some of their favorite products at the 2014 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago.

MY PICKS:

Review Trackers

Steve Green PUBLISHER

For just $29, Review Trackers monitors Yelp, Urbanspoon and 38 other top review websites to give you a clear idea of how you’re doing in the battle to win hearts and stomachs in your marketplace. In my discussions with him, Kevin Kent of Review Trackers cited a Harvard Business Review study that equates a one-star decrease in a restaurant’s Yelp rating with a decrease in sales of between 5% and 9%.

With Review Trackers, you can get one report that shows you everything people are saying about your restaurant on the top 40 review sites.

You’ll also get the ability to respond to unfavorable comments. You can get email alerts for every review and ask your best customers to post posi-

tive reviews on various sites. You can even monitor your competition! Finally, you get email and phone support to help you manage your reputation and make the best use of Review Trackers’ features. 866-854-7670, reviewtrackers.com

Moving Targets Moving Targets made my list of the best finds at the NRA Show 17 years ago when we did our first review.

They’re on my list this year for seamlessly adapting to so many new technologies without losing their focus on getting new customers into your restaurant and keeping them coming back with their popular New Movers, Birthday and Loyalty programs. They’ve adapted their time-tested selling principles to email and social media, and their approach really works.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

For examples of Moving Target’s moneymaking promotions, check out their website. You’ll see videos and get excellent marketing tips and a quick education on how to get more customers inside your business. You can even enter your ZIP code into a box that will tell you how many new movers arrive into your market each month. 800-926-2451, movingtargets.com

MY PICKS:

Joseph Campione The aroma of garlic caught my attention at the Joseph Campione booth. Their garlic breads and Texas toasts are great as appetizers before the meal or as accompaniments to the meals. Their cheesestuffed bread-sticks were a hit with me, transporting me back to my childhood. The bread was robust with butter, garlic and parsley, filled with just the right amount of mozzarella cheese. It reminded me of the bread my father prepared for our Sunday meals. 414-761-8944, josephcampione.com

Linda Green C0-PUBLISHER

Green Hills Group I’d bet you’re within arm’s length of your smartphone right now. Is your pizzeria within arm’s length of your customers?

If not, it should be, and that’s why I like Green Hills Group’s mobile app service.

Every pizzeria needs a cutting-edge app like this one to compete. From push notifications and online ordering to loyalty punch cards and reservations, its all-inone platform can customize an app for the smallest store to the largest chain.

615-370-3013, thegreenhillsgroup.com

Delivery Concepts The future is here, and it’s economical and green!

This street-legal, 100% electric vehicle from our friends at Delivery Concepts was a great find. I was immediately attracted to the cute little vehicle, which can hold two adults and a truckload of food and provides refrigeration, freezing and heat. It can be charged in as little as two hours and, because it’s all green, it qualifies for government tax incentives.

800-654-1857, deliveryconcepts.com MY PICKS:

Clifton Moody ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Edible Images This company bought out Action Images and now offers a concept that lets pizzeria operators place a clear film with highdefinition graphics over the top of pizza. This perfectly edible film melts directly onto the pizza, leaving an image on the pie.

Images can range from a “Happy Birthday” message to football team logos or a child’s favorite superhero character. A code can even be embedded in the image—scan the code with a smart device and it will sing “Happy Birthday” or any other song to you! 630-781-4548, talkingeats.com

Luxe Bloom These roses add a touch of elegance to any pizzeria large or small. They’re designed to last up to 60 days with no maintenance required. Unlike real roses, they need no water and don’t give off an unpleasant smell after a few days. They’re perfect for operators who want to provide a relaxed, appealing dining atmosphere. 312-492-7772, luxebloom.com

September 2014

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MY PICKS:

Clifton Moody ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

uZappit

Vito Oil Filtration This product is ideal for any pizzeria that serves fried food. After the same oil has been reused several times, the food that’s prepared in it starts to taste bad. This system filters and cleans the oil, making the food taste better, giving the oil a longer life span and saving you up to 50% on your oil purchases! 416-388-0707, vitooil.com

This is a great marketing tool for any operator whose customers use smartphones or other smart devices. Give a uZappit smart tag to your customers, and, when they scan the QR code on it, a special offer instantly appears. Meanwhile, customers’ digital profiles are captured, and you can promote to them via text or email. For only 99 cents per smart tag, you can build a promotional campaign that would otherwise cost thousands of dollars to launch! 800-872-8778, uzappit.com

MY PICKS:

Wilson Safe Company Wilson Safe has a new line of safes designed specifically for pizza operations. It allows delivery drivers to deposit cash so they aren’t driving around with a bag of money, which makes them a target for robbery. The safes can be equipped with fingerprint recognition and keep track of any sort of deposits, whether it’s from the cash drawer, waitstaff or delivery drivers. 800-345-8053, wilsonsafe.com

Tom Boyles ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

295 Guys Almost every pizzeria has T-shirts for sale or for promo giveaways, but the 295 Guys had the best deal I saw at NRA. You can get as many colors as you want printed in one location for just $2.95 when ordering 1,008 White shirts.

