Optimize ingredients you have on hand   It’s certainly important to consider and sample new items to incorporate into our menu to keep our customer base excited and interested. Although I do think it’s critical to periodically introduce new ...

How protected is your staff from the competition?   It’s a small business owner’s nightmare: Discovering that the competition has “raided” your staff, leaving you with a skeletal crew to run your restaurant. Employee raids are unethical,...

Robbery preparedness and prevention training could save lives   One chilly November night, two employees working late at a suburban Milwaukee pizzeria decided to step out for a cigarette before cleaning up for the night. Within a split-second af...

When Sylvia Melendez Klinger had family visit her in Chicago from Mexico, she ordered pizza for the kids. “It’s the universal food, no matter where you’re from everyone knows it.” But she took note of one major difference. Her...

You receive a notice in the mail that an ex-employee is filing for unemployment. But he quit the company and one doesn’t receive unemployment for that. He wasn’t fired; he wasn’t demoted and sulked off in dejection; he wasn’t harassed into su...

What’s the strangest pizza you’ve ever enjoyed? I’ll never forget an experience I had in an old-school pizzeria in Trenton, New Jersey. The shop, Papa’s Tomato Pies, is the kind of place that would have you arrested for requesting pineapple o...

Amaretti Cookies    Yield: 3 dozen cookies 2¼ cups blanched whole almonds, plus more for garnishing 2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided 2 large egg whites, at room temperature ¼ teaspoon sea salt ½ teaspoon pure almond ex...

It’s all about ROI and how to maximize it   There are a variety of gauges a business can use to measure the success of its marketing. But to really measure you must first know your goal. Was it money in the bank, build a database, find a n...

Dram shop laws, underage drinking, over serving, altercation risk, staffing and training: operating a bar within a pizzeria can be a mess of liability. But managed effectively, a bar can enhance your pizzeria and drive traffic with not only alcohol s...

Creative desserts boost check averages   Gaining a competitive edge in today’s crowded market is more crucial than ever. Diners expect the moon and the stars — preferably locally sourced, homemade and at a great price. Desserts offer a great...

Upscale meat toppings add wow favor   In the beginning — quite a while back, in fact –– it was pepperoni and sausage. Those were the two toppings most requested by patrons of modest, family-owned pizzerias and chain-operated pizza places a...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what hangs on an operator’s walls says a lot. Whether it is comprised of pictures, artwork, awards, sports memorabilia or a little bit of everything, a restaurant’s wall décor speaks vol...