How many times have you asked yourself the question, “I wonder how the (you fill in the blank) national chains’ mega promotions are working out?” Sometimes, it seems like the big four national chains have an exclusivity on creativity. They constantly toss new ideas against the wall to see if they stick. Some do and some don’t. The psychology of the “new and improved” statement hasn’t changed since the beginning of the advertising age. The success or failure of the promotion does not matter. It is no big deal if Square, Round, Upside Down, Stuffed, Flavored or Stuffed Crust become permanent menu additions. The desired end game of every national chain is to increase gross and net sales and improve stockholders’ and a brand’s equities. The new rollout promotions are to create awareness and trial of their new and improved entrée or service. Once any business impresses a customer trying a new entrée, more often than not, it leads to repeat sales. They have just become the top positioned provider of pizza to your former customer. Last time I checked, it is working for them, especially if they can glean customer contact information on their POS system.



It’s time to unlock your creative juices and get something exciting happening in your menu. You have all the tools you need. What you don’t have in specialized equipment you probably can live without. Can you create a new pizza or entrée so good or different that people are talking about it? If you are serving the same pie as your daddy, you are missing a big surge in new sales. Reinvent your menu with some excitement in it. Your new creation doesn’t have to live forever, just long enough to shine the spotlight on you and your culinary expertise. If all it does is entice a hundred or two of you competitors’ customers to try you out, it’s worth it. Just don’t forget to have them get entered into your database. ❖

Big Dave Ostrander owned a highly successful independent pizzeria before becoming a consultant, speaker and internationally sought-after trainer. He is a monthly contributor to Pizza Today and leads seminars on operational topics for the family of Pizza Expo tradeshows.

Q: Without having our customers take a survey, how exactly can we tell how we are doing in their eyes?

A: I hope you have a finger on the pulse of your business. Do your very best to talk to all of your customers. Don’t have them take a survey, but ask them how they enjoyed everything. If you get a weak response or they say it was “OK”, you must grab that opportunity and understand that you missed the mark. “OK” should never be your goal. Nobody is going to rush back for OK. Ask if there is some way that you could have improved their experience. Without asking customers to fill out a full-blown survey, simple comment cards with a basic message of “tell us how we’re doing” is effective. Since nine out of 10 unhappy customers don’t complain, you are more likely to get them to fill out a comment card. You should also know how you’re doing by your sales and repeat customers.

There are so many different kinds of toppings out there with different price points. How am I supposed to know which ones are the best for my pizzeria?

More options are better for us and the end user, but it creates some homework for operators. I always recommend getting many samples, but put them up against each other and decide which ones have the appearance, texture and flavor profile that you want. You know what type of pizzeria you have and what price point and food cost you’re shooting for, so just make sure you factor those things in. If you find a crumbled sausage topping with no fillers that you feel is superior and really want adorning your pizza but think it’s too expensive, simply consider decreasing your portion to make it work with your cost goals.

It seems that I have finally gotten some good and reliable staff, but I feel like I want them to climb to the next level. How can I get them to excel now that they are trained and achieve the basics?

Congratulations! That alone can give us great peace of mind, and even change our attitudes about our business. Start having five- to 10-minute one-on-ones with each of your staff. Try to always start with the positive things at which they are doing great. Next, focus on areas that need improving, like speed for example. Always end with a statement of confidence. This will boost them up and increase their productivity and attitude!



We want to add pasta to our menu. Is homemade fresh pasta less expensive?

Making homemade pasta is time consuming and not a big savings over some of the great imported pastas from Italy. If you’re an upscale shop and want to add gourmet fl air by making some interesting pasta like spinach fettuccini or lemon pepper linguini, then it’s a good idea. ❖

Jeffrey Freehof, owner of The Garlic Clove in Evans, Georgia, is Pizza Today’s resident expert. Send your questions to: Ask Chef Jeff, c/o Pizza Today, 908 South Eighth Street, Suite 200, Louisville, Kentucky, 40203.

When news spread in February that Chris Bianco, famed co-owner of Pizzeria Bianco, was stepping away from his wood-fired oven at just 47 years of age, many in the pizza industry were baffled. A James Beard Award winner, Bianco is known for his sublime pies and respected for his insistence on being the only pizza maker to work the forno at his Phoenix restaurant.

Yet years of asthma attacks — dozens of times he wound up in the E.R. seeking relief — had so taxed his lungs that his doctor warned his long-term health was at risk if he continued making pizzas. Though some suspected the job’s adrenaline-fueled stress and wood smoke from his oven as culprits, neither were to blame. The problem is fl our, and the diagnosis is baker’s asthma, known colloquially as “white lung.”

“Imagine putting your wet hand into flour, and that’s about what it’s like inside your lungs,” Bianco says. “That’s how it sticks if you inhale too much.”

According to an Occupational Lung Disease Bulletin issued by the Massachusetts Department of Health in May of 2009, the condition — characterized by coughing, shortness of breath and hoarseness aggravated by fl our dust — has been documented since 1713, yet few in the pizza industry know much about it. According to the bulletin, between seven percent and 15 percent of all bakers are affected by it, though the symptoms are often wrongly attributed to other causes such as smoking or seasonal allergies.

An asthma sufferer since childhood, Bianco’s fl our allergy was diagnosed several years ago, and he worked to control it.

“My brother and I would make three 50-pound batches of dough by hand, which is a lot of fl our,” Bianco says. Eventually he relinquished the entire job to Marco Bianco to lessen his exposure to the ground grain, but it didn’t solve the problem. “When you’re making 300 pizzas a night, you’re still talking about a lot of fl our that gets on your hands and head and face.”

News of Bianco’s condition surprised Alon Shaya, executive chef at Domenica Restaurant in New Orleans, where wood-fired pies are made in a rotating deck oven.

“I’d never heard of baker’s asthma until they said that about Chris,” says Shaya. Despite spending nearly two years apprenticing in Italy with master pizzaioli, he says no one had ever mentioned it. Now he’s paying attention. “I’m telling you, every time we get an order for pizza, I think about it. It sounds funny, I know, but I do.” Mathieu Palombino, owner and pizzaiolo at Motorino in New York City, knew only a little about baker’s asthma before learning of Bianco’s plight.

“Once when I had a lung infection, the doctor said, ‘You’re working with fl our, and that’s not helping,’ ” says the French-born Palombino. Asked if he’d met any sufferers of the condition while training in Europe, he says no. “What I do think people know is inhaling fl our over the long term is not a good thing. At work, we try not to have flour flying everywhere because of that. We use as little as possible.”

Brian Edler didn’t know baker’s asthma was the name for what he was suffering, but he’s long known its symptoms. The veteran four-unit Domino’s Pizza franchisee’s fl our allergy can render him breathless and speechless.

“When I practice to go to international (pizza making) competitions, I’m on my (inhalers) more and taking my allergy pills more, and I still get some kind of respiratory infection on top of that,” says Edler, a champion fastest pizza maker who lives in Findlay, Ohio. His lifelong battle with hay fever fuels his fl our allergy, so when Domino’s replaced fl our for dough stretching with cornmeal in the mid-1990s, Edler was pleased. “Anything I could do to not huff that stuff in was good.”

Some mornings Tony Gemignani’s wife remarks about his coughing and slightly hoarse voice, and he knows it’s likely due to working with fl our for nearly 20 years. Given what he’s learned about Bianco’s condition, the co-owner of Pyzano’s Pizza, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana and the International School of Pizza in San Francisco knows he’s not doing his body any favors.

“I think it just comes with the territory, like when writers get carpal tunnel,” he says. “Will it get worse? Only time will tell.”

Some, such as Edler, have tried wearing masks to filter the fl our, “but I could never get enough air through it. It was almost worse than not wearing it.” Palombino senses he’d face the same problem. “In a highly physical environment like a pizzeria, you need to breathe, and I don’t think I could do that with a mask.” Asked if he ever considered wearing a mask, Gemignani says with a smile and a shake of the head, “I just don’t see that happening.”

Knowing what he now knows, Bianco says he might have worn a mask years ago, but just while making dough. In a restaurant like his, where the wideopen kitchen allows guests to see the pizza maker at work, a mask would be off-putting, he suspects.

“Think about it, you got the pizza maker wearing a mask in a (kitchen) like mine, and what are customers thinking? ‘Does he have T.B.?’ ” he says. “It doesn’t do a lot to set the mood, do you think?” ❖

Filter Fresh



Researchers at the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, suggest the following practices to lower the release of fl our into the air reduce its inhalation by workers.

❖ In dough making, add the water to the mixer before the fl our.
❖ Knead dough at low speed.
❖ Stay away from the source of the fl our and its trajectory.
❖ Use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to avoid recirculating allergens.
❖ Consider using a lateral exhaust hood (a hood mounted on a level workstation that exhausts airborne particles from the side).
❖ Wear half-facepiece respirators with filters when working with large quantities of fl our. Surgical masks are ineffective because they’re not designed to filter out dust.

Steve Coomes is a former Pizza Today editor. He lives in Goshen, Kentucky.

Most of the time, pizza restaurant customers either pay with debit or credit cards or whip out cash. But every so often, a customer wants to pay by check — and it’s hard to turn away money in any form, especially in today’s tough economy. “I think particularly in a recession, someone’s Visa may be maxed out, but maybe their AmEx is not,” says Rolf Wilkin, owner of Eureka Pizza, which has nine locations in northwest Arkansas. “So we take every possible credit card, plus checks, and just about anything possible to sell you a pizza.”

