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Tired of having another week of employees calling off, being late or making complaints like, “I hate it when it’s busy”? Feel like you are in the dark, with no idea where to turn to help improve your pizza operation?
Stop the insanity! While there is no one simple solution to this restaurant dilemma, there are a number of proven strategies to help make running a pizza restaurant more efficient, effective and profitable.
If you’ve ever played darts, chances are you never did so with the lights off. You wouldn’t know if you hit the target, how many points you scored or if you won the game. However, too many pizza operators and franchisees take this approach to building their team: ill-defined or non-existent hiring profiles, interviewing by “gut-feel,” training by the seat of their pants and little-to-no recognition or rewards. And then they wonder why their restaurant struggles!
Stop playing darts in the dark. To move sales, service and profits forward, these effective points of light can help you perform better:
1) Have hiring traits established by position. A delivery driver or server requires an entirely different skill set than someone in prep or a cashier. What traits do your top performers in those areas have? List them, and then interview for those traits. Hire only those people who have the characteristics needed. Examples vary by position but often include integrity, friendliness, attention to detail, sense of urgency, and so on.
2) Know your needs. Do you need full- or part-time? Nights or weekends? Over 18 to use the slicer/mixer? To effectively recruit, these needs must be known, and the way to do that is to create a manpower plan.
3) Know your employee turnover and recruit BEFORE you have a hole to fill (so you can avoid crisis-hiring). If you have 20 employees and your turnover is 150 percent, you hire 30 people per year, or 2.5 per month. Build this into your plan to be proactive.
4) Use behavior-based questions that search for the personality traits you’re seeking. Avoid hypothetical questions such as, “What would you do if ___?” You will get hypothetical answers. Instead ask, “The last time ____ happened, what did you do?” These types of questions will be answered by what they did, not what they know they should have done.
5) Seek a cultural fit. The final point in the recruitment and selection process is where you should ask, “Will he or she fit in here?” If your environment is a bit edgy, for example, you’ll want different employees than if it’s mainstream.
Once you hire the right person, the next set of lights includes training, rewards and recognition—all designed to help retain that employee and ensure he or she performs at peak levels.
Training today’s generation is a far cry from even 10 or 15 years ago. Long gone is ‘linear’ training filled with manuals, videos and memorization. This generation simply wants to know what is needed, when it’s needed, where it’s needed. Think Google versus VHS. Make it easy to find out information when it’s needed (i.e. Google) instead of relying on a large operations manual or lengthy training videos that are hard to navigate through to find specifics.
Training content should be short bursts of information, followed by intense practice of that skill. Build behaviors more quickly by ensuring the trainers have more time to spend on skill practice and coaching versus giving out information.
Have staff members create short video snippets or PowerPoint presentations (basic “e-learning”) to ensure the consistent delivery of information. A new employee watches the video or module and then practices with the trainer to refine quality, accuracy and the speed required in the position.
Additionally, link QR codes to the short video clips to make them available for ongoing training, such as refresher courses or as pre-shift meeting topics. As the GM Truck Ad says, “Amateurs practice until they get it right. Pros practice until they can’t get it wrong!”
The last light is reward and recognition. Think “MBA” (Mutually Beneficial for All). Reward performance that drives your business. Here’s an example: Instead of a raise to get the kitchen staff to lower food cost, create an incentive of 10-20 cents per hour for the kitchen team to get your food cost down to ideal/theoretical levels. No change in food cost? No incentive pay out of your pocket!
Need to drive sales? Put an incentive together for employees who bring you large orders of five pizzas or more. Reward them with 5 percent of the orders they bring in. You save/make more money and also reward those who helped you get there…MBA!
We’ve all tried to run a pizza restaurant by ourselves, and it can’t be done … very well, at least. Those operators who are successful surround themselves with talented people who are matched best for their positions and the brand. Intense focus on hiring standards, rigorous training and an MBA approach to rewards are the lights to help you see the bull’s-eye—and hit it by creating a team of top performers.
TJ Schier is a speaker and consultant with one foot in the restaurant business, as operator of more than a dozen Which Wich sandwich shops. He will give seminars at Pizza Expo 2013 on Training Tactics for Pizza Pros and 10 Tactics to Make Your Frontline Improve Your Bottom Line.
For more details on International Pizza Expo 2013, visit www.pizzaexpo.com.
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Who and what is Gen Y? The sheer variety in this young workforce makes it difficult to define Generation Y. This group is so ambiguous that it doesn’t even have its own generational name. The popular expression merely morphed from Gen X to Y.
This how I define Gen-Y: They’re a group of people who have been given everything—a defined path, a defined sense of worth, a laser pinpoint focus on how and what success is. All they know is to follow the path. This is both a positive and a negative. Never before has a group of kids been so highly talented while completely lacking any self-drive.
Trying to teach them the way you were taught—or expecting things of them in exactly the same way they were expected of you—will most likely lead to re-instruction and certain frustration. I’m generalizing here, but if you were trained with a 1,000-page manual on what to do and when to do it, then you might be great at giving the micro-managed direction that this group feeds off of. If, in contrast, you give minimal direction, don’t be surprised if one out of every 50 new hires “gets it” and gives top job performance.
I can say with absolute certainty to every single person reading this that there is a better way. There is a better way to train, a better way to manage, and a better way to thrive with this up-and-coming work force.
My father is a Retired Marine lieutenant colonel and every male in my family has served in the Marines at one point or another, including myself. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 20 years old and changed my life to become a restaurant owner instead of a career Judge Advocate General lawyer. What I witnessed in the Marines is that young people when presented with a path—a path that leads to respect, self worth and a sense of accomplishment—can carry out any responsibility your pizzeria can set before them and then some.
Think about the power of the path to self-worth. What does your pizza place do for your employee’s mentality? Does your workplace create a consistent mindset fore the employee of, “We crank out a semi-decent product while I wait for the next thing in my life to flop into my lap while old man pizza-owner wastes his life inside these four walls”? Or is yours a place where it might instead be said that, “I the employee am learning how to conduct myself in a business, pushing my own boundaries and abilities to be a valued commodity when I one day leave this job or, fingers crossed, learn to manage and run my own store with this boss I respect and value?
All employees worth a damn want this. They are out there. The Marines transform kids smarter and dumber than your staff into focused, driven young people—who are motivated, ready and willing to deliver on their tasks.
However, you are not the Marine Corps; you are not dealing with life and death. You deal in pizza. The good thing is that you don’t have to be a drill sergeant and yell to get your point across. If you conduct yourself appropriately, the fear of having you be disappointed in their results will be fear enough. Look at what high school and college sports teams accomplish with young people. They achieve focused efforts from kids not through monetary gain but through a feeling of self-worth.
So how does that translate to Gen Y more than any other generation? Gen Y is used to the quick course. Go to this place; get this Facebook page. Text instead of talk; use GPS instead of mapping it out. They have always had a path. SO GIVE THEM ONE.
Create a rank structure. Not just manager and assistant manager, but different hats, shirts, or jackets for each level of skill and knowledge. Create programs and classes with direct expectations, arduous prerequisites, and pay raises and social incentives delivered upon completion.
