PMQ Pizza - August 2020

As plant-based proteins take root in the pizza industry, there’s a lot to learn about doing vegan pizza right. PAGE

A DISTRIBUTION PARTNER YOU CAN RELY ON

While many broadliners have cut back service and staff, Bellissimo Foods Company distributors are 100% committed to servicing the hardworking owner/operators that define our pizza industry. Bellissimo distributors are:

n On the front lines of distribution

n Never cut delivery days and ensure you have the products you need to stay in business

n Expanding sales to customers affected by COVID-19

n The best source for thousands of quality Italian and Mediterranean imported/domestic products

Visit BellissimoFoods.com to find a local Bellissimo distributor and discover the Bellissimo Foods difference in service and product knowledge.

Delivering Authentic Italian

During the pandemic have you been lacking service or support from your broadline distributor?

What’s your declaration of independence?

Grande is championing operators who have an independent spirit and shared passion for excellence. By providing the finest all natural, authentic Italian cheeses, along with an unwavering commitment to quality, we’ll continue to advocate for independents and their love of the craft.

PIZZA HUT’S LARGEST U.S. FRANCHISEE FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY

NPC International, Pizza Hut’s largest U.S. franchisee, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. NPC, which also owns nearly 400 Wendy’s restaurants, blamed its financial woes partially on poor performance by its 1,200-plus Pizza Hut stores, which account for 20% of the chain’s U.S. locations, as well as the coronavirus pandemic. The company said all of its Pizza Hut and Wendy’s stores will remain open during restructuring and that employees will continue to be paid, without any changes to their day-to-day job responsibilities.

PMQ.COM/NPCINTERNATIONAL

PIZZAREV HAS CLOSED MOST OF ITS STORES SINCE 2016

PizzaRev, the once-thriving fastcasual chain that attracted Buffalo Wild Wings as an investor in 2013, has closed more than half of its locations in the past four years and is down to just 13 stores in the United States.

PMQ.COM/PIZZA-REV-CLOSURES

THIS PIZZERIA OWNER BEAT THE CORONAVIRUS IN SIX-WEEK BATTLE

Over six “scary, life-changing weeks,” Tim Wylie, owner of Nat’s Pizzeria in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, waged a battle with COVID-19—and he was greeted with a hometown parade upon his discharge from the hospital.

PMQ.COM/TIM-WYLIE

DENVER’S RESTAURANT OLIVIA REINVENTS ITS BUSINESS MODEL FOR PANDEMIC

After opening in January as a pasta-focused Italian trattoria, the owners of Restaurant Olivia had to rethink their approach during lockdown. Now they’ve switched to a prix fixe tasting menu with pricing that varies according to day and time.

PMQ.COM/RESTAURANT-OLIVIA

NEARLY 90% OF CONSUMERS NOW ORDER RESTAURANT DELIVERY

A study conducted by Zagat found that 88% of consumers order delivery from restaurants, a 19% increase over the previous figure of 69% prior to the pandemic, with half of respondents saying they order delivery or takeout once a week.

PMQ.COM/ZAGAT-DELIVERY-SURVEY

ONTHE COVER

38

Going Vegan

Vegan and flexitarian diets offer a moneymaking opportunity, but some pizzeria owners face a steep learning curve. We asked leading influencers to share tips for doing vegan pizza right—and building customer loyalty in the process.

32 550 Pizzeria

48

52 The Carryout Game

60

20

The United States Pizza Team Turns

Idiot-Proof Ovens

Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann shares tips for adding IDY to your dough formulation—and taking full advantage of its long shelf life.

Accounting

As you make changes to your operations to survive the pandemic, you need to keep your accountant fully in the loop.

Chef’s

A past winner of the Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown, Churinetz now reigns as Memphis’ queen of the at-home pizza party.

PUBLISHER

662-234-5481

Volume 24, Issue 6

August 2020

ISSN 1937-5263

Steve Green, sg@pmq.com ext. 123

CO-PUBLISHER

Linda Green, linda.pmq@gmail.com ext. 121

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Rick Hynum, rick@pmq.com ext. 130

ART DIRECTOR

Eric Summers, eric@pmq.com ext. 134

SENIOR COPY EDITOR

Tracy Morin, tracy@pmq.com

IT DIRECTOR

Cory Coward, cory@pmq.com ext. 133

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH

Blake Harris, blake@pmq.com ext. 136

TEST CHEF/USPT COORDINATOR

Brian Hernandez, brian@pmq.com ext. 129

SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Ingrid Valbuena, ingrid@pmq.com ext. 137

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER

David Fischer, david@pmq.com

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Shawn Brown, shawn@pmq.com

ADVERTISING

SALES DIRECTOR

Linda Green, linda.pmq@gmail.com ext. 121

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Tom Boyles, tom@pmq.com ext. 122

SALES ASSISTANT Brandy Pinion, brandy@pmq.com ext. 127

PMQ INTERNATIONAL

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Vladimir Davydov, vladimir@pmq.com

PMQ PIZZA MAGAZINE 605 Edison St. • Oxford, MS 38655 662.234.5481 • 662.234.0665 Fax

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 9, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-9953.

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.

3240-2-G2 Series Double-Stack Gas

THE SECRETS OF INSTANT DRY YEAST

We normally use fresh yeast, but our supplier recently told us that only instant dry yeast will be available. We’ve never used instant dry yeast before. What do we need to know about this type of yeast when formulating dough for our pizza operation?

Instant dry yeast—or IDY, as it is commonly known—is typically used at 0.375% of the total flour weight. So if your dough is made using 40 pounds of flour and 1% compressed yeast (6.4 ounces), the amount of IDY used to replace the compressed yeast would be 2.4 ounces. Another way to look at it: You’ll want to use the IDY at 37.5% of the weight of compressed yeast that you are presently using. The best way to add the IDY is to just add it dry, right on top of the flour. No other changes need to be made.

One advantage of IDY is that it has a long shelf life—one year or more. Thus, it can be purchased by the case, possibly saving you some money on delivery costs at a time when every extra penny counts. It should be noted that IDY comes in vacuum-sealed bags. If the bag seal is intact, the bag will be as hard as a brick—and that’s a good sign. However, if the bag has been compromised in any way, it will be soft, and the

BY TOM LEHMANN

viability of the yeast will be unknown. If you ever receive a soft bag of IDY, just return it and ask for an exchange.

Once you’ve opened the bag, do not transfer the IDY to another container. Instead, just roll the bag down upon the unused yeast and secure it with a rubber band. If you will be using the entire contents of the bag within a couple of days, I do not recommend placing the IDY in the cooler for storage. Instead, a better approach is to just store it at room temperature (65°F to 75°F). Why? Because when leftover IDY is refrigerated, there is a high probability that condensation will form on it in the bag, which can have a negative impact upon the viability of the IDY.

Finally, keep in mind that there are different types of IDY for different applications. The one that we use in the pizza and bread making industries is referred to as the red-label IDY.

Tom Lehmann was the longtime director of bakery assistance for the American Institute of Baking (AIB) and is now a pizza industry consultant.

Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann shares tips for adding IDY to your dough formulation—and taking full advantage of its long shelf life.

THINK OF YOUR ACCOUNTANT AS A FINANCIAL SYSTEMS ADVISOR FOR YOUR BRAND

As you make changes to your operations to survive the pandemic, you need to keep your accountant fully in the loop.

BY MICHAEL RASMUSSEN

Q A

What role should my accountant play in my restaurant, beyond keeping up with the numbers?

Don’t just think of your accountant as a numbers person. Think of that person as the financial systems advisor for your brand. And don’t just think of your pizzeria as a business. Think of it as a brand; even if you own just one store, it’s still a brand, no different than a national franchise that’s been around for 30 years. Always think of it as a brand and promote it as a brand, since that is what creates your identity.

For most customers, eating out requires an entirely new decision process during the pandemic. They have to determine which pizza brand offers a safe dine-in experience or the best takeout and delivery options. With or without a pandemic, your brand needs to create a consistent experience to the greatest extent possible, and when you have to change that experience, this must be communicated both externally (to your customers) and internally (to your

employees). But there’s someone else who needs to know: your accountant.

When pizzeria owners picture their relationship with their accountant, they see themselves dropping off a box of materials at the latter’s office and just walking away. You receive a financial report and a tax return at the end of the year, but what about financial updates throughout the year?

On any given Tuesday at 10 p.m., how can you know what your financials look like? And with the pandemic still going on, your CPA also should be instrumental in providing any documentation required for SBA loans or grants you’ve received while leading the charge in new tax strategies.

If you have modified your brand to tweak your sales mix of delivery, takeout, dine-in or catering, your accounting reports need to be adjusted to properly reflect this new activity. You also will want to start generating new key performance indicators to help gauge your progress. These need to be adopted in your new modified brand immediately. And if you are a franchisor with multiple

owners, you need to institute a mandate requiring those owners to monitor progress more frequently than in the past. This means your accounting team needs to be up to date on any changes in your company and fully prepared to get the right numbers to the owners.

Again, your pizzeria is a brand, whether you’re a single-unit operator or a franchisor with 100 stores. You need to put systems in place that can be measured, especially if you have modified your operations since the pandemic started in early 2020. With dine-in capacity limited, you need to monitor your efforts daily and weekly—which will probably be more frequently than you’re accustomed to. There is no room for errors when the economy is so fluid—what works this week might not work next week. It’s of paramount importance to get your brand’s systems in place by working closely with your accountant.

