Vendors can make or break your pizzeria, according to Mark Lacz. As co-founder and partner of TyMark Restaurant Group, which operates six locations in Connecticut and Rhode Island, Lacz looks at vendors as business partners.

“In a sense, they are helping us build our brand,” Lacz says during a session at Pizza Expo 2025. “The better we do, the better they do.”

Negotiating With Vendors

Tyler Carlson, Lacz’s co-founder and partner at TyMark, says it’s the job of the restaurant owner to protect the bottom line and product quality, and ideally their vendors have the same objective. At all TyMark restaurants, Carlson looks to keep food costs below 28%.

Recently, the restaurant group experienced its own Coca-Cola versus Pepsi showdown. After years of loyalty to Coke, the beverage giant approached them with a new five-year contract featuring higher prices.

That’s when they decided to play hardball. They contacted Pepsi, which was “very eager to get our business. They offered cash up front, change out all the equipment, their service program, ice machines. They were really willing to throw the kitchen sink at us.”

The result? Coca-Cola came back with money upfront, dropped prices, showed them rebates they didn’t know existed and even threw in some Celtics suite tickets. “It doesn’t hurt to ask,” Lacz says.

Revolutionary Spreadsheet System

One of the session’s most requested takeaways was Lacz’s custom Excel pricing comparison system. Frustrated by vendors’ inconsistent pricing formats and promises of “best pricing,” he developed what he calls his “master order guide” spreadsheet.

“What I did was put together a snapshot of our master order guide – something like 580 products – and asked them to make sure they stay in order with pricing in the same format,” Lacz says.

The spreadsheet uses conditional formatting to color-code pricing differences, making it instantly clear which vendor offers the best deals on specific items. While one major distributor promises the world, the spreadsheet reveales the truth: “All the red ones in this column – that was the distributor that promised us the best pricing,” Lacz says.

Product Specificity

TyMark emphasizes the importance of knowing products inside and out. The company’s “shelf to sheet” system ensures that what’s on the shelves matches order guides exactly.

“You want to be very, very, very specific,” Lacz says. “Your product list helps you stay consistent with ordering. It also helps you when comparing costs with other vendors.”

Carlson illustrates this with a practical example: “We use a local company that grinds our fresh burgers for us. They went up 50 cents a pound just the other week. We ran some reports, we realized we’re spending about $70,000 a year in burger meat alone. We took that information to some of our other vendors” to negotiate pricing.

Vendor Management Tips

Carlson and Lacz offer the following tips for pizzerias to implement when selecting vendors, negotiating and managing ongoing relationships.

Choosing Vendors

• Align vendor values with your brand

• Consider delivery schedules and minimum orders

• Evaluate online ordering capabilities

• Ask about test kitchens and software offerings

During Negotiations

• Everything is negotiable – pricing, terms, delivery schedules

• Ask about rebates (both vendor and manufacturer)

• Inquire about equipment and merchandising support

• Don’t be afraid to leverage your buying power

Vendor Management

Pay bills on time to maintain good standing

• Track order accuracy and provide feedback

• Maintain organized product lists with specific descriptions

• Compare prices regularly but don’t sacrifice relationships for pennies

Bottom Line

With food costs capped at 28%, Lacz and Carlson say vendor relationships aren’t just about getting the lowest price – they’re about building partnerships that support long-term success.

“The goal for your vendor should be to work hard to save you time and money and allow you to focus on growing your business and your brand,” Lacz says.

Relationships matter and data-based strategic thinking beats reactive purchasing every single time.