Checks are convenient for some diners, but they come with drawbacks, from bounced checks to lengthy ID checks during the busiest time of the day. We spoke with pizza restaurant owners and a financial expert to help you decide whether to accept checks — and if you do decide to take checks, what you can do to protect yourself from the pitfalls.



Restaurant owners have to understand that they will need to deal with bounced checks, whether their customers make accounting errors or simply know — and don’t care — that they don’t have the funds to cover the checks. “We stopped accepting checks six years ago because we found that 50 percent would bounce,” says Shawn Randazzo, co-owner of Cloverleaf Pizza, which has two locations in Roseville, Michigan. “It didn’t matter if they were business checks, personal checks, or whatever.” Randazzo has even had checks from relatives bounce.

Some restaurants use a check verification machine that scans the barcodes on checks and screens them against a database of bad check writers. Other restaurant owners use check recovery services; Wilkin uses a service that charges bounced check writers a fee on top of the amount of the purchase — and gives the restaurant $10 out of the fee.

And then there’s the time-honored system of keeping a list of people you won’t accept checks from, and training your employees to look at the list before taking a check. “Also, if it seems like you keep getting bounced checks from the same institution, you can hang a sign saying that you do not accept checks from such-and-such financial institution,” says Kathy Carney, administration manager at Hawthorne Credit Union in Naperville, Illinois.

Whether it’s worth it for you to accept checks depends on your market. For example, businesses tend to pay by check, so if you’re doing a lot of catering to corporate clients, it may be worth it to accept this form of payment. In addition, people in small towns and more rural areas are more dedicated to checks than urban customers. “It’s just kind of hometown South here, and I think that checks are part of the culture,” says Wilkin. “I think somebody in Dallas or Chicago might have a different opinion.” (Twentyfive percent of Wilkin’s sales are in checks.)

You can also take a tip from your location in determining how much trouble you’ll have with bounced checks. “You’ve heard birds of a feather flock together,” says Wilkin. “In certain towns, for whatever reason, the culture is that hot checks are acceptable. So if you’re in a neighborhood like that, I would consider not taking checks for sure.” To find out if you’re in a hotspot for hot checks, try asking other local merchants what their experiences with checks have been.

When customers are streaming into your restaurant wanting to eat now, time really is money — and accepting checks can be a time drain you may not want to deal with. “On a Friday night when it’s packed, do you want to take the time to check the ID and to put the check through the TeleCheck to make sure it’s okay?” says Carney. “When check verification systems started coming out we looked at them, and it really wasn’t worth all the hassle, even if it was a $30-per-month program that could see if checks were good right off the bat,” says Randazzo. But for Wilkin, the small amount of trouble is worth it. “It’s just part of the process,” he says. “My philosophy since we’ve opened is to make it as easy to pay as possible.”

We say that time is money, but you know what else is money? Money. Just as it costs to accept credit cards since you pay a percentage of the purchase price to the credit card company, it costs to accept checks, whether in the form of check verification services or in the form of lost funds due to check fraud or uncollected bounced checks. That’s something to keep in mind as you make the decision whether to accept this payment method.

If you decide to accept checks, Wilkin suggests not advertising that fact. “We used to really push it; we even had a sign that said we accept checks,” he says. “But we discovered that was foolish, because then you really get more than you want. So now we don’t have big signs saying that we accept checks, but we do accept them if someone asks.”

And if you’re a check-accepter who wants to ditch the checks, Carney recommends giving some notice, such as by putting up a sign that says that you’ll no longer be accepting checks starting on a certain date. ❖

Checking the Checks

Want to accept checks, but you’re afraid of being burned by a bum check? Retain the services of a check recovery service. “Debtors respond to agencies and attorneys better than Joe from Joe’s Pizza,” says Chris Tipton, president of Checkmatic, Inc. While collection success rates vary by location, Tipton estimates that they average 60 to 80 percent in most areas. Clients typically receive 100 percent of the face value of the collected check and sometimes receive a certain percentage of the bad check fee collected by the check recovery service as well. “Never sign with an agency unless they give you 100 percent of the check when collected,” Tipton warns.

Linda Formicelli writes for several national publications. She resides in Concord, New Hampshire.

Recently, I spoke to a reporter from USA Today. He asked me about pizza’s place in the fast-food hierarchy. When he picked up the phone to call me, I doubt he expected such an animated and strong response to what seemed like a simple, innocent question. I guess you could say I had a “soap box” moment.

A few days later, my publisher, Pete Lachapelle, had Matt McClellan on his cell phone. Matt is sick and tired of pizza’s “junk food” reputation. As the most highly customizable dish in all of foodservice, pizza can be as healthy or suicidal as the customer wishes it to be. Matt, who owns a pizzeria in St. Petersburg, Florida, is on a mission to prove that pizza can have health benefi ts if consumed as part of a well-balanced diet. He’s illustrating his point by cycling up the East Coast. In fact, he is scheduled to end his Tour de Pizza this month. Read more about it in the August issue of Pizza Today.

But that’s another story. Back to the phone call. As Pete and I talked to Matt, he used the dreaded ‘F’ word not once, but twice. This got the two of us a bit fired up again. You see, we can handle the so-called ‘F-bomb’ all day long. We’re not exactly saints. But this particular ‘F’ word — fast food — is far worse. (Okay, ‘fast food’ is actually a two-word phrase, but let’s not get bogged down by minutiae here).

As Pete and I talked, we began to realize that the sorely misplaced fast-food designation has become pizza’s proverbial albatross.

Why shouldn’t pizza be lumped in with fast food, the uninitiated might ask? First, let’s just take the definition of “fast food.” Notice that critical first word … fast? What’s fast about pizza? Nothing. 

You woke up this morning and made fresh dough. The process took time. The dough is now proofing and aging, which allows it to slowly develop spectacular flavor for use not today, but tomorrow — or maybe even the next day. 
Your prep crew spent much of the morning cutting, slicing and dicing fresh vegetables. 
When a customer places an order, you’ll then start the process of preparing their meal to their specific wishes. You’ll dress that dough, to order, with sauce, cheese, meats and vegetables. You’ll then place the customer’s pizza in the oven, where it will be fresh-baked. The entire process, from order origination to fulfillment, will take 15-20 minutes. Let’s compare this to an experience at a fast-food outlet. 
The customer will pull up to a drive-thru speaker. 
They will look at a pre-determined list of meals and choose a number. 
Thirty seconds later the customer will pay at a window and be handed a bag of food that was pre-cooked and sitting under warmers. See any similarities between pizza and fast food? I sure don’t.

Unfortunately, pizza suffers from a cruel twist in identity, one in which its key strengths have worked not for the category, but against it. Think about it for a second: What is one of your biggest selling points? Pizza provides exceptional value, right? It is both inexpensive and delicious. Can’t go wrong with that equation.

Pizza is also efficient — it pleases just about everyone, and it’s designed to be eaten by families or groups. That $10 pizza feeds 2-3 people. That equates to $3.33-$5 a person. That falls within the price range of the fast-food category, which is rife with $1 items.

I’ll take that $3 slice over the $1 burger every day of the week. As will most people. So get out there and tell them about the time and care you put into preparing a fresh, made-to-order product that is wholesome and delicious. While it’s not news to you, it will be to them.

Best,

Jeremy White, editor-in-chief
jwhite@pizzatoday.com

Q: We are experiencing a clammy bottom on our pizza, but our conveyor ovens were just recently cleaned. Where should we start trouble-shooting?

A: There is no escaping this one –– you have to begin trouble shooting with a thorough inspection of the oven. Cleaning the oven is one thing, but getting it put back together again might be a whole different story. Since you didn’t mention anything about the top of the pizzas, I’ll assume that the tops are coming out okay.

With conveyor ovens, as you know, there can be any number of different finger arrangements, all in different positions in your oven to provide the best bottom bake characteristics for your specific pizza. If, during finger inserts were installed incorrectly, or in the wrong (different) position, the quality of bake from that oven could be significantly compromised. I would begin my quest for resolution by removing all of the bottom finger panels/sleeves, and then checking each one against my finger profile map (which should be stored in your office or on the wall). Then make sure they are correctly installed (fit snugly into the air manifold) as you re-assemble the oven.



If, while reading this, you asked yourself: “Finger profile map? What finger profile map?” Now might be a good time to give some thought to either getting one from your oven supplier (only if you bought your oven new from them, as they will have this information on file), or you can make your own by removing the bottom fingers and inner sleeves and photographing them right next to the oven, in the order they were removed from the oven, for identification purposes.

When a dough ball dries out and a dry patch of dough develops, should this dough be tossed in the garbage, or can it be sprayed with water and still opened into a pizza skin?

I don’t recommend spraying the dough balls with water and then opening them up. This can increase the adherence of dusting fl our to the dough ball, potentially resulting in a bitter taste. Instead, if it isn’t too bad, just open the ball up as usual, then orient the side with the dry, crusty patches to the bottom of your peel or pan/tray/screen. This way, the crusted area gets the most heat during baking. This will allow the patches to color up reasonably well.

If the dry patches are oriented towards the sauce, there is a possibility that they may result in a localized area with a dense structure and tough eating characteristics. A lot will depend upon how dry and crusted the dough actually is. The bigger question is this: Why are your dough balls drying out?

