April 20, 2009

Industry Headlines 

America shines at World Pizza Championships

The World Pizza Champions brought home three medals and earned certificates in several baking categories at this year's World Pizza Championships in Italy.

Justin Wadstein earned the Silver Medal in the Single Acrobatic category amidst judging controversy. Wadstein shredded the competition in both qualifying and finals rounds.

Special Team Tony Gemignani, Matt Rapposelli, Petra Kralickova, Bruno Di Fabio, John Gutekanst, and William Manzo earned the Silver Medal in the Artistic Bread Sculpture category beating out more than 20 competitors from Italy. This was the first time the U.S. has competed in this category and the 6-foot-tall Statue of Liberty made out of bread was a favorite at this year's championships.

Michael Shepherd earned the Bronze in Largest Pizza Stretch, missing the gold by just inches.

Bruno DiFabio earned Best Pizza from the U.S. gaining the Top 5 Vote with his Teglia pizza which earned him seventh in the world. John Gutekanst was the only American chosen in the Heinz Beck trophy award which is Michelin Rated. John placed 17th place out of well over one hundred contestants from around the world. International teammates Theo Kalgaracos from Australia , Nick Dhillon from England, and Fran Carroll from Ireland all earned top scores in baking earning certificates from Italy representing their countries.

For the second consecutive year, Guiseppe Lucia and his team won the gold medal in team acrobatics and Kalgaracos placed fifth in the STG Neapolitan category which came to a surprise to the Italians since this was his first time competing in this prestigious category. This year the World Pizza Champions did not compete in the team acrobatic category, focusing on new categories at the championships. The World Pizza Champions facilitate the World Pizza Games at International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Uno spices up JazzFest With special LTO menu

Inspired both by the music and culinary heritage of New Orleans and the greater Mississippi Delta, Uno Chicago Grill is celebrating its New Orleans Jazz Festival of Flavors from April 14th through June 7th.

The offerings are infused with jazz rhythms and is a wonderful improvisational flow of flavors from Spanish, French, and Native American traditions to Cajun and Creole cuisine. The menu features:
• a Shrimp 'Po-boy' Sandwich with Cajun Remoulade Sauce
• Cajun Blackened Mahi-Mahi
• Jambalaya Deep Dish
•  Chicken & Andouille Sausage Flatbread Pizza.
•  Chicken Sausage Gumbo
•  Ragin' Pasta

Based in Boston, Uno Restaurant Holdings Corporation includes more than 200 company-owned and franchised full-service Uno Chicago Grill units located in 29 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Honduras, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

 

Papa Murphy’s Launches National Take ‘N’ Grill Tour

Roadtrip! Armed with a map of the U.S. and an industrial-sized Traeger Smoker Grill boasting 50-square-feet of cooking space, Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza is hitting the road this week on a mission to demonstrate how easy, convenient and delicious its grilled pizzas can be. The Take ‘N’ Grill Tour, which will run through October, kicks off this Thursday, April 16th at Papa Murphy’s newest St. Louis-area store in St. Peters, Missouri. The store is located at 571 Mid Rivers Mall Drive. Owner Kurt Mueller and his crew gave away free pizza samples from the grill Thursday through Saturday in conjunction with the store's grand opening celebration, which ran through Sunday, April 19.
 
“One of the many things we know about our customers is that they love to grill, and with the weather warming up it's a perfect combination!” said Mueller. “Papa Murphy’s specially-designed aluminum grilling trays and specific grilling instructions found in our stores allow grillers to easily bake their pizzas on gas, charcoal or wood pellet grills. Our pizza has great ‘grillability’ and to let customers experience this in conjunction with our grand opening celebration is sure to be a crowd pleaser.”
 
Festivities at the St. Peters store’s grand opening celebration also includes a Pizza Bonanza Give-A-Way, where one lucky customer won pizza a month for a year.

Papa Murphy's is the fifth-largest pizza chain in the country and the pioneer and leader of the take 'n' bake pizza segment. Papa Murphy's operates more than 1,100 franchised and corporate-owned locations in 32 states and Canada. 