For an additional cost, they can help with a custom design, do smaller runs and even compress them into shapes such as a pizza or whole pie. 800-536-5959, www.295guys.com 72 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Robot Coupe Robot Coupe has many products that make prepping easier and faster, but the one that every shop needs is the Combination Processor. It gives you a cutter bowl and a vegetable preparation attachment in one unit. It can do everything, and you get a consistent cut for veg prep every time. And thanks to their complete selection of discs, you can grate, slice or julienne. 800-824-1646, robot-coupe.com

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PMQ. ALWAYS WITH YOU. With PMQ Pizza Magazine’s mobile app, you’ll stay connected to fellow pizza operators and have access to the latest, most valuable marketing resources for the pizza industry. Available for iOS and Android devices, this revolutionary asset gives you access to a host of tips, tools and advice from other owners to boost your bottom line.

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Recipe of the Week

September 2014

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MY PICKS:

Ultra-Thin Pretzel Flatbreads Flatbreads are the rage right now, and pretzel crust and breads are also popular. Ultra-Thin introduced its new Pretzel Flatbread for the first time at the NRA Show, and, believe me, it was great! I liked that it combined two things that are popular right now with consumers. They have other flatbreads, too, but definitely call about sampling their pretzel crusts! 516-279-6655, ultrathinpizza.com

Tom Boyles ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

MY PICKS:

TETI Bakery I always look for foods and products with personality and versatility. I found that in the piadina from TETI Bakery.

Before this lesson in Italian cuisine, I didn’t know what a piadina was, but if you can imagine flattening flatbread, well, there you have it! It’s a very thin, flaky bread that serves as a blank canvas. You can use the piadina to make wraps, crispy flatbread pizzas, even desserts! 800-4650123, tetibakery.com

Anna Zemek ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Sunny Sky Products

SAAS Hot Sauce The slideshow at the SAAS booth showed celebrities from the Golden Globes and SOBE Wine and Food Festival heating up the red carpet with a bottle of SAAS. At the NRA Show, they served their hot sauce samples with melons and other fruits for unique pairings and tastings. This sauce would be great on wings or just sitting on your table, but imagine a pizza with fruit and a surprising wave of heat. If you want to serve this year’s “It” sauce, SAAS is it.

646-454-9394, eatsaas.com

I’m that mom who only lets her sevenyear-old daughter have Cokes (soda, pop or whatever you call it in your part of the world) on Saturdays and special occasions. It’s a treat for her and not given.

The machines that let you mix and match your favorite soft drink are the ultimate treat, and they’re often why we visit certain restaurants. So imagine my delight when I found the Flavor Fusion Center by Sunny Sky Products. They offer a variety of traditional and fruity flavored beverages without the high-fructose corn sweetener in a fun mix-and-match. 877-235-6466, sunnyskyproducts.com

74 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

WiFast With Wifast, you can offer free WiFi to your customers, who must first sign in with an email address that is then associated with a MAC number from the mobile device or computer.

The system tracks that email address, allowing owners to pick up on customer behavior patterns and send out coupons or specials to loyal customers who may have skipped their regular visit. After all, we all know it’s easier and more profitable to keep a loyal customer than to seek new customers! wifast.com

MARK IT DOWN... ATTEND NAPICS

THE BEST TRADESHOW IN THE MIDWEST

February 15-16, 2015 Greater Columbus Convention Center • Columbus, Ohio

www.NAPICS.com

September 2014

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

An Attention Grabber Looking to grab the attention of passersby? Banner Marketing offers inflatable photo tubes, made from a nylon material, that are 2½’ in diameter and stand 10’ or 12’ high, with images printed digitally in four-color process. Attached by Velcro to an internally illuminated, quiet, built-in blower base fan system, the tubes are perfect for outdoor and indoor use. 805-528-5018, bannermarketinggroup.com

A Cheese Lover’s Delight Grande offers a wide range of rich shredded and diced cheeses. The easy-to-portion cheeses melt evenly, don’t burn and have outstanding reheat qualities. Varieties include Part Skim Mozzarella; Whole Milk Mozzarella; East Coast Blend (Part Skim and Whole Milk Mozzarella); Mozzarella Provolone Mild Blend; Mozzarella Cheddar Blend; and 50/50 Blend (Part Skim Mozzarella and Provolone).

