PMQ Pizza Magazine June/July 2015

JUNE/JULY 2015 | WWW.PMQ.COM

FROM

RUSSIA WITH LOVE How Fedor Ovchinnikov Started a Pizza Revolution PAGE 38

Flying High with Chicken Wings PAGE 50

Boost Your Sales With a Full-Service Bar PAGE 68

pizzamagazine.com

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ONLINE AT PMQ.COM

RECENTLY ON PIZZATV.COM ADVENTURES IN PIZZA: EXPLORING THE PIZZA HEARTLAND In a mid-winter trip to snowy Ohio, PMQ’s Brian Hernandez talks tough with Luke Zachrich, a mixed martial arts fighter who also happens to co-own a Mellow Mushroom store in New Albany. Brian also visits with U.S. Pizza Team member Jason Samosky and samples his award-winning fare at Samosky’s Homestyle Pizzeria in Valley City.

PMQ BLOGS

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TOP 7 PIZZERIA SUCCESS TIPS Have you ever been in a situation where the pizzeria down the street was packed with customers while you had empty seats on a Friday night? Your competitor may be practicing some key habits that are virtually guaranteed to keep customers satisfied. Liz Barrett shares seven of those tips for pizzeria success.

(SLICEOFLIFE.PMQ.COM)

GETTING THE BEST PHOTOS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA Photography can make or break a pizzeria’s social media page. As Melanie Addington notes, some photos can do more damage than good, especially if they’re poorly lit or shot at an unflattering angle. From composition and framing to lighting and angles, Melanie offers tips for taking better food shots.

WEEK 14: BARRIERS HAVE BEEN BROKEN! It took a few months, but PMQ test chef Brian Hernandez achieved a key goal in his 120-day Pizza Diet Challenge in May: He dropped his weight down below 260 pounds for the first time in years. He also found a way to add a little variety to his diet, including mozzarella sandwiches, pizza burgers and pizza cones.

(BRIANSPIZZADIET.PMQ.COM)

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7 AWESOME PRODUCTS FROM THE PARIZZA PIZZA SHOW Black pearl crusts? High-quality wine in a can? Pizza boxes that breathe? As one of the largest pizza markets in the world, France takes pizza quite seriously. But they also put their own unique—and fun—stamp on pizzeria products, as Missy Green learned during a visit to the Parizza Pizza Show in Paris.

FIND US ON:

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZIN E | May 2015 | Volume

Contents

19, Issue

JUNE/JULY 2015

| WWW.PMQ. COM

4

ON THE COVER

From Russia With Love

The Pizza Industr y’s Busine ss Monthl y | PMQ.c

38

FROM

RUSSIA LOVE

WITH

How Fedor a Pizza RevoOvchinnikov Started lution

om

Using cloud-based technology, webcams and a “cult of cleanliness,” Fedor Ovchinnikov, founder of Dodo Pizza, has reinvented the pizza business in Russia—and may do the same in the States. By Rick Hynum PAGE 38

Flying High Chicken Wingwith s

PAGE 50

Boost Your with a Fulls Sales ervice Bar

PAGE 68

FEATURES

26

Hope by the Slice Led by Bollywood celebrity Obaid Kadwani, A Slice of Hope is partnering with pizzerias to create lifeaffirming pizza parties for the hungry and homeless.

By Andy Knef

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50

Spread Your Wings and Fly! From dry rubs and sauces to poaching liquids, there’s a vast world of flavor possibilities to ensure sky-high chicken wing sales. By Tracy Morin

58

Snappy Salads With customers eating light during the summer months, now’s the time to create new signature salads with unexpected touches. By Tracy Morin

68

Raising the Bar Adding a full-service bar—complete with beer taps, Bacardi and Black and Tans—could help keep customers hanging around and spending money in your pizzeria. By Tracy Morin

50 78

Ironman in Training Ryan Schroeder, a Papa John’s marketing manager, has overcome weight and back issues by running marathons and training to be a triathlete. By Andy Knef

86

The Best of NAFEM 2015 The PMQ staff returns from this year’s NAFEM Show in Anaheim, California, with moneymaking products and ideas.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

90

Pop Quiz Take PMQ’s celebrity pizza portrait quiz and you could win a $100 Visa debit card!

DEPARTMENTS

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In Lehmann’s Terms: Changes to Flour Will Affect Dough Absorption Rate Since the wheat in flour changes from mill to mill, pizza makers need to make adjustments to their dough formulas to accommodate the variations.

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New York’s Finest: Fried Veal Milanese Various chefs prepare this dish in different ways, but Chef Bruno serves up an authentic recipe for the Italian classic.

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Accounting for Your Money: IRS Extension Doesn’t Grant More Time to Pay Taxes Getting an extension is easy, but you still have to send the IRS a check.

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Marketing Maven: 5 Ways to Get Free Publicity A simple handwritten note to local editors or a guest column about pizza trends could put your pizzeria in the headlines for all the right reasons.

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Recipe of the Month: Napoletana Piccante With Buffalo Mozzarella Cash in on the Roman-style pizza trend with this flavorful recipe featuring “00” flour from Poselli.

114

Pizza Hall of Fame: Regina Pizzeria The Polcaris segued from grocery store ownership to pizzeria ownership and established a Boston tradition spanning almost 90 years.

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Click here for featured video: Discover the high-tech wonderland of leading Russian pizzeria chain Dodo Pizza Click here for featured video: Learn how you can help A Slice of Hope founder Obaid Kadwani feed—and inspire—the hungry by sponsoring pizza parties in homeless shelters.

Click here for featured editorial: The Russians Are Coming! In this bonus Q&A, Dodo Pizza founder FedorOvchinnikov shares some of his marketing secrets and talks about what makes the Russian pizza industry different.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

IN EVERY ISSUE 6

Online at PMQ.com

92

Idea Zone

12

From the Editor

94

Product Spotlight

14

From the Inbox

100

Advertiser Index

24

Moneymakers

101

Pizza Industry Resource Guide

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FROM THE EDITOR

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

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F P M Q , I N C .

The Russian Revolution

D

on’t let that fresh young face fool you. Fedor Ovchinnikov, founder of Russian pizza chain Dodo Pizza (dodopizza.ru)— and subject of this month’s cover story (“From Russia With Love,” page 38)—may be only 33, but he has become a leading light of capitalism in his homeland. PMQ publishers Steve and Linda Green first met Ovchinnikov on a trip last year to Russia, where they visited a Dodo Pizza store and came away profoundly impressed. Back in the States, Steve spoke exciedly about this high-tech, high-energy chain headquartered in Syktyvkar, near the Arctic Circle. But I had my doubts. What, I wondered, could our readers possibly learn from a bunch of young Russian upstarts about the pizza business?

Plenty, as I discovered after spending time myself with Fedor and his right-hand man, Emiliano Ananyin, during their recent trip to the United States. Striving to succeed under a Putin-led political regime that isn’t exactly friendly to American-style entrepreneurialism and an antiquated bureaucracy that moves at a glacial pace, Fedor has remained undaunted.

He makes extensive use of social media, blogging and direct mail to promote his pizzerias—43 franchised and five corporate-owned—and offers online ordering at every location. He invites customers to watch their pizzas being made via webcams in every Dodo Pizza kitchen. His company’s cloud-based IT system is second to none.

Ovchinnikov also shares his financials with the public, right down to a P&L statement published on the company’s website every month.

This sort of corporate transparency is unheard of in the States; imagine how crazy it must seem to the denizens of the former Soviet Union. And yet Dodo Pizza has an undeniable coolness factor that resonates with Russians—and draws investors and franchisees like frat boys to a kegger.

No question, Steve was right: We can all learn a thing or two from Fedor Ovchinnikov. In fact, there’s so much to learn that we didn’t have enough space in the magazine to cover it all. After reading our feature story on Dodo Pizza, I hope you’ll check out the extended bonus Q&A with Fedor at PMQ.com/digital. This is one Russian revolution you won’t want to miss.

VOLUME 19, ISSUE 5 JUNE/JULY 2015 PUBLISHER Steve Green, sg@pmq.com ext. 123 CO-PUBLISHER Linda Green, linda@pmq.com ext. 121 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rick Hynum, rick@pmq.com ext. 130 ASSOCIATE EDITOR Andy Knef, andy@pmq.com ext. 136 EDITOR AT LARGE Liz Barrett, liz@pmq.com SENIOR COPY EDITOR Tracy Morin, tracy@pmq.com INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT Missy Green, missy@pmq.com ART DIRECTOR Kara Hoffman, kara@pmq.com ext. 135 GRAPHIC DESIGNER Eric Summers, eric@pmq.com ext. 134 MEDIA PRODUCER Daniel Lee Perea, dperea@pmq.com ext. 139 SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Melanie Addington, melanie@pmq.com ext. 133 IT SPECIALIST Aaron Harris, aaron@pmq.com CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Shawn Brown, shawn@pmq.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Sherlyn Clark, sherlyn@pmq.com ext. 120 TEST CHEF/EVENT COORDINATOR Brian Hernandez, brian@pmq.com ext. 129 PROJECTS AND PROMOTIONS Chris Green, chris@pmq.com ext. 125

ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Linda Green, linda@pmq.com ext. 121 SENIOR 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

PMQ INTERNATIONAL PMQ CHINA Yvonne Liu, yvonne@pmq.com PMQ AUSTRALIA-NZ Tom Boyles, tom@pmqaustralia.com PMQ RUSSIA Vladimir Davydov, vladimir@pmq.com EDITORIAL ADVISORS Chef Santo Bruno, Tom Feltenstein, Tom Lehmann, Joey Todaro, Ed Zimmerman

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE | May 2015 | Volume 19, Issue 4

Rick Hynum Editor-in-chief PMQ Pizza Magazine JUNE/JULY 2015 | WWW.PMQ.COM

ON THE COVER: FROM

The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly | PMQ.com

RUSSIA WITH LOVE How Fedor Ovchinnikov Started a Pizza Revolution PAGE 38

12

Flying High with Chicken Wings PAGE 50

Boost Your Sales with a Fullservice Bar PAGE 68

With his philosophy of corporate transparency and knack for attracting Russia’s best and brightest business thinkers, Fedor Ovchinnikov, the visionary founder of Dodo Pizza in Syktyvkar, just may prove to be “the Steve Jobs of pizza.”

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

CONTRIBUTORS Chef Santo Bruno, Linda Duke, Tom Lehmann, Michael J. Rasmussen 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.

AUGIE’S PIZZA & RIBS

FROM THE INBOX

Augie’s Pizza and Ribs has a three-generation, 50-year tradition of pizza in the Cleveland area.

A NEW GENERATION TAKES CHARGE While we are all big fans of our fellow Cleveland pizzeria operator Michael LaMarca at Master Pizza (“Marketing Marvels: Master Pizza,” April 2015) we also want to make you aware of another great Cleveland pizza story: Augie’s Pizza & Ribs. We’d love to tell you more about how this 50-year-old pizza chain is changing as the third generation— including a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef with nine years’ experience running a major local restaurant— takes over the family business. We look forward to sharing our story with PMQ at your convenience.

CASTING CALL I am the casting associate at Lime Pictures, an All3Media America company. We produce the Emmy Award-winning CBS show Undercover Boss. We are now casting a new show for Bravo, each episode of which will feature a different family business.

We are looking for all types of businesses in which the owner wants to hand the reins over to his kid(s) one day. The kids must be 21 or older. We are very interested in a pizza restaurant or pizza parlor in the Los Angeles or New York area. Please let me know if you know someone among your readership that would be a good fit for our project.

Cindy Aparicio Lime Pictures Liverpool, England limecasting@gmail.com Thanks for the heads-up, Cindy. We have sent you a list of names to consider, and we’ll forward along any other leads we receive in response to this letter!

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: 14

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

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IN LEHMANN’S TERMS

Changes to Flour Will Affect Dough Absorption Rate

The wheat in flour varies from one mill lot to another, so pizzeria operators must be ready to make adjustments to their dough formulas. By Tom Lehmann Tom Lehmann recently retired as the longtime director of bakery assistance for the American Institute of Baking (AIB). He is now an industry consultant dedicated to helping pizzeria operators make more money. Need more dough advice? Visit the Dough Information Center at PMQ.com/ dough.

16

Q

I’m having problems with my dough’s water absorption rate, even though I’m using the same ingredients I always used. What could be causing this?

Y

ear in and year out, we add a measured amount of water to the mixing bowl, add a specific quantity of flour (along with other ingredients) and mix our dough for a predetermined length of time. But consider this: The wheat in your flour changes constantly from mill lot to mill lot. Additionally, the varieties of wheat may change from year to year (or every few years). With all of these changes in wheat taking place, that means our flour is changing, too. These variations affect our dough recipes, but many operators are only dimly aware of this fact.

The larger commissaries receive a mill analysis report on every flour shipment; these reports identify changes in water absorption and mixing time between the different flour lots and help dough makers calculate the correct amount of water to use and the correct dough

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

mixing time. Since individual pizzerias typically use bagged flour, such reports are not available to them. (They aren’t even practical, since one pallet may contain flour from different milling lots.) That means we can get into trouble when we get stuck on certain fixed parameters—such as moisture absorption—for our dough. We have always used a specific amount of water per 50-pound bag of flour, but now we may find that our dough won’t open as easily. We can add other ingredients to fix this problem, but is that really necessary?

Pizzeria operators need to realize that flour is not a constant. It will change from time to time, affecting moisture absorption properties, and you need to be ready to make adjustments to your dough to accommodate these changes.

Otherwise, you’ll struggle unnecessarily with frustrations or end up buying ingredients you might not need. The real solution may be simply to make a slight change to your dough absorption or to your mixing time!

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NEW YORK’S FINEST

Use plain bread crumbs and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to create this elegant yet easy-tomake Italian classic.

By Chef Santo Bruno

SLNY PRODUCTIONS

Fried Veal Milanese

H

The Middleby Corporation, a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry, recently acquired Marsal & Sons, adding the highly respected oven manufacturer to its portfolio of leading brands. Here, Chef Bruno poses for a photo with his new colleagues, Gary Mick, president of Blodgett, and Dan Coolbeth, Blodgett’s vice president of operations.

ello, dear readers! This month’s recipe is Veal Milanese, an Italian classic. For this dish, the veal chops should be pounded to a thin size, breaded and fried.

