MAKE MORE DOUGH IN CHICAGO!

Ready to take your pizzeria to the next level? The National Pizza & Pasta Show, taking place August 23 through 25 in Rosemont, Illinois, is the place to start. Featuring some of the industry’s top operators, consultants and technology providers, this event is packed with seminars designed to help you sell more pizza. Here’s a sneak preview, with more details to come in the August issue of PMQ!

Topic: Is Hospitality Dead? 5 Secrets to Unlocking the New Table

Speaker: Zack Oates, Founder, Ovation

With the off-premise boom and social distancing, how do you still connect with your customers?

Oates will share the secrets to finding out how your customers feel on- and off-premises, getting happy customers to help market your pizzeria, fixing root issues, driving more revenue and unlocking the power of digital hospitality.

Topic: Slam-Dunk Selling for Pizza

Operators: Turning Your People Into Sales Superstars

Speaker: Bill Guertin, Chief Enthusiasm Officer, The 800-Pound Gorilla Guertin will reveal the sales techniques used by professional sports teams’ ticket sales departments to sell out their stadiums and how pizzeria operators can adapt these techniques to produce higher checks, bigger tips and more profits.

Topic: Navigating Different Styles of Pizza in a Big-City Market

Speaker: Jonathan Porter, Chicago Pizza Tours

How do different pizza places properly brand and differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market? Porter founded Chicago Pizza Tours in 2009, becoming the first Chicago food tour company focusing solely on Chicago’s most defining food: pizza. This seminar includes a slideshow presentation on some famous Chicagoland pizzerias.

Topic: Who Really Invented Chicago

Deep-Dish Pizza?

Speaker: Peter Regas, Blogger/Founder, pizzahistorybook.com

Take a historical, research-rich deep dive into the facts and conjecture behind the creation of one of America’s most famous food inventions. This panel discussion will include Steve Dolinsky, Peter Regas, Jonathan Porter, Drew Axelrod, Tim Samuelson, Marc Malnati and others.

Topic: Adapting to an Evolving Industry

Speaker: Bob Vergidis, Chief Vision Officer, The Point of Sale Cloud

Pizza used to be one of the few delivery foods, but that’s no longer the case. The industry must adapt to keep its slice of the pie. Vergidis will discuss technology trends, ideas and changes in the market and provide an exciting new perspective for the future.

Topic: Where Is My Money?

Speaker: Izzy Kharasch, President, Hospitality Works Kharasch will explain how to uncover and prevent various types of theft that occur in restaurant operations and offer three real-life case studies where he identified and halted theft, increasing profits in under three weeks.

Topic: Think and Grow Rich in the Pizza Business

Speaker: Pasquale DiDiana, President, Bacci Pizzeria

Learn how Bacci Pizzeria’s Pasquale DiDiana went from one store grossing $300,000 per year to multiple locations grossing $5 million in under five years using principles from the classic Napoleon Hill book.

Topic: Utilizing Call Centers for Higher Volume

Speaker: John Scully, CEO, Pizza Cloud

Scully’s company provides telephone/internet solutions to the pizza industry. In this seminar, you’ll learn how call centers can provide a better experience for your customers, make your restaurant more competitive and increase sales and profits.

Topic: Proper Staff Training and Service Orientation

Speaker: Brian Margulis, Professor of Hospitality Management, Roosevelt University

Learn how to create an orientation and training program. This seminar will cover behavior modeling and learner-controlled instruction, the characteristics of effective sellers/greeters, and handling guest complaints.

Topic: Negotiating Leases and Lease Renewals

Speaker: Dale Willerton, The Lease Coach Facing a lease renewal or signing a new lease in the next 24 months? Willerton will discuss lease negotiations, midterm rent reductions, site selection, building acquisitions, and document reviews.

Topic: How

to Use Text Message Marketing to Generate More Revenue

Speaker: Shane Murphy, CEO, Boostly Murphy will cover why text marketing is so effective, industry stats related to text messaging, and the dos and don’ts you should be aware of. You’ll walk away with a playbook to build an engaged audience and a profitable marketing engine through SMS.

Topic: Did You Receive Your ERC Credit?

Speaker: Joel Manning, CPA, Principal, Manning & Silverman P.A.

Many businesses will qualify for ERC. Your restaurant can receive up to $26,000 per employee. Attend this seminar to learn more! Manning has 35-plus years of experience providing accounting services to his clients and can think outside the box to help them.

Topic: Hiring and Retaining Employees

Speaker: Robert Bernstein, Attorney, Laner Muchin P.A.

Bernstein is a labor lawyer for the restaurant industry. Hiring employees, general liability, insurance, and retaining staff will be discussed in this session.

Topic: The Bright Future of Pizza

Speaker: Steve Green, Publisher, PMQ Pizza Media

As publisher of the pizza industry’s No. 1 media company, Green has his finger on the pulse of the pizza industry. He will lead a panel discussion about the current state of the pizza industry and the moneymaking opportunities of the future.