If you’re managing dough through the cooler overnight or longer, do you lightly oil the tops of the dough balls after placing them into the plastic dough boxes, before putting them into the cooler? Omitting this important step can allow the dough to begin drying out while the dough boxes are cross-stacked in the cooler. It can also hasten the drying of the dough surface after you remove the dough from the cooler and begin using it on the following day(s).

I think the most common cause of the problem, however, is failure to replace the lid on the dough boxes promptly after removing a dough ball. This seems to be especially troublesome during busy periods. It is true that the dough balls won’t develop crusty patches in the few minutes that it normally takes to open a full box of dough balls into skins. But when a box is opened and one or more pieces are removed and the lid is not replaced for a long period, that’s when trouble develops. ❖

Tom Lehmann is a director at the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas.

The one thing that really separates International Pizza Expo® from all the general foodservice shows is the fact that our tradeshow floor and seminar program are totally devoted to the pizza industry. For 2011, we’ve decided to add another full day of seminars on Monday, February 28, specifically designed for the new operator/attendee. In addition, Tony Gemignani, the fi rst Master Instructor in the United States to be certified by the Scuola Italiana Pizzaoili and a nine-time World Pizza Champion, will for the first time conduct a three-part hands-on dough workshop where attendees will have the opportunity to work with the theory, techniques and practical side of pizza making. He’ll deal with Old World and New World pizza alike, so there will be something for everyone. Tony owns and operates the International School of Pizza and the United States School of Pizza, which are located in San Francisco, California.

In fact, there’s not another food show –– let alone another so-called pizza show –– where you’ll find four full days of pizza specific seminars, demonstrations, networking opportunities and contests all devoted to a single industry, except International Pizza Expo®. What’s even better, we’ve decided to increase the total number of seminars, demonstrations and workshops to 80 … that’s 10 more than we’ve ever offered before. Can you think of another tradeshow in any industry that’s increasing their educational component?

At Pizza Expo® you’ll find 4½ football fields of pizza-related products, services and equipment, as well as the leading industry experts, consultants and analysts — and they’re all willing to share new ideas and insight on how to adapt, react and prosper in today’s economy. At next year’s show, you’ll find new speakers discussing current issues and topics facing the industry, such as lawsuit protection and tax reduction strategies, pizza trends, social media and more.

The bottom line? There’s always something new at Pizza Expo® that can improve your pizzeria. As always, our commitment to you, our partners, is to continue to grow and improve every facet of Pizza Expo, from the tradeshow floor to our networking events and contests. In fact, if you don’t come away from International Pizza Expo® with new cost-saving or profit-boosting ideas, I’ll refund your registration fee. All you have to do is put it in writing to me and I’ll send you a prompt refund.

Remember, International Pizza Expo® is a tax-deductible working vacation. It’s all pizza and it’s all for you!

Best regards,
Bill Oakle y

Willy Olund took second place in the International Pizza Challenge’s non-traditional category at the 2010 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas.

Q. Entering International Pizza Challenge can be a daunting task. Why enter a gluten-free pizza rather than a more traditional offering?

A: When I developed the gluten-free crust, we got great response immediately. People that don’t even eat gluten-free or need to eat gluten-free were trying it and loving it. I had a woman … who was coming in regularly, and she said she had a friend who had competed in a gluten-free category in Italy — and our pizza looked a lot better than that pizza. I thought to myself, ‘Well, it’s time that I competed.’

Q. How well do gluten-free pizzas sell at Willy O’s?

A: We’re selling probably in the neighborhood of 250 or 300 a week. At this point, it’s fairly new. We’re just now getting known for it with Willy O’s being as new as it is –– it’s only 17 (or) 18 months old.

Q. One of the biggest concerns of offering gluten-free products is cross contamination. How do you avoid it?

A: We do it similar to how someone would do it in their own kitchen, and that is paying close attention to what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. Every time, before we make any pizza, we think to ourselves, ‘is this gluten or gluten-free?’ So we do a lot of handwashing (and) a lot of changing of the tools we’re using to make sure we’re staying on the gluten-free side. Our goal in the near future, as fast as we’re growing, is to open a new facility. In that, we’re looking at building two kitchens to make it easier. We feel it is easier that way, but I don’t think it’s impossible the way that it is (now).

Q. Much of what you make in-house is homemade. How are you keeping costs down in such a severe economy?



A: We’re really trying to keep costs down by using all of our products so that we don’t have any that we need to throw away. … Right now, for us, we’re not in a low-dollar pizza range. Even though we have five pizzerias that we can see out our window, we are not competing with those. We’re the only one with high-quality pizza, so we can demand the price that we need for the quality that we serve.

Q. We know you work with your wife, Carla. What advice would you give to someone entering the industry about working with family?

A: I think it’s good in that family is to be trusted. That’s one thing that you have going for you. You should have the same goals. There are always pitfalls (and) problems just like with any other employee.

For many pizzerias, call-in orders are a substantial part of their business. Whether it’s families or college co-eds, customers are used to picking up the phone to order their favorite pie. You can capitalize on those calls by ensuring that every caller has the opportunity to hear your promotions by using a customized hold system. Make the right offer, and you can raise your average ticket by as much as $2 (or more) per order. It’s a smart investment for any restaurant.

Mike Ulrey, vice president of marketing for Flyers Pizza in central Ohio, says hold systems are a no-brainer because it’s something that impacts your customers before you even get the chance to talk to them. “I did an analysis of a particular month with a couple of products that we had on our message on hold specials, and we found that we’re doing anywhere from a 30- to 45-percent increase on those particular products that we use for the special during that month,” he says. Hold systems are a unique marketing tool for up-selling products to call-in customers; you’ve already sold the customer on your restaurant whether through a promotional fl yer or television ad –– so why not sweeten the deal? “You’ve got the customer to call into the store, and once they call in you have to capitalize on that call and up-sell,” says Rick Stanbridge, president of Fidelity Communications, a phone service company that services the quick service industry.

There are two options for hold systems: a standard hold feature and a sequencer. Both can be effective, and which one you choose for your restaurant will depend on your budget and sales goals. Standard hold features are only used if your CSRs are too busy to take a new call and usually cost from $300 to $600. A live person answers the phone and tells the customer to hold. While waiting, the customer hears recorded promotions or music. “Sequencing is where an on-hold device actually answers the phone and automatically up-sells the customer with a short upfront special and then puts the customer on hold until an available CSR can take the call,” says Stanbridge.

What’s the difference? “If you’re looking at a strictly on-hold feature, the advantage obviously is that you can continually promote your restaurant and specials,” says Stanbridge. “The other thing is, particularly on a Friday night, a customer can be put on hold for an exorbitant amount of time and the time will go by faster, no matter what you put on your message –– even if you only put music on there –– the time to the customer will go by considerably faster. We have completed studies where the perception of the time on hold is about a third of the actual time when they’re listening to either a message or music.”

Another difference is the price of a sequencer with an initial outlay between $1,500 and $2,400. However, the advantages of a sequencer quickly add up: every customer will hear the message — and once they reach a live CSR, they will not be put on hold again for the duration of the call.

At Flyers Pizza, call-in customers are presented with the option to hear the specials by a call sequencer (they can also choose to opt-out and go directly to a CSR). “Our focus is on the family; that’s our target market,” says Ulrey. “What we’ll do is package a pizza, an appetizer and a soft drink together. We like to set price points that we think families will find very appealing (such as $19.95). The only way customers hear about the dinner special is by listening to the promo hold message.”

Pizza Inn, headquartered in The Colony, Texas, also utilizes a sequencing system for call-ins. Madison Jobe, vice president of development, says that their franchisees swear by the messaging system. “It reduces your hang-ups and call backs, because at least customers know that they are waiting in a queue; so it’s not just a ring or busy signal. Our franchisees feel that their hang-ups have reduced, at a minimum, by half, and probably more than that at most stores. Early on, we tracked results more closely than now, but tickets increased anywhere from $1 to $2 per order after the system was put into place several years ago.”

There are several options for the production of your hold messages. Some pizzeria owners choose to record their own messages, while others hire a professional service to handle the production. “Message on hold providers will tell you that it’s better to use the professional greetings,” says Stanbridge. “However, depending on how savvy you are or if you have someone with a good voice working for you, you can do it yourself.” Ulrey says their hold messages are always top performers in terms of ROI. “The dinner special from message on hold is always in the top five when analyzing our different promotions.” ❖

Win ’em Over While They Wait

Investing resources and time into your on-hold messaging system is a worthwhile investment. Up-sell your customers on every call with these tips:

❖ Keep it short and sweet. “We like to keep messages a minute or under,” says Mike Ulrey, vice president of marketing for Flyers Pizza. “It’s extremely important because people want to get off the phone. People have less time now than ever, and to have a lengthy on-hold message ... people will turn it off very quickly. The most we’ve offered on one message is two specials, and we keep messages very brief so we don’t get the customer ticked off.”
❖ Bundle up. Always create a package deal for your on-hold promotions by combining pizzas with appetizers and/or soda combos. Ulrey advises coordinating your specials with your soda and appetizer manufacturers. “We’ll get them to help defer some of the food cost, and basically we do a package deal,” he says.
❖ Rotate promotions regularly. Pizza Inn likes to switch their promotional messages on their system at least once a month. “We feature offers that are only available to those on hold, and we track them with a special code,” says Madison Jobe, vice president of development.
❖ Shop around. Googling “on hold marketing” yielded more than 18 million results. Find the one that best suits your needs –– and your budget.

