Does it make sense to grind my own cheese, or should I buy it already done? A: Both make sense to do. It really depends on your space and the complexity of your menu and other food preparation techniques. I tend to have a large menu with a pretty big...

Sunday sales have been fluctuating recently and tapering off. I’m thinking of closing Sundays for a while and may revisit opening back up at a later date. Does that sound reasonable? I think businesses that keep changing their hours a...

Have you ever participated in local festivals by setting up a food booth? Is it worth the trouble and expense? Do you actually make a profit, or is it just more to get your name out there in the community? I participate in those as often as I can. Th...

To a certain point we are masters of our own destiny. To a certain point. The current economy is in uncharted waters. I hope our elected government officials are up to the task of putting the economic train wreck back on the tracks. I’ve seen a...

It’s time to think strategically about the new year. If you want to achieve growth you need to organize your tasks, set clear goals and implement a plan of attack. Each business has different needs, but there are some things all operators shoul...

If you currently do not offer online ordering, what’s stopping you? I am sure most, if not all, of your surrounding competitors do. The benefits of online ordering should not be overlooked. Here are five reasons why you should start offering it as ...

Every pizza operator faces the same question: Does this apron make my butt look big? The answer is yes, but the other big question is: How do I get more people in my restaurant at slow times without giving the place away or spending a ton of money on...

Beating up your vendors will usually get you nowhere fast. Many will disagree with me on this issue, but I firmly believe that a restaurant-vendor relationship is a two-way street. Consider the relationship your pizzeria has with its customers. The c...

More and more pizzerias are entering the catering arena, and for good reason: Marketed and executed properly, pizzeria catering operations can add anywhere from 10 to 20 percent to your top-line sales. Since each catered event is feeding 10 or more p...

I had an epiphany. It was a long time coming. Pizza marketing is and always will be about the database. Over the past couple of years, some of the old-school marketing had been dying in an ugly, expensive manner. Old-school marketing was being compar...

The marketing department at a community bank in New York State devised a strategy to obtain a group of small-business accounts that were . . . with its biggest competitor. And it was a mouthwatering idea! For six months, they delivered hot pizzas fro...

A recent article in Restaurant Business magazine uncovered the drastic effect poor service now has on restaurant operators. The good news is that, at nearly the same time, American Express reported a survey that found customers have become so general...