THINK TANK GETS A NEW DESIGN

PMQ’s Think Tank, the largest and oldest online forum for pizzeria operators, underwent renovation in late February, but it’s back and better than ever, with a new look, new features and new ways to stay connected to the pizza industry’s leaders and innovators.

No past content was lost during the transition to the new platform. All posts in existing categories, such as POS, Software and Technology, Marketing/Increasing Sales, Ask the Dough Doctor, Delivery Driver Discussion, Staff Problems and Praise, and others, are still readily available. Users will still be able to comment, answer questions and offer advice, and create their own posts.

If you already have an account and will be logging in for the first time since February 20, 2020, here’s what you need to do:

1. Visit thinktank.pmq.com.

2. Click “Log In” and enter your email address in the username box, then click “With Email.”

3. A notification email will be sent to your email account. Click on the link provided in the message, and you will be taken back to the Think Tank, where you can start posting.

4. To speed up future log-ins, you might want to create a new password for your account. To do this, click on your avatar on the upper-right side of the screen, then click on your username to open the user menu.

5. Click “Preferences” and then scroll down and click on “Send Password Reset Email.”

6. Return to your email account and check for the link with instructions for resetting your password.

The enhanced Think Tank has several new features, including the ability to share posts on social media, email post links to a friend, bookmark posts for later viewing, earn badges, and upload profile photos for your account. You can also receive live notifications when other users reply to your posts by clicking on Enable Notifications. The section called Cakeday even features users’ birthdays (if available) and Think Tank membership anniversaries.

To view all Think Tank categories and the most recent threads, simply start by clicking on the red box titled Categories. Past categories are now organized under Pizza Shop Talk. As always, we welcome your feedback and hope you will find your new Think Tank experience a rewarding and enjoyable one!

TRUE LOVE ISN’T CHEAP

When it comes to gift-giving, it’s the thought that counts, but spending a bundle doesn’t hurt either. That’s why Eureka Pizza, with 10 locations in Northwest Arkansas, created a Valentine’s Day pizza that sold for a cool $1,000. It featured 24-karat gold-encrusted Kobe beef, Madagascar vanillapoached lobster, crème fraiche, Camembert and Fontina cheeses, a white truffle and porcini sauce, shaved black truffle, goose liver pâté meatballs, and Russian caviar, all on top of a crust that was infused with saffron, chestnut honey and fleur de sel. For an additional charge, Eureka Pizza added Delafee chocolate from Switzerland, Gia Russa Alla Vodka sauce or Olli Salumeria Toscano salami. Orders for the pizza had to be placed 48 hours in advance, according to Rolf Wilkin, the chain’s owner, who pronounced the pie “the most delicious—and expensive—pizza you are ever likely to buy.”

Pizza My Heart Falls For Doordash

Los Gatos, California-based Pizza My Heart chose DoorDash to be its Valentine’s Day mate this year, and their sweetheart deal caused a local sensation. Pizza My Heart, which has multiple locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the third-party delivery powerhouse partnered on a promotion that garnered free coverage in The Mercury News. DoorDash paid for the first 1,000 heart-shaped pizzas ordered through its online delivery service, as long as the customer also placed an order of at least $15 and used the promo code HEARTPIZZA. Along with the freebies, Pizza My Heart promoted two-topping heart-shaped pizzas for $24 throughout Valentine’s Day week. Owner Chuck Hammers told The Mercury News that the holiday has become one of his shop’s busiest days, thanks to the growing popularity of heart-shaped pies.

In addition to offering 1,000 free heart-shaped pizzas through

Smarter Than The Average Bear

Provel cheese is nowhere to be found at Party Bear Pizza and Tiny Chef in St. Louis, but a fuzzy, Hawaiian shirt-clad mascot is always hanging around, ready to pose for pics with the Instagram crowd. Chris Ward, who co-owns the restaurant with Melanie “Tiny Chef” Meyer, purchased the 5’ stuffed animal on Craigslist with help from a crowdfunding campaign. Party Bear usually stands on a platform in front of a mural-covered wall for photo opportunities. Party Bear Pizza and Tiny Chef, which opened in the spring of 2019 and also offers a pinball area, is a collaboration between Ward, a pizza maker, and Meyer, who specializes in Koreaninspired street food. And their mascot is clearly smarter than the average bear—he also helps the owners advertise their specials, promote their frozen pizza brand and show off positive comments from their fans.

