Better Safe than Sorry

Without proper food safety protocols, your pizzeria is a disaster in the making. From raw chicken to fresh fruit, you handle a little bit of everything. Handle food incorrectly and customers get sick. Once that happens, you’re reputation takes a hit.

Additionally, many cities and counties give restaurants sanitation scores and force them to display the latest rating on the front window or door. Avoiding the embarrassment of a low score could be as simple as making sure you wipe down the can opener in your kitchen.

Need to get your shop ready for a surprise inspection? Click here for food safety and inspection tips.


Make it a Super Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday — February 5 — is just a few short weeks away. As one of the five busiest sales days of the year, it’s never too early to start planning for the big event. Whether you have large screen televisions in your shop or are solely a delivery-carryout operation, there’s a good chance you’ll experience a 30-35 percent sales increase on Super Bowl Sunday.

The trick is to make your pizzeria the go-to destination when a big event rolls around. Click here for a handful of ideas that may help make Super Bowl Sunday an event you can call your own.


Set Goals, Exceed Them

Need to improve your delivery time? Does your staff fail to turn tables quickly enough? Can your kitchen workers dress and bake a pizza as fast as you’d like?

Just about every facet of your operation can be measured, says pizza industry consultant Big Dave Ostrander. And what gets consistently measured typically ends up significantly improving.

Click here to read how you can speed up your service times right now by challenging your staff and measuring the results.


Make it Count

If you’re going to International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas March 13-15, then you’re already one step ahead of the competition. But to get the most out of your time in Sin City, you need to really make it count. Walking the show floor briefly, taking in one seminar and then hitting the casino for the next three days won’t do much for your business (unless you get lucky and hit the jackpot).

Don’t gamble on your pizzeria’s future, and don’t let your time at International Pizza Expo go to waste. Maximize your experience and profitability by clicking here to read our “10 Steps to a Profitable Expo Experience.”


Fair Trade

Before currency was printed by governments, people bartered to get what they needed or wanted. Think trade is dead? Think again.

Whether you need radio advertising, gift cards from movie theaters as rewards for your employees or dry cleaning, you just might be able to work out a trade and save yourself from tapping into your cash flow.

Our “Marketing Matters” columnist, Scott Anthony, has had some luck with bartering. Click here to see what kinds of businesses he targeted and how you, too, can make trade a part of your business.


Featured Recipe — Chicken Marsala

A hearty dish, Chicken Marsala is perfect for your winter menu. It is simple, yet offers customers a depth of flavor. This recipe calls for canned mushrooms — fresh ones would dry out too much.

Chicken Marsala

¼ cup all-purpose flour for coating
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

To see the rest of this delicious recipe, click here.