Money alone is not motivation enough. I know that sounds crazy. You might have been willing to clean toilets all night if it meant extra cash, but that is not the norm for this group. There is an exception for servers getting tips, but for staff that needs to complete a prep list or get food out fast and perfect while maintaining high morale, a direct motivator like status in the restaurant works best. This is where ranking status and differences in the uniform parts they wear can work to your advantage.
Create a sense of positive competition, and reward results over effort. Appreciate those who try, but reward and openly compliment those who perform. As for staff that can’t get on board, create defined, emotionless structure of what will happen when they don’t meet expectations—and then act. Never give a lot of attention to negative actions, because Gen Y is attention-starved, only feed good attention to those who deserve it and punish negative behavior swiftly and directly.
Gen Y has several advantages. Show them how, watch them do it, and then tell them that is the standard and they can perform consistently. If your staff is proud to work at your restaurant and glad that they work for someone like you, than turnover, labor costs, food quality and quality of life can and will fall in line.
For more details on International Pizza Expo 2013, visit www.pizzaexpo.com.
Mike Bausch operates two Andolini’s Pizzeria stores in Tulsa, Okla., with a total of 140 employees. He will give a seminar at Pizza Expo 2013 on Thursday, March 21, titled “Managing and Motivating Gen Y Employees.”
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If you've ever wished you could sit down with a super-successful operator and quiz him about the keys to pizza profits, you'll want to sit in on Pizza Expo 2013's Wednesday morning keynote one-on-one session with $6-Million-Man Bill Jacobs and Pizza Today editor Jeremy White.
Jeremy will be your surrogate at this kick-off to the second day of Expo, March 20. He'll guide the discussion with Jacobs, whose Piece Brewery & Pizzeria in Chicago grosses more than $6 million in sales per year from one unit. You'll learn through this candid insider's exchange why Jacobs sold his successful bagel company and turned to pizza in 2001; how he found the perfect location in a mature pizza market and built revenues; why he's resisted opening a second unit; and much more.
Piece was named Pizza Today's Independent Pizzeria of the Year in 2011 and Jacobs, a Connecticut native who brought New Haven-style pies to the Windy City, has an engaging story to tell. There will be time for questions from the crowd as well during this wide-ranging and insightful keynote session.
Visit PizzaExpo.com to learn more about next year's show. .
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At Pizza Expo® you’ll find 5½ football fields of pizza-related products, services and equipment, as well as leading industry experts, consultants and analysts who are all willing to share new ideas and insights on everything you need to adapt, react and prosper in today’s economy. At next year’s show, we’ve added several new speakers to the lineup of experts keeping you abreast of trends and best practices in pizzeria management.
Here are just a few of the new speakers and topics we have planned for our 29th annual show, March 19–21, 2013:
“Famous Joe” Carlucci, owner of Joe’s Pizzeria, will tell you how to expand your catering business and boost your bottom line.
Roberta Matuson, president of Human Resource Solutions, is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Suddenly in Charge: Managing Up, Managing Down, Succeeding All Around, a Washington Post Top Five Business Book for Leaders. Roberta will show you how to “Make Dollars and Sense Out of Gen Y”, as well as present a second session on strategies for business growth.
Jeff Mease, founder & CEO of One World Enterprises, which includes Pizza X, Lennie’s, The Bloomington Brewing Co. and One World Catering & Events, will take you through the process of deciding whether or not to open a second unit.
Mike Bausch, owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria and 2011 Tulsa Restaurateur of the Year, will tell you how to manage, motivate and empower Gen Y to take your pizzeria to the next level.
T. J. Schier, president and founder of Incentivize Solutions and S.M.A.R.T. Restaurant Group, is one of the foremost authorities on restaurant training tactics. He’ll teach you the “Training Tactics of Pizza Pros” that really work and give a second seminar on 10 tactics to make your front line improve your bottom line.
Beckee Moreland, director of gluten-free industry initiatives for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, will disclose how gluten-free products are impacting foodservice and creating new menu opportunities. She’ll discuss the potential of gluten-free pizza in the working pizzeria kitchen.
The bottom line is there’s always something new at Pizza Expo that can improve your pizzeria… a new marketing idea, technological innovation or menu item. As always, our commitment to you, our partners, is to continue to grow and improve every facet of Pizza Expo… from the trade show floor to our networking events and contests. In fact, if you don’t come away from International Pizza Expo 2013 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. What other show gives you a money-back guarantee? I’ll tell you, none!
Remember International Pizza Expo® is a tax-deductible working vacation.
For more information on our contests or to register, please call (800) 489-8324 or visit our Website at www.PizzaExpo.com.
It’s all pizza and it’s all for YOU!
Best regards,
Bill Oakley
Executive Vice President
Bill OAKLEY
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If you’re a student of the pizza industry, chances are you’ve probably heard of a little show called International Pizza Expo. If you were one of the nearly 7,000 people who attended, you experienced first-hand the knowledge, expertise and excitement the annual show brought to the Las Vegas Convention Center last March.
“This year we had attendees from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and 23 other countries,” says Bill Oakley, executive vice president of Macfadden Protech, parent company of International Pizza Expo. “We even had a group from the largest pizza company in Mongolia, Mr. Pizza, make the long trip to Las Vegas to experience everything Pizza Expo has to offer. As a result of their experience, they’ve already implemented some of the ideas they picked up at Expo.” Show organizers say that 25 percent of show-goers were first-time attendees, and the show designated a day devoted entirely to those looking to start pizzerias. “Based on the comments to date, it was a huge success with 684 attendees taking part in this day-long educational program,” Oakley says. “This stimulating day of educational sessions and workshops was followed by a reception where attendees could network with fellow ‘newbies,’ industry experts and event sponsors.” Keynote speakers for the three-day show included Nick Sarillo, owner of Nick’s Pizza & Pub in Illinois, and Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza. Bruce Allar, vice president of meetings and conferences for Macfadden Protech, says the 2012 line-up of Pizza Expo speakers placed more emphasis on successful pizzeria owners, making International Pizza Expo a true peer-to-peer experience. “The buzz of activity never abated among buyers and sellers on the show floor, or among pizza professionals networking and learning at other Expo gatherings,” says Allar. “Pizza Expo maintained a powerful momentum from the opening bell on Tuesday morning all the way to its conclusion on Thursday afternoon.”
Contestants vied for supremacy in the International Pizza Challenge, a series of culinary competitions designed to highlight the best of the best.
In the traditional division, regional prelimary winners included:
Reál Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA – Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA – Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ont. – Mid-America Region
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy – International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA – Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY – Southeast Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza, Chardon, OH – Wild Card
Silva took home the title of World’s Best Traditional Pizza Winner.
In the Non-Traditional Division, preliminary winners were:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA – Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA – Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR – Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH – Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY – Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan – International Region
Scudera took home the title of World’s Best Non-Traditional Pizza.
