My sentiments of the annual International Pizza Expo can be summed up by JFK: “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” Expo is all about taking the lead in our industry by learning through seeing, hearing and doing. This...

I spend countless hours explaining the difference between advertising and marketing to my top managers. Advertising has many forms and the results can usually be measured quickly. Community marketing involves planting seeds, watering them and patient...

Labor costs typically account for 20 to 30 percent of restaurant sales. With the right tools and equipment, operators can increase productivity, lighten workloads for busy employees and decrease the cost of labor. Today, the supply of ergonomically f...

Domino’s Pizza may have won our Chain of the Year designation, but there certainly are other companies within the category that are either enjoying success now or setting themselves up for a promising future. Here’s a look at a handful of...

Dave, I have a full-service pizzeria with a fairly big dessert menu. My desserts have been pretty successful, but they slow table turns. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve that will help me move customers through a little quicker without losing th...

When Pizza Today rolled into Macon, Georgia, to visit Ingleside Village Pizza, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Macon is more college town than big city, and the area isn’t known for a specific style of pizza that garners its own att...

Last year, I ordered pizza from no fewer than 350 restaurants. The bulk of it was the result of my involvement with a statewide survey of pizzerias in New Jersey, performed on behalf of the state’s largest newspaper. The mission was unprecedent...

“An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.” –– Elbert Hubbard Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to keep coming up with witty marketing angles? How can we attain customer loyalty? It is defined as fai...

Established in 1994, Cornerstone Pizza is owned and operated by my partner, Dave Shearn, and me. Cornerstone is a small delco shop that specializes in pan-baked pizza. On December 28, 2010, I received a call from a customer at the Philadelphia airpor...

Bill Brunner, owner of Brunner’s Eatery in Hamburg, New York, is a man in love — with his electronic menu board, which he’s had two years. “It’s wonderful. People come in and they’re so impressed when they see it,&...

The 27th annual International Pizza Expo turned out to be one for the ages. According to tradeshow officials, the 2011 event set records for attendance, exhibits, contest prize money and educational sessions. The Las Vegas Convention Center hosted th...

Imagine this: never asking your sales representative the cost of cheese or the price of any other ingredient ever again. You quit the weekly dance we call placing the order. In fact, you personally delegate that task to an employee. You stop writing ...