800-847-2633, grandecheese.com

Beauty to the Core Marrying world-famous Le Panyol oven cores with Mainemade copper and steel facades, Maine Wood Heat’s artisan wood-fired ovens promise both beauty and performance.

Offering 100% natural construction and full bread baking capabilities, the versatile and modular ovens help you draw more customers, increase table turnover and maximize profits. 207-474-7465, mainewoodheat.com 76 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Sliced to Perfection Why serve poorly sliced pizzas when perfectly portioned slices sell better and increase your profits? No matter what size or shape your pizza comes in, the Portion Padl can be customized to your needs and allows you to serve consistently sized slices. 877-511-8872, pizzacuttingguide.com

App-Free Mobile Loyalty Virtual Next enables restaurants to earn high ROI on mobile loyalty and payment by offering an app-free solution. Virtual Next’s platform simply creates a digital card that is saved on the user’s mobile wallet, such as the iPhone PassBook or Google Wallet—leading to higher adoption rate for users and lower costs for pizzerias. 877-894-7631, virtualnext.com

Bowled Over Restar International brings the highest quality and best value to the market with their Hobart Classic mixer bowls and attachments. With sizes ranging between 12 and 140 quarts, Restar has your mixer needs covered. Whether you’re looking for a replacement dough hook or a spare bowl, you can find it at Restar. 408-844-4146, www.restar.us

MEET THE TANK LIZ BARRETT

Meet the Tank: Ron Mathews

PMQ’s Think Tank (thinktank.pmq.com) is the only pizza industry forum on the Web, with 2,500 members who meet online to discuss the pizza business. In this column, we introduce you to some of the Tank’s seasoned members who can show you the ropes and lend insights into how the forum has benefited their businesses.

Think Tank username: Rockstar Pizza Real Name: Ron Mathews Date Joined: June 27, 2006 Number of Posts: 1,400 Pizzeria: Rockstar Pizza (rockstarpizza.net), Brownsburg, IN PMQ: How many years have you been in the pizza business?

Rockstar Pizza (Ron): Technically, I started in the business delivering for Domino’s right after high school back in 1986. I continued on in college, delivering for Papa John’s.

I opened the first restaurant of my own in 1997.

When did you first start using the Think Tank, and do you remember why you joined?

I started using the Think Tank way back in 2006. I remember that I was having issues with my dough and needed the right formula.

Why have you continued to return to the Think Tank over the years?

I think every owner that uses the Think Tank understands that in the pizza world we all go through the trial-and-error phase—and that the more errors we can eliminate, the better we are. Our world is truly changing, thanks to text marketing, online ordering, EDDM, Facebook, Twitter, VOIP phone systems, mobile apps and anything tech-related. It’s hard for one person to master everything, so tapping into a collective group of people is the best way to stay relevant and informed!

Can you share an example of a business tip, or tips, you picked up in the Tank that helped your business?

There are a lot. The latest is the new “Smart Snacks in School” program (the USDA’s revision of nutritional standards for snacks sold in schools). You would not believe how hard it is to get whole-wheat flour to mix with regular flour, but with the help of some friends in our Think Tank group, I have successfully submitted our bid.

What should a newbie know when first entering the Think Tank?

I think that the most important thing is to read the FAQ post.

There may be questions you did not even think of, plus it’s a wealth of information. Second, do not be afraid to ask questions; we all started out small, and there really are no bad questions.

Connect with fellow operators in the Think Tank. Visit thinktank.pmq.com today!

September 2014

pmq.com 77

gs n i v Sa rs! l a i c ade e p ! S Q Re W NE or PM f

78 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE BULLETIN BOARD

PIZZA MENUS UNBEATABLE PRICES WITH FAST TURNAROUND

18 Hi Speed Web Presses, 450,000 Sq. Ft. Plant, 386 Experienced Employees Quality Printing for Over 45 Years!

Visitors Welcome

ALL ORDERS INCLUDE:

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FREE Deluxe quality paper, 4/4 coated gloss both sides folding, proofing, setup, samples, coupons, and cartons.

8.5 x 11 – 8.5 x 11 – 11 x 17 – 11 x 17 – 11 x 22 – 11 x 22 –

4/4 – 60# – 10,000 Menus = $699.00 4/4 – 80# – 100,000 Menus = $2,290.00 4/4 – 80# – 50,000 Menus = $2,297.00 4/4 – 80# – 100,000 Menus = $3,936.00 4/4 – 80# – 10,000 Menus = $1,256.00 4/4 – 70# – 200,000 Menus = $6,452.00

SHIPPING NOT INCLUDED!