In the new American-Pan division, finalists included:
Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair, St. Clair Shores, MI – 1st Place
Matthew Heard, Humble Pie, Edmond, OK – 2nd Place
Alex Abellan, Pizza Zone, Victoria, BC – 3rd Place
The Italian-Style Division Finals Winners were:
Umberto Fornito, Italy – 1st Place
Saverio Ciampi, Italy – 2nd Place
Alessandra DeBellis, Italy – 3rd Place
Finalists from each division competed in a blind-box challenge in the Pizza Maker of the Year Bake-Off. The competition’s mystery ingredient, Cattlemen’s Carolina Tangy Gold Barbeque Sauce, proved to be a challenge for the four finalists, who presented the judges with unique pizzas created from a table of provided ingredients. Shawn Randazzo of Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker and a cash prize. The International Pizza Challenge also pitted four former winners –– all industry experts in their own right. Tony Gemignani of San Francisco-based Tony’s Pizza Napoletana was named the “Best of the Best” Master Pizza Maker of the Year.
The popular World Pizza Games trials culminated at an event on Wednesday, March 13. Winners were:
1st Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch: Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding: Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch: Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Throughout the three-day event, show attendees visited sponsoring booths and turned in gamepieces for the $20,000 MEGA BUCKS Giveaway. Frank Sastano of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Savastano’s Pizzeria took home the cash prize.
“This year’s Pizza Expo was the biggest and best show ever, breaking records for attendance with 6,901 pizza professionals, 940 booths and tons of excitement,” says Oakley. “Words just don’t do it justice; you really have to experience Pizza Expo to understand the interaction that takes place between our attendees and exhibitors. Everyone is truly anxious and motivated to get into discussions about new products, new technology, the latest industry trends and hot-button issues facing the industry today.”
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Exciting new seminars, workshops and competitions are in store for you at International Pizza Expo 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 19-21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
BREAKING NEWS: Pizza Expo will kick off with a special appearance by Chef Robert Irvine, host of Food Network’s prime-time series Restaurant Impossible.
A Craft Beer powerhouse panel discussion will make its debut at the 2013 Pizza Expo. Want to build a profitable craft beer program? Don’t miss this seminar.
The World Pizza Game return with the addition of a new “triathlon” category, comprised of box folding, dough tossing for a 16-inch screen and dough tossing for a 24-inch screen.
Find out more about the new additions to the 2013 Pizza Expo by clicking here.
To view a full schedule at a glance, click here.
International Pizza Expo® 2013, scheduled for March 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is the oldest and largest annual gathering of pizza professionals—and will draw approximately 7,000 attendees and 450 exhibitors to a show floor covering an area equal to 5½ football fields. In its 29th year, Pizza Expo attracts top independent and chain operators to do business in the exhibit hall, attend education sessions and take part in pizza-making competitions.
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Pizza Expo® has something for everyone –– whether you’re looking for new ways to create revenue or just want to find out about the latest industry trends and products. The one thing that really separates Pizza Expo from all of the other general foodservice shows is the fact that there’s only one tradeshow where you’ll find over 80 industry specific seminars, workshops and demonstrations, 450 exhibiting companies and 1,000 booths all devoted to pizza … and that’s Pizza Expo. Throw in the best networking event in the industry –– the Beer and Bull Idea Exchange –– along with all of our other great contests and competitions, such as the World Pizza Games, International Pizza Challenge, and the Great $20,000 Mega Bucks Giveaway, and you can see why industry veterans call Pizza Expo the “Show of Shows.”
This year’s Expo shattered all of our previous attendance records with nearly 7,000 attendees and 4,000 exhibitor personnel. And the international presence was astounding, with attendees from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, Norway and Spain –– just to name a few –– making it a truly worldly experience for everyone! Pizza is indeed a universal food, and there was plenty of it to be found on our show floor that measured over 5½ football fields.
If you didn’t get the chance to attend this year’s show, you still have the opportunity to listen and learn by ordering recordings of some or all of the 50-plus educational sessions that were offered. You can order a Multimedia DVD-ROM or download directly to your iPod by going to the InteliQuest Media website at www. intelliquestmedia.com. It’s also a good way to revisit a seminar to hear what you missed or listen to one you couldn’t attend –– and we know there were several you probably wish you could have made it to during the show.
In addition, I want to thank everyone who attended this year’s Expo. Without the continued support of pizzeria operators, suppliers, manufacturers and industry experts, we could not have achieved the measure of success that makes International Pizza Expo the must- attend event of the year.
It’s never too early to start making plans for next year’s show, slated for March 19 – 21, 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, so save the date! We’re already making plans for next year’s Expo, and we think you’ll be pleased with the changes we’re making. If you have any ideas or suggestions on how we can improve the show, please give me a call at (800) 489-8324 or drop me a note at BOakley@PizzaToday.com.
Last but not least, please remember International Pizza Expo is a tax- deductible working vacation.
It’s all Pizza and it’s all for YOU!
Sincerely,
Bill Oakley
Executive Vice President
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If you were in Las Vegas, then you know that International Pizza Expo® was the THE place to be. You could feel the energy and pizza enthusiasm from the moment you walked into the Las Vegas Convention Center.
There was something for everyone at International Pizza Expo® 2012, whether you’re a veteran or just opening your first store. When the show closed on Thursday afternoon, nearly 7,000 buyers had visited more than 930 exhibits and attended more than 80 educational sessions. Rounding out the experience were numerous culinary competitions, contests, demonstrations and other special events.
The Traditional Division of the International Pizza Challenge™ had the following regional winners and wild cards that advanced to the finals:
Real Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA - Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Nima’s Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA - Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ontario - Mid-America Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza Plus, Chardon, OH - Wild Card
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy - International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA - Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY, - Southeast Region
The Non-Traditional Division of the International Pizza Challenge™ had the following regional winners and wild cards that advanced to the finals:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA - Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA - Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR - Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH - Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY -
Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Japanese Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan -
International Region
Alexandre Brunet, Pizza Stromboli, Montreal, Quebec - Wild Card
Tim Silva, won the Traditional Division and $7,500, Andrew Scudera, won Non-Traditional Division and $7,500, Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza, St. Clair, MI, won the American-Pan Division, and Umberto Fornito won the Italian-Style Division and $4,000.
Following the International Pizza Challenge finals, the winners in each division squared off in the Pizza Maker of the Year competition. Contestants were presented with a table of ingredients from which to choose. There were no restrictions for toppings, but all contestants had to use the secret ingredient – Cattlemen’s® Carolina Tangy Gold™ Barbeque Sauce. Shawn Randazzo walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year and an additional $5,000. We also introduced a new competition this year called the Best of the Best, where four past World Champions squared off to see who would be named the Master Pizza Maker of the Year. The inaugural winner was Tony Gemignani, of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, California, who walked away with $2,500.
The Winners in the World Pizza Games® were as follows:
Freestyle Acrobatics –– Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan,
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics –– Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch –– Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding –– Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch –– Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin –– Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Start making plans now to attend International Pizza Expo® 2013, which will again be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 19 – 21.
Sincerely,
Bill Oakley
In This Issue
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If you’re a student of the pizza industry, chances are you’ve probably heard of a little show called International Pizza Expo. If you were one of the nearly 7,000 people who attended, you experienced first-hand the knowledge, expertise and excitement the annual show brought to the Las Vegas Convention Center last March.