Denene Brox is a freelance writer specializing in food and business topics. She lives in Kansas City, Kansas.

When you launch a new appetizer, you’re fighting on two fronts: getting the word out and getting the orders in. After all, just because people know you sell mozzarella sticks doesn’t mean they like them or are willing to pay for them. Still, there are things you can do to market your new apps successfully both in-house and out.

First, get your servers involved from A to Z. When possible, gather input –– or ideas! –– from your staff. Then have them sample the final product so they can provide feedback and firsthand descriptions to customers. “Whenever we introduce a new appetizer, we try to get our staff as enthused as we are about the new item,” says Patricia Kennelly, owner of Mediterranean Café in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “We encourage them to try it and they are welcome to give suggestions on how it can be improved all through the recipe development phase. When the appetizer hits the menu they are ready to suggest it and sell it because they feel they were part of the process.”

During launch week, help your staff make the big push with a little healthy competition. “A competition between the servers has also worked for us, whoever sells the most new menu items gets a monetary prize or an extra paid day off,” says Kennelly. “Also, the first few days of our new menu we give away the new appetizer to our regular customers; they are the best word of mouth advertising we have.”

For take-out, make sure your customer service contact is suggesting the new appetizers and/or that your on-hold message is promoting your new offerings with mouth-watering descriptions. Don’t assume that regulars know about your updated menu –– or that they won’t try something new.

Next, shell out for free samples. If you’re confident in your recipe, put your money where your customer’s mouth is –– and get feedback. “We’ve always believed the best way to promote any new offering is to let the taste do the talking,” says Pete Buscani, executive vice president of marketing for the Ohio-based LaRosa’s franchise. “So, we do lots of good, old-fashioned sampling in our dining rooms. We’ll send our better delivery guests a sample with their regular order. We’ll sometimes even include a short survey so that they can give us feedback — and many of them do.”

Give existing customers coupons. Not everyone agrees that free samples are the way to go. Jeffrey Baron, owner of The Dough Bowl in New Orleans, warns that they’re easily forgotten and sometimes customers aren’t so quick to pay for something they were once given for free. “The most effective way to introduce a new appetizer to the customer is to include the item in a coupon with pizza, virtually giving the item away at a discounted price,” says Baron, who just opened his second restaurant, the Crescent Pie and Sausage Company. “This, along with a mouthwatering picture and/or description, will lure in the customer. A coupon for a free appetizer is a better tool than a free sample and can even be tracked, which is an additional perk.”

Also, market to the health-conscious. Obviously, this isn’t going to work with your deep-fried onion rings. But promoting your feta and spinach-stuffed portabella mushrooms as “lighter fare” or a “vegetarian option” is a good way to attract new customers and possibly even convert your regulars who tend to skip the appetizers due to calorie counts.

Let the photos do their work. Table tents, menu inserts and even wall art can help sell your newest creations. “We love to integrate new items into our restaurants through rockin’ collateral,” says Brain Roach, director of marketing at The Rock Wood-fired Pizza & Spirits, a Washington-based franchise. “We utilize three-sided table tents, with one message for each, i.e. bar, entrée, and appetizers, and we have a lot of fun creating promotional messages on what might look like a tour poster (look a little harder and you’ll see these are the names of our stores, or our menu items!).”

Nix the stagnant Web site. While bigger franchises with dedicated marketing directors can put the time and money into promotions like scrolling news feeds to keep customers abreast of new appetizers, there are other options. Create links on a less frequently updated Web site to your active Facebook or Twitter account. (See page 54.) Or do like Ray’s Pizzeria & Ice Cream Shoppe in Lexington, South Carolina, which uses a simple “What’s New at Ray’s” link –– one page on the Web site that promotes new menu items, lunch specials and community news.



Finally, consider customer loyalty programs. Let your best customers feel special by notifying them of new menu items before they’re launched. “Our ‘Backstage Pass’ fans are always the first to know about our just introduced items,” says Roach. If you’re launching several new menu items at once, consider a V.I.P. tasting. It’s a good way to get regulars to try something new, and a great way to let them know you value their opinion. ❖

Using Facebook & Twitter to promote your new appetizers

If you’re not using these social networking sites, you’re missing out. Among countless other applications, Facebook allows you to:

❖ write “mini-posts” about daily specials and new menu items
❖ create a fan following
❖ post your menu and photos
❖ link to your Web site
❖ stay up-to-date on what other pizzerias and restaurants are doing.

Here’s an actual Facebook post by Lonnie Tant’s Italia Pizza Café:

Lonnie Tant’s Italia Pizza Café: Try our new appetizer and let us know what you think!!!! Fresh Mushroom stuffed with fresh spinach, ricotta cheese, minced garlic and fried bacon ... $3.99 can you say YUMMM???

Although Twitter is mostly used for short updates of 140 characters or fewer, it’s being used successfully by many. Here’s an example of an actual “tweet” from De Palma’s Italian Cafe:

De Palma’s Italian Cafe: The new Wild Mushroom & Grilled Polenta with Spicy Mascarpone appetizer seems to have been a hit on opening night at Timothy rd.

Wendy Burt-Thomas is a freelance writer living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She writes for a variety of publications.

While the rest of the U.S. has been mired in a terrible economic slump, it has more or less been business as usual in El Paso, Texas. That’s not to say the city on the border with Mexico hasn’t felt America’s pain, but its location near one of North America’s most dangerous cities, Jaurez, ensures that El Paso receives plenty of federal attention.



Border patrol, drug enforcement, FBI and just about every other federal agency that exists has established operations in El Paso. Nearby Fort Bliss, meanwhile, is a sprawling Army base that is currently undergoing a massive renovation and restructuring. The $5 billion project pumps millions into the local economy and will result in Ft. Bliss’s population increasing by 300 percent by 2012. In fact, El Paso, currently the nation’s 22nd largest city in terms of population, is the third fastest-growing city in the U.S.

Suffice to say, this West Texas town popularized in old-time country music is a great place to do business these days. Just ask the folks at Ardovino’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant. Owned by brothers Michael and Carl Myers, the company’s three stores combine to record $3.6 million in gross sales.



“It’s growing,” Carl Myers says, referring both to his business and the economy/ population of El Paso. “Fort Bliss is going to be the largest military base in the world when they’re finished expanding it.”

Ardovino’s was founded in 1961 and established a reputation for quality pizza. After the Myers brothers took it over decades later, they began looking for ways to grow the business. The learning process was slow and steady, but the results have been solid.



“The first year, we just took that time to focus on the business and the recipes,” Carl Myers says. “We bought the original recipes and didn’t want to make big changes to that. But we did come up with new pizzas for the menu, and we began by using the original recipe as a base for them. We expanded on that base for the new pizzas we created.”

While Ardovino’s first two stores are smaller units, the new $1.2 million prototype location seats 180. Venturing into a larger full-service store has been yet another learning experience.



“The real estate market was down when we bought the land for this location, so that allowed us to get a really good spot,” says Carl Myers. “This store is our prototype and represents where we want to go in the future with new stores. We’ve learned a lot from it, but luckily it’s done real well for us.”

At a time when much of the industry was seriously hurting, Myers said Ardovino’s had a respectable showing in 2009 in terms of sales. Though the company couldn’t reach comp increases, it was able to limit the dip in business to manageable levels.



“We were down less than five percent last year, and we were real happy with that,” says Myers. The prototype store no doubt helped things trend closer to positive, and Myers expects a turnaround this year to produce better numbers. The coming influx of Army families to Fort Bliss certainly won’t hurt prospects, either. Ardovino’s plans to capture that crowd with incentives to military personnel — a must-have marketing gesture for foodservice operations in towns like El Paso.

“If someone comes in and they’re in uniform, they get a 10 percent discount,” says Myers. Taking care of customers, whether military or civilian, is a point of emphasis at Ardovino’s. Realizing that most successful pizzerias are built on repeat patronage from families, the company has adopted a personal marketing strategy.

“We most definitely have relationships with our customers,” says Myers. “We know their names and they know the names of our employees and their kids. Our managers are constantly walking the floor and checking in on things. They aren’t hiding back in offices.”

Each Ardovino’s location has a primary store manager and an assistant. That leadership group is overseen by a general manager who reports to the Myers brothers. According to Carl, the managers are an intregal part of the company’s success.

“They lead by example,” he says. “If there’s a spill on the floor, they’re the first ones to go grab a mop and clean it up.”

The focus at Ardovino’s isn’t just on customer service, but on food quality and healthful options as well.

Pizza accounts for about 70 percent of sales, though the restaurants also offer salads, soup, sandwiches, lasagna, dessert, beer and wine.

“The pizzas are healthy,” says Myers. “You can still order pizza here even if you’re watching what you eat. Plus, our salads are excellent.”

One of the most popular and healthful offerings is the specialty pie listed as “Joanna's Pizza” on the menu.

It features spinach, fresh tomato, garlic, onion, pesto, feta cheese and olive oil. It’s priced at $9 for a 9-inch small, $14 for a 12-inch medium and $18 for a 15-inch large.

“Our crust is 50 percent wheat, and it’s a thin crust, which helps make it healthier,” explains Myers.

