Congratulations to Lou Siecinski and Mark Gold, owners of Pizza Shuttle, Inc. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We’ve named Pizza Shuttle our 2009 Independent Pizzeria of the Year based on their quarter-century of success. Last year, Pizza Shuttle was ranked No. 32 on our annual list of America’s Hot 100 Independent pizza operations with $5.75 million in sales. Pizza Shuttle has only one location — its sales are far higher than other independent companies with five, six and even nine stores.
Among America’s one unit pizzerias, Pizza Shuttle is the second largest. Only Moose’s Tooth Pizza & Pub in Anchorage, Alaska, does a higher volume. Moose’s Tooth was our 2003 Independent of the Year. Ironically, Pizza Shuttle made its first Pizza Today cover that very same year. In late 2002, we ran a “Cover Contest” — the winner got to be featured in our January 2003 edition. Pizza Shuttle got the most votes on our Web site, earning them the distinction and an in-depth profile inside the magazine.
What makes Pizza Shuttle so impressive? Its owners credit a relentless focus on quality. From where I sit, that’s never a bad place to start. To learn more about Pizza Shuttle and its success, check out Mandy Wolf Detwiler’s article on page 54. Also, be sure to watch the video that we’ll have up on the home page of PizzaToday.com for the first two weeks of August. It’ll give you a better sense of how Mark and Lou run their business and what makes Pizza Shuttle the predominant pizza force in Milwaukee.
On another note, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that our September issue is just around the corner. I know we’ve been teasing you with it for some time — we’re promising a major industry event, in print, for 09.09.09. Don’t miss it.
Best,
Jeremy White, editor-in-chief
