With so many new restaurants opening around me and the economy being what it is, I’m getting scared watching sales drop. What can I do to keep my name out there without going broke? It’s time to turn your advertising inside out! Here&rsqu...

Your servers may hate it when a table comes in with four kids in tow — but big families mean big money, both for the restaurant and the server. A waiter who knows how to work the kids is a waiter who goes home with a bigger tip from mom and dad...

The dollar signs may not exactly dance before your eyes when a single diner walks into your pizzeria. You’d much rather seat the party of four who will order a bottle of wine and an appetizer. That might be your first mistake: not welcoming the...

There are so many ways to advertise! How do I know which advertising opportunities are the best ones for my Pizzeria? It can be mind-boggling and frustrating to figure out which ones will suit you well. First, you need to create an advertising budget...

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...

There he sat, as expressionless as an iguana as I explained how an ad I would create for him would sink like a dropped anchor, even with a great headline, plenty of benefits and a no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. He would be pouring money aw...

Just over half of my gross sales came from home and business deliveries. Over the years we stumbled on a few ideas that made us stand out from the competition. We were the first company in our area to use car-top signs. It was so long ago I had to ma...

Should I set aside a specific amount for marketing each month, or should marketing costs be a percentage of my overall sales? When I was in the building stage of my business, I would dedicate 1 to 2 percent of my sales to advertising. Once I was well...

Marketing Building Public Image Look beyond paid advertising by marketing yourself wisely By  Gary Midge Newspaper ads –– expensive. Broadcast ads –– astronomical. Public image –– priceless. Sure, donations an...

Corporate accounts can be very lucrative, as long as you keep their business by serving excellent food — on time! You’ve got to go after them in as many ways as you can. One great way to drum up new corporate business is to do a hospitali...

Pizza Today Reader: I’m just getting started in the pizza business and would like to know how to determine the correct dough weight for each of my pizza sizes. How to calculate dough ball weight for 10 inch, 12 inch and 16 inch pizzas How heavy sho...

My mother made pizza once a week, usually on Saturday. In all those weeks and years of watching her make pizza, I never once saw her toss pizza dough. Stretched, not tossed (I believe that would be how James Bond would do it) was how that ball of piz...