EVENTS & PROMOTIONS DECEMBER 2021

Industry Events

NOSH Live Winter

December 2-3

This event, taking place in Santa Monica, California, is designed to grow the better-for-you food industry. It brings together a community of experts who will provide actionable insights to help food businesses grow responsibly. The event includes product sampling and 20-plus speakers from established and up-and-coming brands. Learn more at nosh.com/events/noshlive.

Saturday, December 25

Christmas Day

Even if you close your store for this major holiday, you can still make the week leading up to it something special with themed pizzas, a canned food drive for the needy, or a Christmas stocking giveaway featuring gift cards and items from local businesses.

Thursday, December 30

National Bacon Day

Papa John’s had the right idea when it introduced the limited-time Triple Bacon Pizza special earlier this year. Create your own bacon-topped pie for this food holiday, try it out on the menu and consider making it permanent if it’s a hit.

LEARN AND EARN!

2 p.m. (CT), Tuesday, December 14

PMQ Live Update: Mark “The Cheese Dude” Todd

Cheesy questions (and jokes) are welcome as PMQ’s Brian Hernandez hosts a chat with Mark “The Cheese Dude” Todd. Todd will answer all of your questions live, with a focus on hard cheeses as both star-of-the-show toppings and garnishes.

Join us on Facebook Live!

Plant-Based World Conference & Expo

December 9-10

To be held at the Javits Center in New York City, this event focuses on plantbased foods for foodservice and retail professionals, distributors, investors and manufacturers. Exhibitors will showcase their latest plant-based products, while educational sessions explore the moneymaking strategies and trends you will need to know about in 2022. Learn more at plantbasedworldexpo.com.

PROMOTE THIS!

December: National Pear Month

Celebrate National Pear Month with a weekly offering of specialty pies that combine pears with complementary toppings like Gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto, goat cheese and caramelized onions. Promote the specials on social media all month long.

Friday, December 10

National Lager Day

Known for their clean, crisp character, lagers sometimes get a bad rap for lack of complexity, but a craft lager is something special. Partner with a local brewer and create pizza-and-lager deals for all of those true-blue brew fans at your restaurant.

2 p.m. (CT), Tuesday, December 21

PMQ Live Update: Kevin Konn, Roman Pizza Academy

Roman Pizza Academy instructor Kevin Konn talks to Brian Hernandez about the latest developments in Roman style-pizza. Konn will also field all of your questions about how to dream up a delicious Roman-style pie for your 2022 menu.

Join us on Facebook Live!

• Supported pizza sizes: 8”–16”

The Bachelorette And The Pizza Man

Peter Izzo’s first love is food, but he had hoped elementary school teacher Michelle Young, the featured star of ABC’s The Bachelorette, would be a close No. 2. Izzo, the owner of Peter’s Pizzeria in Port Saint Joe, Florida, was one of the male contestants on the show’s current season before Young gave him the boot in November. According to ABC, Izzo’s dream woman is “honest, committed, spontaneous and not interested in talking politics on a date.” And she has to be a foodie, too. A self-described “hopeless romantic,” Izzo opened Peter’s Pizzeria in 2019 after moving to Italy to study the country’s cuisine. His menu includes a grandma pie, a Sicilian, and the El Diablo Pie, featuring fried chicken, cherry peppers, pepperoncini, fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey. But his culinary skills apparently weren’t enough to earn the final rose. On the plus side, Izzo and his brother, Bobby Pokora, have announced plans to open two additional Florida locations of Peter’s Pizzeria—one in Boca Raton and one in Pompano Beach, next spring. “We had always dreamed of starting a family business, and we found that in Peter’s Pizzeria,” Pokora said.

The Old College Try

DJ Garcia wears a lot of hats in Wilton, New Hampshire. Not only does he co-own Wilton House of Pizza with his wife, Amy, he’s also the town treasurer and host of a podcast focused on local issues and events. So when he interviewed local school superintendent Peter Weaver on his podcast, the two men hit on an idea. To help a deserving senior afford college tuition, Weaver stepped behind the pizzeria’s counter on Saturday, October 9, to take orders and raise donations for a scholarship fund. For the first of what will be several “scholarship days,” a special menu featured two of Weaver’s favorite items: a chicken and bacon pizza and a chicken kebab sandwich. Customers who ordered those items were asked to make a $2.50 donation to the fund, and Wilton House of Pizza matched every donation. “I’m a Wilton guy,” Garcia told the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. “Over the years, we’ve had dozens of [local] students….work for us, and I’ve tried to do my part to equip those students with a work ethic and skills they can bring anywhere. We have everything we need to be successful here—we just need each other. I want to continue to do that, and, in this one way, I can be a positive part of the community and uplifting everyone in it.”

Iron Mike Goes Bronze

Pizza loving tourists have another reason to check out Mulberry Street Pizzeria in Las Vegas: a 10’ bronze statue of heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson positioned just outside the restaurant’s entrance at Resorts World Las Vegas. Mulberry Street Pizzeria founder Richie Palmer unveiled the statue in honor of his longtime friend in late October. Tyson himself put in an appearance and posed for photos before signing his autograph on the eatery’s wall. With four additional locations in California, including two in Beverly Hills, Mulberry Street claims to be “the world’s most famous pizzeria.” It certainly has a lot of famous fans, including Tyson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Flavor Flav, Joe Pesci and Mickey Rourke. (Palmer himself is the ex-husband of Raquel Welch.) When the pizzeria’s Vegas store opened in September, Sylvester Stallone donated signed posters of Rocky and Rambo, while Schwarzenegger contributed a signed poster from The Terminator. The Tyson statue “will be a hallmark in Vegas for generations to come,” the company said in a Facebook post on October 22.

HELP A PUP AT CATCH-A-FIRE PIZZA

Two sweet pups found new “furever” homes in a pet adoption promotion held at Catch-a-Fire Pizza in Blue Ash, Ohio, in mid-October. The pizzeria partnered with Cincinnati Animal CARE/Humane Society in the first-time event, which will likely be repeated in the coming months. Two of the three dogs brought to the event got adopted on the spot, according to Shanny Collins, marketing and communications manager for Catch-aFire Pizza, which also has a location in Oakley, Ohio. “The representatives from Cincinnati Animal CARE/Humane Society were quite happy,” Collins said. “They told us that it was the best turnout for this type of event they had seen.” Catch-a-Fire’s Blue Ash location already hosts a Pups, Pints & Pizza On the Patio party every Monday, complete with doggie treats, as well as an annual Halloween costume contest for pups. “We have a lot of animal lovers on our staff, and it’s been fun for them, fun for our customers, and a great cause to support,” Collins said.