The "limited menu" thing is the most important part for any new restaurant. Most of the time when I eat at a new restaurant, and I really really like the food, I notice they have a small menu. Its easier to do a few things very well than a lot of things well.
It is *usually* a red flag when I go somewhere and they have pizza, Chinese food, fish and chips, barbecue, and chicken pad Thai, because I know the majority of it is probably just precooked frozen food.
@@TheOfficialCaseMadeI get that feeling with fusion places. If you want to mash things together for 1-3 items then that’s fine. Once you start fusing everything then it’s doing too much.
@@UR_LOCAL_VEEEE Me too. It turned out it was 9 minutes of a regretful guy going "I would do it my way. Actually I would do it the way I HAD to do it until I could do it the way I WANT to do it unless I HAD to do it another way"
When I was about 6 years old, my dad would walk me up to our main street with a little neighborhood pizza shop. I don't remember anything about the pizza, but I'll never forget the Street Fighter 2 cabinet. I think we had NES at home but this was definitely something I had never seen before. What a beautiful machine, such a big screen, so many colors, everything moved so fast, and the glorious sounds. It even spoke. It's one of my favorite memories and seeing your icon brought it all back! I would most definitely wander into this pizza shop
I want a walk in grab and go slice shop. Pep and plain cheese slices only at the lowest price point possible to still maintain profit and sell quick volume. Like near a school or heavy foot traffic corner. Have something people want to take pics in front of and let them be the social media marketing along with myself
This is pretty much exactly how Rosa's in downtown Atlanta operates and it's been going for over 30 years now. Keep it simple and small. Location is everything. If the pizza has a good reputation and is near density, it'll flourish.
It's about two factors, quality of product and location. It's why NYC has so many corner pizza shops and most of them are so good. Concentration of pizza shops are actually a good thing. The competition pushes everyone to be their best and pizza connoisseurs flock to areas where the best pizzas are, creating a local food scene in and of itself.
When you compare apples to apples they're insanely good. You can't compare the 2pm dollar slice that's mostly open for greasy late night against a normal priced independent pizza shop in the burbs that just made you a fresh whole pie for 30x the price. The fresh whole pies in NYC blow most of the country out of the water, and if you can even find a to go slice shop if you compare $4 to $4 slice they crush it too
I am a food business consultant and you are on the right track. Someone asked me what business I would start if I had $250,000... what would it be?? I told them that I would open a pizza shop, take-out only, ordering kiosks (no registers or phone), incentives for online ordering, a limited quantity amazing pizza of the day, with a menu of 6 items total. Possibly a $10 cheese pizza to build daily cashflow. I would use $100k just to hire a marketing company to blast the internet with videos, ads, and influencers for the first 4 months. I would drop 50% of all net revenue into marketing for the 1st year. My prime focuses would be technology and marketing, not to mention the most instagramable pizzas I could make. I would give away the customer's first order if they sign up for marketing emails, then the next order if they subscribe or follow me on at least 2 platforms. Great video, and you are right to start "small and great". "Needs vs Wants" is an exercise every small business owner should do once a month. It keep you from the "business creep" that pushes us into unprofitable areas.
is a $10 large pizza even particularly profitable after accounting for storefront and wages? I guess you could be the only employee if they can only order online or through a kiosk but you still need to pay yourself.
Ordering kiosk? Okay that sounds like you're trying to reach a certain demographic that orders doordash religiously because they're allergic face to face conversation. At that point, just become a shadow kitchen.
Man that arcade setup gave me ratatouille flashback to my first ever slice of pizza I had in my life. Walked into this pizza shop down the street with my pops and saw the Capcom arcade. The 6 year old in me would be mashing the buttons and moving the joystick while waiting for the pizza to be cooked. Absolutely loved it! Thank you for bringing me back.
Great video, and sound business sense. My favourite pizza place opened in Glasgow three months back (we travel 15 miles each way to get there and back) , and it seems to be using the same business model that you're advocating. - NY-Style pizza only. - Six items on the menu. - Tiny footprint (front of house is maybe 12' x 10'; the kitchen is probably the same). - Take away only (unless you count one small table for four at the window inside, a table outside, and a shelf on a wall inside you can stand at). - No delivery. - Usually just four staff (two cooking, two serving).
This decor reminds me of my local shop that closed down due to covid restrictions. Best place on earth, owner makes pizzas to order from his house for friends. But I miss his shop (still has the vintage arcade machines, one being a metal slug one)
Great points I agree with all your points especially start small and scale up & expand when sales warrant it... People tend in life to try and be flashy at the beginning and worry about everything under the sun rather than simply QUALITY!!!