Call us today for your low quote!

1-888-843-0959 or (856) 825-8989

Chains - Multi Unit Owners - Discounts Available Please call us for additional pricing information on other quantities and specifications.

BARON MEDIA DIVISION

BARON GROUP, LLC

FAX: (856) 825-8988 EMAIL: BARONEAGLE15@GMAIL.COM

OLD WORLD TROLLEY •

Wood-burning oven

Great moving billboard for existing pizzeria

Contact Michael 561-797-5557 or info@pizzatrolley.com

$94,000

Reasonable offers considered

September 2014

pmq.com 79

September 2014

pmq.com 81

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE BULLETIN BOARD

I can w o H eam t y m t ra i n C T I V E LY ?

EFFE

Q:

A:

pizzask

ool

.com

FREE COURSE PRODUCTION for any 100 plus chain,

if you host with pizzaskool.com. * Generic training available for any pizzeria.

Call 517.395.4765 or Visit pizzaskool.com/demo to see how it works!

82 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

YOUR ONE-STOP BAG SHOP • UNBEATABLE BAGS AT UNBEATABLE PRICES

1-844-HOT-BAGS

n o i t c a f s i t Saranteed! gua

Try our bags for 30 days and if you are not 100% satisfied return them and we will refund the purchase price of the bags.

AVAILABLE COLORS PRICES AS LOW AS

$13.49

$10

ATE FLAT R ING P P I SH

www.deliverybagsdepot.com

LOOK FOR

THE PIZZA BUSINESS CARD PACK ARRIVING IN YOUR MAILBOX THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 1ST

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN..

Over $1,000 in Prizes!

Look inside the envelope for details!

DRAWING OCTOBER 15, 2014 View the pizza industry’s best deals online at www.pizzacardpack.com!

September 2014

pmq.com 83

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE BULLETIN BOARD

CALLING ALL PIZZA ACROBATS!

The US Pizza Team will be holding Winter Acrobatic Trials at

NAPICS • Columbus, OH February 15 -16, 2015 Events will include largest dough stretch, fastest pie maker, fastest box folder and freestyle acrobatics.

Grand Prize is a spot on the US pizza team and a trip to Italy to compete in the World Pizza Championships in May 2015 For more information or to register for the competition please visit pmq.com/trials or contact Brian Hernandez at 662-234-5481 ext 129 or brian@pmq.com.

For more information about the team visit www.uspizzateam.com

TEAM GOLD SPONSORS

TEAM SILVER SPONSORS

84

PMQ Pizza Magazine

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

ADVERTISER INDEX SEPTEMBER 2014 Advertiser

Phone Website

Page

AM Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708-841-0959 . . . . . . ammfg.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Bacio Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855-222-4685 . . . . . . baciocheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 35 Baron Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-843-0959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Bellissimo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-813-2974 . . . . . . . bellissimofoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Burke Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-654-1152 . . . . . . burkecorp.com/pmq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3 DeIorios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-649-7612 . . . . . . . deiorios.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Delivery Bags Depot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844-HOT-BAGS . . . . . deliverybagsdepot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Delivery Bags USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-501-2247 . . . . . . deliverybagsusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Doughmate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-501-2458 . . . . . . doughmate.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 EZ Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-853-1263 . . . . . . ezdinepos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Fontanini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-331-6370 . . . . . . . fontanini.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Globe Food Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-347-5423 . . . . . . . globefoodequip.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Grande Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-8-GRANDE . . . . . grandecheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Hoodmart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-715-1014 . . . . . . . hoodmart.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 HTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-321-1850 . . . . . . hthsigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 La Nova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716-881-3366 . . . . . . lanova.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4 Liguria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-765-1452 . . . . . . . liguriafoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 Lloyd Pans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-748-6251 . . . . . . . lloydpans.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 MF&B Restaurant Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-480-EDGE . . . . . edgeovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Marsal & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631-226-6688 . . . . . . marsalsons.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Microworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-787-2068 . . . . . . . microworks.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Middleby Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-34-OVENS . . . . . . wowoven.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Moving Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-926-2451 . . . . . . movingtargets.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 MPP Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866-889-8745 . . . . . . . mppmarketinggroup.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 NAPICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . napics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Northern Pizza Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-426-0323 . . . . . . northernpizzaequipment.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Our Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-497-8360 . . . . . . ourtownamerica.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 PDQ POS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-968-6430 . . . . . . . pdqpos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Pizza Skool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517-395-4765 . . . . . . . traintogreatness.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Pizza Trolley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561-797-5557 . . . . . . . pizzatrolley.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Restar International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408-844-4146 . . . . . . restar.us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Restaurant Depot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . restaurantdepot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Riserva Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-761-3281 . . . . . . . sysco.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Somerset Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978-667-3355 . . . . . . . smrset.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Stanislaus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-327-7201 . . . . . . . stanislaus.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 State Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . st8.fm/bizinsurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Sunray Printing Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320-492-3017 . . . . . . sunrayprinting.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Teti Bakery Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-465-0123 . . . . . . tetibakery.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Todarini Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855-279-6977 . . . . . . . todarinifoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Tyson Foods, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-248-9766 . . . . . . . tysonfoodservice.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Univex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-258-6358 . . . . . . univexcorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 XLT Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-443-2751 . . . . . . xltovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PMQ provides this information as a courtesy to our readers and will not be held responsible for errors or omissions. To report an error, call 662-234-5481 x127.

