Lou Cobello is a former builder who came out of retirement in 2007 to open a pizzeria with his wife (Scarlet, a.k.a. Mimi), son (Lou, Jr.) and daughter (Tara). Located in Savannah, Georgia, Lou’s small New Jersey-style shop, Screamin’ Mimi’s Pi...

Summertime Secrets It’s summer, and chances are there’s a local farmer’s market going on somewhere nearby. Take the opportunity to buy local and fresh. Items such as juicy beefsteak tomatoes and melons or fresh basil and oregano plants make gre...

It’s a given that restaurant staff should present a well-scrubbed appearance; after all, who would want to patronize an eatery where employee personal hygiene is unappetizingly sub-par? But beyond this (hopefully universal) baseline, restaurant ope...

Long before Cuba Gooding Jr. laid that line on Tom Cruise in the movie Jerry McGuire, I heard it from my wife every April 15th. My CPA heard the same such words from me. Did you ever ask yourself the question, “What am I doing this for? Did I b...

Joe Fugere effortlessly strides through the open kitchen at the Westlake location of his four-store independent operation, Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria. We’ve been with him for an entire day in Seattle, driving around the city and visiting each ...

Danny Mac’s Pizza, Pasta & More isn’t the highest grossing operation in the industry, but owner Danny McMahon accounts for every dollar as if his were a publicly traded company. While a franchisee for the now-defunct Pizza Magia chain, McMaho...

When I walk into a restaurant, I look for it. When I check out the competition I grab it. What is it, you ask? It’s your menu! Unfortunately, many times I am left disappointed and uninformed. This small but essential element of a restaurant has bec...

America talked and Domino’s Pizza is listened. If you’ve watched any television over of the course of the past year, you’ve probably seen several corporate faces on the company’s advertising campaign serving up healthy doses of humble pie. In...

Visit any pizza restaurant and you’re likely to find workers of many races, colors and religions, and as we progress into the 21st century, this diversity is likely to become even more so. But while your workforce may contain employees from around ...

Over the years, I’ve written a number of articles on using baker’s percent to express a dough formula, but it never hurts to give a refresher course for those who have recently joined our ranks. A lot of time I hear: “Why can’t you just g...

Z-licious Appetizers are hot. Go beyond the typical fried mozzarella or bruschetta and offer your customers a zucchini Parmigiana that will have them coming back for more. Take a fresh zucchini peel and trim off the stem end. Slice the zucchini lengt...

When I was a young pup 25 years ago, my landlord approached me. I had been renting my restaurant from him for five years or so. Ray was retired from the phone company and wanted to sell his local real estate properties and buy a retirement place in F...