The accountant’s job is to give restaurant owners a system in which they feel comfortable and in control of their numbers,

knowing those numbers are accurate and that they have an experienced accountant behind them whenever they feel like they’re in over their heads. By building relationships with our clients and always maintaining a positive attitude, we accountants provide a great contact point for any questions or issues related to your financial systems. When the owner feels in control and has constant access to their books, they can make informed, timely decisions about how to manage their business.

In conclusion, to strengthen your restaurant as a brand, your accountant needs to be involved in all aspects of your business and made aware of any and all changes to your brand and your operations. And in addition to preparing financial statements, they should assist you in compiling timely data to send to banks or third parties, like the SBA, for loan documentation or tax credit programs. Timely accounting data is critical during these times and must be made available securely.

Michael Rasmussen has been contributing to PMQ for more than 15 years. You can visit his website, hitechcpa.com, for additional insight into restaurant-specific tax strategies, accounting and technology programs.

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Ask us how we can make your life easier and improve your customer ’s experience during these difficult times. Our rapid response support team averaged almost 500 custom changes per week in April-June. As “the rules” changed for our clients, we updated messaging and call flow to minimize impact, maximize revenue. Let PizzaCloud do the same for your stores.

Maintain control, and get the calls off the front counters. For a small chain all you need is a large office at one location. Cut labor hours up to 50% and/or shift labor to lower cost regions while increasing average ticket . Eliminate the constantly ringing phones at the front counters! Tight integration allows calls to overflow to stores, so you can choose when to staff the call center.

The same tight integration, same detailed reports and call recordings in your hands, same ability to overflow back to the stores, but you let some one else hire and manage the staff. We can provide this service to you or work with your existing call center provider.

If you have any interest in call centers call us to discuss options or visit www.pizzacloud.net to register for a webinar.

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? GHOST DINERS!

Forget ghost kitchens—the dining room at Trattoria Da Luigi is haunted, but these spirits don’t want to scare anyone. They just want to keep diners separated at a safe social distance during the coronavirus pandemic. Luigi Cutraro, owner of the Royal Oak, Michigan, restaurant, credits his wife, Teresa, for the idea of mixing guest seating with ghost seating to enforce the 6’ rule. Every other table is occupied by spectral seat-fillers, consisting of white sheets draped around the chairs and broomsticks with balls for heads. Every ghost has a face, and some sport mustaches or wear sunglasses. Cutraro also featured food specials that only a ghost could love, such as the Calamari alla Casper and Braised Short Ribs alla Beetlejuice. “Our aim is to go above and beyond to keep our diners safe,” Cutraro told the Detroit Free Press, one of several media outlets that spotlighted the spooky diningroom ploy. “But we wanted to do it in a way that was really playful, so they can relax and enjoy their dining experience.”

RUNNING ON EMPTY

If the sight of an empty wine bottle makes you sad, cheer up: It will get you a dollar off your next pie at Angeli’s Pizzeria in Baltimore. The restaurant announced in a mid-June post on Facebook that it would award food discounts to anyone who brought in empty bottles for recycling. Fifteen bottles earn the customer a free large cheese pizza. The promotion started after the city announced it was suspending its recycling program. Since Angeli’s works with a private recycling company, owners Juniet and Mert Ozturk saw an opportunity to help customers reduce their carbon footprint. Good deeds are essential to the Ozturks’ mission in Charm City; Maryland State Senator Bill Ferguson even named the Ozturks “community heroes” in late May for providing nearly 2,000 pizzas to 8,000 frontline healthcare workers since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The dining room literally looks like a ghost town at Trattoria Da Luigi.

In addition to sending free pies to healthcare workers at Johns Hopkins Hospital and other medical centers, Angeli’s Pizza gives discounts to customers who bring in empty wine bottles for recycling.

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ATTACK OF THE WHITE CLAW

New York chefs claim their city’s water is the best for pizza dough, but Blaze Pizza executive chef Brad Kent has other ideas. He introduced a pizza crust made with Mango White Claw, a hard seltzer, for one day at 40 Blaze Pizza locations around the country. The June 18 special made national news, earning coverage from Business Insider, Delish, People magazine and other sites. Kent said the promotion started on a whim. “While sipping on a Mango White Claw, I thought, ‘Why not make dough with this instead of filtered water?’ Turns out it tastes great! After combining a few of our fresh ingredients, the final recommended topping list offers a balance of spicy and tangy, with a bit of tropical sweetness to balance it out.” He recommended pairing the crust with red sauce, shredded mozzarella, pepperoni, red bell pepper, pineapple, jalapeño and arugula. Kent might be on to something: As food scientist Kevin Ryan once explained to the Chicago Tribune, the bubbles in sparkling water create pockets of air that expand under heat, giving pizza crust a lighter, crispier texture.

MIDNIGHT AT LENA’S OASIS

Beach drinks won’t cure the coronavirus, but they make social distancing a lot more fun at Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap in Alexandria, Virginia. As other restaurants in the area reopened their dine-in services at half-capacity in June, Lena’s owner Dave Nicholas realized his bustling carryout/curbside pickup business was bringing in too much money to justify giving up the downstairs space for a small number of diners. Instead, he converted his upstairs deck into a tropical-themed pop-up bar and eatery with exotic plants and boat drinks that would make Jimmy Buffett drool. Replete with flowing white curtains, partitioning screens between tables and an abundance of plants, Lena’s Oasis—as the space is called—is open to customers by reservation only. Its beverage menu features tropical-style cocktails like the Raspberry Caipirinha, the

Mojito and the Italian Paloma.

Mango

A one-day special from Blaze Pizza, headquartered in Pasadena, California, featured a signature crust made with Mango White Claw, a hard seltzer, instead of water.

The owner of Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap transformed his upstairs deck to accommodate dine-in customers without losing space downstairs for a thriving carryout operation.

Like many of us, beloved mascot Chuck E. Cheese found himself stuck at home for several months as dine-in services closed down during the pandemic—a situation that ultimately forced the chain into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

After logging more than $600 million in sales in 2019, Marco’s Pizza has seen its year-over-year numbers climb by about 20%.

MARCO’S LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

Same-store sales have soared during the pandemic for Marco’s Pizza, the No. 6 chain in the United States, but president and COO Tony Libardi knows there is plenty more work to be done. With 900-plus locations, Marco’s logged more than $600 million in system-wide sales in 2019 and has seen its year-over-year sales climb by about 20%. In a podcast interview with QSR magazine, Libardi said he’s more focused on preparing for a post-pandemic, high-tech future. He believes nervous customers will want to see increased automation in restaurants and fewer touch points that could result in viral contamination. “You remove all those touchpoints, all those contact points, which I think consumers are going to expect moving forward,” Libardi told QSR. “Simple things like doors—reaching out and grabbing a handle. Are automated doors in our future across every retail and restaurant establishment out there? All those points have to be considered and either removed and automated, or at least [operators must create] a perception of safety for the guests when they’re grabbing that door.” Marco’s is now developing an automated kitchen, with machines adding sauce and cheese to dough skins and even slicing and placing pepperoni on the pies. The company has also opened its first ghost kitchen in Los Angeles. The 250-square-foot facility will allow Marco’s to produce more delivery pizzas for a minimal investment.

COVID-19 FORCES CHUCK E. CHEESE INTO BANKRUPTCY

Chuck E. Cheese’s parent company, CEC Entertainment, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which the company blamed on the financial strain of mass closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a statement released by CEC, many of its kid-friendly stores will continue to operate as the company reorganizes under the supervision of a federal bankruptcy court. CEC, which also operates Peter Piper Pizza stores around the country, had reopened 266 restaurants by June 24—roughly half of its total number of 555 company-owned locations. The company will continue opening additional locations each week. “The Chapter 11 process will allow us to strengthen our financial structure as we recover from what has undoubtedly been the most challenging event in our company’s history and get back to the business of delivering memories, entertainment and pizzas for another 40 years and beyond,” said David McKillips, CEC’s chief executive officer.

As the pandemic forced the closure of dine-in services, Chuck E. Cheese pivoted to carryout and take-home party kits for its young fans.

Ingredients matter.

You make careful choices about the ingredients in your food. WestRock makes careful choices about the ingredients in our boxes. We resource raw materials domestically and manufacture our boxes in North America to meet the highest quality and food safety standards.

westrock.com/pizza pizzaboxes@westrock.com

HOW &PIZZA STAYED PROFITABLE IN THE PANDEMIC

&pizza has always played by its own rules, from the & symbol stamped on every piece of merch to its oblong-shaped pizzas and founder Michael Lastoria’s Old Testament-style beard. So when the COVID-19 pandemic struck this spring, the company, which has nearly 40 stores in five states and the D.C. area, reacted with predictable unpredictability. As many chains laid off workers, Lastoria raised wages across the board and guaranteed pay for all employees regardless of the number of hours they worked.

The result: &pizza was able to keep 85% of its stores open and 90% of its workforce on the payroll. Best of all? “We’re turning a fair amount of profit,” Lastoria said in a panel discussion for the Nation’s Restaurant News Restaurant Rise digital summit in June.