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE Grab a direct weblink to every advertiser in this guide at PMQ.com

ADVERTISING

CHEESE CONT.

Have you been iserved?

TM

For more information call (888)-761-3281, or scan the QR

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

BAKING STONES CALIFORNIA PIZZA STONES............................................. www.californiapizzastones.com Virtually indestructible and impervious to thermal shock. 100% Guarantee against cracking.

(707) 545-6528.......................................................... support@CaliforniaPizzaStones.com

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE

FIBRAMENT-D BAKING STONE.....................................................www.bakingstone.com 708-478-6032.......................................NSF approved baking stone for all ovens by AWMCO

CARD PROCESSING

CHEESE

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

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

817.299.4500 sales@BreakawayPOS.com www.BreakawayPOS.com 86 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE CRUSTS

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE All The Tech Your Pizzeria Needs Tablet and Traditional Point-of-Sale • Integrated online & smartphone ordering •

• •

Self Serve Kiosk ordering Automated customer loyalty marketing

800.750.3947

CALL FOR A DEMO TODAY!

www.granburyrs.com

Incredible Affordable Pizza POS! $

Home of the

Pia din a Street F lat

Ultra Thin Flatbread Try our gourmet selection of flatbreads, pizza crust varieties, ciabatta wraps, focaccia loaves, and more!

TETI Bakery INC.

1-800-465-0123 • tetibakery.com

CUSTOMER LOYALTY

The POS software of choice for thousands of pizzerias over more than a decade. Detailed features and demo software available at the Point of Success web site.

599 ®

(800) 752-3565

CUTTING BOARDS - EQUAL SLICE

www.pointofsuccess.com

DOUGH

DeIorio Foods

@DeIorios

blog.DeIorios.com

DeIorios.com

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

September 2014

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE DOUGH BOWLS

DOUGH TRAYS/PROOFING TRAYS CONT.

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

• 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

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

Call Sid

516-546-7744 DOUGH DIVIDERS/ROUNDERS

When Dough Matters!

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

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

STACKABLE

AIRTIGHT

DURABLE

ORDER DIRECT

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

WWW.DOUGHTRAYS.COM

FLOUR, GLUTEN-FREE 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

DOUGH PRESSES, ROLLERS

800.835.0606 ext. 205 | www.doughxpress.com

dough presses, dough dividers/divider rounders, dough dockers, carts and accessories

88 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE FLOUR CONT.

FROZEN YOGURT

Frozen Yogurt = $ Add frozen yogurt as a profit center.

1-800-788-0808 www.nancis.com/pizza GELATO

FOOD DISTRIBUTORS

True Artisan Gelato

(888) 316-1545 www.stefanosgelato.com

W HPRODUCTS O L E S O GLUTEN-FREE

M E

&

D E L I C I O U S ™ WHOLES

OME & DELICIOUS

™

HYGIENE

A FLY KILLER Kills all flies, cockroaches & spiders Guaranteed elimination 1051 Amboy Avenue, Perth Amboy NJ

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

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

Serving NY, NJ, PA, DE, CT

www.vesuviofoods.com

INDUSTRY STATISTICS

RESTAURANTDATA.COM Easy Access ■ Flexible Searches ■ Smart Results 1 Bridge St • PO Box 285 • Irvington NY 10533 • 914-591-4297

FRANCHISING Should You Franchise Your Restaurant?

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

708-957-2300 • www.ifranchisegroup.com

INSURANCE ®

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

FRANCHISE CONSULTANTS

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

September 2014

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE MACHINERY/OVENS/EQUIPMENT

MIDDLEBY MARSHALL

OVENS MIXERS

RANDELL

PREP TABLES

AMERICAN RANGE

WALK-INS

SOMERSET

PARTS SMALLWARES

90 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

1-800-426-0323

www.northernpizza.com

IMPERIAL

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE MACHINERY/OVENS/EQUIPMENT CONT.