There was no mention of pizza by the slice as part of the equation but most of shops shown in this video had counters with half a dozen pizzas on display. I think that serves 2 functions, not only does it allow you to grab a couple of slices for a quick lunch but it shows the whole pizza customers what's available without having to describe each pizza. So many of the national chains only sell whole pies these days.
Slices are great for lunch, but when you have to find a parking spot, and then walk in, stand in line... it's NOT a quick lunch, or convenient. Someone REALLY needs to sell slices in a drive through. I guarantee people will love it.
Not a pizzaria owner nor im looking to be one, but I think the motto "add it later when needed, its easy to add not to remove" applies to pretty much any kind of business, great vid!
Exactly the model I did but my down fall was location. I was near a a huge lake and surrounded by small restaurants. But walkability and demographics was terrible. People just werent spending money or willing to walk or try a new place without a big discount, or fancy dine in. Without delivery I wouldnt survive as long as I did. But delivery was also the final dagger. 30-40% wasted on the apps and marketing. Bruces model works in densely populated areas with good foot traffic. If I were to do it all over again I'd build a great pizza first, find the best location possible with foot traffic will beyond 9pm, and then focus I building an email list or database of sort with atleast 500-1k customers that are interested in your style of pizza in that area, then open small shop.
How close were you to the lake? Being competitive with delivery is rather tough if you try and outsource it, especially if the driver doesn’t double as your opening or closing staff. One thing that helped on the delivery model when I graduated high school early and asked for more hours, my store manager turned me loose to doorhang during the days. What she didn’t count on was how I’d summarize the sales data and figure out the one main thoroughfare in our low-selling areas that, if I tagged just one block, all the delivery driver traffic would generate additional orders from all the neighbors realizing “oh, THAT’s the store that delivers out here!” Also, don’t forget soliciting car dealerships, motorcycle shops, any place that puts on major weekend sales events and wants a reliable pizza vendor on-hand. The smaller menu and smaller selection of toppings instead of trying to compete with the California experimental pizza shops also makes a lot of sense. When you start adding four different types of cheeses, two or more sauces, and enough toppings that you need a dual compartment makeline, ingredients get expensive. But a lake location, if you could deliver pizza on a boat, especially on the Fourth of July, you’re in business!
This is the model for the neighborhood bar as well. The small guys typically make a great living as they have minimal overhead and take care of the regulars.
@@robinatorm8013yep there’s a pizza restaurant by me that has like an entire downtown building block. One room that isn’t heated in the winter for special events in the summer, one room that is a bar, and the rest restaurant. Not sure if they do delivery but they’ve been slammed every Friday night for 25 years
Thanks to the algorithm for this gem. I wasn't an owner--or even an opening crew member--of a pizza shop, but it had my heart for the three years I worked there. My first step in the culinary industry. We placed top ten in deep dish one year at the Pizza Expo in Vegas. When it closed down, I was heartbroken. I still think about how I'd do it differently if I ever won the lottery. Because winning the lottery is the only way I'd feel comfortable making that big a bet having worked in and covered the industry since I left that job. There was one occasion where I got offered a Food & Beverage Director job at a theme park and my brother said, "here's your second chance to do a pizza shop right." I agree with everything you said in the video...except that Detroit style pizza deserves its shine and I'd feel wrong not serving it. Great video! Can't wait to share it with my students.
100% nailed it. I’ve never owned a pizza shop but I owned a cafe for a few years. Almost everything you said I always tell people verbatim..sad part is I think that advice usually falls on deaf ears as everyone always thinks they’re going to make it their own way. Start small, and make sure you’re completely in control.
I've been a restaurant chain manager for a pizzeria chain in Copenhagen, that had 4 restaurant, I've open up 3 pizza restaurants myself. And I kind agree on this, we did drop wolt after 1 year because we could not make money on thoes pizza. We did dine in from the start, and that saved the business. But yes, keep it small, low overhead, low payroll, no take out company's, and you need to cut a good deal on quality suppliers, and don't underpay you staff, you get what you pay for.