“For our brand, the most important thing we can do is grow out of this,” Lastoria explained in the panel discussion. “And to grow out of this, you need a workforce that feels appreciated and motivated and encouraged to show up and want to do the right thing and to want to help lift up this company.” Reducing employees’ stress during a difficult period builds loyalty that will pay off in the long run, he believes. “You’re not waiting for the federal government to step in and enact policy that helps support them. You’re the first one to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to invest in you, not just when times are good…but when times are very difficult.”

Lastoria took another bold step in late May as protests broke out nationwide over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Even as some of the &pizza stores sustained damage, such as broken windows, from vandals during the protests, the company offered its employees three days of additional paid time off for “activism,” which could include participating in the protests. &pizza will also close its doors on Election Day so all employees can vote.

Lastoria admitted his approach won’t work for everyone. “That’s difficult when you have private equity investment,” he said. “A lot of companies…are dealing with the tension between the traditional mindset of ‘protect the balance sheet at all costs and let’s live to fight another day’ versus this notion of ‘Are we committed to our people? Are we going to continue to make the investments [in employees] when times are not necessarily good and when the ROI in the short term doesn’t necessarily [support it]?’ It’s extremely important from a cultural standpoint [to show] that you are willing to invest…when it’s not obvious to do so, and we’ve always done that.”

To show solidarity with recent social-justice protests, &pizza hired Washington, D.C., street artist Tenbeete Solomon, a.k.a. Trap Bob, to add some socially conscious flair to one of its restaurant locations.

Sometimes called the “Pizza Jesus,” Michael Lastoria has built a reputation for outside-the-box marketing and operations strategies for &pizza.

Like many pizza chains nationwide, &pizza has helped keep healthcare workers fed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the start, &pizza shunned the typical round pizza in a square box and offered oblong-shaped pizzas as another point of distinction from competitors.

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GAIL GAIL’SCHURINETZ, PIZZA PARTIES

A past winner of the Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown, Churinetz now reigns as Memphis’ queen of the at-home pizza party. BY BRIAN HERNANDEZ

We all know pizza comes in many sizes, shapes and flavors. And it’s remarkably easy to get your hands on, from delivery to dine-in and even drive-thru slice windows. For pizza fans in the Memphis, Tennessee, area, Gail Churinetz makes it even easier—as owner of Gail’s Pizza Parties, she will show up at their home with all of the ingredients for a private pizza party and walk them through the steps of making it in their own kitchen. Churinetz has a colorful and accomplished background in the culinary industry, including prize-winning appearances on the Food Network. While she loves the fun and glamour of the restaurant industry, she doesn’t like to be anchored to one location, which is why serving as Memphis’ reigning queen of the at-home pizza party is the life for her. Luckily, PMQ’s Brian Hernandez was able to sit her down long enough to get some tips for running a traveling pizza business.

Hernandez: What is your earliest pizza memory?

Churinetz: When I was small, my grandparents owned a bakery/ pizzeria in Schenectady, New York. I remember always having fresh pizza and pizza fritte. Sometimes we would have the fried dough for breakfast with a little powdered sugar on it, but my grandparents were always bringing home pizza.

Hernandez: What exactly do you do at Gail’s Pizza Parties, and how did that come about?

Churinetz: I offer in-home pizza parties to anyone looking to have an interactive pizza experience or just sit back and be fed quality pizza. I bring all the ingredients and tools, and we make pizzas in your home oven. It can be very hands-on and interactive if you want to get your hands dirty, or it can be like a normal catering job—and you don’t have to worry about making the food or clean-up.

My family relocated from the New Haven, Connecticut, area to Memphis 24 years ago, and our family’s tradition was having pizza at least once a week. We could not find good pizza in Memphis at the time, so I started playing around in the kitchen making my own. The only variable was the water. The water in Connecticut has a higher mineral count, giving you a crunchier crust. So I started importing my water from Connecticut, and to justify importing water, I had to make pizzas for more than just my family. I started doing them for other families as well, and it snowballed. Then I started entering competitions. When I won my first competition, I think what really wowed the judges was that crust using the Connecticut water.

Hernandez: Do you have a set menu, or do you let the customers decide what they want?

Churinetz: Both, actually. I do have a set menu. I try to stock it with the current flavor trends of the industry. I take a lot of inspiration from my friends. I took a pie from Will Grant of That’s a Some Pizza in Washington and tweaked it and called it the Will Grant. I also take recipe ideas from friends and make them my own. I usually name them after the person that gave me the inspiration. But the customer can always just tell me what they want to eat, and that’s what they get.

Hernandez: What is your favorite ingredient to work with?

Churinetz: I’d have to say shaved shallots. Get them thin enough and they are all surface area, which means more flavor.

Hernandez: What ingredient do you hate the most?

Churinetz: I’d have to say the combination of pineapple and ham. Not a fan. I will make it if that’s what the customer wants, but I will find a way to put a twist on it.

Hernandez: Tell us about your crawfish and andouille sausage pizza.

Churinetz: While visiting Louisiana one time, I had my first crawfish boil and real andouille sausage. I got inspired to mix Yankee flavors with some French Cajun flair and came up with [what came to be known as] the “$25,000 Pie.” I had the chance to compete on the Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown, hosted by Guy Fieri. I was one of 10,000 home cooks chosen to compete. I competed with [this] pie, and it won $25,000. So it got renamed.

“When I won my first [pizza making] competition, I think what really wowed the judges was that crust using the Connecticut water.”

— GAIL CHURINETZ, GAIL’S PIZZA PARTIES

Hernandez: How did you end up competing on that show?

Churinetz: I was watching the Food Network one day and saw Ultimate Recipe Showdown and just thought, “I could do that.” So, when the next season approached, I reached out and submitted a recipe and was ultimately chosen to compete; I made the semifinals but did not win. Then I tried again the next year, tweaked my recipe a bit and won $25,000! After that, I was put on a short list to appear on other shows and competitions on the network. But I have always been competitive, from things like tennis to yard of the month. I think you need that drive to keep you evolving—otherwise, you’re standing still. In fact, oddly enough, I know one of the U.S. Pizza Team’s newest members, David Conti. He basically lived around the corner from me in Connecticut, and we have been friends for years. I talked him into starting to compete. Then, behind my back, he went out to the West Coast U.S. Pizza Cup and won a trip to Italy. Again, I said, “I could do that.” So I reached out to you immediately to get on the team. Now I have competed in several U.S. Pizza Cups with the team, and I love it—the camaraderie between everyone, but also that friendly competitive spirit.

Hernandez: Is competing important for a pizza business or an individual pizzaiolo?

Churinetz: Absolutely. Again, it keeps you evolving. You are always learning something new at every event. There are so many people and ideas there that can only help you in the end. If you don’t learn at least one thing every time you compete, then you’re doing it wrong.

Hernandez: Now we’ve come to the dreaded Scott Weiner’s Lightning Round! I’ll give you three ingredients, and you tell me how you would incorporate them into a pizza or dish. First one is Gorgonzola cheese.

Churinetz: That is actually on my Will Grant Pizza. I use shaved shallots, Gorgonzola, pine nuts and some provolone.

Hernandez: OK, that was a “gimme.” How about banana peppers?

Churinetz: Well, I have a pizza called the HTS (Hotter Than S---) pie that uses a variety of peppers. It has pepper jack cheese,

various hot peppers and red pepper flakes. I think the tanginess of the banana peppers would offset that heat.

Hernandez: Let’s go with something easy: spinach.

Churinetz: I actually do a pie with fresh mozz, chopped spinach and chopped tomatoes. Drizzle a little olive oil on there after the bake.

Hernandez: What were you doing before you started Gail’s Pizza Parties? You were working with dough, right?

Churinetz: Yes, I was hired as a part-time consultant at ACH Food Companies—which owns such products as Fleischmann’s Yeast and Karo Syrup—to do bread testing. They had just come out with a bread mix for the home cook, and I was brought in to test their product. I would then give analysis and help them adjust the recipe as needed.

Hernandez: So you are responsible for testing and feedback of some consumer bread products that we see in the grocery store? Churinetz: Yes! I have three out there now, the most recognizable being the Simply Homemade bread mixes.

Hernandez: One last question: What is your best tip for dough production?

Churinetz: Definitely weighing and being consistent. If you need to adjust your formula, do it one variable at a time. If you change everything all at once, you don’t know which variable was affecting your formula. Make the adjustments in steps and keep track of everything. Write down all the weights and measurements and what about that particular dough you do not like or wish to change. Change one item at a time and see what was affecting it and take notes.

To hear the whole interview with Gail Churinetz, visit PMQ.com/churinetz. To watch the recipe video for the $25,000 Pie, visit PMQ.com/25kpie.

Brian Hernandez is PMQ’s test chef.

“If you need to adjust your formula, do it one variable at a time. If you change everything all at once, you don’t know which variable was affecting your formula. Make the adjustments in steps and keep track of everything.”

— GAIL CHURINETZ, GAIL’S PIZZA PARTIES

CRAWFISH & ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE PIZZA ($25,000 PIE)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 baking steel

• 14-oz. dough ball

• 2 tbsp. polenta or cornmeal (for dusting the pizza peel)

• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• ¼ c. pizza sauce

• 1 c. shredded mozzarella

• ½ c. shredded pepper jack cheese

• ½ lb. andouille sausage

• 1 c. cooked crawfish, some left whole

• Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

• Lemon zest

• Fresh parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Remove the dough ball from the refrigerator and leave covered at room temperature until the dough warms to 65°F. Place a baking steel in the oven and preheat to 500°. Roll out the dough until very thin. Sprinkle ½ tsp. of polenta or cornmeal onto a pizza peel. Place the rolled-out dough onto the peel and spread olive oil all around the edge of the crust. (Avoid getting oil on the peel, or your pizza may stick when you try to put it in the oven.) Add about ¼ c. of pizza sauce to the middle of the dough and spread it to the outer edges, leaving about a 1” crust. Add mozzarella and pepper jack cheeses. Top with raw sausage and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are golden-brown. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with crawfish. Place the pizza back into the oven for an additional 2 minutes to heat the crawfish. Garnish with lemon zest, crawfish and parsley.

