Minimize the Legal Risk to Your Pizza Business Resulting From Death, Disability or Divorce As a pizzeria owner, you are well aware of business risks. Dealing with commercial ovens brings the threat of fire. And if you deliver pizzas, the everyday risks of driving a...
Kate Lavin
Kate Lavin's Latest Posts
Menu Diversification in the Pizza Industry
Evaluate Your Best-selling Dishes and Their Costs when Considering New Menu Items (Editor’s note: This article is based on a Pizza Expo 2025 session led by Melissa Rickman, co-founder of Wholly Stromboli in Fort Lupton, Colorado.) Restaurant operators often assume...
Launching a Mobile Pizzeria: Choosing a Commissary (Part 7)
(Editor’s note: This is the seventh installment in a series about opening a mobile pizzeria by Jason Cipriani, co-owner of Sips & Pies. You can read the other articles here.) Each week, I’ve been covering decisions involved in opening a mobile pizzeria as if they...
Pizzeria Prenup? Plan Ahead for the End of Business Partnerships
Outlining how to dissolve your business at the start could save headaches later You’ve found the one – that one person who shares your vision and has the same level of excitement about a business idea. The one who shares your motivation and willingness to put in the...
Launching a Mobile Pizzeria: Get Licensed (Part 6)
How to obtain licenses from the health department and fire department as well as a sales tax license (Editor’s note: This is the sixth installment in a series about opening a mobile pizzeria by Jason Cipriani, co-owner of Sips & Pies. You can read the other...
Rising Stars of Pizza: Who to Watch in 2025
Meet the Rising Stars of the Pizza Industry in 2025 To select the 2025 Rising Stars of the Pizza Industry, the editorial staff of Pizza Today reached out to some of the country's most well-known and well-respected pizzaiolos to learn whose careers they are watching...
Jhy Coulter, Orange By Devoured, Kansas City, Missouri – Rising Star
Jhy Coulter Restaurateur/Creator at Orange By Devoured Kansas City, Missouri Instagram: @orangebydevoured, @devoured.pizza Jhy Coulter has never been one to let the grass grow beneath her feet – until now. After graduating with an art degree from the University of...
Isaiah Ruffin, Pizza by Ruffin, Seattle, Washington – Rising Star
Isaiah Ruffin Chef and co-Owner of Pizza By Ruffin Seattle, Washington Instagram: @pizzabyruffin Isaiah Ruffin got his start cooking for generals in the U.S. Army. Today, he makes pizza for captains of industry. After years operating a food truck in Northern Colorado...
Victoria Tiso, Tori T’s Pizzeria, Malverne, NY – Rising Star
Victoria Tiso Owner of Tori T's Pizzeria Malverne, New York Instagram: @Tori_tspizzeria, @thebronxpizzagirl Victoria Tiso grew up in her father’s pizzeria, the famous Louie and Ernie’s in the Bronx. She then spent years as a high school and collegiate softball coach...
Miriam Weiskind, Yum’s of PDX, Portland, Oregon – Rising Star
Miriam Weiskind Head pizzaiolo and owner of Yum’s of PDX Portland, Oregon Instagram: @yumsofpdx, @thezareport Miriam Weiskind spent eight years as a tour guide for Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York. Disappointed by her underwhelming pizza making attempts, she sought to...
Davide Lubrano Lavadera, Pizzata Pizzeria, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Rising Star
Davide Lubrano Lavadera Founder/ Co-owner of Pizzata Pizzeria and Pizzata Pizzeria & Birreria Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Instagram: @Pizzata_pizzeria, @Pizzata_birreria, @Obsession_pizza At this year’s Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, Davide Lubrano Lavadera took the...
Melina Piroso Felix, The Pizza Bandit, Denver, Colorado – Rising Star
Melina Piroso Felix Owner/operator of The Pizza Bandit Denver, Colorado Instagram: @thepizzabanditcolorado Melina Piroso Felix started building The Pizza Bandit brand before selling her first pizza. Her son suggested the business name, and when Piroso Felix saw the...













