flying high

From industry newbie to franchisee to CEO of millennial-friendly Stoner’s Pizza Joint, John Stetson knows how to create a buzz with dope Facebook marketing and old-school smarts.

BY RICK HYNUM | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY STONER’S PIZZA

Veteran pizzeria operators know their stuff, but some tend to get stuck in old habits or cling to outdated marketing strategies. That’s not a problem for John Stetson, CEO of Stoner’s Pizza Joint (SPJ) and owner of seven SPJ franchises in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. The founder and managing member of Sunset Bay Capital, a private equity firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Stetson is a latecomer to the pizza industry. But after years of guiding other companies through every stage of growth, from start-up to IPOs and mergers and acquisitions, he understands the core principles of business—and has proven to be a fast learner on the pizza side. So fast, in fact, that he took over the reins of SPJ as CEO in May 2020, not long after opening his first several stores.

Founded in 2013 and focused on the southeastern United States, Stoner’s Pizza Joint, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, launched its franchising program in late 2018. Stetson knew a strong brand with growth potential when he saw it. The edgy name and brand theme resonate with the millennial and Gen Z crowd—and pretty much anyone who likes to smoke a little weed now and then, legally or otherwise.

It’s a brand custom-designed for college towns and any market where marijuana has been legalized. But after Stetson got his first SPJ stores up and running, the pandemic hit, dine-in lockdowns went into effect nationwide, and Stetson was confronted with challenges he never expected. He talked with us about how SPJ weathered the COVID-19 storm and shared his ideas for marketing a lesser-known pizza brand through both old-school and digital strategies.

PMQ: How did you end up becoming a Stoner’s Pizza Joint franchisee?

Stetson: Some co-investors in other business deals I’ve had made investments in Stoner’s on the corporate side. They started to educate me on the economics. I’d always been looking to get into being a franchisee. I looked at some of the bigger brands, like Dunkin Donuts or Jimmy John’s. They have unbelievable brand names, but the cost to get in is quite a bit. This one, to me, was fun. It was something new—you can call it “millennial,” but it doesn’t have to be millennial. And I can use the cannabis movement a little bit in my marketing, although we don’t ever want people to think there’s actually CBD or THC in our recipes.

PMQ: So how did you make it through the pandemic while building up the Stoner’s brand?

Stetson: While many other restaurants here lost their dine-in service, they were scrambling to get delivery drivers, and some didn’t have Uber Eats, DoorDash and Postmates because so much of their business was dine-in. We were staffed up and actually hired a couple of new delivery drivers. We trained our staff on all of the safety and sanitization requirements. We designated a shift leader who is responsible for wiping down everything after each order and staying on top of employees washing their hands, and we put in a no-contact delivery system and curbside takeout. But 30% to 40% of our business was dine-in, so it was definitely a shift. We also waived our delivery fees and got aggressive with our specials. We added a large 14” one-topping special for $7.99. We definitely kicked up some specials to grow our customer base.

PMQ: What steps did you take to help your community get through this difficult period?

Stetson: Shortly after the pandemic started, we made a pledge to donate 10,000 slices to the community in Fort Lauderdale. After speaking to a couple of our employees, as a father of two young ones myself, I saw this need. Schools were closing, and people were scrambling to figure out what they were going to do with their kids, not only for daycare but also for meals. The best way we could help the community was to provide these lunches to children in need and families that counted on school lunches as part of their everyday food for their children. We donated slices to community centers, churches and daycare facilities. And that, in turn, spurred a whole bunch of support from the community who wanted to help out. Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces, eating a hot pizza and being with their family—you realize what that means to people.

PMQ: The pandemic was bad timing for everyone, but you were getting ready to open your fourth store at the time, right?

Stetson: We had two stores in Savannah, Georgia, and one in Fort Lauderdale, and I was opening a fourth in Warner Robins, Georgia. We were all set for our final health inspection and were targeting to open on April 1. This obviously put a halt to our plans. We had to hit pause and look at what kind of expenses we were taking on. It was also tourist season, so it was very, very tough timing. It was during the heart of Spring Break. We were gearing up for a big March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day. All of those are very, very big events that we were prepared for. We had to pivot and look for other ways to gain customers.

PMQ: How did you do that?

Stetson: It goes back to trying to reach new audiences, and that meant getting aggressive with social media and running specials and trying to get in front of new people who hadn’t tried us before. We expanded our delivery range out one mile further, waived our delivery fees and used specials to get them in the door. Maybe we don’t make money that first time, but I’m betting my product is something they’ll come back for down the road.