A splash of lemon finishes them off perfectly. Various chefs prepare Milanese dishes in their own way, of course, and some even use chicken, turkey, beef or pork. But Ital-

INGREDIENTS: 2 large eggs ½ c. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated Salt Pepper 1 c. plain bread crumbs 1 lb. veal cutlets

Chef Bruno is PMQ’s culinary advisor, with more than 50 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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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

ians consider veal to be the most authentic ingredient for a Milanese dish. (In my travels, I’ve noticed that many waiters in Italian restaurants give me a funny look when I order Chicken Milanese over salad.) This recipe—simple and easy to make, as always—uses veal, but you can also make it with chicken or turkey. Mangia!

INSTRUCTIONS: In a shallow plate, beat the eggs with the cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Spread the bread crumbs on a sheet of wax paper. Dip each piece of veal in the egg mixture, then dip in the bread crumbs, coating each piece completely. Let dry for 15 minutes.

Pour ¼” of vegetable oil into a deep, heavy skillet. Heat over medium heat until a small drop of the egg mixture sizzles and cooks quickly when placed in the skillet. Add only as many cutlets to the pan as will fit comfortably in a single layer. Cook, turning once, for 5 minutes until the cutlets turn golden brown on both sides. Transfer the cutlets to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Continue cooking the remaining cutlets in the same way.

If there is any egg mixture left over after all the cutlets have been coated, stir in some bread crumbs until the mixture holds a soft shape. Fry the egg cutlet, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through. Serve the cutlets hot with lemon wedges.

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ACCOUNTING FOR YOUR MONEY

IRS Extension Doesn’t Grant More Time to Pay Taxes If you can’t pay your taxes in full by the due date, consider applying for an Online Payment Agreement. By Mike Rasmussen

Q

I filed for an extension on my taxes this year, but I was surprised to realize I still had to send the IRS a check. How does the extension work?

A

Some people get confused about what it means to file for an extension on their income tax returns. If you haven’t finished filling out your return and need more time to get it done, you can receive a six-month extension.

But that doesn’t mean you get extra time to pay the taxes that you owe.

Getting an extension is easy. The fastest and easiest way is to visit the “Free File” link at IRS. gov. Here, you can use tax filing software that guides you through the steps of filling out the required forms. You can also use this service to request an extension in a matter of minutes.

Anyone, regardless of income, can use this free service using Form 4868. Completing the form gives you an additional six months (that is, until October 15 for the year 2015) to file your tax return. However, to get the extension, taxpayers

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

must estimate their tax liability on this form and pay any amount due by the April 15 deadline.

By filing this form and paying the estimated amount due, the taxpayer will avoid a costly late filing penalty, which is normally 5% per month based on the unpaid balance. In addition, any payment made with an extension request will reduce or eliminate interest and late payment penalties that apply to payments made after April 15. The interest rate is currently 3% per year, compounded daily, while the late payment penalty is normally 0.5% per month.

Alternatively, if you cannot pay the balance due, consider applying for an Online Payment Agreement, which allows you to stretch out payments over 72 months. Taxpayers can choose this option even if they have not yet received a bill or notice from the IRS. With the Online Payment Agreement, no paperwork is required, nor do you have to call, write or visit the IRS. This option enables you to level out your cash flow and budget for regular monthly payments.

Michael J. Rasmussen is the owner of Rasmussen Tax Group (rasmussentaxgroup. com) in Conway, Arkansas. He is also the co-owner of Eyenalyze (eyenalyze. com), a company that provides real-time profit analysis for restaurant owners.

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Please visit BellissimoFoods.com to locate a distributor in your area, or call 800-813-2974 and we’ll be happy to assist you.

MARKETING MAVEN

5

Ways to Get Free Publicity

Positive media buzz can start with a simple handwritten note to a reporter or a smartly crafted press release. By Linda Duke

I

n last month’s column, we discussed the advantages of hiring a public relations professional to promote your pizzeria. A strong PR campaign helps educate guests and potential guests about your menu, builds credibility, drives increased sales, and generates a positive image and reputation for your business. Of course, you may simply not have the money to pay a PR professional to help you out. Fortunately, there are some PR strategies you can implement on your own or with the help of key staff members. It helps to recruit the assistance of a person with strong writing skills, such as a person with a degree or strong background in English, journalism or marketing. If you have someone like that on your staff, press him into service as part of your PR team—it gives that person an opportunity to help your

Linda Duke is the CEO of Duke Marketing and author of Recipes for Restaurateurs (marketingcookbook.com), a “cookbook” of marketing ideas for restaurant owners, as well as The LSM Diet: Improve Your Bottom Line, Not Your Waistline (lsmdiet.com), a self-help guide to local store marketing. She publishes a quarterly industry resource, Restaurant Marketing Magazine, and an educational program, LSM-U, Local Store Marketing University. Find out more at dukemarketing.com.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

company grow and to grow with the company! Once you have the right person in place, follow these tips to garner positive publicity for your restaurant: Start with a note. Craft a simple handwritten note inviting local lifestyle reporters, restaurant critics or food writers to visit your restaurant. The note should be brief and to the point, covering the high points, such as key menu items or signature pizzas that you’re proud of, and wrapping up with a friendly invitation: “Please come join us for lunch or dinner at your convenience. We want to earn your business, your friendship and your support!”

Submit a guest column. If you’re an expert on, say, Neapolitan pizza, work with your PR person to write a guest column on the topic for a local news publication or website. Or write about local or regional pizza trends that readers may find interesting. For example, you could delve into the local sourcing movement and talk about your support of farmers and growers in your area.

Send out occasional press releases. Announce your newest signature recipes or the latest entry on your appetizer menu. Have you rolled out a new gluten-free pizza

or a lower-sodium recipe? Do you have a new menu with lower-calorie items? All of these new products are worthy of a smartly crafted press release.

Focus on human interest. Do you have an employee or a favorite guest who has overcome challenges or adversity in his life? Tell his story in a press release or guest column. If your local publication doesn’t seem interested in publishing it as a story, submit it as a letter to the editor.

Create a publicity stunt. One great way to garner media attention is to create a publicity stunt that will get people talking about your pizzeria. Try to create a menu item that will make it into the Guinness World Records, for example. Give away free meals for a year to some lucky customer. Create a sweepstakes or raffle for a valuable prize. Whatever you choose to do, write it down, explain it in sufficient detail (while keeping it brief ) and send out a press release.

If you’re an expert on, say, Neapolitan pizza, work with your PR person to write a guest column on the topic for a local news publication or website.

You can’t expect the news media to cover your restaurant just because it’s there. To be newsworthy, you have to create some news. Work closely with your PR professional or in-house PR team to develop a hook, craft a pitch and go after all of the free positive exposure you can get. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results!

DOUGH with attitude.

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June/July 2015 pmq.com

23

MONEYMAKERS

This Pizzeria Has a Little Lamb

Forget the Little Bo Peep jokes. Pino DiMeo, co-owner of Ardé Osteria and Pizzeria (ardewayne.com) in Wayne, Pennsylvania, won’t lose his sheep if he can help it. DiMeo is making the rounds of the community with Peppe, a ridiculously cute baby lamb he found during a visit to a nearby farm. In a goodwill tour of Wayne, DiMeo has been taking his new mascot for visits to local businesses and nonprofits, attracting crowds wherever they go and posing for pictures, which are then posted on Arde’s Facebook page.

Pino DiMeo takes Ardé Osteria and Pizzeria’s irresistibly cute mascot, Peppe the baby lamb, for a visit to Rose Bridge Farm.

On the Run With Joey Pepperoni

Joey Pepperoni, mascot for the Eat My Crust 5K Run in Viera, Florida, will go the distance to raise money for local high school athletics.

If you spot a giant slice of pizza with legs running through the streets of Viera, Florida, don’t call the cops—Joey Pepperoni is one of the good guys. The mascot for Viera Pizza (vierapizza. com), he’s also the headlining celebrity at the pizzeria’s annual Eat My Crust 5K Run, a fundraiser for Viera High School athletics. Viera Pizza owner Mike Acosta founded the event, held for the fourth straight year in May. “Joey Pepperoni promotes the race on social media and is one of the race day’s biggest highlights as he leads the free Li’l Pepperoni Run for kids eight and under,” says race director Brittany Streufert. More than 700 people ran in last May’s race, capped off by a pizza party at the finish line next to the Viera Pizza store at Stadium Parkway.

Quick Tip 1: The Kids Are Alright Reach out to local elementary schools and youth groups— such as the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts—and invite them to tour your pizzeria for a field trip. Schedule the tours on slow days and send every kid home with a coupon for a free kid-size pizza with adult purchase.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Pizza in a Jar

Bored with the same old pans? Try baking your pizza in a jar. Marcello Avitabile, the renowned pizzaiolo at Buona Forchetta (buonaforchetta.com) in San Diego, layers various pizza ingredients together, including pizza dough, stracciata di burrata and San Marzano tomatoes, topped off with fresh basil, extra-virgin olive oil and Parmigiano-Reggiano Riserva. Just don’t ask pizzeria owner Matteo Cattaneo for too many details. “The dough balls are fried, and it’s all assembled in the jar,” he says. “If I tell you more, Marcello would kill me!”

Buona Forchetta pizza maker Marcello Avitabile unveiled his pizza-in-a-jar in a Facebook post that earned 263 likes and 13 shares.

Quick Tip 2: Don’t Keep Catering a Secret If you offer catering, promote it everywhere in your store—on your walls and tables, in your social media and on your website. Place fliers with catering menus on all delivery boxes, too.

The Hottest Ticket in Town

For every logoed shirt it sells, Rosa’s Fresh Pizza gives away seven slices of pizza to people in need.

One year after launching a Pay-It-Forward campaign allowing customers to prepurchase pizza slices for others in need, Rosa’s Fresh Pizza (rosasfreshpizza.com) in Philadelphia has attracted a corporate sponsor you’ve probably heard of: Coca-Cola.

The soft drink giant now donates a bottle of Dasani water with each slice given away by Rosa’s. Rosa’s earned national acclaim when owner Mason Wortman appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about the campaign, in which customers donate slices and pin encouraging sticky notes on the pizzeria’s walls for the hungry and the homeless. “It has been an incredible privilege to witness the kindness that our fans and customers exemplify every day, and it is gratifying to see the great people at Coca-Cola following in [their] footsteps,” Wortman said. He said his customers have donated more than 13,000 slices so far.

June/July 2015 pmq.com

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Obaid Kadwani, Slice of Hope founder, pitches in with shelter volunteers serving up pizza at one of the many Parties of Hope around the country. Diverse event attendees, including happy youngsters and seniors looking for a good meal and a bit of encouragement, create the magic that energizes his organization’s outreach.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Hope Bonus Video Coverage: Meet Obaid Kadwani, Bollywood celebrity and founder of A Slice of Hope, in an exclusive Pizza 360 interview.

tv

by the slice

A New York-based nonprofit organization partners with pizzerias to offer food and comfort to the hungry and homeless. By Andy Knef | Photos courtesy of A Slice of Hope

W

hen Obaid Kadwani, founder of A Slice of Hope, looks into the eyes of a struggling homeless shelter resident at one of his organization’s pizza parties, he sees magic. Since Kadwani started the nonprofit organization eight years ago, his pizza-powered potion to counteract hunger and hopelessness has conjured up a quarter of a million slices of hope in 25 states, he says.

“This year, we’re expanding more than ever,” notes the Manhattan-based Kadwani, an Indian-American actor and host of Bollywood-focused TV shows on the Namaste America network, which has more than 1 million viewers.

“Our mission is to create one real moment of joy for folks who are facing tremendous challenges and hardships. To accomplish this, we go into the shelters with pizza, music and friendship to promote healing and positive energy.

People from all walks of life volunteer to organize these parties, which we call Parties of Hope. Our volunteers and donors give of themselves generously, and hundreds come to our events.”

Local independent and chain pizzerias alike often donate or offer discounted pizzas for the Party of Hope events, which will be held this year from August 17 to 22 in cities across the United States. (See sidebar for locations.) Additionally, Kadwani’s organization will launch Share a Slice of Hope, a weeklong restaurant industry

initiative scheduled for July 20 to 26. The group is asking pizzerias and restaurants across the nation to collect donations to support A Slice of Hope or to donate a portion of their sales during that week to the cause.

Donations will be used to help combat hunger in their local communities, with local volunteers giving out free slices to anyone who can’t afford to pay, and to support the nationwide effort.

Along with delicious pizza, pulse-raising live music helps to ignite a sensory explosion at each Party of Hope.

“We fill the shelters with upbeat music, which inspires,

“[Pizzerias] are perfect conduits to the people who need help because they operate within the local community, offering a relatively low-priced source of nourishment that everyone loves.”

—Obaid Kadwani, A Slice of Hope

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The mission of every Party of Hope is to offer a helping hand and a warm smile and meal to folks who are working hard to build a better life.

How You Can Help A Slice of Hope wants to partner with independent and chain pizzerias across the country to help feed the hungry and spread hope through pizza. Pizzeria operators can help out in several ways, including:  Host a fundraiser for A Slice of Hope during “Share a Slice of Hope” Week, to be held July 20 to 26, 2015  Donate free pizza or discounted pizzas for Parties of Hope in your area, to be held August 17 to 22, 2015  Make a financial donation to A Slice of Hope year-round To learn more or to take part in A Slice of Hope’s campaign, visit asliceofhope.org or contact marketing manager Rebecca Ruttle at rebecca@asliceofhope.org or 937-219-8618.

moves and heals people,” Kadwani says. “When people are energized, they find the strength to combat life’s daily struggles. We commend the shelters and food banks across the country, as combating hunger and hopelessness is a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute reality.”

FIGHTING HUNGER ONE BITE AT A TIME Kadwani was 12 years old when his Indian parents immigrated to the States. Growing up poor in New York, he noticed that life on the rugged Bronx streets of the 1970s placed hope in short supply. “We had nothing, and the Bronx of that era wasn’t the safest neighborhood in America,” he recalls. “When I looked around, I realized everyone I knew was one paycheck away from disaster.

I saw many of my classmates and their families fall off the ledge economically.”

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Kadwani managed to escape, but he never lost his empathy with those who struggle to make ends meet.

“When you’re not sure if you’re going to have a roof over your head or a meal on your table, the stress is incredible,” he says. “You don’t want to get out of bed. Think about what happens when these children of poverty grow up and start to have children of their own. Multiply that stress by 100. Add in the easy availability of drugs and alcohol, and it’s easy to understand why many folks in shelters feel their whole life is falling apart.”

