Topics
Operations
How to Improve Ticket Times
Ticket Time Management A restaurant’s ticket times and speed of service are the heartbeat of that restaurant. Every time I walk on the line as I go from store to store, my first question to the person running the line is: “where are we at?” ...
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Employee Management
Employee Handbook Revamped
Best practices for creating, and then adapting worker guidelines During this time, it is going to take strong leadership and partners to work with staff, as wearing gloves and masks all day and working behind glass is very different than what their p...
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Menu Development
Bring scratch dressing to salads, apps and pizzas
Dressed to Impress One of the first kitchen jobs I had in San Francisco was at a gourmet salad restaurant. The place had just opened in the financial district and was booming. The chef/owner had previously worked at high-end places such as Gary Danko...
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Menu Development
Menu Revamp: The Big Pivot
How pizzerias are thriving in strange times When restaurants nationwide began trying to figure out how to sustain business during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there were more questions than answers. And though it remains overwhelming and there stil...
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Finance & Growth
Building Blocks: How to Open a Pizzeria ASAP
You in a hurry? Then get going! The mission to create your new pizza shop is still in its infancy, but it’s about to take its first steps. You’ve found the right deal on a new building and used little to no money to buy it. Now, it’s pretty sim...
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Industry News
Conversation with Clara Cavalli, Brick + Wood Fairfield, CT
Brick + Wood, Fairfield, Connecticut Concept: APN Certified Neapolitan Pizzeria that serves certified Neapolitan Pizza, as well as Italian street food. In addition, we have an open kitchen mozzarella bar where we make homemade mozzarella dishe...
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Dough Production/Development
Knead to Know: The Dough Doctor offers tips to keep dough from sticking to the peel
How to get the pizza off the peel without sticking What’s causing my pizza to stick to the peel? There are a couple of things that might cause the dough to stick to your peel. If you are using malt in your dough, make doubly sure that it is non...
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People & Pizzerias
2020 Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Rocky Shanower, Park Street Pizza, Sugarcreek, OH
When the team at Pizza Today and Pizza Expo set out to find our 2020 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, scores of outstanding candidates from across the country came in. After reviewing submissions and four-minute videos, Rocky Shanower, co-owner of Par...
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Brand & Marketing
Man on the Street: Selling an Experience During Lockdown with Pizza-Making Kits
Of all the ideas to come out of the COVID-19 madness, my favorite by far has been the home pizza-making kit. With such severe restrictions on restaurant service, it’s become a powerful solution for staying connected to customers. Maybe you think it...
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Operations
How to increase check averages when customers order takeout
The Carryout Upsell People are not going to stay home forever, but they might not rush to dine in either. As states lift the COVID 19 pandemic shelter-at-home orders, restaurant customers might prefer to continue their carryout habit over sitting at ...
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Operations
COVID-19 provides reflection, new operational strategies moving forward
Crisis Takeaways There is a consensus among pizzeria operators, “We will come out of this a stronger pizzeria industry.” Moments of crisis force business owners to take a hard look at how they operate. Many pizzerias adapted to dining restriction...
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Finance & Growth
The Right and Wrong Ways to Reduce Costs
Lean and Mean — Ways to Reduce Costs Times will get tough. When your bank account is dwindling because revenue has decreased, the next task becomes cutting costs. It’s a decision riddled with failure points. The goal is to cut costs without s...