It’s been six years since we last visited Pizza Shuttle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This time around, it was with a greater purpose –– the company has been named Pizza Today’s Independent Pizzeria of the Year. Of course, you’re probably wonderin...

Ask Rebecca Black why she loves carpet, and she can sum it up in one word: noise. Black is vice president of operations and franchise support for Alhambra, California-based Shakey’s USA, a 55-restaurant pizza company that plans to open 10 new store...

If you’ve overlooked your restaurant’s outdoor decorating, now’s a great time to dig into exterior design. Experts say landscaping around your pizzeria isn’t a frivolous expense: paying attention to your green spaces outside will help you att...

You still standing? Congratulations. It’s been pretty tough lately, to say the least. The good news? If you’ve made it this far, you stand a good chance of surviving this downturn and popping out stronger than ever on the other side. As the weak ...

I In these increasingly competitive times, standing out has become more important than ever. Offering top-notch food and service is the first step, but sometimes you’ve got to take it a little further. Featuring live entertainment may give you the ...

One of my first assignments as a consultant was to implement a turnaround for a group of pizzerias. They were hanging on by a thread. They had cashed in all of their CDs, 401(k)s and charged their credit cards to the max. I had made several visits to...

Grape Expectations Many operators make the mistake of overpricing their wine list. When this happens, greater sales are sacrificed. The aim of most pizzerias that serve wine should be to keep prices in the range of $5 to $9 per glass. Only upscale It...

‘Tis the season to be frugal? Consumers are finding their disposable cash at an all time low. The reality of a recession has hit home. Consumers now have to be more discreet than ever or change their ways — and change does not come easy. Dining o...

Muscles produce force. Muscles create motion. Muscles incinerate fat. And therein lies a paradox. Most attempts at weight loss involve dieting instead of exercise. Successful, long-term fitness comes from working out, not from starving. Dieting is th...

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of spending a few days with a client, Carl Hixon. Carl is the proprietor of Georgio’s Pizza in Pensacola, Florida. Every morning, he picked me up at his oceanfront condo and we went to work. One morning was diff...

Tom Iannarino owns and operates Terita’s Pizza in the Northland area of Columbus, Ohio. Iannarino’s father, Gus, founded the restaurant in 1959, two years before Tom was born. The younger Iannarino grew up in the family business — which only of...

Take-and-bake pizza is growing in popularity, and I constantly get questions on how to make it without preparing special dough. At one time or another, you may have been asked to prepare a par-baked pizza for a customer. What you actually did was mak...