550 Pizzeria LAREDO, TX

Opening her own pizzeria was Janet Duran’s childhood dream—and not even a global pandemic in one of the country’s worst-hit states could stop her.

BY RICK HYNUM

Janet Duran has dreamed of running her own pizzeria since she was young—very young. We’re talking six or seven years old. When her dream finally came true in June, the timing wasn’t exactly perfect, with the coronavirus running rampant in Texas and many restaurateurs struggling to keep their doors open. But Duran wasn’t going to let a pandemic get in her way. And neither were her many supporters, who showed up in hordes for the grand opening of 550 Pizzeria in her hometown of Laredo.

Get Inspired

Although 550 Pizzeria is her first shop, Duran is far from a novice. She spent years working at the now-closed Laredo Pizza Factory under Jeff Trevino, who became a mentor to her. It was Trevino’s daily reminder to always “turn the oven on to 550°F” first thing in the morning that inspired her own pizzeria’s name. After Trevino closed shop and moved away, Duran started making and selling pizzas from her home for years, building up an enthusiastic client base as she made plans to open her store.

Now she’s firing up the oven for pies of her own invention, many of which draw inspiration from Duran’s Mexican-American roots, such as the Chicken Chori-Queso (made with a tomatillo sauce, chorizo sausage, tomatoes, onions and chicken, topped with cilantro) and the Heatwave (crushed red pepper, Italian sausage, chorizo sausage, jalapeños, marinated tomatoes, Tabasco sauce and cilantro). In honor of Trevino, she also created The Jefe, a specialty pizza topped with pepperoni, smoked ham, sausage, mushrooms and black olives.

Along with more than a dozen signature pizzas, the 550 Pizzeria menu features wings in Buffalo, garlic Parmesan and lemon pepper flavors, all prepared with Duran’s homemade breading, as well as a selection of three pasta dishes and calzones, such as The Meats, The Four Cheese and The Mediterranean.

Warm, friendly and madly in love with her job, Duran talked to us about the challenges of opening her store in the midst of a nationwide crisis—and all the worrisome “what ifs” that come with the territory.

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“I had prepared 400 doughs for Saturday, and after advertising my opening-day hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., I sold out by 7 p.m. and had to close my doors early! My sales were $7,000 that day, and all 400 doughs were gone.”

— JANET DURAN, 550 PIZZERIA

PMQ: Tell us about your grand-opening weekend. Duran: What a weekend it was! What I thought would be a small, intimate ceremony proved to be so much bigger—in a good way! Leading up to the 10 a.m. ceremony, I was a nervous wreck. For years, I had envisioned what my grand opening would look like, but nothing can really prepare you. As 10 a.m. drew closer, I kept seeing car after car coming into the parking lot, as my family and friends all came out to support us. Then came the dignitaries—our local congressman, who’s a big supporter of small businesses, our sheriff, who is a solid customer of mine, and even our county tax collector. Before I knew it, the ceremony began, and it was beautiful—every last detail planned out, from a message from my mentor and former boss, a congressional certificate, and inspiring words from my new landlord, to my family and crew helping me cut the ribbon. It was all perfect! And just like that, 550 Pizzeria was open! Eight years in the making, and I couldn’t believe the day had come, especially while in the middle of a global pandemic!

PMQ: Once you opened your doors, how did the rest of the day go?

Duran: After the ceremony ended with the ribbon cutting, the rest of the day was a blur. Walk-in after walk-in, phone call after phone call, it never stopped! I had prepared 400 doughs for Saturday, and after advertising my opening-day hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., I sold out by 7 p.m. and had to close my doors early! My sales were $7,000 that day, and all 400 doughs were gone. Before leaving for the night, my crew and I made more doughs. We had planned on opening for a limited time for Father’s Day the next day, but again, a few hours into opening, we found ourselves having to close our doors early after selling out! In total, we sold 560 pizzas during our grandopening weekend—not including my specialty wings, fried pickles, calzones and drinks.

PMQ: How did the pandemic and the lockdown play into the opening of Pizzeria 550?

Duran: Opening 550 Pizzeria has been a dream of mine for such a long time that I’ve had years to think about every detail, every menu item, the ideal location, pricing, etc. I have also faced challenge after challenge, having overcome each with the help of God and my family and friends. So when the coronavirus hit our community and Governor Greg Abbott ordered all restaurants to close down, I took the extra time it gave me to reflect on what I could do to help. And the answer was staring right at me—use my pizza making skills to feed frontline workers! Our hospitals and ERs were overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, and healthcare providers were not able to take a break to eat. So I became a woman on a mission, delivering my pizzas to everyone in town who was doing their part to keep our community together—from nurses and physicians to teachers. I made hundreds of pizzas and delivered them every day to say thank you for all they do.

PMQ: You had built up a large following on social media, especially Facebook, before Pizzeria 550 had even opened. How did you do that?

Duran: The increase in followers happened gradually after the former pizza place I worked at closed. I had been working out of my kitchen at home. Customers continued reaching out to me on my personal social media pages, asking if I could make them a pizza—and I never said no. Every week, especially weekends, I spent cooking pizzas. And I was happy to do it, because it gave me the opportunity to perfect my recipes and try out new pizza combinations and ask my “customers” and friends for input. I made each of my pizzas from scratch in my kitchen at home, baked them on a grill outside in my backyard (which reaches 1,000°F). Before I knew it, wordof-mouth spread, and soon I was cooking pizzas seven days a week! Crazy, right? This approach, plus showcasing my pizzas at local farmers markets, really helped grow my followers through word-of-mouth. Laredo is crazy— at a population of 260,000, it thinks it’s a big city, but word-of-mouth still rules here!

“My biggest challenge was always the ‘what ifs.’ Looking back now, my message to others is that there will always be ‘what ifs,’ but you must fight to get through them and not let them get in the way of your dream.”

— JANET DURAN, 550 PIZZERIA

PMQ: How important was Jeff Trevino in your life as a pizza maker?

Duran: To this day, I consider my former boss one of the greatest influencers in my life. He constantly motivated and inspired me to work hard and never give up on my dream. And here I am, years later, standing in my own restaurant and doing what I love to do—making pizzas and seeing the smiles on my customers’ faces!

PMQ: Throughout the long process of getting ready to open, what was the biggest challenge for you?

Duran: My biggest challenge was always the “what ifs.” Looking back now, my message to others is that there will always be “what ifs,” but you must fight to get through them and not let them get in the way of your dream. Like I always say, we have to believe in ourselves. It also helps when you have a great support system. My husband and daughter, my close friends and customers, always encouraged me to never give up. Their words of encouragement were constant, never doubting my ability to make great pizza. And it showed each time they ordered a pizza! It’s great now, seeing each of them walk into 550 Pizzeria and shout at the top of the lungs, “You did it!” Some of them just start clapping when they walk through the doors. Each time, I fight back the tears behind my face mask, because it is still hard to believe 550 Pizzeria is finally here and open for business.

Rick Hynum is PMQ’s editor-in-chief.

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“When the coronavirus hit our community and Governor Greg Abbott ordered all restaurants to close down, I took the extra time…to reflect on what I could do to help. And the answer was staring right at me—use my pizza making skills to feed frontline workers!”

— JANET DURAN, 550 PIZZERIA

GOING VEGAN

As veganism takes root in American culinary culture, vegan influencers share their top tips for adding moneymaking plant-based options to your pizza menu.

BY TRACY MORIN

As more consumers adopt a vegan diet—and as even meat eaters are opening their minds to plant-based meals—it’s a wise policy to offer options for this growing group. According to a report by PlantProteins.co, up to 6% of Americans called themselves vegans in 2017, a 600% increase from 2014. But, more importantly, 39% of people “actively try to incorporate plant-based foods into their diets.”

For restaurateurs, this poses a moneymaking opportunity, but there’s a lot to be learned about doing vegan pizza right. Research firm Technomic has noted that while 50% of consumers eat vegetarian or vegan dishes at least once per month, only 27% of them say restaurants do a satisfactory job of providing options that taste good. True, for some operators, this group can be intimidating, but they’re generally calling for progress, not perfection. We asked a group of vegan influencers for their thoughts on how pizzerias can better cater to their needs—hear them out!

VEGANS WANT TO FEEL NORMAL

Amber Carvaly, Founder, Mortician in the Kitchen

GET CREATIVE IN THE KITCHEN

Diana Edelman, Founder, Vegans, Baby

“Plant-based isn’t going anywhere; it’s one of the fastest-growing sectors in dining. Plus, reaching the vegan community and being an early adopter in the vegan pizza scene means more customers and customer loyalty. Those who want plantbased options tend to passionately support restaurants that offer them.