Since the dough — and just about everything else served at Ardovino’s — is made in house, Myers says the company’s stores are all serviced by a commissary. The commissary makes the dough and salad dressings, and it packs ingredient bags that are added into the sauce, which is cooked in each store daily. This provides the stores with consistency and will allow the company to more easily expand in the future, which Myers says it intends to do.

“We definitely have room for growth in our commissary,” he says. “We want to grow the company, but we’d like to keep it all company-owned for at least three to five more stores. We want to make sure we are very well proven before we franchise.” ❖

Jeremy White is editor-in-chief of Pizza Today.

The sandy shores of Pensacola Beach, Florida, yield a plethora of dining options ranging from shaved ice shacks to Zagat-rated dining rooms. Seated comfortably in the middle is Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom. But this two-unit company, owned by partners Corey Fogarty and Joe Abston, isn’t just your average pizzeria. Here, you’ll find traditional pub fare combined with upscale creations, live music and more beer selections than you should probably try. It’s all part of Hopsjacks kitsch, and that’s what keeps its varied clientele coming back for more.



Fogarty and Abston had been friends for a couple of years before kicking around the idea of opening a restaurant together. Initially, they began formulating a high-end concept utilizing Abston’s gourmet background. But through a series of discussions over coffee, that evolved into a much different formula.

“I said, ‘Dude, you’re a five-star chef. You don’t think you can make some awesome pizza?” says Fogarty, likening Abston’s reaction to “dominos falling” as the initial concept took form.

To save money, they purchased used equipment –– including an antiquated deck oven –– which at the same time was intentional. “It was a good thing for us,” says Fogarty. “Joe and I, we wanted to look like we’d been around, because we’ve been around in the restaurant business. Everybody we’ve hired has been in the restaurant business. The concept hadn’t, but we wanted people to feel comfortable when they walked in the door.”



Although they could have replaced them, the scarred tables and chairs that accompanied the purchase of the restaurant remain, and they’re just getting ready to replace the well-worn carpeting. “We didn’t get in the way of our own good ideas,” Abston says. The 96-year-old building location had previously been a Mexican restaurant on one side and a jewelry store on the other (complete with safe that still remains on property). They simply busted through the wall, left the beams and headers, used the stunning jewelry cases as their bar and ripped off five layers of materials to reveal an original brick wall.

The Pensacola location has a large center counter that invites communal dining, and as the company expands, they hope new locations will lend themselves to that structural feature.

Two years later, Hopjacks seems to be on to something. The company was on DRAFT Magazine’s 150 Best Bars of 2009 list, and it has won nearly 10 local accolades as well. The Pensacola location offers 36 beers on tap and more than 150 by the bottle. The beer menu changes daily, and they even soak their own fruits for cocktail infusions.

“We’re primarily pizza, but we take my background, which is primarily snotty, high-end restaurants and turn that into pizza,” says Abston. (Pizza accounts for 37 percent of Hopjacks’ business.)



One of the restaurants’ signature offerings are its Belgian fries. Abston takes fresh-cut potatoes, fries them in duck fat and serves with ketchup and a roasted garlic herb dip. And yes, we said duck fat. “Between the two stores, we’re doing about 900 pounds of potatoes a week now,” he says.

How does Hopjacks manage to keep costs down with such a high-end ingredient? The key to a successful menu, says Abston, is to avoid menuing items that compete with one another and allow ingredients to go further. Abston says they render their own duck meat, use it elsewhere on their menu (such as the Roasted Duck Caesar Salad and the Herb Roasted Duck specialty pizza) and then use the fat for the fries. It’s economical because they’re able to stretch out the ingredient beyond one dish.

Hopjacks’ top-selling pizza is its Butcher Block, which is piled high with smoked bacon, seared filet mignon and pepperoni. It carries the tagline: “This pizza has so many compliments, it actually has an ego.” (They use 300 pounds of fi let a week, so bulk buying ingredients is crucial.) Why so gourmet? “I’d probably made 50 pizzas in my life before I opened this,” Abston says, “but I’d been cooking for 15 years and mostly in very, very high-end Ritz-Carltons, places like that. So, what we wanted to do was push the envelope a little bit, but still keep it approachable. I preach that word probably 50 times a week.”



Dough is outsourced for the company, but freshness of ingredients is still important.

Fogarty describes their hiring techniques as “tattoos and ties” in that they’re open-minded enough to realize that it takes a village to create a culture. That extends to the local and touring bands that drop in and play well into the night. Hopjacks is lucky enough to walk that fine line between restaurant and bar. During the day, Hopjacks is frequented by local medical students and construction workers alike. As dusk turns to dark, however, it’s a raucous, hopping spot where the beer flows freely and the pizzas fl y from the kitchen well into the night.

“We’re doing what we’re doing, and it’s working phenomenally well,” Fogarty says. They serve a full menu until 2 a.m., and the bar is open until 3 a.m.

Expansion plans are in the works, with Fogarty and Abston preferring downtown redevelopment districts and old buildings that lend themselves to Hopjacks’ comfortable feel and help support the local community. The company’s second store opened in Mobile, Alabama, in June 2009. “Here on the coast, we either need to go East or West,” Abston says. “East of us gets really expensive up to Panama City.” Fogarty adds that those markets are saturated. Opening in Mobile afforded them a downtown locale close to their Pensacola headquarters.

“Our expansion plan is possibly to have a charter with the business that requires a small amount of reinvestment in the local community with their net income if we ever have a licensee or franchise situation,” Fogarty says.

Part of their plan is to work with downtown city improvement groups to find the best angle for future restaurants “instead of just going in and finding private real estate,” Fogarty adds. “We converse with the city agencies, (and) we utilize the systems that they have to support new businesses, and we listen to them.”

Although there is potential for Hopjacks to grow in its immediate areas, Fogarty and Abston instead plan to expand with other concepts locally. The goal, Fogarty says, is one Hopjacks per downtown location per market.

“We want to build regional brand strength,” he says. Rather than franchise, Fogarty hopes to license, work with owner-operators or directly own any future stores. Potential partners, Fogarty says, are “progressive, community minded, engaging and seasoned,” much like the concept itself. ❖

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is managing of Pizza Today.

“The funny thing about eggplant is that the people who love it, really love it.” So says Tony DiSilvestro, owner of Ynot Pizza, a three-unit operation based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. From Ynot Pizza’s eggplant specialty pizza, eggplant rollatini and of course, eggplant Parmesan –– menued in both entrée and hot sub form –– DiSilvestro sells a good amount of eggplant. While he admits all of his eggplant items sell well, nothing compares to the eggplant Parmesan. The $9.99 entrée is built by topping thin slices of breaded and fried skin-on eggplant with housemade marinara sauce and mozzarella.

It has an estimated food cost of 19 percent. It should come as no surprise that eggplant Parmesan continues to reign over vegetarian menu items. After all, diners would be hard-pressed, and most likely disappointed, to not find this comfort food classic on menus. Originating from Southern Italy, eggplant Parmesan traditionally calls for either fried or breaded and fried thin slices of eggplant blanketed in marinara and mozzarella that is then baked until the cheese melts and browns. The dish provides a win-win for operators and diners. Operators like its ease to prepare and low food cost (eggplant provides 100-percent yield), while diners enjoy its comfort-food factor.

Just because a menu item is a classic doesn’t mean it isn’t due for an update. Some operators execute the dish with a more modern approach. For example, instead of breading and deep-frying eggplant, Silvio Medoro, owner of Silvio’s Organic Pizza in Ann Arbor, Michigan, seasons eggplant slices with oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper and grills it. Then he layers three to four rows of eggplant in a baking dish between housemade tomato sauce and a mixture of eggs, romano, mozzarella and Parmesan. This bakes in a 500 F oven for one hour and sells for $12.50. “We try to be healthier, and our diners appreciate it,” says Medoro, who incorporates organic ingredients such as olive oil, fl our, herbs, vegetables, eggs and mozzarella into all of his dishes.

It’s not an option to remove the eggplant Parmesan ($10.50) from the menu of the New Berlin, New York based, New York Pizzeria, says Frank Baio, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife Betsey. The dish runs a 200-percent profit margin.

To prepare, Baio cuts round slices of eggplant a half-inch thick. Then he salts it and lets it sit a minimum of 40 minutes. Salting is the most important step when working with eggplant, says Baio, since it removes the eggplant’s bitterness.

He rinses the eggplant in cold water, pats it dry and dips it into a batter of heavy cream and eggs, then dredges it in toasted house-made breadcrumbs. He fries the eggplant in extra-virgin olive oil, then places it in a baking dish where it is topped with house-made marinara and mozzarella. After baking, it arrives with a side of pasta. Baio estimates the dish’s food cost is 30 percent, with eggplant costing $20 to $25 a case.

Baio further capitalized on his eggplant Parmesan’s success by introducing two eggplant dishes. Eggplant rollatini with spaghetti showcases lengthwise slices of fried eggplant wrapped around sweet ricotta cheese and spaghetti. While vacationing in Sicily for his mother’s 80th birthday, Baio was inspired by a dish his sister, Rosa, prepared. The Zia Rosa Eggplant resulted. It displays layers of eggplant, tomato sauce, breadcrumbs, toasted pine nuts, raisins and Italian Provolone. Baio plans to add this special to the menu permanently in the spring. “All of our eggplant dishes are pretty good sellers,” he says. “It’s because diners are into healthy food. Many customers reason that even though the eggplant is fried, it’s still somewhat healthy.”