Despite his hardscrabble upbringing, Kadwani went on to earn great personal success. He earned his college degree, acted with Oscar nominees like Paul Sorvino in feature films, and became a Bollywood star. As his fortunes climbed, he was determined to make the world a better place. He established A Slice of Hope in 2007 as a springboard to elevate his own personal crusade against hunger and despair. “A Slice of Life has changed my life, just as it has changed the lives of others,” he says. “I’ve learned that, if you empower people, you can make a change. One person can make a difference.”

Kadwani, a highly skilled communicator and passionate advocate for the economically disadvantaged, believes in fighting hunger one bite at a time. “You can’t solve

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The faces you find at a Slice of Hope event aren’t stereotypes, says Kadwani. Childhood hunger is a national blemish on the face of the country, with one child in five hungry.

everyone’s problems, but we can offer encouragement and bring a smile to someone,” he says. “A simple kind word, a gentle touch, a caring smile can make a person under stress want to fight on. We create a vehicle to energize one person in one moment on one day. We seek to inspire that person to understand how important they are to their family.”

PIZZERIAS: CENTERS OF HOPE A Slice of Hope begins contacting shelters each May to prepare for the Party of Hope pizza celebrations. “The people who organize and execute our parties are all grassroots volunteers,” Kadwani says. “Their goal is simply to

“A simple kind word, a gentle touch, a caring smile can make a person under stress want to fight on. We create a vehicle to energize one person in one moment on one day.”

—Obaid Kadwani, A Slice of Hope 30

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

create happiness and joy. The smiles you witness at one of these events reflect the definition of joy.”

A Slice of Hope aims to bring its program to at least one local food bank or shelter in every state this year. “Adding a shelter is an easy process, and we highly encourage people to contact our website to let us know about a shelter that would welcome a Party of Hope,” Kadwani says. “Once we’ve had a party at a shelter, we never drop that shelter, and we never reach out to a shelter without following up with a party.”

The organization welcomes collaboration with other charities, but Kadwani especially wants to partner with pizzerias. The next step in the organization’s growth—as reflected in the Share a Slice of Hope initiative—will require the help of pizzeria operators willing to donate food throughout the year or to give money to the nationwide campaign. The Share a Slice of Hope effort is modeled closely on the highly publicized Rosa’s Fresh Pizza (rosasfreshpizza.com) story that drew national TV coverage. Located in Philadelphia, Rosa’s walls are plastered with customers’ sticky notes designating donations to feed Philly’s hungry with $1 slices of pizza. Kadwani wants to encourage other pizzerias to follow that model, complete with sticky notes and free pizza. “Pizzerias want to help,” Kadwani says. “They are perfect conduits to the people who need help because they operate within the

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How You Can Help The following community shelters are confirmed to host Parties of Hope in 2015. To donate food to the events or to help organize a Party of Hope in your area, visit asliceofhope.org or contact Rebecca Ruttle at Rebecca@asliceofhope.org or 937-219-8618.

Arizona—UMOM New Day Centers (Phoenix) California—ePath (Los Angeles) Colorado—Denver Rescue Mission (Denver) Connecticut—Malta House (East Norwalk) Florida—Orlando Rescue Mission (Orlando) Florida—Christian Service Center (Orlando) Illinois—Door of Hope Rescue Mission (Chicago) Maine—Preble Street Teen Center (Portland) Maryland—Bae Gaddy’s Women & Children Center (Baltimore) Massachusetts—St. Francis House (Boston) Michigan—Oasis (Highland Park) Minnesota—Sharing & Caring Hands/Mary’s Place (Minneapolis) Missouri—Haven of Grace (St. Louis) Nevada—Calvary Downtown Outreach (Las Vegas) New Jersey—St. Lucy’s Shelter (Jersey City) New Jersey—Goodwill Rescue Mission (Newark) New Jersey—Market Street Mission (Morristown) New Jersey—Eva’s Village (Paterson) New Jersey—St. James Social Services (Newark) New York—St. John’s Bread & Life (Brooklyn) New York—Resurrection Church in Greenpoint (Brooklyn) New York—Love Kitchen (Manhattan) New York—New York City Rescue Mission (New York City) New York—Grand Central Neighborhood (Manhattan) New York—Project Hospitality (Staten Island) Oklahoma—IronGate Tulsa (Tulsa) Pennsylvania—Life Center of Eastern Delaware (Upper Darby) Oregon—Portland Rescue Mission (Portland) South Carolina—The Women’s Shelter (Columbia) Tennessee—Barron Heights Transitional Center (Memphis) Texas—Star of Hope Mission (Houston) 32

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

local community, offering a relatively low-priced source of nourishment that everyone loves. We hope Share a Slice of Hope Week will capture this spirit as we collect donations to support a sticky notes campaign in pizzerias, offering free pizza slices to those in need. We hope that a lot more local pizzerias will get involved, supporting shelters and the hungry around the country. We really believe that neighborhood pizzerias, as cherished community gathering points, can become regenerating centers of hope.”

FULL OF MAGICAL STORIES Taking part in a Slice of Hope event is a life-changing experience for volunteers and attendees, Kadwani says.

Event volunteers are eager to share a helping hand but careful never to stigmatize the proud people they serve.

Kadwani recalls a woman who contacted him from Darby, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. She pleaded passionately for a Slice of Hope intervention at the local homeless shelter. “Something in the way she insisted made me agree to do it,” he says. When organizers met her at the party, amid the high-energy music and excited children, the middle-aged woman—self-sufficient but living with multiple sclerosis—told them she had lived in the very same shelter when she was six.

“After taking part in these events, you quickly discover there is no one stereotypical face in these shelters,” Kadwani says. “Many who come to a Slice of Hope party aren’t homeless—they’re working hard but just don’t make enough money to live adequately. You will see the faces of families with children, college students and the elderly.

One child in five in this country is hungry, and that’s a national blemish we must attend to.”

The momentum built up by A Slice of Hope over eight years has forged a rock-solid commitment to the future.

Its impact is real and effective—and sprinkled with more than a little magic, Kadwani believes. “We’ve learned how many good people there are in the world—our volunteers, donors and the people we serve, those individuals who are trying hard and simply need a slice of love and encouragement,” he says. “Yes, our rapid growth means the effort takes more time, but we can’t stop now. We’re trusted by the entire country and individual communities to complete our mission. The project is full of magical stories. It is life-affirming and teaches me that everything that happens is meant to happen.”

Andy Knef is PMQ’s associate editor.

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RECIPE MONTH

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TOPPINGS: Spread an even layer of the tomato sauce on the dough, leaving a ½” border around the edges. Place the cherry tomatoes, granulated garlic, oregano, oil, chili peppers and sea salt in a bowl, then mix and crush the ingredients with your hands. Spread the mixture evenly on the pizza. Bake at 610°F for 10 to 15 minutes, until crust is golden-brown. When pizza is ready, add hand-pulled pieces of buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil leaves.

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When in Rome With its thin, crispy crust and robust flavor, Roman-style pizza has become a popular alternative to traditional Neapolitan pizza. Check out these examples from around the country: In Cos Cob, Connecticut, Gravina (gravinact.com) serves up the Siciliana, made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, Italian tuna and red onions.

At Delarosa (delarosasf.com) in San Francisco, chef Ruggero Galaldi and his team created a Roman-style pizza featuring spicy fennel sausage, scamorza cheese and onion.

For something completely different, Amalfi Pizzeria (amalfipizzeria.com) in Central Valley, New York, invented a Romanstyle pie called Waste Management, made with bacon, tomatoes, chicken, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and French fries.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Recipe courtesy of Massimiliano Saieva, Pizzarium, Miami, FL

Fedor Ovchinnikov, founder of the Dodo Pizza chain in Syktyvkar, Russia, was 12 years old when he first fantasized about starting his own pizza business. His company now has 43 franchise and five corporate-owned locations in three countries.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Discover how Dodo Pizza founder Fedor Ovchinnikov has leveraged cloud-based information technology to create a faster, more efficient pizza service model that attracts business partners from around the globe.

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FROM

RUSSIA WITH LOVE Fedor Ovchinnikov is changing the way Russian pizzeria operators do business—and the U.S. could be next. Is this young entrepreneur the Steve Jobs of pizza? By Rick Hynum

F

edor Ovchinnikov may have a name that’s hard to pronounce, but it’s one worth remembering. As founder of a fast-growing Russian chain called Dodo Pizza(dodopizza.ru), the 33-year-old entrepreneur has reinvented the pizza business in his native land. Using cloud-based computer technology, webcams, guerrilla marketing techniques and a highly influential blog, Ovchinnikov is building an empire worthy of the old czars, attracting ambitious franchisees and, better yet, money men willing to fund his dream of global expansion.

“We want to create an international chain, and we know how to accomplish that,” Ovchinnikov says, with breezy self-assurance.

“We can create a more efficient business model of a pizza store with the help of the Internet and a more efficient chain operation based on key franchising principles. Our small size today is our advantage. It’s difficult for Domino’s and Papa John’s to change because they are hostages to their size.”

Ovchinnikov’s company is, indeed, relatively small, but it’s expanding rapidly. It currently has 43 franchise and five corporate-owned

June/July 2015 pmq.com

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(Clockwise from top left) With live-streaming webcams in every Dodo Pizza kitchen, customers can place an order and watch online as their pizzas get made; a pizza maker preps a pie at a Dodo Pizza Express shop located in a shopping mall; Kids get VIP treatment with pizza making classes and other activities.

locations in Russia, Romania and Kazakhstan. By the end of 2015, he estimates a total of 75 stores will be in operation, while the company’s first American shop could open within the next year in Oxford, Mississippi (PMQ’s hometown). Growth like that suggests Dodo Pizza, despite its famously doomed namesake and mascot, is in no danger of going extinct. And with his willingness to foster innovative technologies and push the boundaries of existing corporate paradigms, the company’s canny and visionary founder just may prove to be—as one PMQ staffer called him—“the Steve Jobs of pizza.”

BLOGGING FOR DOLLARS At first glance, Dodo Pizza may look like your standard pizza franchise operation. Various locations offer varying levels of service, from delivery and carryout only to dine-in, with menus offering up to 18 kinds of pizza as well as the popular Dodster, a baked chicken and mozzarella wrap that accounts for 10% of the company’s sales.

Dine-in stores peddle American and Russian beers and an 40

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

assortment of juices, and every shop serves muffins and cookies. Many stores teach pizza making workshops for kids, while some host balloon artists on Sundays.

But the mastermind behind Dodo Pizza also brings fresh thinking and an outsider’s perspective to the pizza franchise business. With his sunny smile, hipster specs and swirly-tipped coif, Ovchinnikov puts the lie to Cold War stereotypes of stolid, scowling Russians in fur hats.

He speaks only haltingly in English, but he’s working on learning the language. He’s quick to laugh and crack jokes through his translator, Emiliano Ananyin. And, like Jobs, he’s a shrewd innovator with a knack for pulling talented people into his orbit—and motivating them to rewrite the rules.

A former bookstore chain magnate, Ovchinnikov found himself out of work in 2010, thanks to an overly aggressive development strategy and the global recession. But he wasn’t out of ideas. All the while, he’d been chronicling his business adventures in a well-read blog that has made him one of his country’s best-known entrepreneurs. (He

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“[With a webcam in every kitchen] we show our customers that we have nothing to hide from them, and we show our employees that we don’t hide anything from our customers.

We wanted to create a tool that wouldn’t allow us to do inferior work.”

—Fedor Ovchinnikov, Dodo Pizza Dodo Pizza emphasizes speed and efficiency, with a “60 minutes or it’s free” delivery rule borrowed from Domino’s.

was even featured in a Russian best seller called Nerds Do Business, Too.) “I quit the book business with no capital and started looking for a business that I could devote most of my life to,” he recalls. “I chose pizza because it can be scaled all over the world.”

After learning the ins and outs at a Papa John’s in St. Petersburg, Ovchinnikov opened his first Dodo Pizza shop in the city of Syktyvkar in early 2011. Tucked away in a cramped basement, the store offered delivery only.

“During the first months, I took orders over the phone and prepared and delivered the pizzas personally,” he says.

“And I wrote about everything in my blog.”

That blog proved to be a powerful PR and recruiting tool. Fellow business-minded Russians followed it religiously, and many flocked to Syktyvkar to work with its author. Soon, Ovchinnikov had put together both a franchise operations team and a crew of programmers to build a state-of-the-art IT system that would tie it all together. Things began to move quickly.

“We started receiving a lot of requests for franchises,” Ovchinnikov says. “In 2012, we launched five franchised stores as a test—three of them were already in business but switched over to our brand. In the spring of 2013, we’d created our training center and our system of standards and launched regular franchising. Within three years of opening that first location in 2011, we’d opened 42

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

four corporate-owned stores in Syktyvkar and now have five. Last year, the company generated overall sales of $11 million.”

A PHILOSOPHY OF OPENNESS That’s the thing about Ovchinnikov. Unlike many business owners, he’ll tell you anything you want to know about his company, from annual sales figures to labor costs, food costs and total sales. He even publishes a monthly P&L report on the Dodo Pizza website. In a country notorious for harboring dark secrets, Ovchinnikov believes trans-

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Everyone, including Dodo Pizza managers and prospective franchisees, has to start at the bottom, mopping floors and chopping veggies in the kitchen.

parency helps build a corporate brand that people trust.

From the start, he has shared everything on his blog for anyone, including competitors, to read. “This openness attracts partners, investors and suppliers,” Ovchinnikov says. “They can see my goals, values and ideals.”

But that’s just for starters. Ovchinnikov doesn’t simply tell you that Dodo’s kitchens are clean and his workers practice good hygiene. He lets you see it for yourself.

Thanks to live-streaming webcams in every store’s kitchen, customers can place their orders online and then watch their pizzas being made in real time. That means Dodo pizza makers can’t hide behind closed doors while topping dough skins and peeling pies out of the ovens. Their work life is a nonstop reality TV show playing on customers’ PCs, tablets and smartphones. Pick your nose, and the whole country can see you do it.

But the webcams aren’t there to spy on kitchen workers.

“It’s all part of our philosophy of openness,” Ovchinnikov says. “We show our customers that we have nothing to hide from them, and we show our employees that we don’t hide anything from our customers. We wanted to create a tool that wouldn’t allow us to do inferior work. It’s a very powerful psychological tool—we make commitments that force us to work flawlessly. And this uncompromising attitude attracts customers—they are sure of our quality.