“This year we had attendees from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and 23 other countries,” says Bill Oakley, executive vice president of Macfadden Protech, parent company of International Pizza Expo. “We even had a group from the largest pizza company in Mongolia, Mr. Pizza, make the long trip to Las Vegas to experience everything Pizza Expo has to offer. As a result of their experience, they’ve already implemented some of the ideas they picked up at Expo.” Show organizers say that 25 percent of show-goers were first-time attendees, and the show designated a day devoted entirely to those looking to start pizzerias. “Based on the comments to date, it was a huge success with 684 attendees taking part in this day-long educational program,” Oakley says. “This stimulating day of educational sessions and workshops was followed by a reception where attendees could network with fellow ‘newbies,’ industry experts and event sponsors.” Keynote speakers for the three-day show included Nick Sarillo, owner of Nick’s Pizza & Pub in Illinois, and Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza. Bruce Allar, vice president of meetings and conferences for Macfadden Protech, says the 2012 line-up of Pizza Expo speakers placed more emphasis on successful pizzeria owners, making International Pizza Expo a true peer-to-peer experience. “The buzz of activity never abated among buyers and sellers on the show floor, or among pizza professionals networking and learning at other Expo gatherings,” says Allar. “Pizza Expo maintained a powerful momentum from the opening bell on Tuesday morning all the way to its conclusion on Thursday afternoon.”
Contestants vied for supremacy in the International Pizza Challenge, a series of culinary competitions designed to highlight the best of the best.
In the traditional division, regional prelimary winners included:
Reál Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA – Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA – Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ont. – Mid-America Region
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy – International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA – Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY – Southeast Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza, Chardon, OH – Wild Card
Silva took home the title of World’s Best Traditional Pizza Winner.
In the Non-Traditional Division, preliminary winners were:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA – Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA – Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR – Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH – Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY – Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan – International Region
Scudera took home the title of World’s Best Non-Traditional Pizza.
In the new American-Pan division, finalists included:
Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair, St. Clair Shores, MI – 1st Place
Matthew Heard, Humble Pie, Edmond, OK – 2nd Place
Alex Abellan, Pizza Zone, Victoria, BC – 3rd Place
The Italian-Style Division Finals Winners were:
Umberto Fornito, Italy – 1st Place
Saverio Ciampi, Italy – 2nd Place
Alessandra DeBellis, Italy – 3rd Place
Finalists from each division competed in a blind-box challenge in the Pizza Maker of the Year Bake-Off. The competition’s mystery ingredient, Cattlemen’s Carolina Tangy Gold Barbeque Sauce, proved to be a challenge for the four finalists, who presented the judges with unique pizzas created from a table of provided ingredients. Shawn Randazzo of Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker and a cash prize. The International Pizza Challenge also pitted four former winners –– all industry experts in their own right. Tony Gemignani of San Francisco-based Tony’s Pizza Napoletana was named the “Best of the Best” Master Pizza Maker of the Year.
The popular World Pizza Games trials culminated at an event on Wednesday, March 13. Winners were:
1st Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch: Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding: Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch: Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Throughout the three-day event, show attendees visited sponsoring booths and turned in gamepieces for the $20,000 MEGA BUCKS Giveaway. Frank Sastano of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Savastano’s Pizzeria took home the cash prize.
“This year’s Pizza Expo was the biggest and best show ever, breaking records for attendance with 6,901 pizza professionals, 940 booths and tons of excitement,” says Oakley. “Words just don’t do it justice; you really have to experience Pizza Expo to understand the interaction that takes place between our attendees and exhibitors. Everyone is truly anxious and motivated to get into discussions about new products, new technology, the latest industry trends and hot-button issues facing the industry today.”
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As someone with celiac disease, I have certain red flags that I always look for when I dine out. And it all begins with the front of the house.
Restaurants across the U.S. are introducing gluten-free options at a rapid pace. This new menu trend is especially strong among pizza parlors, which are ordering gluten-free crusts or developing their own dough to accommodate gluten-free requests. Managers are putting time, money and effort into building dedicated gluten-free areas, verifying gluten-free ingredients and establishing gluten-free protocols for the chef and kitchen staff. But that’s all for nothing if the hostess and server aren’t properly prepped.
Your front-of-house staff is the first source of contact with customers, and therefore, the first impression of your establishment. Your kitchen staff could be well versed in gluten-free safety, but if a server responds to a question about gluten with a quizzical look or a heavy sigh, chances are that gluten-sensitive customer will lose faith—and may even opt to dine elsewhere.
Consider this: Last summer, the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, for which I am the director of gluten-free industry initiatives, asked those who choose this option to share their concerns about dining out. Among the top four themes we identified in the responses was this: Many gluten-free diners base their comfort (or lack of comfort) on the attitude and knowledge of the front-of-house staff.
Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity are serious health conditions that can cause debilitating symptoms when gluten is ingested. It is estimated that 1 percent of our population—that’s more than 3 million in the U.S.—exhibit gluten intolerance. A tiny amount is enough to trigger a reaction, so gluten-free meals must be prepared with extreme vigilance for members of this group.
Confusing the issue is the rising popularity of the gluten-free diet. A recent report by Packaged Facts estimates that 18 percent of the population has adopted a gluten-free diet. (That’s up from 15 percent in 2010.) More consumers are making this a lifestyle even though it is not a medical necessity—and there’s a big difference between dietary requests they might make and the requirement of zero gluten among those with health conditions.
The trend can affect a pizzeria this way: A diner who requests a gluten-free meal because it’s a choice rather than a necessity may steal a bite of pasta from a friend’s plate or decide to order a gluten-containing dessert. Your staff sees that and may not realize that another diner, one with a gluten-related disorder, is unable move back and forth like this. For hosts and servers, repeated exposure to these crossover gluten-free diners can cause confusion about the seriousness of special dietary requests, which puts true gluten-sensitive diners at risk and builds an air of distrust between customers and servers.
In the celiac and gluten-sensitive community, we are advised to call ahead before dining out so we can alert the staff to our gluten-free needs or pick another restaurant if gluten-free options are unavailable. We request a gluten-free menu when we are seated. We ask a variety of questions to ensure that the food we order will be prepared safely. It’s essential for front-of-house staff to be prepared to meet these requests and answer each question with confidence. The last thing a gluten-sensitive diner wants to hear is, “Um, yeah, I think that’s gluten-free.”
For some industry perspective, I asked Adam Goldberg, CEO and co-founder of Fresh Brothers (Pizza Today’s Independent Pizzeria of the Year for 2012), for his thoughts on front-of-house training. Fresh Brothers was one of the early adopters of GREAT Kitchens, an NFCA training program, and his locations now serve more than 1,000 gluten-free pizzas per week.
“Our gluten-free customers ask a lot of questions, as they should. It’s vital that our cashiers can answer those questions,” he said. “Even more important for our cashiers is knowing when they should bring a manager into the loop. If our cashier can’t answer a question with authority, then we ask that they bring the manager into the discussion to make sure the customer feels comfortable about our procedures.”
This may sound like more effort than it’s worth. I assure you, the rewards far outweigh the investment.
Gluten-free diners are known for their loyalty. Restaurants that offer a safe gluten-free meal and provide a superior dining experience are few and far between; they quickly become hot spots for the gluten-free community. What’s more, special dietary needs often dictate where an entire group may dine, so one customer with celiac disease could be responsible for bringing in a troop of 10 or 15, none of whom have gluten-related disorders but all of whom support their friend who does. Finally, gluten-free diners are active word-of-mouth marketers. They post restaurant reviews on forums, listservs and social media; they talk about where they ate at support-group meetings; and they take feedback from one another seriously.