The biggest challenge to preparing eggplant Parmesan and other eggplant dishes isn’t the technique, but the eggplant. Before beginning any eggplant dish, check to ensure that the eggplant is not bruised, scratched or discolored. “Make sure the eggplant is hard on the it, use your judgment. If you see brown seeds inside, it’s not worth using,” Baio says. Bigger does not always mean better. Baio recommends choosing medium-sized eggplants. Remember eggplant becomes bitter with age, so use quickly. DiSilvestro alleviates his eggplant consistency issues by purchasing frozen, sliced and breaded, skin-on eggplant. “Without a doubt, going with a frozen product is a huge labor and time saver,” he says. “The frozen product works well. It is sliced nice and thin. Sometimes when you make the product fresh, the breading comes off. This product’s breading never comes off.” Another reason why operators enjoy serving eggplant Parmesan, in all its incarnations: it gives diners more choices. “It’s nice to have variety of vegetarian items on the menu,” DiSilvestro says. ❖

Eggplant Parmesan

Yield: 6 servings

1 large eggplant, about 1½ pounds
Salt, as needed
2 eggs, beaten
1½ cups fine, dry bread crumbs mixed with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Olive oil
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried leaf basil
½ teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
16 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Wash eggplant and cut crosswise into ½-inch thick slices. Salt eggplant and let sit for 40 minutes. Rinse eggplant in cold water and pat dry.

Dip eggplant into beaten eggs then dredge with seasoned breadcrumbs.

Place slices on a plate and chill for 30 to 45 minutes.

Heat about 1⁄8-inch of oil in a heavy skillet. Fry eggplant on both sides until golden brown and crispy. Drain well on paper towels.

In a saucepan, heat tomato sauce, basil and oregano. Spread 1⁄3 of the sauce in a greased 12 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish. Layer half of the eggplant, half of the mozzarella, another 1⁄3 of the sauce, and half the Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Melanie Wolkoff Wachsman is a freelance writer in Louisville, Kentucky. She covers food, business and liefestyle trends.

“Jack of all trades, master of none” is a figure of speech used in reference to a generalist — a person that is competent, but not outstanding. Is that you? Is that your pizzeria?

Recently I came across a menu/fl yer and found multiple USPs (Unique Selling Points): ‘When Taste Matters’, ‘When Taste and Atmosphere Matter’, ‘Convenience, Variety, Value’. Whoa! Was this the perfect pizzeria or what? Harry Truman had the answer to that one when he said, “If you can’t convince ‘em, confuse ‘em.” This inconsistent message left me drowning in information but starved for knowledge. Without the convincing evidence to see that this is the pizza for me, why should I buy from them? Putting on the “Jack of all trades” persona only tells your customer that your pizza is average at best.



A consistent, convincing message is essential to success. If the above pizzeria would choose the stance of ‘When Taste Matters,’ they easily define their market and their marketing. They know to target a more cultured market. They can screen mailings or other methods of distribution; weed out the cherry-pickers, save money on print and distribution.

Remember, in your own marketing, to always offer solid reasons why your taste is superior (‘We use freshly packed California vine ripened tomatoes that allow us to accomplish a maximum level of freshness’ is a good example). A consistent message eliminates the unnecessary garble so that the necessary USP may convincingly speak and be retained by the consumer.

Certainly as our businesses grow and we meet consumer demands, our message may alter. The above pizzeria may have added dine-in, delivery or a value menu during the recession.

A consistent message communicated frequently gets the job done. Why is the Sunday paper so popular? Coupons! This concept has sunk in. People know where and when to find the information they want. In the same sense, consumers in your market need to know where they can find out about you and when. Without a planned frequency in your marketing, you lose name recognition, awareness and response.

Examine your budget. Can you mail 1,000 pieces per month? Can you door hang on a regular basis? Can you do an e-mail blast weekly? When it comes to frequency, a general rule of thumb is to make enough impressions to get a response and then enough to keep their interest. For example, on a limited budget, try door-hanging in a certain area three times during a month. Now that people know your message, you may only have to do this monthly (or, if you did your job and gathered valuable customer information, you may e-mail twice a month).

Three is generally accepted to be the magic number of impressions needed to get a response. It behooves us to build a marketing campaign around that fact. It takes time to make three impressions and to familiarize potential consumers with your featured products. Most of us deal with employees who are just entering the work force and it is hard for them to keep on top of ever-changing specials. Having a marketing campaign that runs several months allows us to really get that message ingrained, saves on printing and allows your staff to adequately service your customers.

Be ‘Jack’ or be outstanding. ❖

Scott Anthony is a Fox’s Pizza Den franchisee in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is a monthly contributor to Pizza Today.

The idea of sweet pizzas is finally taking hold. I devoted an entire chapter to sweet and dessert pizzas in my “Ultimate Pizza” Cookbook, which came out in 1995, so maybe I was a bit ahead of my time.

A sweet or dessert pizza is ideal as part of a buffet or as a freebie, an incentive for ordering x amount of food. But it’s also a good $4 option to have on the menu for those who want to finish their takeout or delivery meal with dessert. Let’s check out a delicious recipe.



Cinnamon Swirl Pizza

There is no need to make a special dough for this pizza; you can use the dough you now use for your regular (thin-crust is best here) pizza.

Yield: one 12-inch pizza (Scale up in direct proportion)

16 ounces pizza dough
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup sugar
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Cut the dough into four pieces, each about 4 ounces. Roll each of these pieces into a thick rope that is about 18 inches long.

Lightly oil (use corn oil or other vegetable oil) a 12-inch pizza pan. Lay each of the pieces of dough onto the pan, coiling them as you would do for a coil of rope. Gently press the coils together. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and give it another 45 minutes to an hour to rise.

Brush the melted butter over the dough coils. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the dough. Bake the pizza at a low temperature (350-375 F) for about 12-15 minutes. 

Alternatives.
To make cinnamon strips, use the same recipe, but instead of forming the dough into coils, roll the 1 pound of dough into a large rectangle. Proceed as for the pizza by brushing the dough with the melted butter, followed by the cinnamon- sugar mixture. Slice the dough into long strips. Place the strips on a lightly greased baking pan and bake. Stack the sticks into a bowl with the icing sauce on the side (kids, especially, will enjoy this).

To add some extra flavor oomph to the cinnamon-swirl pizza, try sprinkling crushed walnuts over the dough after brushing it with butter and sprinkling on the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Or you can make an icing to drizzle over the cinnamon swirl pizza (let the pizza cool just a bit before drizzling on the icing.)

Or use the icing as a dipping sauce for the cinnamon sticks (serve it on the side in a cup).

Icing

1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons water

In a small sauce pan set over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time. While adding the water, stir until you get the icing to the consistency of a thick syrup. Drizzle the icing decoratively over the slightly cooled pizza.

Pat Bruno is Pizza Today’s resident chef and a regular contributor. He is the former owner and operator of a prominent Italian cooking school in Chicago and is a food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

The legalese and tax speak made Kelvin Slater’s head spin. In 2003, as Slater readied to open Blue Moon Pizza in Marietta, Georgia, he struggled to discern the best legal entity for his restaurant. Even as he poured over research and heeded professional advice, questions swirled.

“My wife and I studied the heck out of the different (legal entities) and did our best to understand everything could,” Slater says, noting that he eventually settled Corporation based on ease and price.

For many proprietors, deciding on the proper can prove a daunting, confusing task. Yet, understanding the details and making an informed decision can break a pizzeria and its owners. Establishing a legal affords the operator legal distance and personal from business miscues, namely unnecessary legal exposure.

“Incorporating or setting up a limited liability (LLC) for a business can protect a business owner’s personal assets, since an owner’s liability is generally limited to his or her investment in the business,” says Elke Hoffman, a New York-based attorney specializes in hospitality entrepreneurship.

Most pizzeria owners select one of three pathways, each with its respective benefits and drawbacks: 

Sole proprietorship. A sole proprietorship, viewed as a business of one and a frequent starting point for many, is the most basic form of business ownership with no significant costs outside of securing the necessary licenses and permits. “What is critical to understand is that the individual represents the company fully and legally,” says Atlanta-based attorney Charles Hoff, the Georgia Restaurant Association’s general counsel.

While a sole proprietor may operate under a trade name, there is no separate legal entity or formal business structure, leaving the owner personally liable for all debts and actions of the business. Although the sole proprietor gains freedom from some business bureaucracy, the lax structure can be detrimental to the business, proving it difficult to expand or attract investors.

Corporation. A corporation is a distinct legal entity with ownership divided into shares and overall management conducted by a board of directors, which can be the individual owner alone. A corporation is started by filing articles of incorporation with the state, a $250 to $450 process simplified by helpful accountants, attorneys, and Web sites.

Most incorporated restaurants pursue the S Corporation label. Issuing only one class of company stock, S Corporations offer limited personal liability, pass through tax treatment, FICA and Medicare tax savings, and a reduced number of social security recipients. However, S Corps are also hampered by a number of technical rules regarding shareholder limits, distribution, and tax benefits that can generate extra paperwork.

“The biggest advantage to a corporation…is that if the corporation is properly formed and capitalized and the corporate formalities are maintained, the liability of the shareholders is limited to their investment in the corporation,” Hoffman says, adding that about half of her clients pursue S-Corp status. 



