Gelato sales heat up summer profits   If you’ve been to a recent International Pizza Expo, your eye has probably been drawn to one of the many gelato companies who offer flavors ranging from pistachio and hazelnut to panna cotta and olive oil....

Many Americans wax poetically about one day owning a restaurant. Kim was no different.  But, what made her think it would work? “Basically, I love to cook,” she explains. “Growing up it was sort of a natural thing. I watched my mother and gran...

It all comes out of the oven that serves as the pizzeria’s burning beacon.  Kim admits that, initially, she was hesitant to let the piece of equipment steal the spotlight. “It was really our architect’s idea,” she says. “He really thinks o...

Hello Pizza   Hello Pizza is the sister restaurant to Pizzeria Lola. Owner Ann Kim recognized that the unique vibe at Lola would make it difficult to grow, but she also knew it would not be easy to keep many of her key employees around without a...

Disposable plates and utensils may not sound like a good way to go in this day and age of green fever, but some pizza restaurant operators are saying that’s what their customers want –– and what works for them, rather than real china and metal ...

With 130 Domino’s Pizza outlets under his charge, Glenn Mueller signs plenty of checks for delivery drivers. The head of Gulfport, Mississippi- based RPM Pizza, Mueller, a 30-year veteran of the pizza world, has watched competitors throughout the r...

My first lessons in the art of tomato fanaticism came from an Italian chef and restaurateur named Bimbo. He looked like a tall George Clooney and I was just 14 years old when he hired me to wash dishes at his restaurant in Palatine, Illinois. Because...

Q: My brother and I own a pizzeria and deli. We have been open almost two years and business has been OK, but not terrible. We are paying bills, payroll is covered and my brother and I are making money. I don’t think we are making profit; I feel we...

The money captured from the sale of food is the epicenter of every restaurant’s monetary flow. From here, the flow starts as you pay off all expenses and are left with the reward of all your hard work. In 38 years in all sorts of restaurants, I’v...

Does water temperature really matter?   Q: I have heard you speak several times at Pizza Expo and I’ve heard you make reference to the need to control finished dough temperature. How do you know what temperature water to use to get the dough t...

In 1993, Tony DiSilvestro and his wife, Cynthia, opened Ynot Pizza and Italian Cuisine in Virginia Beach. “We were 24 years old and doing it all,” DiSilvestro recalls, operating a store with little more than hope, previous experience and used equ...

With so many options available, upgrading or replacing a floor can be overwhelming. But, if an operator can identify the needs of the restaurant, flooring can be a perfect reflection of design and function. “Restaurant floors should be planned and ...