Fresh Brothers has become one of those go-to spots for celiac and gluten-sensitive diners. Goldberg attributes the chain’s success to his staff’s “ability to feed the entire family.” That claim isn’t just a reflection of the kitchen; it’s a sign of a cohesive staff. And it’s a sign of a well-run and profitable business.
Beckee Moreland is director of gluten-free industry initiatives at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. She will be leading a discussion on gluten-free pizzas during two sessions at Pizza Expo in March. Beckee will be joined by Adam Goldberg of Fresh Brothers, Willy Olund of Willy O’s Pizza & Grille and Michael Rutledge of Farrelli’s Wood Fire Pizza—all of whom are now serving gluten-free pizza.
For more details on International Pizza Expo 2013, visit www.pizzaexpo.com.
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Who and what is Gen Y? The sheer variety in this young workforce makes it difficult to define Generation Y. This group is so ambiguous that it doesn’t even have its own generational name. The popular expression merely morphed from Gen X to Y.
This how I define Gen-Y: They’re a group of people who have been given everything—a defined path, a defined sense of worth, a laser pinpoint focus on how and what success is. All they know is to follow the path. This is both a positive and a negative. Never before has a group of kids been so highly talented while completely lacking any self-drive.
Trying to teach them the way you were taught—or expecting things of them in exactly the same way they were expected of you—will most likely lead to re-instruction and certain frustration. I’m generalizing here, but if you were trained with a 1,000-page manual on what to do and when to do it, then you might be great at giving the micro-managed direction that this group feeds off of. If, in contrast, you give minimal direction, don’t be surprised if one out of every 50 new hires “gets it” and gives top job performance.
I can say with absolute certainty to every single person reading this that there is a better way. There is a better way to train, a better way to manage, and a better way to thrive with this up-and-coming work force.
My father is a Retired Marine lieutenant colonel and every male in my family has served in the Marines at one point or another, including myself. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 20 years old and changed my life to become a restaurant owner instead of a career Judge Advocate General lawyer. What I witnessed in the Marines is that young people when presented with a path—a path that leads to respect, self worth and a sense of accomplishment—can carry out any responsibility your pizzeria can set before them and then some.
Think about the power of the path to self-worth. What does your pizza place do for your employee’s mentality? Does your workplace create a consistent mindset fore the employee of, “We crank out a semi-decent product while I wait for the next thing in my life to flop into my lap while old man pizza-owner wastes his life inside these four walls”? Or is yours a place where it might instead be said that, “I the employee am learning how to conduct myself in a business, pushing my own boundaries and abilities to be a valued commodity when I one day leave this job or, fingers crossed, learn to manage and run my own store with this boss I respect and value?
All employees worth a damn want this. They are out there. The Marines transform kids smarter and dumber than your staff into focused, driven young people—who are motivated, ready and willing to deliver on their tasks.
However, you are not the Marine Corps; you are not dealing with life and death. You deal in pizza. The good thing is that you don’t have to be a drill sergeant and yell to get your point across. If you conduct yourself appropriately, the fear of having you be disappointed in their results will be fear enough. Look at what high school and college sports teams accomplish with young people. They achieve focused efforts from kids not through monetary gain but through a feeling of self-worth.
So how does that translate to Gen Y more than any other generation? Gen Y is used to the quick course. Go to this place; get this Facebook page. Text instead of talk; use GPS instead of mapping it out. They have always had a path. SO GIVE THEM ONE.
Create a rank structure. Not just manager and assistant manager, but different hats, shirts, or jackets for each level of skill and knowledge. Create programs and classes with direct expectations, arduous prerequisites, and pay raises and social incentives delivered upon completion.
Money alone is not motivation enough. I know that sounds crazy. You might have been willing to clean toilets all night if it meant extra cash, but that is not the norm for this group. There is an exception for servers getting tips, but for staff that needs to complete a prep list or get food out fast and perfect while maintaining high morale, a direct motivator like status in the restaurant works best. This is where ranking status and differences in the uniform parts they wear can work to your advantage.
Create a sense of positive competition, and reward results over effort. Appreciate those who try, but reward and openly compliment those who perform. As for staff that can’t get on board, create defined, emotionless structure of what will happen when they don’t meet expectations—and then act. Never give a lot of attention to negative actions, because Gen Y is attention-starved, only feed good attention to those who deserve it and punish negative behavior swiftly and directly.
Gen Y has several advantages. Show them how, watch them do it, and then tell them that is the standard and they can perform consistently. If your staff is proud to work at your restaurant and glad that they work for someone like you, than turnover, labor costs, food quality and quality of life can and will fall in line.
For more details on International Pizza Expo 2013, visit www.pizzaexpo.com.
Mike Bausch operates two Andolini’s Pizzeria stores in Tulsa, Okla., with a total of 140 employees. He will give a seminar at Pizza Expo 2013 on Thursday, March 21, titled “Managing and Motivating Gen Y Employees.”
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If you've ever wished you could sit down with a super-successful operator and quiz him about the keys to pizza profits, you'll want to sit in on Pizza Expo 2013's Wednesday morning keynote one-on-one session with $6-Million-Man Bill Jacobs and Pizza Today editor Jeremy White.
Jeremy will be your surrogate at this kick-off to the second day of Expo, March 20. He'll guide the discussion with Jacobs, whose Piece Brewery & Pizzeria in Chicago grosses more than $6 million in sales per year from one unit. You'll learn through this candid insider's exchange why Jacobs sold his successful bagel company and turned to pizza in 2001; how he found the perfect location in a mature pizza market and built revenues; why he's resisted opening a second unit; and much more.
Piece was named Pizza Today's Independent Pizzeria of the Year in 2011 and Jacobs, a Connecticut native who brought New Haven-style pies to the Windy City, has an engaging story to tell. There will be time for questions from the crowd as well during this wide-ranging and insightful keynote session.
Visit PizzaExpo.com to learn more about next year's show. .
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At Pizza Expo® you’ll find 5½ football fields of pizza-related products, services and equipment, as well as leading industry experts, consultants and analysts who are all willing to share new ideas and insights on everything you need to adapt, react and prosper in today’s economy. At next year’s show, we’ve added several new speakers to the lineup of experts keeping you abreast of trends and best practices in pizzeria management.
Here are just a few of the new speakers and topics we have planned for our 29th annual show, March 19–21, 2013:
“Famous Joe” Carlucci, owner of Joe’s Pizzeria, will tell you how to expand your catering business and boost your bottom line.
Roberta Matuson, president of Human Resource Solutions, is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Suddenly in Charge: Managing Up, Managing Down, Succeeding All Around, a Washington Post Top Five Business Book for Leaders. Roberta will show you how to “Make Dollars and Sense Out of Gen Y”, as well as present a second session on strategies for business growth.
Jeff Mease, founder & CEO of One World Enterprises, which includes Pizza X, Lennie’s, The Bloomington Brewing Co. and One World Catering & Events, will take you through the process of deciding whether or not to open a second unit.
