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It’s probably mid-December as you’re reading this in your restaurant. The holidays are wonky, up-anddown business days, right? Mother Nature throws curve balls at you nearly every day. Staffing is harder than ever. It’s been a long year, and you’re frazzled. It’s not just about great food any longer. You must be a great pizzaiolo AND know everything about tech, marketing and finance. It’s hard. We see you. Please take a moment. Deep breath. Exhale. Look around and give thanks for all you have. You. Are. Blessed. You got this! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Perfect Crust Family!
To learn more about Perfect Crust’s pizza liners and other products, visit perfectcrust.com or email Eric Bam at Eric@perfectcrust.com.
About Eric Bam:
Eric is the VP of Sales & Marketing for Perfect Crust Pizza Liners and Incrediblebags.com. Eric is a goal driven optimist that uses his positive attitude to lift up those around him. He’s a father to Nycholas, Alayna and Ruby. He’s a public speaker and show host. You can find him on all social media @TheEricBam.
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PMQ PIZZA | PMQ.COM
chicken, housemade ranch dressing and pickles, Mikey’s offers the Ma’s Mac edition, crowned with mac and cheese, as well as a vegan version called the Not Chicken, featuring housemade seitan, plant-based cheese and ranch. Family-owned Donatos, also based in Columbus, has a hot chicken pizza of its own, showcasing fried spicy chicken, smoked provolone, Romano cheese, jalapeños, dill pickles and a ranch drizzle. Meanwhile, Atlanta-based Your Pie, with about 70 locations around the U.S., rolled Donatos’ version of the out its own limited-time Nashville Hot Nashville Hot Chicken pie includes smoked provolone, Chicken pizza as part of its wintertime Romano, jalapeños and Craft Series in January. It’s topped with dill pickles. spicy chicken, pickles, red onions, housepickled jalapeños, mozz and Nashville hot sauce, plus a side of comeback sauce. Even Pizza Hut tried to score a Nashville-style hit, testing its Pickle Pie—combining crispy, breaded chicken breast sprinkled with Nashville Hot Seasoning, white onions, cheese, buttermilk ranch sauce and spicy dill pickles—at its store on 8th Avenue in New York City last spring. The catch? The pie was offered for just one weekend, from June 9 through 11. And we haven’t heard a word about it since. DONATO’S
The Dough
Chicken and Faraway Lands Chickens live nearly everywhere—they’re the most common bird on the planet. No wonder their meat tastes so good with just about every type of regional cuisine. Rapid Fired Pizza, with 25 locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia, recently debuted a Thai Chicken Pizza, topped with grilled chicken breast strips, Thai Satay sauce, shredded mozzarella, cheddar, red peppers, green onions, cilantro and a lime wedge garnish. What about the flavors of India? Butter chicken pizza has been ruffling feathers in Canada lately. Made with tender chicken thighs simmered in a spicy, creamy, tomato-based sauce called makhani, this Indian specialty is already hugely popular in Canada. So it was inevitable that companies like Ontario-based Rapizza, with eight locations, would suspect that butter chicken’s even better on a pizza. Rapizza’s version spotlights Tandoori chicken,
Rapid Fired Pizza took inspiration from the East for its Thai Chicken pizza. RAPID FIRED PIZZA