Limited liability company. The LLC offers the liability cushion of a corporation and the tax advantages of a partnership. Governed by its operating agreement, an LLC can be formed in much the same way as a corporation and for approximately the same filing fees.

Flexibility leads many pizzeria operators to follow the LLC route, which can be set up to resemble a corporation (issuing shares with a board of directors and officers) or a partnership with collective restaurant management. Easy to operate, LLCs provide simplified profit distribution and do not require corporate formalities. Most importantly, members cannot be held personally liable for debts unless they have signed a personal guarantee.

“What most owners find appealing is the ‘fl ow through taxation’ component in which all business losses, profits, and expenses fl ow through the company to the individual members,” Hoff explains. “In this manner, an owner is able to avoid double taxation of paying both corporate tax and individual tax.”

But LLCs have their limits. While a corporation may live indefinitely, an LLC is dissolved should a member undergo bankruptcy or die. Additionally, there is a greater complexity involved in running an LLC, including federal classifications that need to be investigated for tax purposes. 

Closing arguments. Given the personal liability risk of sole proprietorship, the vast majority of operators commonly opt for the S Corp or LLC legal designation.

“I would advise any retail establishment that is open to the public, and especially a food service establishment, to incorporate or form a limited liability entity… (which) gives some additional protection at a very low cost compared to obtaining additional insurance,” Hoffman says, adding that multi-location operators might even set up legal entities for each location, a move that can protect the overall business should claims occur at one specific location.

In all cases, Hoffman and Hoff advise operators to consult a tax professional for more in-depth understanding of their personal situation, including plans for growth, franchising or selling the business.

“Factors such as the number of owners and employees, whether any investors have been promised distribution preferences, if employees are to be given equity, the exit strategy, whether the owner needs to offset other business gains or losses, whether the owner will be an employee and the initial costs of forming each in any particular jurisdiction will affect the choice of entity,” Hoffman says.❖



Ready resources: Advice available online and locally

Seeking credible information on the legal entity right for your pizzeria?

Online resources include LegalZoom (www.legalzoom.com) and V Corp. (www. vcorpservices.com), both of which offer online fi ling and include form bylaws or single-member operating agreements in their corporate kits. Nolo (www.nolo.com) has information and publishes materials with legal forms online as well.

In addition, state restaurant associations and many localities also have offices to assist small businesses, while local colleges frequently offer entrepreneurship courses that cover setting up a legal entity.

While saving cash is tempting, Hoff urges a degree of caution. Consulting with an attorney or accountant, many of whom offer free initial consultations, can provide operators a better understanding of the legal, accounting and regulatory checklist they need to consider for their establishment. Thereafter, Hoffman says, “The operator can better determine what items he or she can comfortably do independently.”

Chicago-based writer Daniel P. Smith has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

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 great additions in your kitchen. The key here is to advertise that you’re buying local. If possible, use the name of the local farm in marketing and advertising. Taking advantage of local summer offerings is a win-win for all.

So Salty

As a pizzeria operator, you’ve got a variety of spices on hand. Today’s manufacturers, however, are creating blends that take simple ingredients like salt beyond the ordinary. Sure, you can add a dash of this ho-hum mineral to dishes, but why not consider artisan salts such as black lava salt (a sea salt blended with activated charcoal) or pink Himalayan salt (a marine fossil salt). While you won’t be able to use these pricy ingredients in every dish, adding a dash or two –– and advertising it on your item’s menu description ––– lends an upscale fl air to an otherwise traditional dish.

Take a Seat

If you’ve got dine-in seating, you need to be cognizant of your seating choices. Got a heavy senior-clientele? Consider chairs with armrests on castors. Lots of families? You’re going to need chairs with easily cleanable surfaces, such as vinyl. Keep several spares on hand. Chairs wear out easily and an uncomfortable seat makes for an uncomfortable customer.



Trial and Error

When it comes to formulating your dough, getting it just right takes more than a little luck. As our Dough Doctor, Tom Lehmann, points out, science and trial and error work hand-in-hand to get it just right. Does the protein content have an effect on a finished crust’s flavor? Lehmann says yes, but it takes a significant difference to change the flavor, such as going from a 10-percent protein fl our to a 14-percent protein fl our. The differences of going from a 12-percent protein fl our to a 14-percent protein fl our are insignificant, he notes. Keep trying different fl ours until you get exactly what you’re looking for.

Although goat cheese –– also know as chévre –– has been made for thousands of years and was most likely one of the earliest dairy products, its popularity is only recently growing in the pizza industry. Here in the Western world, we have popularized cow’s milk, mass producing it and using it in a variety of ways, including the very item at which we all make a living.



Goat’s milk and goat cheese are preferred dairy products in much of the rest of the world. Because goat cheese is often made in areas where refrigeration is limited, aged goat cheeses are often heavily treated with salt to preserve them. As a result, salt has become associated with the flavor of goat cheese, especially in the case of the heavily brined feta.

In its simplest form, goat cheese is made by allowing raw milk to naturally curdle, and then draining and pressing the curds. Other techniques use an acid (such as vinegar or lemon juice) or rennet to coagulate the milk. Soft goat cheeses are made in kitchens all over the world, with cooks hanging bundles of cheesecloth filled with curds up in the warm kitchen for several days to drain and cure.

Goat cheese softens when exposed to heat, although it does not melt in the same way that many cow cheeses do.

Chévre has such a unique flavor profile and quality that it can enhance your menu if you really understand its characteristics and possibilities. Let me share four different ways that goat cheese can be incorporated into your menu:

❖ I’ve enjoyed a fried goat cheese salad at a popular Italian chain. Soft goat cheese is rolled in crushed hazelnuts and then quickly fried for a few seconds. If left frying too long it would simply fall apart. The fried cheese is then placed on greens with an array of accompaniments like artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and apples.
❖ Using little dollops of goat cheese on pizza is a great way to introduce chévre to your customers. Offer it on its own as a topping, or incorporate it with other toppings to create a special Mediterranean pizza.
❖ Try a pizza topped with roasted red peppers, Artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, roasted or sun-dried tomatoes, a drizzle of pesto and some dollops of soft goat cheese. You could sprinkle in some Feta cheese as well, but you don’t want to be too heavy-handed and give the pizza an overpowering flavor.
❖ Lastly, don’t discount the sandwich when it comes to goat cheese. Although you can’t really slice it like provolone, you can certainly use it as a spread. Now, here is where your creativity will come in handy. Of coarse you can spread it in its natural form, but why not incorporate some wonderful ingredients into the goat cheese just like you see bagel shops do with cream cheese? The possibilities are endless. But because goat cheese is a bit more costly than other cheeses we are using, I would suggest that you use it in a more upscale way on gourmet sandwiches instead of trying to incorporate it into a sub, for example.

Also, bear in mind that because of its intense flavor, you don‘t need to pile it on. Remember to spread it thin. I’ve even seen sweetened cranberries and walnuts mixed into a goat cheese. Something sweet like that may be a great accompaniment to a Turkey sandwich. Another option would be to chop up some roasted red peppers and garlic, then blend them with goat cheese for an eggplant sandwich on toasted ciabatta.

You may have seen my video demonstration at PizzaToday.com –– which is still available in the video archive section –– for making ricotta cheese gnocchi. You can follow the exact same recipe and procedures as in that video, but replace the regular ricotta with goat cheese ricotta. This will enhance the flavor profile as well as customer interest. If you can’t find goat cheese ricotta, then you may want to cut some regular soft goat cheese into the ricotta cheese gnocchi recipe. Once you see how easy these little gems are to make, I’m sure you’ll want to give it try.
❖

Try it Out
I’ve given you a salad, pizza, spreads for sandwich and a gnocchi pasta idea. Try one or try them all. As you can see, there are so many different applications for this ancient cheese. If the four ideas I’ve shared aren’t quite enough, then here’s one more idea that is sure to delight the palate:

Eggplant Rollatini
Take your pick of grilled or lightly breaded and fried eggplant planks. Lay them out and top them with some spinach leaves and roasted red peppers sautéed with a little garlic and a pinch of salt. Place a dollop of soft goat cheese in the center and roll them up. Two Rollatini in a casserole dish topped with a nice marinara and slice of fresh mozzarella on each roll makes a perfect appetizer. Serve it with a side of pasta for a fantastic lunch or dinner.

Jeffrey Freehof owns the Garlic Clove in Evans, Georgia, and is a frequent speaker at the Pizza Expo family of tradeshows.

Prosciutto is more than just Italian ham. It’s a delicacy, prized for its melt-in-your-mouth texture and subtle, complex flavor. A little goes a long way, allowing operators to leverage prosciutto’s sense of place, perceived value and flavor profile. Fabricated from the haunches of a pig, lots of love and attention goes into its production: the meat is salted, air-cured, greased with salted lard and then cured for 12 to 30 months. Prosciutto di Parma is perhaps the most common variety. Pigs raised in Italy’s Parma region for prosciutto, or Parma ham, are fed a diet that includes whey from locally made Parmiggiano-Reggiano, giving it its distinctly rich, sweet-salty flavor. (The longer it’s aged, the deeper and meatier the flavor.)