Mike Bausch, owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria and 2011 Tulsa Restaurateur of the Year, will tell you how to manage, motivate and empower Gen Y to take your pizzeria to the next level.
T. J. Schier, president and founder of Incentivize Solutions and S.M.A.R.T. Restaurant Group, is one of the foremost authorities on restaurant training tactics. He’ll teach you the “Training Tactics of Pizza Pros” that really work and give a second seminar on 10 tactics to make your front line improve your bottom line.
Beckee Moreland, director of gluten-free industry initiatives for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, will disclose how gluten-free products are impacting foodservice and creating new menu opportunities. She’ll discuss the potential of gluten-free pizza in the working pizzeria kitchen.
The bottom line is there’s always something new at Pizza Expo that can improve your pizzeria… a new marketing idea, technological innovation or menu item. As always, our commitment to you, our partners, is to continue to grow and improve every facet of Pizza Expo… from the trade show floor to our networking events and contests. In fact, if you don’t come away from International Pizza Expo 2013 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. What other show gives you a money-back guarantee? I’ll tell you, none!
Remember International Pizza Expo® is a tax-deductible working vacation.
For more information on our contests or to register, please call (800) 489-8324 or visit our Website at www.PizzaExpo.com.
It’s all pizza and it’s all for YOU!
Best regards,
Bill Oakley
Executive Vice President
Bill OAKLEY
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If you’re a student of the pizza industry, chances are you’ve probably heard of a little show called International Pizza Expo. If you were one of the nearly 7,000 people who attended, you experienced first-hand the knowledge, expertise and excitement the annual show brought to the Las Vegas Convention Center last March.
“This year we had attendees from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and 23 other countries,” says Bill Oakley, executive vice president of Macfadden Protech, parent company of International Pizza Expo. “We even had a group from the largest pizza company in Mongolia, Mr. Pizza, make the long trip to Las Vegas to experience everything Pizza Expo has to offer. As a result of their experience, they’ve already implemented some of the ideas they picked up at Expo.” Show organizers say that 25 percent of show-goers were first-time attendees, and the show designated a day devoted entirely to those looking to start pizzerias. “Based on the comments to date, it was a huge success with 684 attendees taking part in this day-long educational program,” Oakley says. “This stimulating day of educational sessions and workshops was followed by a reception where attendees could network with fellow ‘newbies,’ industry experts and event sponsors.” Keynote speakers for the three-day show included Nick Sarillo, owner of Nick’s Pizza & Pub in Illinois, and Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza. Bruce Allar, vice president of meetings and conferences for Macfadden Protech, says the 2012 line-up of Pizza Expo speakers placed more emphasis on successful pizzeria owners, making International Pizza Expo a true peer-to-peer experience. “The buzz of activity never abated among buyers and sellers on the show floor, or among pizza professionals networking and learning at other Expo gatherings,” says Allar. “Pizza Expo maintained a powerful momentum from the opening bell on Tuesday morning all the way to its conclusion on Thursday afternoon.”
Contestants vied for supremacy in the International Pizza Challenge, a series of culinary competitions designed to highlight the best of the best.
In the traditional division, regional prelimary winners included:
Reál Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA – Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA – Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ont. – Mid-America Region
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy – International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA – Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY – Southeast Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza, Chardon, OH – Wild Card
Silva took home the title of World’s Best Traditional Pizza Winner.
In the Non-Traditional Division, preliminary winners were:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA – Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA – Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR – Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH – Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY – Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan – International Region
Scudera took home the title of World’s Best Non-Traditional Pizza.
In the new American-Pan division, finalists included:
Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair, St. Clair Shores, MI – 1st Place
Matthew Heard, Humble Pie, Edmond, OK – 2nd Place
Alex Abellan, Pizza Zone, Victoria, BC – 3rd Place
The Italian-Style Division Finals Winners were:
Umberto Fornito, Italy – 1st Place
Saverio Ciampi, Italy – 2nd Place
Alessandra DeBellis, Italy – 3rd Place
Finalists from each division competed in a blind-box challenge in the Pizza Maker of the Year Bake-Off. The competition’s mystery ingredient, Cattlemen’s Carolina Tangy Gold Barbeque Sauce, proved to be a challenge for the four finalists, who presented the judges with unique pizzas created from a table of provided ingredients. Shawn Randazzo of Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker and a cash prize. The International Pizza Challenge also pitted four former winners –– all industry experts in their own right. Tony Gemignani of San Francisco-based Tony’s Pizza Napoletana was named the “Best of the Best” Master Pizza Maker of the Year.
The popular World Pizza Games trials culminated at an event on Wednesday, March 13. Winners were:
1st Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch: Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding: Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch: Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Throughout the three-day event, show attendees visited sponsoring booths and turned in gamepieces for the $20,000 MEGA BUCKS Giveaway. Frank Sastano of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Savastano’s Pizzeria took home the cash prize.
“This year’s Pizza Expo was the biggest and best show ever, breaking records for attendance with 6,901 pizza professionals, 940 booths and tons of excitement,” says Oakley. “Words just don’t do it justice; you really have to experience Pizza Expo to understand the interaction that takes place between our attendees and exhibitors. Everyone is truly anxious and motivated to get into discussions about new products, new technology, the latest industry trends and hot-button issues facing the industry today.”
In This Issue
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Exciting new seminars, workshops and competitions are in store for you at International Pizza Expo 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 19-21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
BREAKING NEWS: Pizza Expo will kick off with a special appearance by Chef Robert Irvine, host of Food Network’s prime-time series Restaurant Impossible.
A Craft Beer powerhouse panel discussion will make its debut at the 2013 Pizza Expo. Want to build a profitable craft beer program? Don’t miss this seminar.
The World Pizza Game return with the addition of a new “triathlon” category, comprised of box folding, dough tossing for a 16-inch screen and dough tossing for a 24-inch screen.
Find out more about the new additions to the 2013 Pizza Expo by clicking here.
To view a full schedule at a glance, click here.
International Pizza Expo® 2013, scheduled for March 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is the oldest and largest annual gathering of pizza professionals—and will draw approximately 7,000 attendees and 450 exhibitors to a show floor covering an area equal to 5½ football fields. In its 29th year, Pizza Expo attracts top independent and chain operators to do business in the exhibit hall, attend education sessions and take part in pizza-making competitions.
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Pizza Expo® has something for everyone –– whether you’re looking for new ways to create revenue or just want to find out about the latest industry trends and products. The one thing that really separates Pizza Expo from all of the other general foodservice shows is the fact that there’s only one tradeshow where you’ll find over 80 industry specific seminars, workshops and demonstrations, 450 exhibiting companies and 1,000 booths all devoted to pizza … and that’s Pizza Expo. Throw in the best networking event in the industry –– the Beer and Bull Idea Exchange –– along with all of our other great contests and competitions, such as the World Pizza Games, International Pizza Challenge, and the Great $20,000 Mega Bucks Giveaway, and you can see why industry veterans call Pizza Expo the “Show of Shows.”
This year’s Expo shattered all of our previous attendance records with nearly 7,000 attendees and 4,000 exhibitor personnel. And the international presence was astounding, with attendees from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, Norway and Spain –– just to name a few –– making it a truly worldly experience for everyone! Pizza is indeed a universal food, and there was plenty of it to be found on our show floor that measured over 5½ football fields.