Lincoln Ovens

The new ventless mid-size conveyor oven, Lincoln Aperion 2424 impinger, has independent top and bottom air control to set air flow, eliminating the need for different finger configurations. Dual blower motors and higher output elements reduce cook times by up to 20%, while the front-located, intuitive touchscreen control and removable front door lets you quickly program a recipe or access a 24” x 24” cooking area.

LINCOLNFP.COM/PRODUCTS/2424

HS, INC.

Located in Oklahoma City, HS, Inc. is a manufacturer of unique foodservice products and maintains excellent quality control and customer service. Producing a quality product and taking care of customers has been the company’s philosophy since its inception in 1986 and continues to guide its practices today. HS offers complete in-house design and manufacturing capabilities and welcomes custom projects and ideas.

HSFOODSERVERS.COM

REVEL SYSTEMS: ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

Pizzerias face unique challenges and opportunities for effectively utilizing a POS platform. They require menu flexibility and precise inventory management. Customers also expect a variety of ordering options both on- and off-premises and from third-party marketplaces. In this on-demand webinar, Revel product experts detail how a cloud-native POS platform can help you easily manage these complexities to improve your pizzeria’s operations.

PAGE.REVELSYSTEMS.COM/PIZZAWEBINAR

MELINDA’S

Melinda’s has done it again. Melinda’s, the craft pepper sauce company that’s famous for making a variety of sauces that are thicker, hotter and better than average hot sauces, is now making a Louisiana red cayenne pepper sauce as well as a Mexican-style pepper sauce, featuring premium fresh chiles and spices, called Mexicana. Both have approachable heat with all the flavor you would expect from Melinda’s products.

MELINDAS.COM

Meridian Star

With more than 3,000 clients nationwide, Meridian Star POS specializes in providing highquality, state-of-the art point-of-sale systems and amazing 24-hour-a-day customer support to the pizza restaurant industry. With an industry-leading cash discounting program, all of this is available for $0 per month.

FREEPOSPLACE.COM, 800-675-5810 EXT. 216

Authentic Foods

Authentic Foods’ new gluten-free pan pizza crust mix is perfect for Detroit-style, Sicilian, deep-dish and bar-style pizzas. The mixes are so easy to make and so good that nobody will know the difference! Options include pizza crusts, knots, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and more. These mixes are available in a variety of sizes to suit your needs. Visit their website for samples and recipes.

AUTHENTICFOODS.COM, 310-366-7612

Phade

Phade is the world’s first marine-biodegradable, home- and industrial-compostable line of drinking straws and stirrers. Made with PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate), a unique new biopolymer derived from the fermentation of canola oil, phade’s sustainable drinking straws maintain the feel and user experience of traditional plastic equivalents but will safely return to nature through composting.

PHADEPRODUCTS.COM

Watch the video at PMQ.com/phade

Igpm Distribution

IGPM Distribution is the exclusive distributor of Kalkomat Boxers, WIK Basketball and Air Hockey, and Hit the Green MMA interactive games. Located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, IGPM ship its games to the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and South and Central America. They also stock all parts, provide tech support and offer a one-year warranty. You can view all of their games on their website.

IGPMDIST.COM

Watch the video at PMQ.com/igpm

Sunday

Launched by Christine de Wendel (ManoMano), Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux (Big Mamma Group) last year, sunday transforms the tedious minutes needed to order and pay at a restaurant into a quick, easy experience of under 10 seconds with a simple QR code for the menu and payment. In one year, sunday has raised $124 million, partnered with 6,000-plus restaurant owners and recruited more than 350 employees in eight countries.

SUNDAYAPP.COM

Watch the video at PMQ.com/sunday-app

U R Stickers

U R Stickers is a newer-technology sticker program with no setup or plate charges. This is a full custom, made-inthe-USA program that will work well to promote your pizzeria in many ways. The stickers are removable and restickable, so they can be positioned and repositioned anywhere, resulting in higher sales and many different uses. Sell them to customers or give them away as swag.

URSTICKERS.COM

Watch the video at PMQ.com/u-r-stickers proof below and sign-off on the advertisement as shown or indicate changes in the column. Please return this signed proof to Stacie Dennison at either:

Optimal Dough Protection

» Outlasts plastic trays

» Won’t bend or dent

» Withstands temps -60 o to 250

» Lids and dollies available

» Custom color matching

PH 800 458.6050 • www.mfgtray.com • Contact your preferred distributor

• Dough Trays Standard & Artisan Sizes – extremely durable and airtight. Outlasts all other Plastic & Fiberglass Dough Trays!

• Dough Tray Covers – designed to fit.

Standard & Artisan Sizes – extremely durable and airtight. engineered to fit.

• Dough Scrapers – two ergonomic designs.

• Dough Tray Dollies – heavy duty. The preferred dough tray of pizza operators in the US and Abroad for over 30 years! Order by phone or online. Call 908-276-8484 www.doughmate.com www.doughmate.com