They trust us.”

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

(Left to right) PMQ publisher Steve Green visited Dodo Pizza with founder Fedor Ovchinnikov during a trip to Russia last year. Even VIPs like Green (shown here with Ovchinnikov and Emiliano Ananyin) have to don hygienic scrubs to enter Dodo Pizza’s kitchens.

PIZZA MAKING AS A VIDEO GAME Attracting customers is only part of the equation.

Ovchinnikov wanted to surround himself with the best and the brightest people Russia had to offer. From the beginning, he knew that information technology would be crucial to Dodo’s growth—not just as a tool for running numbers and managing schedules, but as an integral component and marketable feature of the franchise system itself. Rather than taking a chance on buying a POS system and waiting for new apps to be developed, Ovchinnikov aimed to build his own customized—and highly adaptable—system. And as word of his plans spread through Russia’s IT community, programmers from all over approached him for jobs, giving him the pick of the litter. “I received a lot of letters,” he recounts.

“These people believed we could change the industry to create something new.

“We didn’t just invent another system for pizza store management,” Ovchinnikov adds. “Dodo Pizza can be considered a cyborg company because we are both an IT company and a pizza company. Our main product is franchises, the core of which is our IT system in SaaS.” SaaS, or Software as a Service, is a cloud-based method of providing access to software and its functions from anywhere and at any time. From kitchens to corporate offices, from one franchise location to another, everything at Dodo Pizza is connected through this complex IT system. Ovchinnikov developed—and continues to finetune—the system by putting his programmers to work in Dodo’s pizza kitchens. “They don’t just observe—they make pizzas themselves,” he notes. “At the same time, 46

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Coming to America Dodo Pizza founder Fedor Ovchinnikov wants to conquer the world—in the entrepreneurial sense, that is. He plans to open his first American store in Oxford, Mississippi, a college town known for its thriving restaurant scene, within the next year. “To have an outstanding product, we need to get experience in the most competitive market, which is the United States,” Ovchinnikov says. “Many companies try to go where the competition is weak. We welcome strong competition—this is how we can gain knowledge, toughen up and fine-tune our business model.”

Ovchinnikov will stick with his model of transparency, sharing the new store’s sales figures, expenses, profits and losses on the Internet. “If we can succeed in this market, I’m sure we can draw the attention of American entrepreneurs to our franchise,” he says. they’re inventing ways to make our processes more efficient, more convenient and more transparent.”

Although Ovchinnikov isn’t a programmer himself, the system is his baby, and he’s clearly proud of it. “It coalesces tablets in the kitchens, our computers, our customers’ and delivery drivers’ mobile devices, our website and our call center, all into one network,” he says. “It’s pretty darn interesting to create such things!”

And Ovchinnikov is just getting warmed up. He has also tasked his IT crew to develop a program that will incentivize pizza makers to work faster and more efficiently in the kitchen. He wants his kitchen crew to “work like the pit stop team at a Formula 1 race,” he says.

Most pizzeria employees know they’ll make the same money whether they work quickly or slowly. Managers

“Dodo Pizza can be considered a cyborg company because we are both an IT company and a pizza company. Our main product is franchises, the core of which is our [cloud-based] IT system.”—Fedor Ovchinnikov, Dodo Pizza try to rally their young line workers to move faster and more efficiently, but with varying degrees of success. So how do you motivate the Xbox generation? “Our idea is to make a game out of pizza preparation,” Ovchinnikov says.

Although still in the experimental stage, Ovchinnikov wants to place tablet computers with flashing game icons in every kitchen. “The red icon means it took too long to prepare the pizza—this is bad. A gray icon means the pizza was prepared within the normal time range. A green icon signifies that the pizza was prepared quickly—this is good. When the pizza is prepared quickly, there is a stimulating ‘victory’ sound. If it takes a long time for the pizza to be prepared, you hear a disapproving sound. It’s like a computer game!”

Many employees, oddly enough, aren’t motivated by the prospect of getting a raise later if they work faster

now, Ovchinnikov says. But immediate positive reinforcement—and making their job more challenging and fun—may do the trick. “We want to arrange the whole system in this game format,” he adds. “These are young people, students. Work in the kitchen can be a fascinating game for them. We need to make it so that it is interesting for the pizza makers to collect green smiles. There could be variations—for example, if they collected five smiles in a row, then bingo! The bonus doubles, and trumpets play!”

CHANGING THE WORLD The video game system is still in the works, but even without it, Dodo Pizza thrives on technology. Every location offers online ordering, and a national call center fields all phone orders. In the kitchen, visual guides on the walls help pizza makers learn the correct portioning and

Kidding Around with Kruschev Renowned for its guerilla marketing techniques, Dodo Pizza, headquartered in Syktyvkar, Russia, made international headlines last year for the country’s first drone delivery. A video released on Youtube and other video sites depicted a city park filled with young Russians staring in wonder at the sky as a drone flew down with a stack of pizza boxes. “We already sold six pizzas in 1 ½ half hours using a drone—it’s a real business model,” a Dodo Pizza manager told the press at the time.

Dodo Pizza founder Fedor Ovchinnikov even pokes fun at once-sacred Soviet Union institutions. One campaign featured Nikita Kruschev, the Cold War leader who tried to introduce corn to the U.S.S.R. “This was a promotion for our new product, corn on the cob, that we presented last year,” Ovchinnikov says. “We used a popular image of Kruschev, who was a real fan of corn. In our poster, he says, ‘Let’s make corn for free!’” Kruschev’s corn initiative famously bombed, but maybe he was just ahead of his time: Corn on the cob has become a popular side item at Dodo Pizza.

Eager to learn more about Dodo Pizza’s business and marketing strategies? Go to page 118 in this digital edition to read our expanded interview with company founder Fedor Ovchinnikov.

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Because pizza is a universally popular food, Dodo Pizza has plans for worldwide expansion.

placement of ingredients for every pizza type. For each delivery order, a computer provides the driver with a printed map to the customer’s house, the customer’s name and a brief prepared speech to deliver at the doorstep. The company even employs a secret shopper’s service to make sure

drivers address customers by name and follow the script.

“Every franchisee has to spend a month at a store and go through our training program,” Ovchinnikov says. “He has to start from the very bottom, cleaning the floors and being a busboy. This is a field test—not many entrepreneurs are eager to come in and mop the floor.

Our franchisees are not just investors who easily invest money and wait for ROI. They have to share our values and our business approach. We’re looking for partners. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

Still relatively new to capitalism, many Russian companies lag behind their Western counterparts in terms of solid business practices. Ovchinnikov wants to show them a better way, stressing consistency of quality, strict standards, efficiency and integrity across the board. And he may end up teaching American operators a thing or two as well. “We could have settled for less and gotten away with it—our level of service is exceptional compared to competitors in Russia,” he says. “But we want to make the world better, and we believe we can change the world through entrepreneurship. That’s why we set such high standards, and others try to follow our example. When others follow our standards, we’re making the world a better place.”

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

Proudly made in the

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Chickens can’t fly, but wing sales are soaring, thanks to flavorful spices, marinades and cooking methods that leave a lasting taste impression on customers. By Tracy Morin

OLD CHICAGO PIZZA & TAPROOM

B

Sauces, dips and marinades take chicken wings from ordinary to extraordinary—and allow for customer customization.

ehold the lowly chicken! She may not be the smartest beast in the barnyard, but nearly every part of this domesticated dirt-scratcher’s plump little body tastes finger-lickin’ good, including her otherwise useless wings. If you need proof that chicken wings are still “flying” off the shelves in foodservice spots around the country, check out these stats: According to the National Chicken Council, more than four in five U.S. adults (81%) eat chicken wings, adding up to 28 billion wing portions sold in 2014, with more than 1 billion consumed on Super Bowl day alone.

Pizzeria operators helped pioneer this plucky path, offering wings to pair with their pizzas. But while your wings may be successful with the traditional sauces and sides (think buffalo with ranch or blue cheese), there is a vast world of flavors you can tap into. Just as you strive to make unique specialty pizzas that stand out from competitors, it’s worthwhile to think outside the buffalo box. Spread your wings, and sales will soar!

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Play with preparation methods for winning wings; flame-grilling adds texture and flavor to the finished product.

FROM ORDINARY TO OUTSTANDING Chicken wings offer a blank canvas for culinary creativity, notes Angie McGowan from Eclectic Recipes, speaking on behalf of the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association. “I like to use homemade dry rubs with some spices and herbs: salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and Italian-herb seasoning,” she says. “And kids love sweet sauces for wings.”

Spices can be a healthy—and flavorful—way to jazz up a platter of chicken wings, so experiment with different spice blends or combine your own blends that evoke Southwest, barbecue or Asian flavors. “Chicken is such a great base for a lot of exciting flavor profiles,” says Paul Fishman, co-founder and chief marketing officer at Ground 2 Table, a San Diego-based spice company.

Fishman has made wings with everything from a classic

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Mozambiquan Chicken Wings With Peri Peri Sauce Wings: 1 lb. chicken wings ½ tsp. salt ½ tsp. ground black pepper 1 tsp. cayenne powder 1 garlic clove, crushed, or ½ tsp. garlic powder ½ tsp. ground cumin ½ tsp. ground coriander 2 tsp. tamari or soy sauce ¼ c. plain yogurt Peri-Peri Dipping Sauce 2 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 red onion, finely diced 4 red peppers, seeds removed and sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 green chilies, sliced in half (remove seeds for a less spicy sauce) 4-5 fresh curry leaves 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar Lemon juice Instructions: Wash wings thoroughly and air-dry on a sheet tray in the refrigerator covered in plastic, or pat dry with paper towel.

Season wings with salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, cumin, coriander, and tamari or soy sauce. Add yogurt and mix well with spices. Refrigerate for about 3 hours or overnight to enhance the flavor. Bake in a 400° oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until wings are crispy and fully cooked.

To make the dipping sauce, heat vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet, then add red onion, red peppers, garlic, chilies and curry leaves. Add red wine vinegar and allow to reduce. Cool the mixture, then puree in a blender. Season with salt and freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste.

Tip: If desired, add some Peri-Peri sauce to the wing marinade before baking.

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VIRGIL’S WINGS

Provided by Chef Uma Naidoo, NeuroSpices, Cambridge, MA

mesquite barbecue blend with a brown sugar twist to a curry powder marinade accompanied with a cucumber yogurt dipping sauce made with a seafood blend.

“Chicken wings are such a versatile dish, it’s very easy to turn them from ordinary to outstanding,” confirms Derrick Morgan, manager at Firehouse Tavern (firehousetavern. com) in New York. “The great thing about chicken wings is that you can try different recipes at once. Just two pounds can produce four different versions to pick and choose from.” For example, Morgan says, mixing different sauces is an easy way to change up your wings—or try playing with the level of heat. At Firehouse, the Bubba wings combine medium-heat buffalo sauce and barbecue sauce. And don’t forget accompaniments—they can also help make chicken wings more memorable. The wings at Firehouse are served with dressing with chunks of blue cheese, but you can also offer dressings with unique ethnic-inspired flavors, like Jamaican jerk or African peri-peri.

Fishman agrees that flavors are all about mixing and matching—the spice of curry pairs perfectly with the coolness of lemongrass and savory dill of a seafood blend, while an all-purpose blend (either classic or spicy) can be paired with a fun Chinese five-spice aioli for East-meets-West flair. Spices and herbs can also complement marinades; jazz up a sriracha aioli with a spicy blend, or mix mayo with curry powder for an easy curried mayo, Fishman suggests. For a healthy alternative to ranch dressing, infuse

spices into Greek yogurt, topped with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of sea salt. Or try a spiced mole dipping sauce paired with spicy Latin-inspired wings.

At Broomfield, Colorado-based CraftWorks Breweries & Restaurants, which owns Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom (oldchicago.com), sauce selection has expanded to extend the traditional offerings of its classic Firehouse, Applewood BBQ and Buffalo Wings flavors. “We now use some cool dry rubs and wet sauces,” says Stan Frankenthaler, chief officer of food, beverage and strategic supply.

“I personally crave our Italian Garlic and Herb. Also popular with our guests is our new Thai Fire.”

If you already offer unique specialty pies, chances are you can use your most successful combinations to inspire wing flavors—and potentially cross-utilize ingredients to keep costs down.

GRILLED, FRIED OR TWICE-COOKED As far as when to add spices during the marinating process, Fishman believes the earlier, the better. “Spices, unlike fresh herbs, take more time to open up and deliver flavor, so adding spices at the beginning of the marinating process, or giving them time to open up by adding them to the butter or oil you’re heating in the pan before you add your other ingredients, is key,” he notes. “We’re all about adding more spices than you would think you need, so save a bit for the cooking process—and, by all means,

“Spices, unlike fresh herbs, take more time to open up and deliver flavor, so adding spices at the beginning of the marinating process, or giving them time to open up by adding them to the butter or oil you’re heating in the pan before you add your other ingredients, is key.”

—Paul Fishman, Ground 2 Table

if it needs more, don’t deny your taste buds and add away.

Get comfortable with flavor!”

You can also get creative with your method of preparation. “We like to bake wings in the oven at a lower heat (325° to 350°) to get a crispier wing,” McGowan says. For a healthier option, she steams wings in a steamer basket first, then cooks them in the oven, which helps draw the moisture out of the fat.

Grilling or frying works, too. At Slice of Vegas Pizza (sliceofvegas.com) in Las Vegas, a monthlong promotion this year proved a hit thanks to wings dipped in a wet batter, fish-and-chips style. These Swag Wings were based on a secret Twin City recipe that melded the flavors of Southern fried chicken with the spicy wings of the North.

Fried chicken wings remain Slice of Vegas’ top-selling Finishing touches, such as a fresh herb garnish or lemon wedge, add eye appeal and flavor to wing platters.

OLD CHICAGO PIZZA & TAPROOM

Ethnic spices and flavor combinations offer something new for customers to try.

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appetizer year-round, thanks to a range of flavors customers can sample: BBQ, medium, hot, atomic, jerk or garlic Parmesan.

Twice-cooked chicken wings come out crispy and crunchy while retaining their interior moisture, Frankenthaler believes. “You can consider a few options,” he says.

“Most brands fry twice, which leads to crispy wings and is the most traditional approach. Or you can first slowly fry at a lower temperature, then allow the wings to cool before the second cook. After the wings are chilled, place them into a hot fryer.”