“Ingredients and options have improved tenfold in the past few years. My biggest advice would be: Try out new vegan products! Experiment with plant-based cheese offerings out there. Mix and match and create a blend that melts and tastes right for you. Also, go beyond the tomato sauce and cheese option. For so long, vegan pizza was super-limited, but now with the innovation of new products, there are so many ways to get creative on pies. Treat your vegan pizza creations the same as you would with your non-vegan options. Or take a popular non-vegan pie and replace the ingredients to make them vegan. The more options, the better. Play around!”

“Vegan substitutions can actually be relatively simple. The biggest disappointment [for vegan customers] is if there isn’t at least one vegan cheese option. People think that vegans are overwhelmingly happy with something that is full of veggies. We are not. There are many great alternatives now, and it feels lazy if people do not take the time to find them. Most vegans know that fake cheese isn’t going to be as good as the real thing; we get it. But it feels so good to have a pizza that is even close.

“As vegans, we want to feel normal. We can still miss the simple pleasures of food that we had growing up. We don’t need to be catered to; we just want a couple of options. Look at your menu right now. You’ll see that many meals can easily be made vegan, and pointing that out on your menu is great, such as: ‘This item can be made without meat/sub vegan cheese.’ I get that you can’t please all your guests, and as a vegan I also find some vegans hard to deal with. That customer is hard to deal with everywhere, so don’t use that as an excuse for not creating at least one amazing vegan pizza option. We are happy to support you, even if you just pair an awesome vegan cheese with basil!”

“Treat your vegan pizza creations the same as you would with your non-vegan options. Or take a popular non-vegan pie and replace the ingredients to make them vegan.”

— DIANA EDELMAN, VEGANS, BABY

Plant-based meat alternatives are a great way to add protein to vegan pies.

TAKE VEGAN PIZZA UP A NOTCH

Alena Schowalter, Co-Founder, nutriciously

“Pizza is one of the easiest foods to veganize, just by leaving the cheese off any vegetable pizza. But to take your vegan pizza up a notch, I’d definitely recommend some plant-based protein toppings. Feta made from cubed tofu, easy homemade vegan cheese sauce, or premade meltable vegan cheese shreds can make all the difference. There are also meat-like vegan crumbles you can add to a pizza for more texture and flavor. Other Italian recipes that can easily be made vegan include pesto pasta, bruschetta, focaccia and

risotto. Other great examples are Fettuccine Alfredo with a creamy cashew-based sauce, black-bean balls in marinara sauce, or eggplant Parmesan.

“My main advice for restaurant owners who want to include more vegan options would be to consider all of the different combinations of plant-based ingredients—more often than not, vegans are left with a tiny amount of grilled veggies for a topping, which doesn’t make for an epic pizza experience. Think about up-and-coming add-ons: Pulled jackfruit, roasted chickpeas or vegetable protein crumbles can take any plain veggie pizza to the next level. Different textures and flavors are key.”

VEGAN NUMBERS

Once a fringe movement, veganism has taken root (so to speak) in America’s culinary culture. Here are some eye-opening statistics on vegans and plant-based foods to keep in mind when it’s time to make changes to your pizzeria’s menu:

• U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods grew by 31.3% from April 2017 through April 2019, totaling nearly $4.5 billion. (Source: the Good Food Institute and the Plant Based Foods Association)

• Thirty-one percent of Americans now identify as “flexitarian,” meaning they don’t adhere to one specific eating style and may combine plant-based and meat-based diets. (Source: OnePoll and So Delicious Dairy Free)

• The average American eats four meat-free meals a week, and more than 50% are currently trying to incorporate more plantbased meals into their daily lives. (Source: OnePoll and So Deliciously Dairy Free)

• Due to food shortages and rising meat prices related to the pandemic, 52% of Americans think the foodservice industry should focus more on meat-free foods. (Source: Rethink Priorities and the Humane Society of the United States)

“Think about up-and-coming add-ons: Pulled jackfruit, roasted chickpeas or vegetable protein crumbles can take any plain veggie pizza to the next level.”

— ALENA SCHOWALTER, NUTRICIOUSLY

VEGANS NEED PROTEIN, TOO

Joanna Pustilnik, Nutrition Therapist, Bodacious Nutrition

“Vegans need protein, too! Protein makes the meal more satisfying and satiating. We purposely seek out restaurants that offer vegan protein options and are willing to pay more. There is a difference between vegan and vegetarian ‘meats,’ though—make sure it’s vegan. For protein, pizza owners can simply add vegan cheese, or ingredients like roasted chickpeas, vegan sausage, black beans, roasted pine nuts or walnuts, baked tofu or tempeh, or more hearty, higher-protein vegetables like broccoli and spinach. If you absolutely can’t go without butter or dairy, there are suitable substitutions on the market now—there’s nothing you can’t find. Ethnic flavors and foods are usually vegan to begin with, so that’s a good place to start. People are becoming more interested in plant-based eating. It is the trend of the foreseeable future, better for the planet, and worth investing in and learning about.”

Hops Pie offers a popular vegan ranch dressing for salads and dipping. HOPS PIE

PIZZERIAS ANSWER THE CALL

For Hops & Pie owner Drew Watson, vegan options comprise nearly 20% of food sales. The Denver-based pizzeria offers vegan ranch dressing, vegan sloppy joes (called Sloppy Janes) and a smoked tofu topping. And, in addition to many raw vegetable toppings, Hops & Pie caters to vegans with flavorpacked options like Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, pickled banana peppers, pickled jalapeños, caramelized onions, roasted garlic cloves, a blackberry barbecue sauce, Daiya vegan cheese and housemade vegan Sicilian sausage. “It’s important to us to have something for everyone,” Watson says.

Meanwhile, Nantucket, Massachusetts-based Oath Pizza, with dozens of locations nationwide, introduced its Mindful Menu earlier this year to provide vegan, plant-based, glutenfree and high-protein pizza options in response to growing demand from consumers. One example is the vegan Spicy Hawaiian pizza, which features Oath Pizza’s classic crust, grilled and seared in avocado oil, then topped with a roasted cherry tomato spread, Daiya vegan cheese, chickpeas, fresh pineapple, jalapeño peppers and a barbecue drizzle.

“Even five years ago, when Oath was founded, industry trends and the personal experience of our leadership team showed that more and more customers were looking for vegan options, and over the years we have heard an amazing response to our offerings,” notes Drew Kellogg, Oath’s president and chief

executive officer. “Many customers tell us there are not many all-vegan pizza options available, and they’re grateful Oath is not only looking out for their needs but serving truly delicious vegan offerings that don’t make them feel like they are missing out on anything.”

Oath has since built on its vegan options, adding Beyond meatballs to the menu in August 2019 as both a side dish and on the Beyond Bomb pizza. The side dish is vegan, and the Beyond Bomb pizza can be prepared with mozzarella or vegan cheese to cater to all preferences. “We even see that just as many non-vegans order the Beyond Bomb pizza as vegans do, with many becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact of the meat industry and trying to reduce the amount of traditional meat consumed,” Kellogg says. “We continue to explore additional vegan options and meat alternatives to continue our mission of being inclusive and having a positive impact on the world.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

“Just as many non-vegans order the Beyond Bomb pizza as vegans do, with many becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact of the meat industry and trying to reduce the amount of traditional meat consumed.”

— DREW KELLOGG, OATH PIZZA

Oath Pizza’s Beyond Bomb pie has proven a hit with vegans and meat eaters alike.

OATH PIZZA

idiot ovens proof

With Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann, we delve into the inner workings and pros and cons of conveyor ovens.

BY TRACY MORIN

It’s easy to see why conveyor ovens remain a popular choice among pizzerias. They’ve been vastly improved over the years to offer consistent, high-quality performance, and they’re practically idiot-proof to operate—especially important when dealing with unskilled staff members. “Employees can prepare a lot of pizzas with minimal supervision,” notes Tom Scarda, CEO and founder of The Franchise Academy in Wantagh, New York. “You don’t have to babysit conveyor ovens, which makes the staff more efficient. They can place the pizzas on the conveyor, go work on something else, and come back when the pizzas are done.”

Scarda adds that they have their downsides, too—possibly requiring more space than, say, deck ovens, and demanding more complicated cleaning and maintenance protocols—but they’re still a go-to choice for top chains like Domino’s and Cicis. To learn more about what conveyor ovens bring to an operation, and their potential pitfalls, we asked Manhattan, Kansas-based pizza industry consultant Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann to share everything you need to know about conveyor ovens.

MODELS AND BENEFITS

Conveyor ovens fall into three basic types. The traveling tray or revolving tray oven features plates that carry the food; though they can be higher-cost investments, they work very well for hands-off baking. Second, the infrared oven (which originally started the conveyor trend) works much like a toaster; its glowing wires heat food but provide more shallow penetration. Third, the air impingement oven is the most common type now in use for pizzerias and baking applications—what people usually think of when they refer to conveyor ovens.

Like any oven, infrared types have positives and negatives. Most importantly, this type does not offer air flow—an important distinction, because warm air holds more moisture than cold air. Combining heat and air flow, as with air impingement ovens, more effectively dries out foods and

cooks them faster (that’s why blow dryers for hair, for example, combine the two). Infrared types have their place in the industry—they’re great for par-baking crusts or making snack foods—but the ability to dry out pizzas in the oven makes air impingement types a popular choice.