MAILING SERVICES

MANAGEMENT

keep more of your hard earned dough!

3 money saving programs:

sCheduLing • aTTendanCe • daiLy Log

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

save time and increase profits!

www.timeforge.com 866.684.7191

MARKETING IDEAS 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.

see more at

www.marsalsons.com

(631) 226-6688

MEAT TOPPINGS BURKE CORPORATION....................................................................................... www.BurkeCorp.com Italian, Mexican-Style and Specialty Fully Cooked Meats Contact: Liz Hertz.............................. sales_info@burkecorp.com.............................800-654-1152

MAGNETS

MAGNETS 7.9¢ ea.

• Business Card Magnet Dine In•Carryout•Catering 2503B N. Harrison St. 6 Arlington, VA 22207-161

703-237-0200

• Pizza Slice Magnet • Free Design Work • 2,000 minimum

www.pie-tanza.com

800-521-4773

www.magneticattracations.com/BCM

SUGAR CREEK PACKING CO.,............................... Private Label Precooked Meat Topping Specialists www.sugarcreek.com.......................................800-848-8205............................sales@sugarcreek.com

TODARINI FOODS.......................Featuring Italian ChickenTM & Sicilian ChickenTM Pizza Toppings www.todarinifoods.com......................................................................................... 855-279-6977

September 2014

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE MIXERS

ON HOLD MARKETING

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

60 Quart, Heavy Duty Pizza Mixer Handles 50 lb. bag of flour • Direct gear drive transmission Rigid cast iron construction • Best warranty in its class

www.globemixers.com • 800-347-5423

ONLINE ORDERING

Mixing, Dividing, Rounding, and Spinning www.univexcorp.com Tel. 800-258-6358 Fax. 603-893-1249

MOBILE CATERING TRUCKS/UNITS

PIZZA BOXES

MOISTURE-ABSORBENT TOPPINGS CONDITIONER

PIZZA TRAINING OLIVES

92 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS

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September 2014

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS

PIZZA OVENS CONT. 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 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

YOUR ONE-STOP BAG SHOP • UNBEATABLE BAGS AT UNBEATABLE PRICES PRICES AS LOW AS

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

94 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA PEELS

PIZZA OVENS CONT.

Stone Deck, Pizza Dome, and Bakery

www.univexcorp.com Tel. 800-258-6358 Fax. 603-893-1249

PIZZA SUPPLIES

• Pizza Preparation and Delivery Products • WWW.XLTOVENS.COM TO ORDER CALL (316) 943-2751 | TOLL-FREE: (888) 443-2751 | FAX: (316) 943-2769

National Marketing, Inc.

www.nminc.com 800-994-4664

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pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PRINTING

REFRIGERATION

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Mama G’s Catering is a full line caterer that will come to your home, your business or you can come to us at the Greek Church ( Hellinic Steubenville where we cater. Hall ) in downtown All food is homemade, just like Mama used to make, and we specializing in roast beef, all kinds of chicken, pork, pasta, are a full line caterer superb salads, and fantastic desserts just to name a few delicious side dishes, We can prepare anything you of our more popular items. want.

