In the restaurant business there are certain “rules” you’re supposed to follow in order to be successful, but many operators break these rules and see sales and profits rise. Pizza Today takes a look at how operators are breaking five rules and...

The Dough Doctor talks about the use of fats in pizza dough   Q: What is the difference between using shortening and oil in pizza dough, and does it make a difference if the shortening is melted? A: There are a number of different aspects to usi...

I took a group of pizzeria operators to Central Milling in Petaluma, California, recently and we worked with Nicky and Keith Giusto. These guys are rock stars in the bread world. Nicky formulated several recipes for breads using different flours, pre...

Look to popular regional sandwiches for pizza inspiration Sandwiches and pizzas share the holy trinity of dough, cheese and sauce. So why not draw inspiration from some of the country’s most beloved sandwiches for your next pizza special? Look to y...

Oversized pies become a big hit   From supersized value meals and Big Gulps to 31-ounce coffees and oversized SUVs, everything these days seems bigger. Does bigger mean better? According to pizzeria operators when it comes to pizza –– the an...

So-called Tuscan peppers pack a flavorful punch Pepperoncini come packing just a little heat and are used widely in Italian and Greek cuisine and accompany every pizza that Papa John’s and others serve to their patrons. Pepperoncini hail from Europ...

Tempt your customers with sweet dessert offerings Desserts can be a tough sell in a pizzeria. After a customer has filling breadsticks, pizza and beer or soda, there’s often no room left for a sweet treat. Perhaps that’s why lemon sorbet or melt-...

Is there still room for cash handling in a plastic world? In today’s tech-charged payment society, cash may no longer be king, but the Washingtons, Lincolns and Jacksons haven’t exactly been overthrown, either. According to a 2014 retail point-of...

What’s your information sharing style? In today’s analytics-driven environment, information is everywhere –– even pizzerias, which run sales through point-of-sale (POS) systems, count inventory, record waste and collect customer data. Among m...

International Pizza Expo set to be largest in show history Whether you’re attending your first or 15th International Pizza Expo, it’s safe to say the show has come a long way. This year’s Expo is set to be the largest in its 31-year history. Th...

It all starts with you   Managing chaos is my favorite phrase I like to use to describe operating a pizzeria — chaos that can challenge the sanity of even the best of us. Our pizzerias take raw materials such as salt, flour, yeast, tomatoes an...

A Whirlwind trip took us to some of Los Angeles’ best pizzerias   Garage Pizza When we landed at LAX we were famished. Thankfully one of our planned stops, Garage Pizza, wasn’t all that far from our hotel. We high-tailed it to this slice...