Beyond The Dough

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Is this 2023 or 2020?

Raise your hand if you STILL feel like we’re living in some semblance of 2020?

Do you feel like the wind never returned to your sails after 2020, 2021 and 2022?

It’s time to move past it. Here is how I’m doing it.

I’m doing a hard reset on January 1, 2023. My Proclamation For Myself (You can borrow it!)

It’s over! I’m done with it! See ya! Arrivederci! Ciao!

My mindset is focused on FAMILY AND ABUNDANCE!

My heart is focused on FAMILY AND ABUNDANCE!

My job is focused on FAMILY AND ABUNDANCE!

My attitude is focused on FAMILY AND ABUNDANCE!

My soul is at ease.

Happy 2023 – Big Year!

To learn more about Perfect Crust’s pizza liners and other products, visit perfectcrust.com or email Eric Bam at Eric@perfectcrust.

About Eric Bam:

Eric is the VP of Sales & Marketing for Perfect Crust Pizza Liners and Incrediblebags.com. Eric is a goal driven optimist that uses his positive attitude to lift up those around him. He’s a father to Nycholas, Alayna and Ruby. He’s a public speaker and show host. You can find him on all social media @TheEricBam.

“That business became one of my most successful. My financial adviser said, ‘If only you just stuck with pizzerias!’ Mastering the craft of making individual pizzas is something we work on every day, but on paper it looks better than fine dining.”

Indeed, Dahl admits that she chose a very difficult path—it’s easier to create one scalable concept versus juggling five different ones, each with its own personality and unique needs. But if anyone can do it, it’s the tireless Dahl. In 2016, she added another concept in Mariposa, a Latin-inspired grill featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and spacious outdoor patios with jaw-dropping views of Sedona’s famous red rocks. “That’s the big kahuna—an overnight success that truly took on a life of its own before we knew what hit us,” she says. “People love a view, let’s face it. But I thought most restaurants with views were not great restaurants, and that was the last thing I was interested in. I made the food my focal point.”

Mariposa has remained both the most rewarding and challenging of Dahl’s concepts, bringing the highest highs and lowest lows thanks to its massive square footage, bedecked with rusted metals and natural stonework to meld seamlessly with the landscape. But Dahl wasn’t yet done. Pre-pandemic, she set her sights back in the village of Oak Creek. “I had this idea of coming back out to no-man’s land,” Dahl says. “There was an old, tired plaza with an outlet store and not a lot of curb appeal. But I saw that it’s one of the first buildings you see as you drive toward Sedona. I pictured Butterfly Burger and Pisa Lisa there as two anchors in the plaza’s corner locations. I thought they’d be open within six months of each other, but we had no way of knowing the pandemic was coming.”

Butterfly Burger—a concept with gourmet burgers, shakes and salads in a drop-dead sexy, lounge-like atmosphere—managed to clear $1 million its first year, despite being open for just six months when the pandemic struck. But Pisa Lisa’s second location slowed to a crawl. “Everything changed with the pandemic,” Dahl laments. “We had to let go of 300 out of 340 employees. It was brutal. Pisa Lisa was in the developing and planning stages, and the supply chain and construction delays gave me PTSD. It was a ‘hurry up and wait’ situation. Plus, people would ask me, ‘How are you going to create the energy of the original?’ How would we get that addictive feeling that people love—the feeling that it’s their place?”

Dahl planned for larger volume, installing two wood-fired ovens. Like with the original, her brother outfitted the airy space with rock-and-roll decor throughout. After many impatient inquiries from locals and tourists alike, its doors opened in June 2022. Dahl foresees making it, in addition to a go-to local hangout, a spot for to-go items—a place to sell her own retail goods, like sauces, tomatoes and meatballs, alongside the two cookbook memoirs she penned to share her food stories and recipes: A Romance With Food and The Elixir of Life.

A Flourishing Family

Dahl admits being “a little concerned” about the possibility of an oncoming recession—after all, she’s been through it before, around 2008, but back then she had only two concepts to worry about. “You have to be cognizant of the ‘what if’ feelings, but I’m more optimistic about pizza than fine dining,” she says. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed and keeping a watchful eye on numbers and labor, which is probably our biggest challenge since the pandemic.”

Dahl has kept Pisa Lisa’s profits robust by offering not just pizza but a full menu, highlighted by creative salads with organic ingredients and housemade dressings, plus a signature tomato soup, tapas plates, homemade desserts, and carefully sourced gelato that transports guests to an Italian street corner. “If everyone orders just pizza, we can’t pay the bills,” Dahl says with a laugh. “It’s important for people to have a full, well-balanced dining experience, and we feature things that people don’t expect in a pizzeria. I also try to cover all dietary needs. The pizza is the star, but everything else goes along with the experience. When you have so much to offer, people want to sit down and share with friends, not just run in and out.”

Indeed, Dahl realized early the importance of human connection in pizzeria positioning. After opening her first Pisa Lisa, she decided to add to the menu an explanation of the name: When she was young, her father used to tease her, “I want a little piece of Lisa,” and in his thick Chicagoan accent, it sounded like Pisa Lisa. She also sourced a plate from Pisa as inspiration for the logo and sign design. “I wanted to connect my dad, who passed away,” Dahl explains. “He was crazy for pizza and would take my mom for pizza dates when they were courting.”

The pizzas, too, are named after family: Da Dorothy and Da Herbie for her mom and dad, Justino for her son. “We’re connected with them even after they’ve crossed over,” Dahl says. “When I heard the order for the POS or called their pizza names, it became like a chant. It made me feel they were still connected and having fun with us. The connection to that family experience and keeping family memories alive—I think that’s the energy behind Pisa Lisa.”

Today, Dahl is eyeing expansion beyond Sedona, seeking investors for potential growth of the Butterfly Burger and Pisa Lisa concepts, which, she believes, would be successful in many markets across Arizona and beyond. “We are poised to be attractive to investors,” she notes. “It’s a perfect concept to be in markets across the country.”

Still, despite so much success now stretching over more than 25 years—and so much still on the horizon—Dahl remains humble. “I don’t feel like it’s an empire,” she says. “It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice and a tremendous amount of joy. We built our reputation on being a family business—it’s just that now we’re a large family.”