Papa Gino’s debuts new Pronto model In Amherst

Dedham, Massachussetts-based Papa Gino’s Pizzeria welcomes a new concept restaurant, the Papa Gino’s Pronto, in Amherst Massachusetts.  The company held a grand opening celebration on Saturday, April 18 with free pizza slices for all guests during the noon to 4 p.m. timeframe.  The Papa Gino’s Pronto is located at 48 North Pleasant Street in Amherst, Massachusetts.
 
The new Papa Gino’s Pronto provides a scaled down menu for faster service and quicker delivery with emphasis on pizza slices and chicken wings. The chicken wings are additional to Papa Gino’s core menu and cater to the heavy college audience.  Papa Gino’s will test this new Pronto concept in Amherst before identifying additional locations. The ideal areas for future Pronto locations include high foot traffic areas and urban settings.  
 
The Amherst restaurant features Papa Gino’s new décor and will offer free delivery.  The new-look restaurant will feature comfortable seating, updated booths and warmer, more inviting colors. The tables and chairs will incorporate a bistro feel and highlight Papa Gino’s Italian restaurant roots.  
 
“The new Pronto concept provides us with the opportunity to expand in higher foot-traffic areas, like Amherst,” said Michael McManama, senior vicepresident of brand development for Papa Gino’s Pizzeria.  “The more compact Pronto design provides us with the flexibility to expand into other urban areas without requiring the square footage a standard Papa Gino’s restaurant would necessitate.”
 
Based in Dedham, Massachusetts, Papa Gino’s Holdings Corporation is the parent company of Papa Gino’s and D’Angelo Grilled Sandwiches. Papa Gino’s Holdings Corp. operates more than 370 company-owned and franchised Papa Gino’s, D’Angelo and dual-location restaurants and employs more than 5,000 people.

Tony & Alba's Pizza & Pasta to donate sales to Autism center

On Wednesday, April 22, California-based Tony & Alba's Pizza will donate 20 perent of every purchase to Pacific Autism Center for Education (PACE) in honor of April's Autism Awareness Month.
 
PACE is a leader in the treatment for persons with autism and donation they receive ensures that their programs will continue to provide a brighter future for those who come to them for care. Using a unique multi-disciplinary approach they have created a student-centered teaching method which helps the students communicate and relate, as well as develop age-appropriate language, occupational, academic and vocational skills to last a lifetime.  Through the contributions of individuals and corporations, PACE can continue to provide exceptional treatment in the areas of early intervention, education, vocational training and residential care for children and adults with autism.  

Tony & Alba' s operates three family dining establishments in the San Jose, California area.

 Pizza Patrón achieves 6.4 percent sales increase in March

Dallas-based Pizza Patrón has announced that systemwide comparable sales increased 6.4 percent in March, which comes on the heels of increases of 10.5 and 7.9 percent in March and January, respectively.
 
“We are strategically positioned to do well despite the economy,” said Andrew Gamm, director of Brand Development for Pizza Patrón. “Much of last year was spent finding areas to reduce costs in our operations so we could avoid passing on any price increases to our customers, and it is now paying off.”

Although Pizza Patrón has been credited with creating the country’s first chain of Latin-focused pizza restaurants, the company is experiencing tremendous success among non-Hispanics who live in the communities where stores are located. Antonio Swad, founder of Pizza Patrón, is featured on the cover of Chain Leader this month. The cover story, Know Your Audience: Pizza Patrón Caters to Hispanics, emphasizes the fact that the chain’s unique focus and value proposition has a broad appeal, not only with Hispanics, but with people of every race and ethnic heritage.

“I don't know if it was the peso campaign or what. We seem to connect to people,” said Swad in his Chain Leader interview.
 
Swad’s above reference to pesos refers to how Pizza Patrón was vicariously introduced to the entire country and the world through global newscasts when it announced in 2007 that it would accept pesos in all of its U.S. locations.
 
“Our brand makes no apology for celebrating the diversity of the Latin culture and lifestyle,” says Gamm. “It’s what makes the Pizza Patrón experience different. The peso campaign allowed us to be exposed to a wide audience of pizza lovers who now appreciate the great food and values we bring to families every day.”
 
Pizza Patrón was founded by Antonio Swad in 1986. Since franchising began in March 2003, the brand has grown from four locations in Dallas to 87 locations in six states, with more than 40 additional stores under development.