If you didn’t get the chance to attend this year’s show, you still have the opportunity to listen and learn by ordering recordings of some or all of the 50-plus educational sessions that were offered. You can order a Multimedia DVD-ROM or download directly to your iPod by going to the InteliQuest Media website at www. intelliquestmedia.com. It’s also a good way to revisit a seminar to hear what you missed or listen to one you couldn’t attend –– and we know there were several you probably wish you could have made it to during the show.
In addition, I want to thank everyone who attended this year’s Expo. Without the continued support of pizzeria operators, suppliers, manufacturers and industry experts, we could not have achieved the measure of success that makes International Pizza Expo the must- attend event of the year.
It’s never too early to start making plans for next year’s show, slated for March 19 – 21, 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, so save the date! We’re already making plans for next year’s Expo, and we think you’ll be pleased with the changes we’re making. If you have any ideas or suggestions on how we can improve the show, please give me a call at (800) 489-8324 or drop me a note at BOakley@PizzaToday.com.
Last but not least, please remember International Pizza Expo is a tax- deductible working vacation.
It’s all Pizza and it’s all for YOU!
Sincerely,
Bill Oakley
Executive Vice President
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If you’re a student of the pizza industry, chances are you’ve probably heard of a little show called International Pizza Expo. If you were one of the nearly 7,000 people who attended, you experienced first-hand the knowledge, expertise and excitement the annual show brought to the Las Vegas Convention Center last March.
“This year we had attendees from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and 23 other countries,” says Bill Oakley, executive vice president of Macfadden Protech, parent company of International Pizza Expo. “We even had a group from the largest pizza company in Mongolia, Mr. Pizza, make the long trip to Las Vegas to experience everything Pizza Expo has to offer. As a result of their experience, they’ve already implemented some of the ideas they picked up at Expo.” Show organizers say that 25 percent of show-goers were first-time attendees, and the show designated a day devoted entirely to those looking to start pizzerias. “Based on the comments to date, it was a huge success with 684 attendees taking part in this day-long educational program,” Oakley says. “This stimulating day of educational sessions and workshops was followed by a reception where attendees could network with fellow ‘newbies,’ industry experts and event sponsors.” Keynote speakers for the three-day show included Nick Sarillo, owner of Nick’s Pizza & Pub in Illinois, and Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza. Bruce Allar, vice president of meetings and conferences for Macfadden Protech, says the 2012 line-up of Pizza Expo speakers placed more emphasis on successful pizzeria owners, making International Pizza Expo a true peer-to-peer experience. “The buzz of activity never abated among buyers and sellers on the show floor, or among pizza professionals networking and learning at other Expo gatherings,” says Allar. “Pizza Expo maintained a powerful momentum from the opening bell on Tuesday morning all the way to its conclusion on Thursday afternoon.”
Contestants vied for supremacy in the International Pizza Challenge, a series of culinary competitions designed to highlight the best of the best.
In the traditional division, regional prelimary winners included:
Reál Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA – Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA – Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ont. – Mid-America Region
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy – International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA – Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY – Southeast Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza, Chardon, OH – Wild Card
Silva took home the title of World’s Best Traditional Pizza Winner.
In the Non-Traditional Division, preliminary winners were:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA – Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA – Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR – Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH – Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY – Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan – International Region
Scudera took home the title of World’s Best Non-Traditional Pizza.
In the new American-Pan division, finalists included:
Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair, St. Clair Shores, MI – 1st Place
Matthew Heard, Humble Pie, Edmond, OK – 2nd Place
Alex Abellan, Pizza Zone, Victoria, BC – 3rd Place
The Italian-Style Division Finals Winners were:
Umberto Fornito, Italy – 1st Place
Saverio Ciampi, Italy – 2nd Place
Alessandra DeBellis, Italy – 3rd Place
Finalists from each division competed in a blind-box challenge in the Pizza Maker of the Year Bake-Off. The competition’s mystery ingredient, Cattlemen’s Carolina Tangy Gold Barbeque Sauce, proved to be a challenge for the four finalists, who presented the judges with unique pizzas created from a table of provided ingredients. Shawn Randazzo of Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker and a cash prize. The International Pizza Challenge also pitted four former winners –– all industry experts in their own right. Tony Gemignani of San Francisco-based Tony’s Pizza Napoletana was named the “Best of the Best” Master Pizza Maker of the Year.
The popular World Pizza Games trials culminated at an event on Wednesday, March 13. Winners were:
1st Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch: Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding: Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch: Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Throughout the three-day event, show attendees visited sponsoring booths and turned in gamepieces for the $20,000 MEGA BUCKS Giveaway. Frank Sastano of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Savastano’s Pizzeria took home the cash prize.
“This year’s Pizza Expo was the biggest and best show ever, breaking records for attendance with 6,901 pizza professionals, 940 booths and tons of excitement,” says Oakley. “Words just don’t do it justice; you really have to experience Pizza Expo to understand the interaction that takes place between our attendees and exhibitors. Everyone is truly anxious and motivated to get into discussions about new products, new technology, the latest industry trends and hot-button issues facing the industry today.”
In This Issue
More Articles
Exciting new seminars, workshops and competitions are in store for you at International Pizza Expo 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 19-21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
BREAKING NEWS: Pizza Expo will kick off with a special appearance by Chef Robert Irvine, host of Food Network’s prime-time series Restaurant Impossible.
A Craft Beer powerhouse panel discussion will make its debut at the 2013 Pizza Expo. Want to build a profitable craft beer program? Don’t miss this seminar.
The World Pizza Game return with the addition of a new “triathlon” category, comprised of box folding, dough tossing for a 16-inch screen and dough tossing for a 24-inch screen.
Find out more about the new additions to the 2013 Pizza Expo by clicking here.
To view a full schedule at a glance, click here.
International Pizza Expo® 2013, scheduled for March 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is the oldest and largest annual gathering of pizza professionals—and will draw approximately 7,000 attendees and 450 exhibitors to a show floor covering an area equal to 5½ football fields. In its 29th year, Pizza Expo attracts top independent and chain operators to do business in the exhibit hall, attend education sessions and take part in pizza-making competitions.
Related
Pizza Expo® has something for everyone –– whether you’re looking for new ways to create revenue or just want to find out about the latest industry trends and products. The one thing that really separates Pizza Expo from all of the other general foodservice shows is the fact that there’s only one tradeshow where you’ll find over 80 industry specific seminars, workshops and demonstrations, 450 exhibiting companies and 1,000 booths all devoted to pizza … and that’s Pizza Expo. Throw in the best networking event in the industry –– the Beer and Bull Idea Exchange –– along with all of our other great contests and competitions, such as the World Pizza Games, International Pizza Challenge, and the Great $20,000 Mega Bucks Giveaway, and you can see why industry veterans call Pizza Expo the “Show of Shows.”
This year’s Expo shattered all of our previous attendance records with nearly 7,000 attendees and 4,000 exhibitor personnel. And the international presence was astounding, with attendees from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, Norway and Spain –– just to name a few –– making it a truly worldly experience for everyone! Pizza is indeed a universal food, and there was plenty of it to be found on our show floor that measured over 5½ football fields.
