Shred &SAVE Marcus Medina of Hella Pie Pizza Co. found a way to control food costs without raising prices: shredding his own cheese. BY CHARLIE POGACAR
M
ARCUS MEDINA, OWNER AND OPERATOR OF HELLA PIE PIZZA CO. IN TRACY, CALIFORNIA, was recently facing a two-pronged challenge plaguing so many pizzerias across the country: His labor costs were going up, and so were his food costs. While many operators have raised prices multiple times over the past couple of years—and understandably so— Medina is built a bit differently than that. He saw it as an opportunity to be introspective and begin examining things he’d so long taken for granted about his pizza operation. “At the time, I was married to using pre-shredded cheese,” Medina says. “But as everything started going up in price, instead of just raising prices, I was looking at ways to save.”
DECEMBER 2023 | PMQ.COM
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