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Vitanella Pizzeria ’s

other sizes available 7-10 day turnaround Pizza

Round Home Delivery and Neapolitan: Phone Orders md. 14” Regular $10.99 Pepperoni, Toppings: Lg. 18” sausage, $12.99 md full mushrooms, Square $1.25 md Sicilian: ham, bacon, half $.75 18” $14.99 Gourmet lg full $2.00 black olives, Toppings: onions, lg half Grilled peppers, $1.00 md full chicken, broccoli, $1.95 md breaded spinach half $.95 chicken, anchovies, basil, eggplant, lg fullSun—Sat roasted or extra $2.95 red peppers, 4pm—Midnight Plain Pizza: pesto, prosciutto, lg half $1.95 cheese sliced tomatoes, the original fresh mozzarella, Buffalo sundried mozzarella Chicken: artichokes, tomatoes, cheese and spicy boneless kalmata pizza sauce BBQ Bacon olives, olives, ricotta buffalo Ranch: style chicken tangy BBQ White and mozzarella Md 14” w/ Broccoli: chicken and bacon seasoned pieces drizzled $10.99 broccoli fresh garlic lg 18” in a ricotta with creamy and ricotta mozzarella Eggplant ranch dressing $15.95 sauce with $12.99 Delight: mozzarella battered Chicken sauce eggplant, $15.95 $17.99 Parm: spots of breaded ricotta and Hawaiian: chicken, $15.95 $17.99 marinara marinara sweet pineapple sauce with and mozzarella 10/2012 © designed Baked chunks fresh basil $11.99 & printed $17.99 Ziti: baked by www.takeoutprinting.com and smoked ziti over ham Grandma: pizza crust $15.95 $13.99 fresh mozzarella Margarita and plum $15.95 $17.99 Pesto: tomatoes mozzarella, on garlic Romano: $15.95 plum tomatoes, crust $17.99 marinated and pesto artichokes, Napolitano: $15.95 sundried $17.99 fresh basil, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, Spinach and tomatoes $17.99 and Bacon: and fresh spinach one size Spinach marinara $15.95 and bacon $16.95 and Tomato: over a white tomatoes Vegetarian: sauce $15.95 $17.99 and spinach spinach, & a white roasted Pesto Chicken: $15.95 peppers, sauce $17.00 and mushrooms grilled chicken, Cheese $15.95 $17.99 pesto, and Steak: seasoned sundried Vitanella’s cheese steak tomatoes $15.95 $17.99 and grilled Special: pepperoni, onions Focaccio: $15.95 on pizza $17.99 sausage, peppers, peppers, mushrooms, mushrooms, Stuffed $15.95 onions, $17.99 Pizza: onions, olives, tomatoes, The Vitanella’s black olives, $15.95 spinach, special $17.99 and extra with two and basil cheese layers of $15.95 crust $17.99 White:

by the Slice

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Open 7 Days a Week MondaySaturday 11am-9:30p m Sunday 12-8pm

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pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/ 96 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE SPECIALTY BEVERAGES

TOMATO PRODUCTS CONT.

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September 2014

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DEPARTMENT TIME CAPSULE

Donatos From the start, Donatos founder Jim Grote used precise measurements to ensure consistency and turned the “pizza fad” into a 154-location powerhouse.

In 1963, Jim Grote’s dad famously warned him, “This whole pizza thing is just a fad.” But with $1,300 borrowed from his father and future father-in-law, Grote opened his first Donatos (donatos.com) pizzeria on the south side of Columbus, Ohio.

He’d worked in a pizzeria since he was 13 and bought the Donatos name (traced back to Latin—“to give a good thing”) from a seminarian who operated out of a local bar and tavern.

Fittingly, Grote’s dream was encapsulated in the tagline “goodwill and good pizza,” and he initiated the love with fliers for 25 cents off a pie. On opening day, hungry customers were already lined up. “Jim put ‘edge-to-edge’ pizza on the map—no pesky love handles, just toppings all the way to the edge,” says Donatos spokesperson Tom Santor, with a laugh.

“At the same time, Jim was determined to put in place the most sophisticated pizza making system in the industry, with everything broken into weights and measures so that every order was consistent.”

Until Grote perfected his system, he was in no hurry to grow outside the Columbus area. But by 1991, when he started franchising, he had everything down to a science, from his cornmeal-dusted crust and aged provolone base to vegetables cut fresh daily and proprietary sausage developed with his dad, a butcher. In 1999, McDonald’s purchased the chain, by then considered a gold standard in pizza delivery.

But when the company later decided to refocus on burgers, Jim and his daughter, Jane, bought back Donatos, and both remain involved today.

Now, just over 50 years after its auspicious start, Donatos boasts 154 locations (including 102 franchises) in six states and looks ahead to adding new markets while developing current areas. But, most importantly, the pizzeria prides itself on fulfilling its original goal of giving back, working with more than 600 charities and nonprofits in the Columbus area alone.

“It’s still our goal to promote goodwill through our product, service, principles and people,” Santor explains. “There is a ribbon of family woven through the entire chain.” —Tracy Morin

(Clockwise from top) Donatos founder Jim Grote poses with his daughter, Donatos chairman Jane Grote Abell; the original Donatos sign at the first store is still in use today; employees handle a busy night in 1966; the original Donatos team mans its first location; the original Donatos is shown in 1965.

98 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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

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

Links to Extra Content Featured Video: Using recipes from Jeff Zeak’s article, “Go With the Dough,” PMQ’s resident chef Brian Hernandez walks you through the steps of creating two simple but profitable appetizers—breadsticks and focaccia.

Bonus Article: In addition to his recipes in “Go With the Dough,” Jeff Zeak serves up dessert recipes for customers with a sweet tooth.

Featured Video: Pizza 360: Menu engineer Gregg Rapp shares his secrets for designing a menu that actually increases your sales.

Featured Video: PMQ reviews hot products at the 2014 National Restaurant Association Show.

Featured Video: View in-depth coverage of the U.S. Pizza Team’s performance at the World Pizza Championship in Italy.