If you didn’t get the chance to attend this year’s show, you still have the opportunity to listen and learn by ordering recordings of some or all of the 50-plus educational sessions that were offered. You can order a Multimedia DVD-ROM or download directly to your iPod by going to the InteliQuest Media website at www. intelliquestmedia.com. It’s also a good way to revisit a seminar to hear what you missed or listen to one you couldn’t attend –– and we know there were several you probably wish you could have made it to during the show.
In addition, I want to thank everyone who attended this year’s Expo. Without the continued support of pizzeria operators, suppliers, manufacturers and industry experts, we could not have achieved the measure of success that makes International Pizza Expo the must- attend event of the year.
It’s never too early to start making plans for next year’s show, slated for March 19 – 21, 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, so save the date! We’re already making plans for next year’s Expo, and we think you’ll be pleased with the changes we’re making. If you have any ideas or suggestions on how we can improve the show, please give me a call at (800) 489-8324 or drop me a note at BOakley@PizzaToday.com.
Last but not least, please remember International Pizza Expo is a tax- deductible working vacation.
It’s all Pizza and it’s all for YOU!
Sincerely,
Bill Oakley
Executive Vice President
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If you were in Las Vegas, then you know that International Pizza Expo® was the THE place to be. You could feel the energy and pizza enthusiasm from the moment you walked into the Las Vegas Convention Center.
There was something for everyone at International Pizza Expo® 2012, whether you’re a veteran or just opening your first store. When the show closed on Thursday afternoon, nearly 7,000 buyers had visited more than 930 exhibits and attended more than 80 educational sessions. Rounding out the experience were numerous culinary competitions, contests, demonstrations and other special events.
The Traditional Division of the International Pizza Challenge™ had the following regional winners and wild cards that advanced to the finals:
Real Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA - Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Nima’s Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA - Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ontario - Mid-America Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza Plus, Chardon, OH - Wild Card
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy - International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA - Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY, - Southeast Region
The Non-Traditional Division of the International Pizza Challenge™ had the following regional winners and wild cards that advanced to the finals:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA - Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA - Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR - Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH - Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY -
Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Japanese Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan -
International Region
Alexandre Brunet, Pizza Stromboli, Montreal, Quebec - Wild Card
Tim Silva, won the Traditional Division and $7,500, Andrew Scudera, won Non-Traditional Division and $7,500, Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza, St. Clair, MI, won the American-Pan Division, and Umberto Fornito won the Italian-Style Division and $4,000.
Following the International Pizza Challenge finals, the winners in each division squared off in the Pizza Maker of the Year competition. Contestants were presented with a table of ingredients from which to choose. There were no restrictions for toppings, but all contestants had to use the secret ingredient – Cattlemen’s® Carolina Tangy Gold™ Barbeque Sauce. Shawn Randazzo walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year and an additional $5,000. We also introduced a new competition this year called the Best of the Best, where four past World Champions squared off to see who would be named the Master Pizza Maker of the Year. The inaugural winner was Tony Gemignani, of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, California, who walked away with $2,500.
The Winners in the World Pizza Games® were as follows:
Freestyle Acrobatics –– Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan,
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics –– Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch –– Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding –– Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch –– Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin –– Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Start making plans now to attend International Pizza Expo® 2013, which will again be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 19 – 21.
Sincerely,
Bill Oakley
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If you’re a student of the pizza industry, chances are you’ve probably heard of a little show called International Pizza Expo. If you were one of the nearly 7,000 people who attended, you experienced first-hand the knowledge, expertise and excitement the annual show brought to the Las Vegas Convention Center last March.
“This year we had attendees from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and 23 other countries,” says Bill Oakley, executive vice president of Macfadden Protech, parent company of International Pizza Expo. “We even had a group from the largest pizza company in Mongolia, Mr. Pizza, make the long trip to Las Vegas to experience everything Pizza Expo has to offer. As a result of their experience, they’ve already implemented some of the ideas they picked up at Expo.” Show organizers say that 25 percent of show-goers were first-time attendees, and the show designated a day devoted entirely to those looking to start pizzerias. “Based on the comments to date, it was a huge success with 684 attendees taking part in this day-long educational program,” Oakley says. “This stimulating day of educational sessions and workshops was followed by a reception where attendees could network with fellow ‘newbies,’ industry experts and event sponsors.” Keynote speakers for the three-day show included Nick Sarillo, owner of Nick’s Pizza & Pub in Illinois, and Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza. Bruce Allar, vice president of meetings and conferences for Macfadden Protech, says the 2012 line-up of Pizza Expo speakers placed more emphasis on successful pizzeria owners, making International Pizza Expo a true peer-to-peer experience. “The buzz of activity never abated among buyers and sellers on the show floor, or among pizza professionals networking and learning at other Expo gatherings,” says Allar. “Pizza Expo maintained a powerful momentum from the opening bell on Tuesday morning all the way to its conclusion on Thursday afternoon.”
Contestants vied for supremacy in the International Pizza Challenge, a series of culinary competitions designed to highlight the best of the best.
In the traditional division, regional prelimary winners included:
Reál Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA – Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA – Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ont. – Mid-America Region
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy – International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA – Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY – Southeast Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza, Chardon, OH – Wild Card
Silva took home the title of World’s Best Traditional Pizza Winner.
In the Non-Traditional Division, preliminary winners were:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA – Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA – Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR – Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH – Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY – Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan – International Region
Scudera took home the title of World’s Best Non-Traditional Pizza.
In the new American-Pan division, finalists included:
Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair, St. Clair Shores, MI – 1st Place
Matthew Heard, Humble Pie, Edmond, OK – 2nd Place
Alex Abellan, Pizza Zone, Victoria, BC – 3rd Place
The Italian-Style Division Finals Winners were:
Umberto Fornito, Italy – 1st Place
Saverio Ciampi, Italy – 2nd Place
Alessandra DeBellis, Italy – 3rd Place
Finalists from each division competed in a blind-box challenge in the Pizza Maker of the Year Bake-Off. The competition’s mystery ingredient, Cattlemen’s Carolina Tangy Gold Barbeque Sauce, proved to be a challenge for the four finalists, who presented the judges with unique pizzas created from a table of provided ingredients. Shawn Randazzo of Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker and a cash prize. The International Pizza Challenge also pitted four former winners –– all industry experts in their own right. Tony Gemignani of San Francisco-based Tony’s Pizza Napoletana was named the “Best of the Best” Master Pizza Maker of the Year.
The popular World Pizza Games trials culminated at an event on Wednesday, March 13. Winners were:
1st Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch: Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding: Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch: Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Throughout the three-day event, show attendees visited sponsoring booths and turned in gamepieces for the $20,000 MEGA BUCKS Giveaway. Frank Sastano of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Savastano’s Pizzeria took home the cash prize.
“This year’s Pizza Expo was the biggest and best show ever, breaking records for attendance with 6,901 pizza professionals, 940 booths and tons of excitement,” says Oakley. “Words just don’t do it justice; you really have to experience Pizza Expo to understand the interaction that takes place between our attendees and exhibitors. Everyone is truly anxious and motivated to get into discussions about new products, new technology, the latest industry trends and hot-button issues facing the industry today.”
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