The benefits of these ovens are plentiful: They have a fairly small footprint, and when electric models are positioned on wheels, they can be unplugged and moved (not recommended, but a possibility). With a flexible hose, they can be moved for cleaning, as opposed to deck ovens, which are more fixed in place. And, of course, they require pretty much no training to operate; the employee simply puts the pizza or other menu item on the conveyor to bake, then removes it at the end of the cycle.

Compared to deck ovens, which require a clear space (equal to about 1.5 times the size of the oven) in front of the oven for operation, conveyor ovens don’t need as much space at either end. And for operators who pile on the toppings, air impingement styles help avoid the soggy mess that could occur by drying out the tops of pies. They also have a higher baking capacity, able to churn out more pizzas per hour than deck ovens, which makes them a solid solution for high-volume operations.

In fact, with vast improvements to air impingement ovens over the last decade or so, they’re now able to consistently bake even different crust thicknesses side by side. Better bake quality and ramped-up oven design in recent years have made these types a reliable choice across the board. Recent innovations can even include newfangled features, such as idle modes to lower energy consumption when no pizzas are in the oven, saving on costs over time.

For operators who pile on the toppings, air impingement ovens help avoid the soggy mess that could occur by drying out the tops of pies.

Conveyor ovens, such as those used by The Colony, Texas-based Pie Five Pizza, have a fairly small footprint and require very little training to operate.

CONVEYOR CONSIDERATIONS

While pizzas with different crusts can potentially be baked side by side, operators will have to make tweaks for other menu items, like breadsticks, garlic knots or wings. An operator may need to invest in a second oven or a second deck for the conveyor (they’re stackable, up to three high).

Operators should also keep in mind that conveyor ovens have more working parts—and it helps to understand exactly how they operate and the physics behind them, especially as related to finger configuration and how this affects the ultimate bake achieved. Lehmann laments that many operators who purchase these ovens don’t take the time to understand their functions, so he encourages asking questions of oven manufacturers—how exactly does it work?

Also, conveyor ovens must be cleaned, which requires pulling out the conveyors, so operators should keep this in mind when they decide where to install the oven. Once every month or two, they should pull out the conveyors and the top and bottom fingers, then reassemble, making the maintenance of these ovens more time-consuming than other types.

Keep in mind that air impingement ovens are not just ovens but baking systems—they require a baking platform

or carrier, which could be a pan, disc or screen. The type chosen will impact the bake achieved and thus must be taken into account. Choosing a screen—perforated disc or solid disc, for example—will depend on both the manufacturer’s recommendation and the operator’s desired outcome; just make sure that the manufacturer is fairly well-versed in baking platforms.

Finally, as you would when selecting any major piece of equipment, pay attention to the manufacturer’s service. Lehmann recommends asking yourself how they treat you, how knowledgeable they are on the product, and how willing they are to make the oven work for your operation, products and needs. Some offer very good warranties, so inquire about them if that is an important feature to you. Also ask if they have dedicated parts—meaning you have to obtain parts direct from the manufacturer—and consider the manufacturer’s location in relation to your own. If something goes wrong, how long would a repair or part replacement take? If a repair will take days, it might be better to go with a less-complicated deck oven, which has fewer working parts and is easier to fix yourself.

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

CARRYOUT GAME THE

With limited in-store dining and curbside service now established parts of our “new normal,” it’s more important than ever to offer a top-quality carryout experience.

BY TRACY MORIN

When COVID-19 upended everyone’s lives this year, pizzerias were uniquely prepared for the challenge. As dining rooms shuttered nationwide, operators took advantage of their already established skills in orchestrating seamless takeout services—and added new skills as well, such as curbside delivery. “As business owners, finding ourselves in the middle of a global pandemic has been daunting, to say the least,” says Reza Kamalian, director of operations for Pizza Guys, based in Sacramento, California, with 69 locations. “But, in the takeoutand delivery-focused pizza business, we already have an upper hand, as we have a great deal of experience with these services Now it’s a matter of perfecting that service to create the safest possible way to fulfill customer orders and create a level of comfort for both employees and customers.”

At Whitewater, Wisconsin-based Toppers Pizza, with 65 locations in nine states, founder and CEO Scott Gittrich witnessed a major uptick in sales during April and May, setting 29 store records in just four weeks. Third-party deliveries nearly doubled, while curbside services soon accounted for a full 40% of sales. And Gittrich believes that the revolution was a long time coming. “There’s the anonymity factor, which has been trending for 20 years now—customers prefer less human interaction in their experience,” he says. “When customers say, ‘That was so easy,’ what they mean is, ‘I didn’t have to deal with a person.’ COVID accelerated the trend, but this is largely how customers want to be served now.”

CLEAN, CURBSIDE AND CASHLESS

Finlay Stockmeyer, account executive at Zenput in San Francisco, notes that being agile and quickly adapting to market conditions has brought an influx of success for brands like Domino’s and Papa John’s in recent months—and independents should take notes from their successes. “With

lobbies closed or dine-in capacity limited, carryout is key right now,” Stockmeyer asserts. “To optimize this experience, both brands have increased the frequency that sanitization procedures are executed, so customers feel confident and safe when picking up their food.” For example, Papa John’s places a quality seal on pizza boxes so that customers know it hasn’t been touched since emerging from the oven, while Domino’s offers its Carside Delivery, allowing customers to pick up

“When customers say, ‘That was so easy,’ what they mean is, ‘I didn’t have to deal with a person.’ COVID accelerated the trend, but this is largely how customers want to be served now.”

— SCOTT GITTRICH, TOPPERS PIZZA

Toppers PIzza recently experienced a major sales boost by perfecting curbside services.

TOPPERS

takeout orders without exiting the car. Stockmeyer adds that, to make the carryout process more efficient, payment and tipping can be handled digitally for online orders.

Similarly, Pizza Guys’ new goal is to serve customers food while making the least contact possible. To meet that goal, the pizzeria offers services like curbside and cashless pickup. For curbside orders, each location now has designated parking spaces that are clearly marked with signs, instructing the customer to call the store on a certain phone line to minimize wait time. “Once we know the customer has arrived, we walk the order to his car and place the food in his trunk, to make the least amount of contact,” Kamalian explains. “Every food item also has a tamper-resistant sticker to ensure that nobody has touched or come into contact with the pizza after it came out of the oven.”

Meanwhile, cashless pickup is also designed for customers to retrieve their orders while minimizing contact; they’re instructed to prepay for the order online to eliminate any cash or credit card transaction. “By introducing these two new options for pickup, we were able to target a different group of customers, and because of that, our sales increased,” Kamalian says. “Our customers are very pleased with these new options.”

Toppers Pizza uses its internally developed POS system so that customers can select options such as curbside service, upon which a team member is notified. The customer then sends a text upon his arrival, indicating the parking slot number and color and make of the vehicle so that the team can expedite the order. “We invested in high-quality parking lot signage to say, ‘Curbside service, Slot #3, text on arrival,’ etc.,” Gittrich explains. “Some places just have a cardboard sign that says, ‘We offer curbside,’ but by giving a more ‘buttoned-up’ look, the customer actually perceives you as more safe and sanitary.”

To further simplify the carryout process, Mary King, a restaurant business analyst at Fit Small Business in New York, advises operators to allow plenty of room for the pickup area, draw lines on the parking lot or sidewalk to show customers where to stand or park, and make sure that order names are clearly written on bags or boxes. “Inside your restaurant, streamline your communications between staff members,” King suggests. “If you have not staffed an expediter to keep orders organized, consider doing that now; that person should stand on the front-of-house side, track all of the order tickets, place freshly made dishes with the correct order, and communicate with the kitchen team if an item is missing.”

NAILING THE DETAILS

When it comes to assuaging the minds of customers—and creating a seamless carryout experience—the devil is in the details. For example, Pizza Guys installed sneeze guards in all of its stores to protect customers and employees, while sanitation procedures were enhanced in stores, with employees sanitizing the lobby area after each customer.

PIZZA GUYS

Pizza Guys limits contact with easy-to-use curbside and cashless pickup.

However, because online orders have a higher ticket average (without the need for employees to take orders), profits have increased during the pandemic. “During these times, we also want to assist our customers during the decision-making process by offering them three complete value meals,” Kamalian adds. “The meals target one to two people, a family of four, and a larger family of six, and each value meal includes pizza, side items, drinks and desserts.”

King agrees that creating order combos and packages for single diners, couples and families helps make ordering quick and easy. “If you’re doing a lot of takeout orders, you’re losing the ability to upsell, so start off your menu with special combinations that are priced to turn a profit, and add prompts to your online menu for popular additions that come at an extra cost,” she advises. “For example, if you have a burger on your menu, add a button to that menu item that says, ‘Add fries (+2.50),’ so it’s easy for customers

ordering online to add this side without navigating back to the menu screen. For a pizza order, customers might like to add sides of ranch or blue cheese dressing, or an order of garlic knots. Taking the time to add these prompts to popular menu items will pay off in the long run.”

At the same time, King recommends keeping the online ordering menu simple—if certain dishes are not selling, remove them. Or if they’re too complicated in terms of packaging or execution (such as a soup with several garnishes), remove the item from the takeout menu or raise the price to recoup those packaging costs. “Ask if your customers need extras, like plastic serving utensils and condiment packets, either as a prompt on an online ordering screen or as a question employees ask when taking orders over the phone,” King suggests. “Customers eating at home probably don’t need these

items, and cutting down on unwanted complimentary items will save money.”