At Old Chicago, most wings are baked, then fried.

“Cooking the wings slowly will allow them to cook fully while remaining moist,” Frankenthaler says. “The skin should not get very browned in the first round but will begin to crisp in the second cook. Then we always toss our sauces or spice blends on the wings hot out of the fryer.”

For a different approach, Frankenthaler recommends making a flavorful poaching liquid—ideal with Asian flavor profiles, for example. Slow-poach the wings on the first cook, which drives flavor into the wings. Then

“Chicken wings are such a versatile dish, it's very easy to turn them from ordinary to outstanding.”

—Patrick Morgan, Firehouse Tavern

drain well and chill them before the second cooking.

For a second cook, try grilling the wings. “You will get a different crispiness, of course,” Frankenthaler says. “But the char and smoky flavors add an interesting dimension.”

Whatever spices, marinades and cooking methods you use, experts agree: Wings allow for endless experimentation. “The most exciting thing about wings is that the opportunities to customize your meals are really endless,” concludes Fishman. “With wings as a canvas, there is really no flavor that is off limits!”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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STACY NEWGENT

 Salads are top sellers at Napolese

Snappy Salads •

in Indiana, thanks to unexpected ingredients, locally sourced greens and an artful presentation.

•

From kale and quinoa to blood oranges and pine nuts, surprise your salad-loving guests with artisanal ingredients and recipes they can’t find anywhere else. By Tracy Morin

S

alads may seem like a humble part of your menu, but consider how many classics have become downright famous: the Wedge, the Caesar, the Waldorf, the Cobb. Are your salads as innovative as these standout examples from history once were, or have you gotten stuck in the rut of tossing together less-than-inspiring lettuces with a few tomatoes? If you want to up the ante with new combinations that offer unexpected touches, take inspiration from pizzerias across the country that are experiencing incredibly successful “salad days.”

TOUCHING BASE Is there such a thing as a salad without lettuce? More and more salad lovers say yes. Bases such as kale, quinoa and Swiss chard offer something unexpected while boosting both nutrition and flavor, so feel free to get creative by stepping outside of the lettuce box. “Rarely do I use lettuces for a base,” says chef Tyler Herald from Napolese (napolesepizzeria.com), with three locations in Indianapolis. “I really enjoy roasted vegetables as a base, especially since they showcase the work of the pizza oven. We always

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SPIN! NEAPOLITAN PIZZA

Even while keeping salads simple, chefs at SPIN! combine a range of flavors, textures and colors for maximum appeal.

The Three Ps

“It’s important to hit as many flavor profiles as possible— sweet, salty, savory—while incorporating quality cheeses and paying attention to texture. You want to create a good balance.”

—Katie Lee Collier, Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria C

M

Our experts weigh in pricing, promotion and presentation, all crucial considerations for building a sellable salad menu.

“We try to price salads around $10 to $12. When you start with the best local ingredients, the flavors do the talking. Then, build for the best presentation. Think about shapes, sizes, colors, textures. Like painting a picture, you want to have a nice variety of all of these things. Then, with a gentle hand, mound it on the plate.”

—Tyler Herald, chef, Napolese, Indianopolis, IN “We have one side salad, but all others are large—they’re sharable, just like pizza. And we encourage customization. Since we build everything from scratch, any customer can create their own or make substitutions.”

—Katie Lee Collier, chef/owner, Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria, St. Louis, MO “The most important thing is consistency, though it’s not easy to do. We train staff—it’s kind of an art form to maintain the correct portioning and mixing. We tell them to look at every salad going out of the kitchen and ask themselves, ‘Is this a beautiful salad?’” —Gail Lozoff, partner, SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza, Kansas City, MO

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CM

MY

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CMY

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have a salad on the menu with beets as the base, and another one of our all-time most popular salads has roasted Brussels sprouts as the base. I’m also really into grains as the base for a salad—there are so many health benefits!”

When a lettuce-like bed is required, however, Herald admits a love for the peppery bite of arugula. “It’s delicious with just a splash of quality olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and sea salt and fresh cracked pepper,” he says.

“I also really like how well kale can withstand big, bold flavors and hold up to richer dressings.”

Freshness and local ingredients are also important: For Napolese, several farmers supply greens, and the pizzeria even grows its own at a microfarm attached to one of its sister restaurants, Public Greens.

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Similarly, salad bases receive an artisanal interpretation at Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria (katiespizzaandpasta. com) in St. Louis. “Instead of iceberg or romaine, we use a spring mix, arugula, dandelion greens (a wild bitter green), Swiss chard and kale,” says chef/owner Katie Lee Collier. But other ingredients can also take center stage in salads: The most popular choice at Katie’s is the Fried Artichoke; the artichokes are flash-fried with olive oil, salt

SPIN! NEAPOLITAN PIZZA

Earlier this year, a report by research and consulting firm Technomic reported on key consumer preferences regarding restaurant salads. Top on customers’ wish lists:

and pepper, then tossed with goat cheese, asparagus, field greens, pistachios and balsamic vinaigrette.

Even if your customers’ tastes trend toward more familiar combinations and ingredients, you can still make your salads special by adding a unique twist. “I think any lettuce can be a base—there are great iceberg salads out there—but we use arugula, romaine, butter lettuce and spinach,” says Gail Lozoff, partner at SPIN! Neapolitan

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Pizza (spinpizza.com), based in Kansas City, Missouri, with more than a dozen locations nationwide. “Great salads are less about the lettuces and more about what you do with them.”

SPECIAL TOUCHES So, beyond the base, what else can you do to spruce up your salads? Like pizza, this mealtime favorite allows for endless creativity and experimentation. “The sky’s the

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STACY NEWGENT

The total package: Salads that go beyond the confines of the traditional and highlight seasonal ingredients prove a perfect pairing for artisan pizzas and local wine or beer.

limit when it comes to ingredients—we’ve done everything from puffed quinoa to flavored popcorn,” Herald says. “Any nut or dried fruit is always an option, and I’ve recently been using crystallized ginger and cocoa nibs.”

As far as proteins, he adds, “lean meats usually do best, since, when people are eating a salad, they are generally trying to eat somewhat healthily. We source a significant amount of our proteins from local producers.”

Lee Collier also uses local and seasonal ingredients for cold, crisp salads that pair nicely with hearty, cheesy pizza.

“It’s important to hit as many flavor profiles as possible— sweet, salty, savory—while incorporating quality cheeses and paying attention to texture,” she explains. “You want to create a good balance.” A winter citrus salad at Katie’s is a case in point: Sweet blood oranges are teamed with peppery arugula, pungent Gorgonzola, and mild endive.

In summer, a watermelon salad combines ricotta salata, pine nuts, basil, arugula, kalamata olives and balsamic vinaigrette for a burst of complementary flavors and textures in every bite.

Like Herald, Lee Collier enjoys using her pizza oven to enrich the flavor of salads. To create from-scratch croutons, for example, she will cut housemade ciabatta into small cubes and toast them in the wood-fired oven with extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings. Lozoff, too, says that vegetables are often prepared in SPIN!’s ovens to boost flavor; its Greek salad features artichokes roasted with garlic, adding “subtlety in layers,” she says, which is key to gaining customer approval and “creates a signature taste profile.”

SPIN! provides perfect examples of how to amp up classic salads with just a few thoughtful touches. Even with only six salads on the menu, Lozoff notes that almost

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everyone who orders pizza also buys a salad accompaniment. SPIN!’s best seller is its take on the house salad, but this version is anything but boring: The Sonoma combines red leaf lettuce, spinach, grapes, raisins, apples, goat cheese, chopped glazed pecans (cooked in the pizza oven) and Blood Orange Vinaigrette. “People love classic flavors, like a Greek or spinach salad, but they look for how you make them interesting by putting your spin on that salad,” Lozoff says. “How do you become the best at making that kind of salad? It’s about paying attention to the details.”

DRESSING UP Finally, don’t forget the dressings. Food suppliers now offer a wide variety of high-end bottled dressings, so your kitchen staff doesn’t necessarily have to make great dressings from scratch anymore. According to a 2014 report from leading global information company The NPD Group, ranch is the top ready-to-use dressing flavor shipped to foodservice outlets. Described as “the Swiss Army knife of salad dressings,” ranch “holds double the share of dollars and units shipped than blue cheese dressing, which holds the No. 2 spot in the ready-to-use salad dressing category.” Other flavors on the rise include honey Dijon, Asian peanut and a number of different vinaigrettes, according to the report.

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“The sky’s the limit when it comes to ingredients— we’ve done everything from puffed quinoa to flavored popcorn. Any nut or dried fruit is always an option, and I’ve recently been using crystallized ginger and cocoa nibs.”

—Tyler Herald, Napolese Still, many chefs relish the challenge of developing housemade dressings. Herald loves combining sweet and acidic flavors by experimenting with gastriques (a reduction of caramelized sugar and vinegar). Lee Collier favors simple dressings with acid-and-oil bases, topping salads with balsamic vinaigrette and a honey drizzle, goat cheese vinaigrette for a creamy option, or tangy mustard balsamic vinaigrette. “The right salad and dressing really bring out the flavor of pizzas, and people enjoy the combination,” Lee Collier concludes. “Your salads should always match how good your pizzas are.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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Raising The Bar Experts share the must-haves and best practices for equipping and running a moneymaking bar.

By Tracy Morin

D

Displaying both familiar and lesser-known liquors behind the bar encourages patrons to upgrade their cocktails.

elicious pizza may draw customers to your restaurant, but once they’ve cleaned their plates and wiped their mouths, they typically head straight for the door. Adding a bar—especially a full-service one with beer taps, Bacardi and Black and Tans—means they won’t be in such a hurry to leave. And considering the profitability of beverage sales, the longer they linger, the more money you’ll make.

Before you decide to add a bar to your operation, you’ll need to consider some critical points: What drinks will you serve—wine and beer only, or cocktails as well? How will the bar mesh with and reinforce your brand? How much volume do you anticipate? How much space can you allocate for the bar itself, as well as for storage and equipment? All of these decisions will help you design the best bar for your

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800 DEGREES NEAPOLITAN PIZZA

At 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria in Los Angeles, proper layout is key for maximizing bar staff productivity and improving the customer experience.

operation. For those at the beginning of the process, our experts share some of the must-haves and best practices for running a successful bar. Belly up!

THE GLASS CEILING Selecting the right glassware for your operation depends on the types of beverages you’ll serve. If you sell high-end craft brews, you might want to consider specialty glassware; if you do a booming summer business, you might need glasses for tropical frozen drinks. “It all depends on your drink menu, which also requires you to look at volume and space—how many customers do you think you’ll serve?” says Nico Hendi, principal at Studio Kontekso, a restaurant-industry design group in Costa Mesa, California. “This will also help determine the amount of glassware you’ll need, as well as what you need for liquor inventory and storage.”

Los Angeles-based 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria (800degreespizza.com), which has seven locations nationwide, uses custom-branded paper cups for its self-serve soda machines, while locations with beer and wine stock pint glasses and stemless wine glasses, says founder Anthony Carron. But its full-service bar in downtown Los Angeles also stocks cocktail basics, including martini, highball and rocks glasses.

You’ll also need to consider washing requirements for the glassware. At 800 Degrees, for example, the local 70

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

Specialty glassware can be a sound investment for bars that offer highend cocktails.

health department requires a three-compartment sink at the bartender’s station, with a 12” drain board on each side, taking up about 4’ to 6’ of space. A separate dishwasher is located in the back of the house. You can also keep an automated glass washer under the bar if you have space (typically, 24”); during slower periods, bartenders and barbacks can pitch in to wash glassware. As far as optimal placement of the washing area, Hendi recommends keeping it to the side of the bar that’s least busy. If you have two bartenders, he says, place it in the middle, where both can have easy access.

“The tricky thing in most bars is having pick-up and drop-off areas close to each other,” adds Noah Ellis, co-founder of Vice Food & Beverage in Los Angeles, which designed the full bar at 800 Degrees’ downtown Los Angeles location. “If you have to walk glasses from

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Displaying beers allows customers to peruse your brands and potentially try something new.

one area to another, make sure it’s the used glasses and structure the bar so the service well is as close to the pickup area as possible.”

ON ICE There are many ice shapes and sizes, but 800 Degrees utilizes a standard ice cube machine, with pieces that are flat on one side and slightly rounded on the other.

“This shape is really efficient for ice machines to make,” Ellis explains. “It’s solid, not hollow, and the machines can produce a lot without a big footprint.” You can also

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“How many brands you carry depends on your location— there is no magic number, but I would plan for 70 to 100 products, including different cordials, well brands, big brands, bitters, etc.”

—Noah Ellis, Vice Food & Beverage choose a machine for 1” cubes with no divots, but they take up more space and tend to be more costly. Standard machines fit in a 24” space, but machines that make 1” to 1¼” cubes take up at least 40” of space, Ellis notes.

“Determine how important your specialty cocktails will be when you’re making those decisions,” he advises.

Because ice machines are bulky (about 5’ wide) and less visually appealing, they’re best kept in the back of house, Hendi adds. They also generate significant heat, which will overwork your HVAC system and make patrons uncomfortable if placed in the bar area.

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Bar supplies should be arranged to give employees easy access for speedier pours.

THE HARD STUFF When designing a full-service bar, consider how you’ll arrange your inventory. You might choose to display high-end liquors or champagnes, or particular types of liquor. For example, at the 20’-long bar in 800 Degrees, the back bar is mirrored and framed by glass shelves, which display classic Italian aperitifs and digestifs, such as Campari and vermouth.

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Your most-used bottles should be placed in the speed rails attached to the jockey box (the ice bin), alongside your ice and mixers, while top-shelf spirits are often displayed behind the bar, according to Hendi. “On the very top shelf, we often put dummy bottles, because bartenders can’t reach them,” he says. “You can store inventory at the bar, but the bulk of inventory will be stored in a liquor room in the back. Stock the bar with what you’ll need for the night, then replenish at the end of the night for the following day.”

At 800 Degrees, a couple of shelves also display high-quality, well-known spirits—including big-name brands that are familiar to customers. Meanwhile, stocking lesser-known brands provides value for guests and allows Carron to offer happy hour specials while maintaining profits. “Well and specialty cocktail items stay in rails off the ice bins, but every product is displayed,” says Ellis. “How many brands you carry depends on your location—there is no magic number, but I would plan for 70 to 100 products, including different cordials, well brands, big brands, bitters, etc.”