DIGITAL EDITION EXCLUSIVE DOUGH VERSATILITY- DESSERTS

DOLE FOOD COMPANY

102 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Go Dough DESSERTS With the

In this bonus article, Jeff Zeak explains how to make a variety of profitable desserts using your everyday dough formulation.

By Jeff Zeak

W

hy let your dough go to waste? In this article, we’ll show you how to use your existing dough formulation to whip up several moneymaking dessert items. Here, you’ll learn the basics of creating each item from scratch. Then feel free to get creative and add your own personal twist!

Cinnamon Roll Dippers • • •

• • • •

Sheet/roll 10 oz. dough ball to desired thickness (about 1/8”).

Lightly moisten entire dough surface with water.

Sprinkle moistened dough surface liberally with cinnamon sugar mixture (see accompanying recipe), leaving a 1/2” strip of bare dough exposed at one side of the dough circle.

Roll up cinnamon-roll style, pinch end seam well and turn seam to bottom.

Even and size string to 10” long.

Using a French knife or bench scraper, cut string into 1-1.25” dough pieces (about 8 per string).

Place cut dough pieces on one of their cut sides in a 8” foil pan greased with margarine (arrange 12 per pan).

• • •

Flatten slightly and cover pan.

Allow to rest/proof for 1-2 hours.

Bake in an impingement oven for 4 to 4.25 minutes at 465°F. After baking cool slightly and dip tops in powdered sugar/ water icing mixture.

•

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture • • • •

5 lb. granulated sugar or brown sugar 3.5 oz. cinnamon 0.5 oz. cocoa powder Combine ingredients and blend until uniform.

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Dessert Pizza • • • •

• •

Streusel Topping for Dessert Pizza • • • • • • • •

•

1.75 lb. granulated sugar or brown sugar 1.5 lb. 50/50 blend of shortening and margarine or butter 1 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. vanilla 2 lb. flour (Optional: Add cinnamon to taste for cinnamon streusel.)

Combine sugar, shortening, margarine or butter, salt and vanilla and mix well.

Add flour and mix until desired amount of clumpiness is achieved. Do not over-mix or it will become one big clump.

Add fat if the mixture is too dry. Add flour if it’s too clumpy.

• •

•

Sheet/roll a 10-oz. dough ball to desired diameter (about 12”).

Brush top of dough with melted butter, margarine or liquid margarine.

Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture over the entire dough sheet.

Drain 1 small can of fruit cocktail, 1 small jar of Maraschino cherries and 1 small can of mandarin oranges. Gently stir them all together. This will create enough fruit to cover several 12” pizzas.

Arrange fruit evenly over the top of the pizza, leaving a 1” rim around the edge.

Sprinkle Streusel Topping mixture evenly over the pie (see recipe to the left).

Bake for 5 to 6 minutes at 465°F. Allow to cool slightly and drizzle the pizza with a powdered sugar-water icing mixture or sweetened condensed milk. Drained fruit juice from the fruit cocktail can be mixed with powdered sugar to make a simple icing. Transfer icing mixture to a squeezebottle dispenser and place in a metal container with warm water on top of oven for later use.

For added taste and eye appeal, top with whipped cream or ice cream.

S’mores Pizza •

• •

• •

Par-bake 12” crust with weight on crust for 2½ minutes at 465°F. Crusts can be made ahead of time and stored in the cooler.

Top par-baked crust with liquid margarine, avoiding the edges.

Add an even coverage of milk, semisweet chocolate (chips, disks or pieces), Golden Grahams cereal, min-marshmallows and graham cracker streusel (see recipe below).

Bake for 2 minutes (at the most) at 465°F. Allow pizza to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Graham Cracker Streusel Topping • • • •

104 PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

1 lb. streusel or cinnamon streusel mixture (see above recipe) 1.5 lb. Graham Cracker crumbs 0.5 lb. 50/50 blend of shortening and margarine or butter Mix well. Add fat if the mixture is too dry. Add flour if it’s too clumpy.

Pizza restaurant marketing is an art.

And we’re the masters.

At PMQ Pizza Magazine, the M stands for Marketing. Always has, always will. For 17 years, PMQ has focused first and foremost on helping you sell more pizzas through innovative marketing strategies and creative promotions. We show you how to drive more traffic on slow nights, earn positive news coverage, develop a large and loyal social media following, and build solid, lasting relationships with community leaders and organizations. Every issue of PMQ is jampacked with moneymaking ideas, products and solutions. And it’s absolutely free!

Download FREE National Pizza Month artwork for your advertising campaign at www.pmq.com/freedownload

Subscribe to PMQ online today at www.pmq.com/Subscribe

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