Finally, since carryout is inherently a less personal experience than in-house dining, operators need to find other ways to convey their passion for hospitality from afar. For example, Gittrich believes that aspect now plays out in your technology, from functionality to branding, while packaging, long perfected by the pizza industry, is another important factor. “Have the right technology to create a seamless experience for customers,” Gittrich advises. “Packaging matters, too: Stickering the box gives a further sense of safety, and how your food arrives gives customers a strong sense of your brand and sanitation. This is going to be a long haul—it might be 2022 before restaurants are full again, and it’s going to be a difficult time ahead if you don’t adapt.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

Toppers Pizza invested in high-quality signage to streamline curbside service.

TOPPERS

“We assist our customers during the decision-making process by offering them three complete value meals. The meals target one to two people, a family of four, and a larger family of six, and each value meal includes pizza, side items, drinks and desserts.”

— REZA KAMALIAN, PIZZA GUYS

The 2020 Virtual U.S. Pizza Cup

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 at 2PM CST

YOU EAT WITH YOUR EYES FIRST, AND THIS FALL WE’LL PROVE IT

The 2020 Virtual U.S. Pizza Cup (VUSPC) is gearing up to be the virtual culinary event of the year, focusing on visual appeal and presentation. presentation, as well as a high-res “side slice” photo to show your crumb structure. age 16 or older—currently working in a pizzeria. Register at

Cash prizes awarded to top three entries: 1st prize, 2nd prize,

Feature your best pie, get some crucial practice for your next competition, and earn the traveling money to get there! entries must be submitted by Sept. 15, 2020, to brian@pmq.com. (CT), Tuesday, Sept. 22. For more information about rules and requirements, visit Brian Hernandez at brian@pmq.com or 662-234-5481 x. 129.

Twenty Years of Challenge, Collaboration and Camaraderie

The U.S. Pizza Team got its start thanks to a friendly challenge from one country to another. In 2000, Italian pizza magazine publisher Enrico Fama invited his American counterpart, PMQ publisher Steve Green, to bring the United States’ best three competitors to Italy and participate in the 9th annual World Pizza Championship.

Green handpicked the members of the first team—Tony Gemignani, known for his unmatched pizza-spinning skills; Dino Ciccone, the only pizzaiolo to win the Canadian and American Pizza Championship in the same year; and Chef Danny Wolf, who was said to have worked in the White House. After its Italian debut, the U.S. Pizza Team went on to produce numerous world champions and represent their country in events across the globe. In the following pages, we look back at some of the team’s most memorable moments as covered by PMQ at the time.

GALBANI | PLATINUM SPONSOR | 2019

Since 1882, the Galbani brand has been providing Italian Inspiration to chefs across the globe with a portfolio of exceptional cheeses created in the Old World tradition. And nothing inspires us more than when pizzaioli step into the spotlight to showcase their creativity and talent. That’s why Galbani, Italy’s No. 1 cheese brand, is proud to be the platinum sponsor of the U.S. Pizza Team. Congratulations on 20 years of leadership and excellence in the industry! 877-522-8254, galbanicheese.com

I’m so proud of the uncountable pizzaioli who have worn the logo of the U.S. Pizza Team over the past 20 years. In the following pages, you’ll see some of the milestone moments in the team’s history—and the competitors who led the team through its first five years (2000-2004). I especially want to thank our sponsors for supporting our team so heartily and for so long. We appreciate your loyalty and your pride in the industry as demonstrated through your support of the U.S. Pizza Team. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

— Linda Green, PMQ CO-PUBLISHER

PMQ Co-Publisher Linda Green on our first U.S. Pizza Team trip in 2000.

GORDON FOOD SERVICE

GOLD SPONSOR | 2009

Gordon Food Service has been a proud sponsor of the U.S. Pizza Team since 2009. Our Primo Gusto products provide the foundation for award-winning pizza: high-gluten flour for a dough that can stand up to a heap of your favorite toppings; premium canned tomato products for your signature sauce; and natural shredded cheeses with a silky stretch. Primo Gusto High-Gluten Flour is the official flour of the U.S. Pizza Team. 616-530-7000, gfs.com

CNNCoverageoftheUSPizza TeamTrials,attheInternational FoodserviceShowofNewYork, made the US Pizza Team known internationally,followedbya FoodNetworkSpecialaboutthe USPT later in 2003.

LA NOVA WINGS

GOLD SPONSOR | 2002

La Nova Wings Inc. introduced heat-and-serve chicken wings to the global pizza industry. Without any distribution, La Nova Wings exhibited their new products at the International Pizza Expo in 1994. Reactions to their products were outstanding, and the foodservice industry gained its newest menu items. Since then, La Nova Wings, Inc. has been honored to support the U.S. Pizza Team and their endeavors and wishes them the best of luck. 716-881-3355, lanovawings.com

CALIFORNIA MILK ADVISORY BOARD | GOLD SPONSOR | 2003

Congratulations to the U.S. Pizza Team on 20 winning years! As the No. 1 mozzarella producer in the nation, California and pizza go hand in slice. California’s 1,200 family dairy farms are proud to produce the milk that goes into the quality, sustainable cheese and dairy products used by U.S. Pizza Team champions for years— products represented by the Real California Milk seal. 209-8836455, realcaliforniamilk.com

USPT History: 2000-2004

GRAIN CRAFT GOLD SPONSOR | 2014

We understand that your business depends on the quality and consistency of ingredients. That’s why Grain Craft is dedicated to providing superior flour as we continue the tradition of working with American farmers to grow and harvest the best variety of wheat. We offer a wide selection of pizza flours to take your crust to the next level, and we are proud to support the esteemed U.S. Pizza Team as they continue to represent our country’s exceptional pizza industry. 423-265-2313, graincraft.com

LILLSUN | SILVER SPONSOR | 2011 Lillsun

Manufacturing Company

is proud to support the U.S. Pizza Team and congratulates the team on their 20th anniversary. We have been very fortunate to be associated with pizza professionals who believe in the wonderful craft of pizza! Our company celebrates 69 years of providing the pizza and baking industries across the nation with top quality peels, proofing boards and paddles made by American craftsmen with materials grown and produced in the USA. 260-356-6514, lillsun.com

UNIVEX | SILVER SPONSOR

SINCE 2004

Univex is a pizza equipment manufacturer offering highquality and reliable mixers, divider/rounders, pizza spinners and dome brick ovens in various shapes and sizes. Univex has been a leader in the pizza industry for more than 70 years, and we are proud to support the U.S. Pizza Team! 603-893-6191, univexcorp.com

MFG TRAY | SILVER SPONSOR | 2018

MFG Tray is a proud sponsor of the U.S. Pizza Team. MFG Tray dough boxes offer optimal dough protection. They readily integrate into small- and large-production pizza and baking operations for improved product handling and storage. The secure and tight stacking capability protects and extends product life. MFG Tray’s composite construction ensures years of dependable service. 800-4586050, mfgtray.com/food-service

BAG SOLUTIONS

SILVER SPONSOR | 2004

Bag Solutions congratulates the U.S. Pizza Team as we both celebrate 20 years of success. Bag Solutions is a family-owned pizza and food delivery bag supplier and is proud to support the U.S. Pizza Team and wish them continued success. We also thank our customers for their 20 years of support for the Pizza Jacket line of products and look forward to another 20 years of serving our customers. You can always “deliver that pie hot and dry” with Pizza Jacket! 866-224-8646, bagsolutions.com

PERFORMANCE FOODSERVICEPRESTO | SILVER SPONSOR SINCE 2014

At Performance Foodservice–Presto, we are proud of our heritage of more than 50 years in the foodservice business, specializing in pizza products and equipment for the pizza and Italian restaurant operator. Our dedicated team of experts is invested in our customers’ success—we travel the journey together as true partners because when our customers win, we win; when they experience shortcomings, we search for solutions. Our experience, knowledge and service give us the edge in consulting with customers—a distinction we wear proudly. 937-294-6969, performancefoodservice. com/presto

USPT History: 2000-2004

BURKETT RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

SILVER SPONSOR | 2018

Burkett Restaurant Equipment & Supplies is proud to sponsor the U.S. Pizza Team and all our competitors! With coast-tocoast distribution, Burkett is home to the Midwest’s most complete offering of new and pre-owned commercial kitchen equipment and restaurant supplies, from refrigerators to pizza ovens, prep tables to pizza peels, and everything in between. Burkett is recognized as the preferred equipment supplier of the U.S. Pizza Team! 800-828-8564, burkett.com

The Small Menu is the perfect size for in house or takeout menus! 8.5” x 10.5” full color, two-sided on glossy paper stock.

NOW IS THE TIME TO GET YOUR MENU INTO CUSTOMERS’ HANDS

Getting your restaurant’s menu into your customers’ hands has never been more critical. With most restaurants moving their focus to takeout and delivery, it has become crucial to share your food offerings, pricing and specials through every means of communication. Menus are one of the most effective direct mail marketing pieces for restaurants.

Showcasing what you have to offer and how much it costs means your customers will hold onto your menu as a useful resource. Plus, you can get them hungry for your food with vivid imagery that will make their mouths water and include coupons to add even more interest.

Mail Shark is the best partner for sending out menus. They offer a completely free and 100% custom menu design to make sure you love your menu. They can provide free stock photos for your menu, or they will work with you to add your own imagery. When you design your menu with Mail Shark, that design is yours— this means you can add the menu to your website to make sure customers see your current menu both online and offline.