Poking Fun At Papa John

Villa Italian Kitchen, the cheeky Morristown, New Jersey-based chain known for creating the edible pizza bikini, poked a little fun at “Papa John” Schnatter with a one-day-only special called the Papa’s Pizza Pass. Schnatter, the ousted chairman and CEO of Papa John’s, claimed last November that he “had over 40 pizzas [from Papa John’s] in the last 30 days” and asserted, “It’s not the same pizza.” Schnatter later admitted in a podcast interview that he had only been “inspecting” the pizzas, adding, “I’m not eating every pizza. I may be eating parts of pizzas.” Villa called the Papa’s Pizza Pass “a new offer for authentic pizza lovers (and Papas) everywhere.” Customers who bought the pass received “40 classic Neapolitan Cheese Pizzas (the whole pizza, not just parts)” over 30 days for $50. And the chain noted that its pizzas “do not require hours and hours of ‘inspecting.’”

Snappy Tomato Waives Franchise Fees

The Snappy Tomato Pizza chain, headquartered in Fort Wright, Kentucky, announced in February that it will temporarily waive franchise fees for entrepreneurs who want to open their first Snappy Tomato store. Through the end of July, the company said, new franchisees won’t be charged the standard $15,000 franchise fee. The chain, which opened its first restaurant in 1978, is known for an oversized signature pie called the Beast, which is equal to three large pizzas. Currently boasting 47 locations in five states, Snappy Tomato hopes to accelerate its growth and double its total number of stores by making it more affordable to open a franchise in 2020. “We are excited to offer an incentive of this magnitude for our new franchisees,” said Jeremy Deters, Snappy Tomato’s president. “In waiving the $15,000 expense of the one-time franchise fee, we are looking to launch new owners in a ‘snap.’” Although franchise opportunities are available anywhere in the United States, Snappy Tomato plans to focus heavily on 10 states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

BUDDY’S JOINS FORCES WITH DOORDASH

Buddy’s Pizza, the originator of Detroit-style pizza and a member of PMQ’s Pizza Hall of Fame, has buddied up with industry leader DoorDash to offer delivery. The company said it had already seen off-premise sales grow to 41% of its business through DoorDash prior to finalizing the new partnership. “While the majority of Buddy’s business is dine-in, offpremise—including delivery—continues to be a key growth area,” Buddy’s CEO Burton Heiss said in a statement. “DoorDash allows our current customers to have their favorite pizza delivered while also introducing Buddy’s to a brand-new customer base.” In celebration, on February 7, Buddy’s offered free Original 4-Square pizzas to the first 250 patrons who placed a minimum $5 order through DoorDash using the promo code PIZZABUDDYS at checkout.

“We are most concerned about what comes out of the end of the oven

PAPA JOHN’S AIMS TO “CONQUER LUNCH”

Papa John’s has introduced a new flatbread offering, called the Papadia, in an effort to “conquer lunch” and boost its sales. Described as a “toasty, hearty alternative to the same old sandwich routine,” the Papadia sells for $6 at all U.S. locations.

The Papadia was inspired by the piadina, an Italian folded flatbread sandwich from Northern Italy. Touted as a sandwich-pizza combination, the Papadia comes in four varieties, including the Italian, featuring Alfredo sauce, spicy Italian sausage, salami, mozzarella and banana peppers; the Philly Cheesesteak, with sliced steak, onions, green peppers, mozzarella and Philly sauce; the Grilled BBQ Chicken & Bacon, with grilled chicken, bacon, onions, mozzarella and a sweet, smoky barbecue sauce; and the Meatball Pepperoni, with spicy meatballs, pepperoni, red sauce, mozzarella and Italian seasonings.

Papa John’s CEO Rob Lynch hinted at a new lunch sandwich in a November 2019 interview with Yahoo! Finance, noting, “The No. 1 thing our franchisees are asking for is to get our customers back and drive revenue, and we have a plan to do that.” He said the company’s strategy “has a lot to do with the product pipeline we are building with the core pizza menu and coming out with new ideas, things that we have never even looked at before that could help us penetrate new dayparts and drive business into parts of the day where our restaurants have a lot of capacity…I think we are going to conquer lunch first, and then we’ll start thinking about breakfast.”

As part of its comeback attempt after flat sales in the past couple of years, the chain recruited NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal as its first black member of the board of directors in March 2019. O’Neal, who owns nine franchises in the Atlanta area, praised the Papadia in a statement: “I can tell you, I couldn’t put down this new menu item that combines everything you love about pizza and sandwiches into one meal.”

Big chains are selling more pizzas than independent pizzerias — and it’s not because of the taste. It’s online ordering and marketing. We’ve taken their tools, like sites, apps, and ordering, and designed them specifically for shops like yours.