The Bar Manager’s Cheat Sheet Noah Ellis, co-founder of Vice Food & Beverage in Los Angeles, suggests the following setup must-haves for every bar, per well/jockey box: 1 lime juicer 1 lemon juicer 3 metal jiggers (½ x ¾ oz.)

3 metal jiggers (1 x 2 oz.)

3 steel knob bar spoons 4 18-oz. weighted cocktail shakers 4 28-oz. weighted cocktail shakers 2 3.5”-4.5” conical stainless steel strainers 4 Hawthorne strainers 3 julep strainers Training and monitoring staff helps keep pours consistent and minimizes waste.

Ellis recommends carrying one major gin brand (such as Tanqueray); two whiskeys (Jack Daniels is popular); a bourbon (Maker’s Mark or Jim Beam); two single-malt scotches from different regions (Macallan and Glenmorangie); a blended scotch (Johnny Walker); a couple of high-end vodkas (Belvedere, Grey Goose or Ketel One); and tequila (Patrón). “We offset those premium brands with lesser-known brands so that guests can choose how much they want to spend,” Ellis explains. “If you have local brands that are well-known or gaining traction, it’s a good practice to bring them in—they can send business your way.”

When serving liquor, you should measure pours to maintain consistency and minimize waste. While there are now high-tech systems that measure pours remotely, our experts believe old-fashioned training is key. “Standard modern jiggers are cheap, work well, and never break,” Ellis says. “If you know you’ll do a ton of volume, you can do an electric or magnetic pour controller, but they get really expensive—and you have to maintain those systems. I prefer traditional jiggers from cost and consistency standpoints.”

Hendi recalls one client that paid $30,000 for a wireless pour system, but it never quite worked properly.

2 tempered pint glasses 1 muddler made from food-safe plastic 8-12 750-mL clear glass caret bottles with screw tops (for storing juices, simple syrup, etc.)

(If possible, stock 1 extra of everything above, just in case.)

“High-volume pub-type environments ultimately lose money on pour-control systems because they slow down the bartender, versus a free pour,” he explains. “Monitoring bar staff and proper training are better investments— but systems that control the pour can work well for a smaller operation.” Regardless of the control methods you choose, evaluate your potential cost savings beforehand and put systems in place to monitor liquor inventory.

For cocktails, Ellis says, you’ll need additional equipment: a jockey box, which attaches to a bottle rail; ice scoops (made from plastic, aluminum or stainless steel); shakers (metal or glass); stirring spoons; boards; paring knives; and/or a blender for frozen drinks. “Most highvolume places don’t want to deal with blended drinks because they’re so time-consuming for the bartender, but they can work in sit-down restaurants,” Hendi says.

“You shouldn’t need more than one blender station unless you’re doing margarita nights!”

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800 DEGREES NEAPOLITAN PIZZERIA

$

The bar at 800 Degrees’ downtown Los Angeles location energizes the pizzeria at night and increases profitability.

Pizzeria operators may choose to offer big-name beer brands alongside local or craft brews on tap.

SOFT TOUCHES Even if you offer only beer and wine, analyze your customer base and concept to make the most of your bar program. For example, six taps in 800 Degrees always feature Peroni (keeping with its Italian theme), one light domestic and four craft options; eight to 10 bottled beers rotate and skew toward craft brews. But a casual pizzeria should stock more big-brand domestics. “You want to have a complementary price point from your beverage to your food,” Ellis suggests. “Stay in line with your local area and capitalize on local brands. It’s nice to present new things to customers, but nobody likes being told what to drink.”

Under-the-bar kegs work well for smaller locations, while bigger venues store kegs remotely, with lines running to the taps. “A 5,000-square-foot restaurant with 10 beers on tap wouldn’t use under-the-counter draft systems,” Hendi notes. “But a couple of beers on tap can be handled under the counter—and they’re cheaper as well, because you need a walk-in cooler for a remote system.”

Under-the-counter keg storage is more manageable; it’s easier to clean the lines, and there’s less waste, Ellis adds.

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“High-volume pub-type environments lose money on pour-control systems because they slow down the bartender, versus a free pour.

Monitoring bar staff and proper training are better investments.”

—Nico Hendi, Studio Kontekso

He recommends remote setups only for huge volumes— if beer will be 20% to 25% of sales, for example. Also, set aside proper storage space for inventory. “You need about 48 linear inches, or 4 linear feet, of storage space per well, though it depends on if you have a walk-in or other storage,” Ellis says. “You’ll use a couple of shelves for glassware, mixers, beers and bottled wine.”

Meanwhile, you can typically obtain soda guns from the soda company you partner with, which will pay for the gun, lines and installation, Hendi notes. “You will need a bag-in-box room for your syrups,” he adds. “If backof-house space is an issue, half-size CO2s can be placed under the bar, but the tanks will need to be changed more often.”

Ellis also recommends high-quality mixers for cocktails, including juices (grapefruit, orange, lemon, cranberry, pineapple, and/or tomato for Bloody Marys) and sodas (tonic, club, cola, diet cola, and lemon-lime). As with any new menu items, keep an eye on what sells best—and what your customers could do without.

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

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 Ryan Schroeder became a pizzeria owner at 18, and the stress led to bad habits that affected his health and weight.

Now he’s running, biking and swimming regularly as he trains for Ironman competitions.

IRONMAN

IN TRAINING Ryan Schroeder, a Papa John’s marketing manager in South Chicago, has burned off the flab and revitalized his pizza career by training to be a triathlete. By Andy Knef

R

yan Schroeder, 33, has two great passions in his life right now: pizza and training for triathlons.

Currently the marketing manager for four Papa John’s (papajohns.com) locations in the South Chicago market, Schroeder started his pizza career at age 15, washing dishes and sweeping floors in a small pizzeria, Two Friends Pizza, in his Illinois hometown of Manteno, 40 miles from the Windy City. Today, during a typical weekend workout, the triathlete-to-be journeys three hours on a bike, runs for an hour and a half, and swims for 50 minutes, getting ready for his next competitive challenge—Ironman Louisville, a late-season race held October 11 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Schroeder’s weekday workouts are shorter, but still highly intense, with alternating three- and five-mile runs and more swimming and biking on the days he doesn’t

hoof it. “I’m following a pretty rigorous workout regime my brother (also a competitive runner) shared with me,” says Schroeder, who describes himself as a “regular pizza guy turned Ironman.” He adds, “Pizza has been a way of life for me since I was a teenager reading PMQ Pizza Magazine and just starting out in the business.”

A PIZZERIA OWNER AT 18 Schroeder was still a wet-behind-the-ears, hard-working 18-year-old when his bosses offered him ownership of the Manteno pizza store. Succumbing to the stress of owning a restaurant, he soon found himself putting on weight and falling out of shape. “I didn’t know the first thing about POS or labor costs,” he concedes. “I learned everything the hard way, and one of the first things I learned is that running a pizzeria is not always conducive to a healthy

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(Left to right) A “regular pizza guy” by day, Ryan Schroeder takes on his first triathlon June 7; Schroeder (left) relaxes with a friend at a 26.2-mile full marathon event in San Francisco.

lifestyle. It’s difficult to manage your time. You work a 15-hour shift, and all you have time to eat is the pizza that’s in front of you. You go to bed late, get up early, and do it all again the next day.”

Schroeder says he started out as a new pizzeria owner weighing in at a stocky 200 pounds, but he shot up to 275 in four years on the job. Not surprisingly, the physically arduous work led to severe back problems. Subsequently, the lack of mobility caused Schroeder to cut back on his daily activities, and he became trapped in what seemed like an unavoidable vicious cycle of weight gain and deteriorating physical and mental health.

But the young man loved the pizza business and didn’t want to give it up. To reduce his stress level, Schroeder eventually closed down Two Friends Pizza and transitioned into general manager positions at pizza chains in the Chicago area. During the first decade of the 2000s, Papa John’s was emerging as a strong competitor to heavyweights Pizza Hut and Domino’s. The admittedly ambitious Schroeder wanted a piece of Papa’s action, and he joined the company in 2010. Despite the demanding nature of his new gig—mega driving miles and occasional 80-hour work weeks—the athlete trapped in a big man’s body made another decision: He would start moving and get fit.

“I started working out and discovered that I enjoyed running,” he says. “At first I had no real plan—I just did anything I could, lifting weights and running. I started 80

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

getting control of my weight, and even my back issues improved. In 2012, I competed in my first half marathon in Chicago. I was hooked.”

CELEBRATING THE HUMAN SPIRIT Schroeder thrived on the intense training required to prepare for competitive races. He also immediately noticed certain parallels with the pizza business. “Building a store is very similar to building your body while training for a big race,” he says. “Every bit of effort you put into it today will help you succeed in the upcoming months and years.”

After his first half marathon in Chicago, Schroeder headed to the West Coast in 2014 for his first 26.2-mile full marathon in San Francisco. He finished that race in a respectable four hours and 55 minutes and then bested that mark in the Washington D.C. Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon in March. Despite running the entire race hurdling puddles in a driving rain “that waterlogged my shoes, added 15 pounds to my running weight and threatened me with hypothermia, I finished in a time of four hours and seven minutes,” he recalls.

Schroeder takes on his first triathlon June 7 in Hammond, Indiana. He’ll run, swim and bike Leon’s World’s Fastest Triathlon with a five-member team of colleagues wearing Papa John’s T-shirts.

Finishing a competitive race, no matter what your time, is a thrilling celebration of the power of the human spirit, Schroeder says. “I want people, especially in our industry,

Despite a cold, driving rain at March’s Washington D.C. Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon, Schroeder finished in four hours and seven minutes.

to understand that, even while making and selling pizzas for a living, if they put their minds to it, they can truly accomplish anything. I have struggled with weight and back issues most of my life and understand how hard it is to stay on a diet. Heck, I can have free pizza every day, and I usually do. But I know the key to a healthy lifestyle is eating responsibly and exercising regularly.”

Schroeder weighed between 250 and 270 pounds for most of his life, he notes. The 6’ pizza executive now weighs in at a healthier 223 pounds and expects to trim

down to about 180 by this summer. “I recently became single, and I don’t want to revert back to the bar scene,” he says. “I’m absolutely doing this to look better and be part of a training process at the same time. My life is my work. I have a huge passion for the pizza business.

I want to build that same passion for the Ironman and fitness training.”

Schroeder knows that some people might consider training for and competing in a grueling ordeal like an Ironman race more akin to obsession than devotion.

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Schroeder has been training for his first triathlon, Leon’s World’s Fastest Triathlon, to be held June 7 in Hammond, Indiana.

Participants are known to risk heat exhaustion, drowning and broken bones. But he refuses to let any headwinds slow him down. “Mostly the nonhealthy people I know think that way,” he says, candidly. “Others who try to live a healthy lifestyle themselves understand what it takes to stay fit in mind and body. I’m not obsessed. I take days off and still eat my favorite food—pizza. For me, running is that sacred place I can go to and unwind from a hard day’s work. These days, as I prepare for the Louisville Ironman, my one-hour morning swim helps me focus on the work challenges ahead.”

Schroeder is confident that he’ll someday own a Papa John’s franchise. With the experience he has gained since his days as a struggling teenage pizzeria owner, he strongly believes that the pizza industry and healthy living are mutually inclusive worlds. To build a strong foundation for his career goals, he plans to compete in two triathlons and one marathon every year. For Schroeder, not training and competing would mean returning to a reality he can’t afford to revisit. “My natural state, without exercise, is to be a heavy guy,” he says. “If I don’t race, I won’t work out, and if I don’t work out, I won’t be healthy.”

Andy Knef is PMQ’s associate editor.

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Steve GREEN Publisher

IPASTA’S CHLOE PASTA MIXER ATTACHMENT Now you can easily make your own pasta with IPasta’s Chloe Pasta Mixer Attachment, as shown here at the Thunderbird Mixer booth. It looks simple, like a fun toy, but this powerful accessory can produce up to 30 pounds of pasta per hour just by attaching it to any mixer with a hob! Separate your place from your competitors by adding freshly made pasta to your menu. Idea Pasta, pastabiz.com, 415-621-1909, Thunderbird, tbfm.com, 866-764-9377

PROTEAM COMMERCIAL VACUUMS We have had a ProTeam vacuum for years, and the new smaller compact design instantly caught my eye at NAFEM. The redesigned Super HalfVac Pro provides versatility and performance, while weighing in at only 10.5 pounds. This vacuum features a harness system for user comfort and maximum productivity. proteam.com, 866-888-2168 86

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Steve GREEN ALLIED METAL SPINNING PANS If you’re going to add a new pizza to the menu, why not add one of the increasingly popular styles? According to Arlene Saunders of Allied Metal Spinning, the most popular local-style pans she is selling are the Grandma Pizza, Sicilian Pizza and Detroit Style Pans, in that order.

These pans were created for local pizzeria operators according to their exact specifications and have been perfected over time. All pans are made in America. alliedmetalspinningusa.com, 800-615-2266

Linda GREEN

Publisher

MARSAL & SONS Marsal & Sons, which was recently acquired by Middleby Corporation, has been such a friend to the pizza industry for almost 50 years and has an outstanding reputation for quality ovens and refrigerated prep tables. I am excited about the new acquisition by Middleby Corporation, because it opens up Marsal’s complete pizza system to the world with international distribution.

Co-Publisher

DETECTO PORTION CONTROL SCALES I’ve seen Detecto Scales at many shows, but I had the chance to get a demonstration of their newest line of portion control scales at NAFEM. These scales are designed to accommodate pizza with a rotating stainless steel platform and a built-in rechargeable battery that lets you move it around without the hassle of cords and build portion-controlled pizzas right on top of the scale. They also allow you to zero the scale after each ingredient to speed up the pizza build time and get it in the oven quicker. These things are durable and will easily pay for themselves with saved food costs. detecto.com, 800-641-2008

Tom BOYLES Account Representative

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Tom BOYLES Account Representative

GILES VENTLESS FRYERS Everyone knows how expensive vent hood systems are. The high cost prevents many pizzerias from offering menu items like wings, cheese sticks and chicken tenders unless they’re able to run them through a conveyor. Giles Food Service showcased its new lines of counter top ventless fry systems at NAFEM, along with several standalone ventless fryers. These fryers eliminate the need for both vent hoods and fire suppression because they’re built in. They are practically plug-and-play—just plug it in and set your fry times, and you are off and running. gfse.com, 800-554-4537

THE TURBO CHEF FIRE OVEN The Turbo Chef Fire Oven is one that pizzeria owners need to check out. With cooking temperatures up to 842°F and independently controlled top and bottom convection heat, the Fire can cook 14” fresh dough pizzas in 90 seconds and can provide an artisan hearth-style pizza option for operators with conveyors who want to expand their menu. Another advantage is that it has a very small footprint, does not require vent hoods and is basically “plug-and-cook.” Available in a variety of colors, the Fire Oven is also a great option for a dedicated gluten-free oven. turbochef.com, 800-908-8726

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Pop Quiz A

mong its many contributions to Western culture, Italy gave us Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and pizza. More recently, the popularity of pizza has spawned a new art form that those two famously eccentric geniuses likely never anticipated: the pizza portrait, a technique that transforms a plain pizza crust into a surreal, almost ghostlike image.