One of the best parts of working with Mail Shark is that they will start with no money down, and you don’t pay until they mail your pieces. They break up the cost of your direct mail, and the mailing itself, over two to 10 weeks (you choose the schedule!), and you pay weekly until all your menus are delivered. You pay no money down, and dividing the cost of the mailing over its mailing weeks gives you control of your inventory and staffing needs and makes the cost of marketing less of a strain on your weekly cash flow.

About Mail Shark

Mail Shark is a group of passionate people who deliver a unique strategy and effective direct mail product that’s affordable for every business, large or small. They have been serving the pizza industry since 2008 and continue to support it with a variety of direct mail products beyond menus, as well as print marketing materials such as box toppers and door hangers.

Today, thousands of pizza shops are reaping the benefits of Mail Shark’s affordable approach. Find out how Mail Shark can help your marketing efforts— call 610-463-0177 or visit themailshark.com/PMQ

Mail Shark’s Standard Menu with Coupon Fold. Add coupons and special offers to your menus to drive orders! 10.5” x 17” full color, two-sided on glossy paper stock.

The Extra Large (XL) Menu—this huge four-panel piece will stand out in any mailbox! 10.5” x 21.5” full color, two-sided on glossy paper stock.

VersaFlex Creates a Better COVID-19 Mask

VersaFlex, headquartered in North Ridgeville, Ohio, inventively shifted gears during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which specializes in customizable equipment bags, adapted its operation to provide an increasingly necessary product: masks.

However, these are no ordinary masks. The customizable masks are designed to prevent eyeglasses from fogging up. Larry Nolan, owner of VersaFlex, created this design inspired by his sister, Brigid Nolan.

Thanks to a gasket-style layer that flips up at the top of the masks, covering the nose and cheek bones, air is forced to go out of the sides of the mask rather than going straight up. This makes it easier for people that need glasses to wear masks without any inconvenience. Nolan recently told The Morning Journal, a newspaper in Lorain, Ohio, that he has filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for this innovative product.

Nolan’s business focuses on American-made, high-quality products. His washable pizza bags come with a five-year warranty and keep pizzas hot and dry. His customers’ only complaint? “They last too long,” Nolan jokes.

“It takes just as much labor to make a crap bag as it takes to make a quality one, [so you] just might as well make a quality one,” Nolan says.

“Same with pizza—it takes just as long to make a bad pizza than it takes to make a good one, period. Make a good one, it pays off.”

Nolan applies this same philosophy to all of his products, including his variety of masks. His masks have quickly caught on. After an appearance on a local TV station in early July, VersaFlex received 6,000 orders in just one day. “I’m now playing catch-up,” he said.

Masks, much like social distancing, contactless delivery and carryout, are staples of current daily life for pizzeria owners, operators and employees and a standard piece of equipment for any and all industries still in business today. VersaFlex’s customization capabilities provide an added branding advantage to this new reality. These soon-to-be patented masks ease long-term wear and can become a branding opportunity for your pizza restaurant by being worn by your employees or sported by your customers. Nolan has already created designs for various branches of the U.S. military as well as the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers and various local high schools, including his own alma mater.

Learn more about VersaFlex by visiting their website at versaflex.com

ENCOMPASS MEDIA GROUP

Encompass Media Group distributes thousands of Amazon-brand pizza boxes to more than 600 pizzerias in eight markets around the United States. You can get your pizzas featured alongside some of the most popular original series on Amazon Prime, such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, Upload, Bosch and Homecoming. Altogether, Encompass Media Group works with a network of more than 25,000 pizzeria locations nationwide. 212-993-9420, EMGMEDIAINC.COM

DEVANCO FOODS

Chicago has become world-renowned as a food mecca, known for its diverse culinary offerings. Devanco Foods specializes in two of the most popular items that originated in the Windy City— gyros and Italian beef. Devanco Foods is dedicated to flavor and committed to quality. Their Italian beef is slow-roasted and paired with a flavorful gravy, and they produce Chicago’s first and finest gyros, from cones to slices that are hand-carved right off the cone. 847-228-7070, DEVANCOFOODS.COM

PIZZA CLOUD

PizzaCloud’s centralized call handling isn’t just for the big guys. It works for operations from two to hundreds of locations. Join PizzaCloud on September 17 for a webinar on using technology to manage traffic during emergencies and rush periods. Topics include advanced messaging, letting employees take phone orders from home, and lowering costs, increasing revenue and eliminating downtime from Internet outages. Register for the webinar at pmq.com/schedule. 866-511-5521, PIZZACLOUD.NET

GALBANI

Galbani offers a fresh new way to stack up savings with Galbani Thin Sliced Fresh Mozzarella. With so many slices of creamy, all-natural, fior di latte fresh mozzarella, you can top more sandwiches, pizzas and appetizers than ever. This presliced log delivers less cost per slice and takes the guesswork out of portions. Customers will enjoy the milky flavor and soft, stretchy texture of this all-natural fresh mozzarella. 877-522-8254, LACTALISCULINARY.COM

MESSAGE ON HOLD

Looking to reduce hang-ups, upsell your customers and have more productive employees? Message On Hold has been making phones explode with business for over 20 years. They’re giving away a free year of their namesake service that includes copywriting, professional voice talents, digital equipment, installation support and more. Contact them to learn more about Message On Hold and their other products and services. 800-392-4664 EXT. 1, MESSAGEONHOLDSERVICE.COM/ PHONES

MIKE’S HOT HONEY

Mike’s Hot Honey has launched dip cups to better service pizzerias experiencing an increase in delivery and takeout business during the pandemic. The topping combination of Mike’s Hot Honey drizzled on pepperoni pizza has become a staple on menus nationwide. “We recommend drizzling on the pie just before you take a bite,” says founder Michael Kurtz. With dip cups, that is easier than ever. WHOLESALE@MIKESHOTHONEY, MIKESHOTHONEY.COM

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THE U.S. PIZZA TEAM GOES TO LONDON

A competition was held among the world’s most talented pizza spinners.

Their video performances were then presented to three former world pizza spinning champions including some of the most familiar faces of pizza spinning.

And then they were judged...

Quentin Sauret Pizzeria Le Golden Le Puy-En Velay, Auvergne, France

Jérôme Falco Falco Pizza Mimizan, France

Michael Reyes-Casanova Hearth Wood Fired Cuisine Virginia Beach, Virginia

Tara Hattan Andolini’s Pizzeria Tulsa, Oklahoma

Dario Viola Pizzeria Catillo London, England

Dunwoodie Pizzeria & Restaurant has been a popular Yonkers spot for 50 years; Frank Fiorino’s brother Gabe works the oven at Dunwoodie; Gabe chats with co-owner Fred Greco at the pizzeria in the late ’70s; Frank Sabatino carries on the traditions of his family.

DUNWOODIE PIZZERIA & RESTAURANT

This popular Yonkers hangout, celebrating 50 years in 2020, strikes an impressive balance between old-school traditions and of-the-moment innovations.

BY TRACY MORIN

Only one day after arriving in the United States, Frank Fiorino was already employed at a pizzeria in the Bronx, New York, where the owner, Fred Greco, was a childhood friend in Italy. Soon, the pair became partners for a second spot in Yonkers—Dunwoodie Pizzeria & Restaurant, opened in August 1970—and struck immediate success.

After Greco retired in 2003, Fiorino’s son bought his share of the business, and in 2009, when Fiorino retired, his nephew, Frank Sabatino, swooped in, becoming sole owner in 2017. Sabatino, now 33, had been working in the pizzeria since 16. “I wanted to keep it in the family, because it’s such a staple in the city,” Sabatino recalls. “We have such a loyal clientele. They say, ‘It tastes just like I remember it,’ and that’s my goal—to continue the tradition. It’s something I’m very proud of.”

Pizza, deep-fried calzones and Italian ices remain the business’ foundation, but Sabatino isn’t afraid to expand, experiment and scout other pizzerias for new ideas. The Spicy Square Pizza, with fra diavolo sauce, fresh mozzarella and spicy cup-style pepperoni (inspired by a picture Sabatino saw on Instagram from a New York City pizzeria) won an award this year for the best slice in the county by Westchester Magazine

“Never stop learning—there’s always room for improvement,” Sabatino says. “Check out other businesses, even ones that aren’t doing well. The day you feel you know everything in your business is probably the day you should start considering retirement.”

Community give-back remains important at Dunwoodie, too. The pizzeria regularly works with local high schools, and last Christmas it hosted a toy drive for the children’s hospital. Its “Pizza With a Cop” program, held with the local police department, invited kids to meet with local law enforcement over pies. It’s all part of the pizzeria’s family feel, which extends to customers and employees alike. “You bring an employee into an establishment like this, and it’s like bringing them into your family,” Sabatino explains. “Customers like to see the same faces behind the counter, because they feel like it’s their home as well.”

Likewise, for Sabatino, the pizzeria isn’t just a job—it’s a life. “You’ve got to love this business and have a passion for it,” he concludes. “I don’t count the hours; I make the hours count. I could be here 15 hours a day, and it feels like five. The days fly by when you enjoy what you do.”

Tracy Morin is PMQ’s senior copy editor.

Has your pizzeria been in business for 50 years or longer? If so, contact us at tracy@pmq.com.