So how best to show off prosciutto’s rosy color, sublime texture and sweet flavor? Classic appetizers lay thin layers of prosciutto over musky melon, or wrap the paper-thin slices around grilled asparagus spears or luscious figs. Prosciutto stars in antipasto platters, where the complex-flavored ham shares space with pepperoni and fresh mozzarella, roasted red pepper, marinated artichokes and briny olives. But some operators are extolling the virtues of prosciutto beyond its traditional uses, perhaps as a pizza topping or as a high-value ingredient in a signature pasta dish.

At Prosciutto’s Pizzeria, Pub & Restaurant in Cornelius, North Carolina, prosciutto is prevalent on the menu. The Prosciutto’s House Pizza, a gourmet white pizza with an olive-oil and garlic base, combines the meat with feta and mozzarella. Out of 15 specialty pizzas, it ranks among the top-three sellers. “We lay the prosciutto over the dough, and then the cheeses on top,” says Joel Pfyffer, owner operator of this 130-seat restaurant. “The prosciutto crisps up beautifully.”

The Prosciutto’s House Pasta sports cheese tortellini tossed with prosciutto and garlic sautéed in olive oil, mushrooms, grilled chicken and Alfredo sauce. “It’s our No. 1 seller,” he says. “We make the Alfredo sauce in house. The dish has wonderful fl avors in it—from the cheese and garlic to the really good quality prosciutto.”

An entrée portion sells for $13.95 and comes with salad and bread. The dish runs a food cost of $6.50.

“We use prosciutto di Parma, and cut it very, very thin,” he says. “You only need a little of it to make a good impact on the dish. He says the trick is to have someone who knows how to wield a knife well, slicing the prosciutto paper thin. The restaurant goes through 10 pounds a week, storing it in the walk-in until needed. Other uses for prosciutto? “We deep fry it and add it to salads. Or it’s a perfect base for an Italian sandwich,” says Pfyffer.

At 74-seat Vertuccio’s Pizza on the Park in Brooklyn, New York, Chef Gaetano Giuffre goes through a whole leg of prosciutto once a week. It’s showcased on two of the menu’s 20 gourmet pizzas and on one of its focaccia sandwiches. On the Reale Pizza, the dough is topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, Fior di latte mozzarella and chunks of fried eggplant. Once baked, the chef tops the pizza with thin slices of prosciutto di Parma and fresh basil. “By fi nishing the pizza with the prosciutto, you’re maintaining its freshness and wonderful texture,” says Giuffre. The 18-inch pie sells for $21.50 and runs a 30 percent food cost. It falls in the top six or seven out of the 20 pizzas.

Vertuccio’s Prosciutto Pizza sees cherry tomatoes and Fior di latte mozzarella on a pizza. When pulled out of the oven, Giuffre adds wisps of arugula, razor-thin slices of prosciutto and shaved Parmesan cheese. “The flavors are simple, fresh and light,” he says. “The prosciutto adds some depth.” The 18-inch pizza sells for $20 and runs a 30 percent food cost.

The Prosciutto, a sandwich housed between two slices of brick-oven focaccia, boasts prosciutto, arugula, Fior di latte mozzarella and a balsamic dressing, which brings out the prosciutto’s sweeter side. “We want to highlight the delicacy of prosciutto, complementing it with flavors, but not overwhelming it,” says Giuffre. 

Pasta with Prosciutto, Parmesan and Peas

Yields 8 servings

24 ounces tagliatelle or other pasta
1½ tablespoons butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed
8 ounces prosciutto, sliced paper thin and halved
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Cook pasta until al dente in a large pot of boiling, salted water, according to package directions. Reserve 2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat; add shallot and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add cream, peas and prosciutto; bring to a very gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring. Simmer until peas are heated through, about 4 minutes.

Add lemon juice and zest. Toss pasta with sauce; add Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add some of reserved pasta water to thin sauce as desired. Serve immediately; top with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Katie Ayoub is a frequent contributor to Pizza Today. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

“We’ll have two medium pizzas, an order of wings and a two-liter of soda.” Sounds like a good order — but the dessert sale is missing.

Whether you offer a two-buck bit of chocolate or a six-dollar dessert pizza, dessert sales are a simple, inexpensive way to boost your bottom line. “We focus on our desserts because, first of all, it helps bring up the tabs,” says Carol Corrie, general manager for Cloverleaf Bar & Restaurant. “Customer sales come up, it helps the waitstaff make more money because the tabs are higher, and desserts are something that everyone loves.”

How can you increase your after-dinner dollars? It’s easier than it sounds. Take a few tips from pizzerias that have focused on their dessert sales for sweet success.

“We believe in making our desserts extra, extra delicious,” says Stephen Ferruzza, owner of Alforno Ferruzza Pizzeria. “When you do that, that’s your advertising and your sales increase by word of mouth.” Whether Ferruza’s dad is whipping up homemade ricotta for cannolis or his girlfriend is baking the company’s special Sicilian-based goodies, desserts come fi rst at Ferruzza’s, and the staff makes sure everyone knows about the fine offerings.

The company uses a chalkboard to highlight the quality thought and ingredients that go into every bite. “Our chalkboard will say something like, “Cannolis, made with wood-fired maple syrup, natural vanilla, Valencia blood oranges ...” Ferruzza says. “We let people know that we’re making everything from scratch the old way of doing things without using anything that’s premade. And that’s what people love the taste of.”

Offering the same-old cinnamon sticks aren’t going to make you stick out in the crowd. Instead, try coming up with a dessert that’s all your own.

“Our success has to do with offering desserts that are unique to us,” says Pizzeria Pulcinella owner Vince Mottoloa. “You can get cheesecake anywhere, but a lot of our desserts aren’t available anywhere else.”

Their special secret? Il Segreto di Pulcinella, the company’s signature dessert, a pizza skin topped with mascarpone, espresso, coffee liqueur and chocolate sauce. They also offer a couple of other rare treats: spumoni ice cream (a Naples original), Profi ttaroli (homemade cream puffs), and crema al limone (a lemon cream with Limoncello).

“We like to make dessert a big part of the meal,” Mottoloa says. “So we also found a local roaster who offers great espresso.” By combining good coffee with quality desserts, you can encourage customers to sink their teeth into a truly unique after-dinner experience.

Had the same two offerings on your menu since you opened the restaurant? Perhaps it’s time to change it up. Nothing sparks a customer’s sweet tooth like a new dessert offering.

“We encourage both our franchisees and our customers to come up with ideas,” says Charlie Morrison, president and CEO of Pizza Inn, which is known for offering its Pizzert, a twelve-inch dessert pizza with a wide variety of toppings and flavors, including s’mores, bananas Foster and Black Forest. “Right now we’re running a contest with our franchisees for new innovations. And a lot of our new ideas do come from clever cooks or from customers, like the one who said, ‘You know what? I want bananas on my pizza.” So we came up with the bananas Foster.”

Getting customers to drool over your dessert offerings is a great way to get them hooked on your sweets. Samples, great visuals and enticing word choices make a big difference between “no thanks,” and “we’ll have two.”

You can try offering small free samples or add them to your pizza bar, like Pizza Inn does. “I’ve seen plenty of instances where we don’t have them on our pizza bar and people get cranky about it,” Morrison says. Dessert trays are also a big winner. “We don’t have a menu because we change our desserts often, so we have trays with all the desserts on them and we take them to the tables,” Corrie says. “Customers watch the tray go by and they want whatever it is they see.”

Customers who aren’t already in your restaurant can be enticed a different way: via dessert-based emails. “The key is to increase the customers’ awareness of desserts,” says Justin Premick, director of education marketing for AWeber. “I recommend having a strong image of the dessert at the top of the email and then spending a couple of paragraphs talking about the ingredients, the flavors, and why it makes such a great dessert to go with pizza.”

Quality ingredients, unique desserts, good promotion –– all of these make it easy to ensure that instead of being the last thing customers think of, dessert is the last thing they taste. And that means a sweet ending all around. ❖



Make Your Waitstaff Work For You

❖ Give samples. Make sure to give samples of the desserts to the waitstaff, the counter staff, the to-go staff, anyone and everyone who works at your restaurant. They can’t sell something with enthusiasm unless they’ve actually tried it. Suggest that they choose their particular favorite dessert to promote to customers — this increases their interaction and trust with customers and means they’ll be able to better describe the dessert.
❖ Give words. Often, when customers ask, “Well, what does it taste like?” servers are at a loss for words. Give them positive word suggestions for desserts, such as fresh and fruity, moist, crunchy, freshly made, light and creamy. They should also know what ingredients desserts are made of, to better assist those with food allergies, diabetic conditions or who are watching their fat or calorie intake.
❖ Give props. It’s so much easier for waitstaff to upsell desserts if they have the right tools. Great, photo-heavy menus make it simple to encourage dessert sales, as do dessert displays. Try a dessert tray that can easily be carried through the restaurant or a front counter laden with desserts. In addition, whip up an amazing dessert presentation, so that just carrying a dessert past a table can peak customers’ interests.
❖ Give kudos. Plan shift-, day- or -weeklong contests to encourage servers to upsell a specific dessert. This is a great way to add more interaction with customers (and even to get them excited about the contest if it’s their favorite server) and it will give servers a reason to mention dessert early and often.

Shanna Germain is a freelance writer based in Houston, Texas. She loves to write about both food and drink, and her articles have appeared in Cheers, Delicious Living, Imbibe and Oregon Home.