It might be a bit of a stretch to compare Domenico Crolla and Wilhelm Rodriguez to those great Old World masters. But the two pizzaiolos—Crolla owns Bella Napoli (bellanapoliglasgow.com) in Glasgow, Scotland, and

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2 4

5

Take our pizza portrait quiz at pmq.com/pizzaportraitquiz for a chance to win a $100 Visa debit card!

Rodriguez is proprietor of Papa’s Pizza in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico—are definitely pioneers in the burgeoning art form of pizza portraiture. They’re also friendly rivals who have parlayed their skills into popular acclaim and industry renown, using pizza art to promote their restaurants and attract more business.

We thought it would be fun to share the pizza artists’ masterpieces and test our readers’ knowledge of celebrity culture in the process. Take this quiz by snail mail or online, and you will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $100 Visa debit card!

6

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9 Image No. 1

££ Tina Turner ££ Andy Warhol ££ David Bowie ££ Bruce Jenner (Artist: Domenico Crolla)

Image No. 2

Image No. 5

££ George Michael ££ Chris Evans ££ Ricky Martin ££ Channing Tatum (Artist: Wilhelm Rodriguez)

Image No. 6

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££ Mickey Rooney ££ Spanky McFarland ££ Robert Blake ££ Jackie Cooper (Artist: Wilhelm Rodriguez)

Image No. 9

££ Mike Tyson ££ Kanye West ££ Floyd Mayweather ££ Vin Diesel (Artist: Domenico Crolla)

££ Emma Roberts ££ Joan Rivers ££ Keira Knightley ££ Emma Stone (Artist: Wilhelm Rodriguez)

££ Britney Spears ££ Justin Bieber ££ Miley Cyrus ££ Gene Simmons (Artist: Wilhelm Rodriguez)

Image No. 3

Image No. 7

Image No. 10

££ Beyoncé ££ Jennifer Hudson ££ Naomi Campbell ££ Janet Jackson (Artist: Domenico Crolla)

££ Rihanna ££ Nicki Minaj ££ Brandy Norwood ££ Aaliyah (Artist: Domenico Crolla)

££ Vince Vaughn ££ Adam Levine ££ Buddy Hackett ££ Domenico Crolla (Artist: Wilhelm Rodriguez)

Image No. 4

££ Amal Alamuddin Clooney ££ Tyra Banks ££ Princess Ameera al-Taweel ££ Kim Kardashian (Artist: Domenico Crolla)

There are two ways to take the quiz and enter the drawing to win the $100 Visa debit card:

dd Provide your answers in the spaces provided and mail the quiz to: Pizza Portrait Quiz, c/o PMQ Pizza Magazine, 612 McLarty Road, Oxford, MS 38655 dd Take the quiz online at pmq.com/pizzaportraitquiz.

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concept scalable to your event. The Whole Wheat and Garlic & Herb varieties attract health-conscious diners and foodies alike. The mini-cones make for delightful hors d’oeuvres for catering or an appetizer sampler.

PCI Frozen Foods will even help you get set up and running with a special offer. When you buy two cases, you will get a free oven rack to bake your cones in and a plexiglass display stand to showcase them. Unlike other pizza cone concepts, you can use your own ingredients that you already have in-store, and you won’t need to pay franchise fees or buy any new machinery. All you need is an oven that reaches 500°F and provides 6” to 7” of clearance.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

Does Your Website Video Have The Flavor It Needs to Sell More Pizza?

O

kay, so you’ve got the website. What’s that? No enthralling video on your home page? Sure, that close-up image of a delectable looking slice with the melted cheese is certainly enticing, but you gotta have some “sizzle” to complement that motionless pizza image. Something that makes the page pop. How about a website sideitem called ScribbleVoice™? You may have seen it—a video and soundtrack that tells a story by scribbling text, images and other eye- and ear-catching elements customized for a particular product or service. AudioMenu Creative Group brings this awesome service to the pizza industry through PizzaMakerMarketing.com.

You certainly don’t need to be sold on the benefits of adding video to your website. Just google the phrase. Here’s the problem: The consumer has been exposed to traditional video for too long. You need something unique. Plus, if the quality is professional grade, traditional video is way too expensive.

Poor quality video production? Well that just sets a standard that you can’t afford to risk. And if it doesn’t captivate your viewers immediately, they’ll just click away. Your video

needs to tell a story. It needs an opening, a middle and an ending. And a little bit of fun and humor doesn’t hurt either.

Heck, it’s pizza, and pizza is supposed to be fun! That’s what ScribbleVoice is all about.

We hear the feedback constantly: “I just kept watching to see what was going to pop up on the screen next!” Before they know it, the viewer has watched the entire video, about 2 minutes in length, and has an extra incentive to explore the website further, or better yet, go straight for the phone or your location to get their pizza fix! Pardon the pun, but it leaves a good taste in their mouth! Just ask Jeff Dodge of Ramos Pizza in Lincoln, Nebraska, about his ScribbleVoice video. “I like to try new stuff! We’ve had a lot of views, and it makes our website 100% more professional to have the ScribbleVoice video front and center.”

AudioMenu Creative Group is a leading provider of ScribbleVoice Videos, On Hold 123 telephone marketing programs and other services. Learn more at PizzaMakerMarketing.com or call 800-571-2499, Extension 301.

June/July 2015 pmq.com

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Taking the Heat Carlson’s unmatched anodizing and aluminum metal craft produces bakeware that can take the heat and stay in the kitchen. Carlson’s commercialgrade bakeware provides excellent performance every time and can be found in 2,500-plus restaurants worldwide. Check out their extremely durable and lightweight, non-warping CP-DRE pans. carlsonpans.com, 316-722-0265

Goodbye to Soggy Crust The MultiChef high-speed oven uses convection, direct infrared and Rotary Air Impingement to cook rapidly without microwaves. That means pizzeria operators can cook, toast, bake, melt and reheat items without sacrificing food quality. It has a small footprint and no hoods or venting, so you can serve an entire menu without expensive kitchen renovations! multichef.com, 800-348-2976

Do You Believe in Magic?

Wine in a Can Winestar offers award-winning French wines in single-serve canettes. These Chateaux wines, imported from the best wineries and perfectly preserved in special canettes, are ideal with pizza, pasta, meat, poultry, soups, salads and appetizers. Pizzerias can serve red, white or rosé by the glass without opening a full bottle and increase their tickets by 50% to 75%!. winestarUSA.com, 662-801-0878

Kids will love the Magic line of color-changing spoons, straws and cups from Frozen Solutions.

These items change colors— from pink to purple or white to blue, for example—when they are exposed to cold temperatures. They’re perfect for ice cream and frozen yogurt. Even better, Frozen Solutions offers customizable items just for your pizzeria. frozensolutions.com, 888-698-1711

Don’t Miss the FireShow The Original Hazelnut Spread People around the world enjoy Nutella, the original hazelnut spread. Nutella’s versatility makes it an easy addition to pizzeria menus. Pizza makers can use it to create delicious dessert pizzas, calzones and other menu items. Contact Nutella for recipes and more information. nutellafoodservice.com, 410-268-0030 ext. 259

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

New York Brick Ovens Company has introduced the FireShow, a gas-fired, revolving brick oven for super-high production and a consistent product. Features include a flame centered for a warm display, small footprint and high output. Easy to use and train on, it’s the oven of choice for the Pizza School of New York! 800-683-6053, nybrickovens.com

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE BULLETIN BOARD YOUR ONE-STOP BAG SHOP • UNBEATABLE BAGS AT UNBEATABLE PRICES

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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.

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24/7 SECURE ONLINE ORDERING

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Order online at www.deliverybagsdepot.com

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LET THE NEIGHBORS KNOW YOUR BUSINESS Ask About Our Direct Mail Services or EDDM The Most Affordable Mail Program Ever!

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Designed and Printed Fresh Daily

Menus • Flyers • Box Toppers • Postcards • Inserts • Door Hangers • Magnets • Banners • Lawn Signs

June/July 2015 pmq.com

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE BULLETIN BOARD

Do you know what your guests are thinking?

You can count on GMA Research for a quick, accurate, and affordable way to find out what your guests really think.

Our team of experts has specialized in foodservice and hospitality research since 1970.

For a free consultation on how GMA Research can help you, contact Don Morgan, Senior Partner.

don@gmaresearch.com (425) 460-8800

Equal Opportunity With Consistency & Fairness For All

The Equalizer Multi-Blade Rocker Knife

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Portion Control Size/Slice Options Over 40,000 In Use

Pizza Disks Consistent baking No Seasoning Easy to clean Model QDF

Embrace Equality Find out how online lloydpans.com/EQ

96

800-748-6251

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

THE PIZZA EXCHANGE BULLETIN BOARD

Want to GROW your franchise?

A well developed training system is key!

Put Pizzaskool’s on-line training to work for you!

19 courses on-line and ready to use.

Customer Service, Safe Delivery, Pizza Making, Sales Building.

Courses can be built to your specifications at an affordable price.

On-line training, testing, tracking and reporting.

You can’t grow a franchise without well trained people, Pizzaskool provides that training.

Contact pizzaskool today at 517.395.4765 or visit www.pizzaskooldemo.com

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pizzaskool

O N LY 1 5 S P O T S A V A I L A B L E !

RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY! SLICE OF AMERICANA:

AN INTIMATE CULINARY COMPETITION FOR THE AGES. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP FOR A COMPETITOR SPOT, PLEASE VISIT WWW.PMQ.COM/SLICE

SLICE OF

July 4th | Oxford, MS For spectator tickets, visit http://sliceofamericana.bpt.me/ For more information or to sign up to compete please contact Melanie at melanie@pmq.com or Brian at brian@pmq.com.

ADVERTISER INDEX JUNE/JULY 2015 Advertiser

Phone Website

Acorsa USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201-384-3007 . . . . . .

Aflac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

American Baking Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319-373-5006 . . . . . . .

AM Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219-472-7272 . . . . . . .

Antimo Caputo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201-368-9197 . . . . . .

AudioMenu Creative Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-571-2499 . . . . . .

Bacio Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855-222-4685 . . . . . .

Bay State Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-553-5687 . . . . . .

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

Ciao Tomatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201-368-9197 . . . . . .

Delivery Bags Depot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844-HOT-BAGS . . . . .

Delivery Bags USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-501-2247 . . . . . .

Detecto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-641-2008 . . . . . .

Edge Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-480-EDGE . . . . .

EMD Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973-706-5588 . . . . . . .

English Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916-638-9902 . . . . . .

EZ Dine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-853-1263 . . . . . .

Fontanini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-331-MEAT . . . . . .

Forno Bravo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-407-5119 . . . . . . .

Galbani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

GMA Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425-460-8800 . . . . . .

Grain Craft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423-265-2313 . . . . . .

Grande Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-8-GRANDE . . . . .

Harbortouch POS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866-286-8744 . . . . . . .

Hoshizaki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-438-6087 . . . . . .

HTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-321-1850 . . . . . .

La Nova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716-881-3366 . . . . . .

Liguria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515-332-4121 . . . . . .

Lloyd Pans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-748-6251 . . . . . . .

Manzo Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305-406-2747 . . . . . . .

Marsal & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631-226-6688 . . . . . .

Menu Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-250-2819 . . . . . . .

Micro Matic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866-327-4159 . . . . . .

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

Middleby Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-34-OVENS . . . . . .

MTI Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-348-2967 . . . . . .

NAPICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Neil Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-291-3862 . . . . . .

Nutella Food Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Our Town America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-497-8360 . . . . . .

Ovention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855-298-OVEN . . . . . .

PCI Frozen Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732-707-9009 . . . . . . .

PDQ POS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-968-6430 . . . . . . .

Perfect Crust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-783-5343 . . . . . . .

Pizza Skool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517-395-4765 . . . . . . .

Pizza Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855-BUY-OVEN . . . . .

Precision Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877-764-9377 . . . . . . .

Somerset Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978-667-3355 . . . . . . .

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

Tyson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Univex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-258-6358 . . . . . .

XLT Ovens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888-443-2751 . . . . . .

acorsausa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 aflac.com/smallbiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 abs1.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 ammfg.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 caputoflour.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57, Cover 3 pizzamakermarketing.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 baciocheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 35 baystatemilling.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 bellissimofoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 orlandofoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 deliverybagsdepot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 deliverybagsusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 detecto.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 edgeovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44, 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 englishmfg.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 ezdinepos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 fontanini.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 fornobravo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 galbanipro.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 gmaresearch.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 graincraft.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 grandecheese.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 iharbortouch.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 hoshizakiamerica.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 hthsigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 lanova.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4 liguriafoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 lloydpans.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 manzofood.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 marsalsons.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 themenuexpress.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 micromatic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 microworks.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 wowoven.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 MTIproducts.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 napics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 njfco.com/italian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 nutellafoodservice.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ourtownamerica.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 oventionovens.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 pcifrozenfoods.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 pdqpos.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 perfectcrust.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 pizzaskool.com/demo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 pizzasolution.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 pizzamixers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 smrset.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 stanislaus.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 bonici.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 univexcorp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 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.

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

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

CARD PROCESSING

Made by us from our own cows’ milk!

CHEESE

Mozzarella & More!

We ship anywhere.. giftboxes, orders, etc.

Call- 715-286-4007 www.gingerbreadjerseycheese.com COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE All The Tech Your Pizzeria Needs Tablet and Traditional Point-of-Sale • Integrated online & smartphone ordering •

• •

CALL FOR A DEMO TODAY!

Self Serve Kiosk ordering Automated customer loyalty marketing

800.750.3947 www.granburyrs.com

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/ June/July 2015 pmq.com

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE COMPUTER SYSTEMS: POINT OF SALE, CONT.

CUTTING BOARDS - EQUAL SLICE

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

Incredible Affordable Pizza POS! $

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

DESSERTS Request your FREE Nutella® Starter Kit* and learn more about adding Nutella® to your menu!

Call 410-268-0030 ext. 259 or visit www.nutellafoodservice.com/start for more information.

Your FREE Nutella® Starter Kit includes: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Nutella® Usage Guide Nutella® Information Guide Recipes Inspired by Nutella® Samples to inspire the imagination: - 6 Portion Control packs - 1 - 26.5 oz. Jar

For new customers only. While supplies last. ©Ferrero 2014 *

DOUGH

www.pointofsuccess.com

DeIorio Foods

@DeIorios

blog.DeIorios.com

DeIorios.com

pmq.com/Recipe-Bank/

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE DOUGH DIVIDERS/ROUNDERS

DOUGH TRAYS/PROOFING TRAYS, CONT.

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

DOUGH PRESSES, ROLLERS

800.835.0606 ext. 205 | www.doughxpress.com

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

Order online 24 hours at www.milleniaplastic.com, or call 407.804.1193!

Most items in stock ready to ship!

DRESSINGS

BRIANNAS

®

Your New Favorite Topping!

Visit BriannasSaladDressing.com for Recipe Ideas! © 2015, Del Sol Food Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

FLOUR, GLUTEN-FREE

Premium Gluten-Free Blends & Baking Mixes Since 1993 Let us simplify your gluten-free needs and create the quality your customers crave.

Tel: 310-366-7612 E-mail: sales@authenticfoods.com Web: www.authenticfoods.com

DOUGH TRAYS/PROOFING TRAYS

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 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

June/July 2015 pmq.com

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE FLOUR , CONT.

GARLIC SPREAD

GELATO

True Artisan Gelato

(888) 316-1545 www.stefanosgelato.com

GLUTEN-FREE W H PRODUCTS O L E S O M

Full line of Flour: Pizza, Pasta, Bread, Pastries, Gluten Free, & Whole Grains Imported Exclusively by: Manzo Food Sales, Inc. Tel. (305) 406-2747.........www.manzofood.com

E

&

D E L I C I O U S ™ WHOLES

OME & DELICIOUS

™

Premium Gluten-Free Blends & Baking Mixes Since 1993

FOOD DISTRIBUTORS

Let us simplify your gluten-free needs and create the quality your customers crave.

Tel: 310-366-7612 E-mail: sales@authenticfoods.com Web: www.authenticfoods.com

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

KIDS MARKETING

Build Your Family Business Keep Kids www.kidstar.com 1-888-543-6368 Happy

FRANCHISING Should You Franchise Your Restaurant?

Children’s Placemats • Kid Menus • Kid Cups • Crayons • More

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

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE MAGNETS

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE MIXERS, CONT.

OLIVES, CONT.

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA BOXES

PIZZA DELIVERY THERMAL BAGS, CONT.

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PIZZA OVENS CONT.

PIZZA OVENS CONT.

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PRINTING, CONT.

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THE PIZZA EXCHANGE PIZZA INDUSTRY RESOURCE GUIDE PRODUCE

SAUCE, CONT.

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PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

SECURITY

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PIZZA HALL OF FAME www.pizzahalloffame.com

(Left to right) Customers enjoy slices in the 1940s; Regina Pizzeria was a hit from the start thanks to its residential location.

Regina Pizzeria The Polcari family segued from grocery store to pizzeria ownership, later making a name for their pizzeria with a 10-story-high banner and curbside service. By Tracy Morin

I

n 1926, when Regina Pizzeria (reginapizzeria.com) opened its doors in Boston’s residential North End, the founding family bought wine, beer, tomatoes and cheese for the restaurant from the Polcari family, headed by John Sr., who owned the grocery store across the street. By the early 1940s, the Polcaris purchased the pizzeria themselves, implementing their own family recipes into the business and starting with a small variety of toppings: cheese, mushroom, peppers, onions and anchovies. “Pepperoni came later, in the 1950s, and other recipes developed over the years as consumers’ palates changed,” recounts Anthony Buccieri, current COO and nephew of Tony Polcari, John Sr.’s son.

“But Regina was a neighborhood restaurant that was successful from the start.””

With a Neapolitan-style thin crust, tomatoes grown solely for the pizzeria, sausage crafted from a family recipe, and mozzarella made to specification, the business takes pride in maintaining consistency—not just on a day-to-day basis, but over nearly 90 years. As John Sr. passed the business to his sons, Tony, Charles and John Jr. (eventually succeeded by their son-in-laws, nephews and assorted family members), each ushered in changes big and small: the addition of air conditioning, switching the ovens from coal-fired to

gas, POS systems replacing pencil and paper. Its second location didn’t open until 1975—nearly 50 years after the company’s start—but today the Boston-area legend has 20 stores in two states. “What has made Regina Pizzeria successful over the years is having a passion for the product, great team members, and quality, quality, quality,” Buccieri asserts. “As the years went by, Regina became a historical pizzeria. People often say, ‘You haven’t been to Boston if you haven’t gone to Regina’s.’”

That’s not to imply the Polcari family has ever rested on its well-established laurels. In the 1980s, its biggest marketing coup involved a 10-story-high banner erected for the Boston Marathon that garnered the attention of the masses, while fundraisers, donations to nonprofits, a popular loyalty program, and curbside-to-go service at every location keep the business booming—with more growth planned for the future. “Our greatest achievement is the consistency in the product, which has been instrumental in Regina Pizzeria becoming an icon,” Buccieri explains. “Anyone who wants to start a pizzeria must have a great, consistent product—but you also must be willing to live for the business and have a passion for it, too.”

HAS YOUR PIZZERIA BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 50 OR MORE YEARS? IF SO, CONTACT US AT TRACY@PMQ.COM. 114

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Make Your Pizza Truly Italian!

Caputo New York Style Flour – Now Arriving in America!

WHY CAPUTO? For generations Caputo has been a leading choice among the best Pizza makers in Naples, the birthplace of pizza and it’s signature Neapolitan style. Now for those who pursue the highest-quality ingredients to “put the Italian back in pizza” In America, Caputo has created NY Style “00” flour.

New York Style is ideal for classic New York pizza in any oven.

It produces a flavorful crust with optimal hydration. The high quality protein and gluten result in a consistent dough.

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NY Style Item: FLOUPNY25 25 Kg bag (55lb) 50 per pallet

Links to Extra Content TURN THE PAGE FOR....

Featured Editorial: The Russians Are Coming!

In this bonus Q&A, Dodo Pizza founder Fedor Ovchinnikov shares some of his marketing secrets and talks about what makes the Russian pizza industry different.

Featured Video: Discover the high-tech wonderland of leading Russian pizzeria chain Dodo Pizza Featured Video: Learn how you can help A Slice of Hope founder Obaid Kadwani feed—and inspire—the hungry by sponsoring pizza parties in homeless shelters.

Featured Video: Adventures in Pizza: In a midwinter trip to Ohio, Brian Hernandez talks tough with Luke Zachrich, a MMA fighter and co-owner of a Mellow Mushroom store, and samples the award-winning fare at Samosky’s Homestyle Pizzeria June/July 2015 pmq.com

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THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!

In this bonus Q&A about Russian pizza chain Dodo Pizza, founder Fedor Ovchinnikov dishes on mayonnaise-based pizzas, guerilla marketing and taking on a fast-food giant. By Rick Hynum

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PMQ: The pizza industry is still in an early stage of development in Russia. How popular is pizza there?

Ovchinnikov: Of course, the Russian pizza market is less developed than the U.S., but that can be said of any market in Russia because private business dates back only 20 years. According to Russia’s Chamber of Commerce, there are 0.3 pizza stores per 10,000 people in our country, while, according to PMQ’s data, there are 2.1 pizza stores per 10,000 people in the USA. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that pizza is one of the most popular restaurant products in Russia. Russian housewives like to cook pizza at home, and that means pizza has already become a national product.

PMQ: What’s your background? What were you doing before you founded Dodo Pizza?

Ovchinnikov: I became an entrepreneur in 2006 when I opened a store specializing in intellectual and business books in our small city. All of the banks refused to give me a loan for the business, so I took a loan to refurbish my apartment and opened a bookstore instead. I didn’t have money for marketing, so I came up with the idea of making a reality show of my business. I started a blog where I described my profits and losses. People started talking about my store, and it became very successful. I understood that openness can be a very powerful tool, not only for bringing in customers but

“Dodo Pizza’s approach is very unusual for a Russian company. We continuously strive for improvement. We are crazy about efficiency.

Our approach to standards is fanatical. This is the only way to create a company that can compete with Papa John’s, Domino’s or Pizza Hut.”—Fedor Ovchinnikov, Dodo Pizza

Dodo Pizza operates a variety of stores, including delivery-only, dine-in and locations in shopping malls.

for me as well. Openness stimulates—it doesn’t allow you to do poor work; it makes you face the truth.

After the first bookstore, I built a chain, but it went under because of my aggressive development plans, lack of interest in paper books and the economic recession. In 2010 I quit the book business with no capital and started looking for a business that I could devote most of my life to. I chose pizza and fast food because this business can be scaled all over the world. We want to create an international chain and challenge big chains like Domino’s and Papa John’s.

PMQ: What makes Dodo Pizza different from your competitors in Russia?

Ovchinnikov: I think our main competitive advantage is the consistent quality of the product—both pizza and our service. We accomplish this through strict standards, strong management and our information system, which literally digitizes our business. In general, consistent quality is the main task of any fast food business, but Russian companies have poor practices in terms of management and systems. Also, our culture at Dodo Pizza is based on openness, which is a very big advantage. We are open to our customers, partners and employees. Our uncompromising attitude attracts customers. They are sure of our quality. They trust us.

PMQ: What are your most popular menu items?

Ovchinnikov: In Russia, mayonnaise-based sauces are very popular. Russians love mayonnaise! One of our most popular pizzas is the Ranch pizza, made with American-style Ranch sauce. Of course, pepperoni is popular, as are meat pizzas with large amounts of different meats. We also have a unique product called the

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Dodo Pizza’s direct-mail magazine appeals to kids with a recurring comic strip about Dodonaut, a child who goes on learning adventures around the world.

Dodster—our signature roll with tomatoes, chicken and mozzarella cheese, which is baked in the pizza oven. It accounts for 10% to 15% of our sales.

Direct mail is an essential marketing tool for Dodo Pizza, which publishes a regular “magazine”—including coupons, specials and company news—for its customers.

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PMQ: Tell us a bit about your marketing practices.

Ovchinnikov: We extensively use social networks in promoting Dodo Pizza, but the main tool for generating sales is direct mail. We regularly publish a pizza magazine in which we promote new products and showcase our main menu—we tell you about our company and its principles. The magazine has a special kids’ page featuring our Dodo Pizza hero, Dodonaut, a child who goes on educational adventures around the world. We publish this magazine for our entire chain and distribute copies within the delivery area of each Dodo Pizza store.

We also really like guerilla marketing—low-budget, creative solutions that make people talk about our pizza chain. For example, we started drone pizza delivery, and the whole country talked and wrote about it. We spent

PMQ Pizza Magazine The Pizza Industry’s Business Monthly

next to nothing on this campaign.

When McDonald’s came to our city, we rented a billboard 65 feet from its entrance and put up a banner one day prior to its opening. It shows our Dodster signature sandwich saying, “Welcome to Syktyvkar,” to a McDonald’s hamburger. We also announced in the social networks that we loved our customers so much, if there wasn’t enough room at McDonald’s grand opening, they could come to our restaurant with their McDonald’s food since our pizza store was just 1,000 feet away. Customers were surprised. They started visiting us with McDonald’s cups and took photos.

So a new McDonald’s opened near us, and our sales went up! In fact, we intentionally encouraged discussions about McDonald’s being our competitor, although we understood that we had different products and niches and there was enough room for everybody. As a result, all of the social networks talked not only about McDonald’s opening here—and this is a big event for a small Russian city— but also about Dodo Pizza’s prank.

“Interestingly, for me, pizza came from America, not Italy. It was ‘Home Alone’ where Kevin orders a large pizza or ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’.”— Fedor Ovchinnikov, Dodo Pizza

When McDonald’s opens a store in a Russian city, it’s a big deal. Dodo Pizza piggybacked on the buzz with a publicity stunt of its own, hanging a giant banner just 65 feet from the McDonald’s entrance.

PMQ: How important is digital media in your marketing strategy?

Ovchinnikov: Social networks and digital marketing play an important role at Dodo Pizza. We took to it like a duck to water, and we’re ahead of big, clumsy competitors because, while we enforce our corporate standards and methods, we let our franchisees show initiative on social media, and this individualized approach is a major success factor in social networks.

PMQ: Your blog is still a major marketing tool for Dodo Pizza as well. Why is it so popular?

Ovchinnikov: I write regularly in this blog. Its openness attracts people. We find partners, investors and suppliers through it. We write about our ideas, our problems, figures related to our business. This creates discussion and builds an audience. It’s a good tool for finding franchisees. We don’t look for franchisees—they read the blog, and they come to us. This way, we know that these people have the same spirit and the same approach as we do—they are eager to have a transparent business, to be customer-oriented and to make a perfect product.

PMQ: What is your earliest pizza memory?

Ovchinnikov: My first pizza memories come from childhood. They’re very warm. Pizza was one of the most desired products. In our family, my father prepared pizza, and it was a nice homemade pizza with

lots of toppings. There were little pizza stores in Russia, and a visit to one of them was an event! Pizza stores back then were a symbol of burgeoning entrepreneurship, an honest business where a person creates something from scratch. The first pizza chain in Russia was created by entrepreneur Vladimir Dovgan. I remember how he was offering his franchise on central television.

That was the first time I thought about opening my own pizza store. I imagined what the restaurant would look like, how I would arrange everything. I was 12 at the time.

Interestingly, for me, pizza came from America, not Italy. It was Home Alone where Kevin orders a large pizza or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

PMQ: What keeps you up at night?

Ovchinnikov: Sometimes I’m up because of the people. In Russia, there are not many people who really want to honestly work, improve and create something great. Dodo Pizza’s approach to work is very unusual for a Russian company. We continuously strive for improvement. We are crazy about efficiency. Our approach to standards is fanatical. People in our company really have to work hard. We understand that this is the only way to create a strong company that can compete with Papa John’s, Domino’s or Pizza Hut, and that’s where we aim.

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

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