Used pizza concession trailer parked next to the garage and a virtual restaurant on all the delivery apps.. I think I'd make it 6 months before the city came to shut me down and if I was making money I'd just move it to one of those cheap "garage" storage units for $600/ month
When I think of a good pie I think of fresh in house proofed dough. Add good toppings and you're golden. Doesn't need to be the weird stuff. Basics. Gotta have consistently good pie. 👌
There is a popular pizza joint by me that is take out only, they only take phone orders. only thing that is annoying on busy nights, you call then they tell you that their at 3-4 hour wait. would be nice for them to have an online platform that would tell the customer the wait time or one could pre order earlier.
I'm very lucky to live in New York, there's great pizza everywhere. But the scene is very competitive. I've seen places come and go after only a few months.
Thank you bro! This is exactly the way to open a new shop! Soooo many failed attempts, could have made it if only they would have followed the golden rule of NY style pizza. "LESS IS MORE" Love the channel, and the pizza game! Regards.
This video is just amazing advice in general, you can ignore the word pizza and supplant it with any food from the industry. Burger spot, hot dog spot, fries, small diner, small bakery, run-up food truck. The advice in this video is applicable across the board.
Anyone who finds a good location to open a pizza spot needs to realize you’re going to be working six or seven days a week 14 hours a day for 10 years straight to create a successful business . Even if you show that type of commitment make all the right decisions it still 40% chance your business is still going to fail within five years . This is the rule for any business .
Good point, but a food cart/trailer that only sells slices and has optimal _drive through access_ could be open only for lunch and dinner, and move plenty of slices per week. You could have one side of the cart for walk-up/whole pizzas, and the other side of the cart for drive through slices. $5/slice, 8 slices per pie... how many slices can you sell between 11am and 7pm? If you can average 7 slices per hour, that's $100k per year, _per cart._ Hell, if you can partner with an established pizza parlor, it might be a win-win... they sell a large volume of daily pizzas to you, at a discount, and you flip them via drive through convenience (value added). They're already going to have employees on the clock, waiting for orders to come in... might as well have them making your daily quota, instead of standing around. Probably better to buy them uncooked, and bake them onsite, so they're fresh out the oven, on demand.
Arcade machine brings me back to a tiny Pepis pizza joint in the 80's that had Asteroids and another machine. Spent so much time in their after school. And the smell of pizza all the while was amazing. Still remember to this day.
I live in north italy, in lombardy. The most common pizza shop in north Italy is Pizzeria to go, generally they also have just a couple of tables (with generic plastic chairs) seating 8 people max if you are really desperate. they make NY style pizza. It's generally thin and a bit dry but it's very good, the shops are generally run by immigrants from Africa. a margherita could cost you 5/6€ (around $6.50) We also have Kebap shops that make good pizza. We eat pizza at least once a week. we also appreaciate a Verace, but it's not that common. We make Detroit style pizza at home (we call it pizza della nonna) Neopolitan pizza is something you have to really look for here in the north, but some pizzerias (expecially the ones where you seat down) will make it. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
Absolutely fantastic video, thank you for putting this out! Former burger joint owner here in the UK, sold it back in 2018. More and more feeling a pull back to a food place business and pizza has been top of my list. My burher joint had seating for about about 36 people, plus I delivered. The stress was immense. It did really well but burned me out to the point I was so happy to sell it. My vision for the pizza place is a slice shop, just a couple of varieties, hand filled cannolis as dessert option and ideally something I can run with 1 staff member per shift. And at most a couple of stools for dining in, no more than 4 people eating in.
I agree with everything except no phones. Anyone can order over the phone, however the old people are going to struggle with the online part. Unless you’re right next to a college campus that is. In that case cut the phone line.
This start up and expansion plan seems similar to what Little Caesar’s did. When they started it was pick up only. They only made cheese or pepperoni. And only one size was available. Then they grew more sizes, toppings, and extras like crazy bread.
What brand of whole milk low moisture mozzarella cheese would you use? Would you use any other soft cheese(s) like fontina, provolone, etc? If I opened a pizzeria it would have to be like Lucali because I can’t stand fluorescent lights and they don’t have any in the entire place.
I'd look into PFG/Roma's Baccio line ... It's too salty for my taste as it's got Buffalo milk in it, but it's what we use at our location. If it was up to me, I really like Grande...
Great suggestions. I would like to start the pizza van or small store by taking all the suggestions you had mentioned, small, sustainable, easy to operate, lowest staff max 2. Please suggest the resources, contacts. Iam open to work for few months to experience everything. Thanks for sharing tips
I totally agree with these points. I would probably keep the menu much more simple than 10 types of pizzas. Pizza places nowadays are becoming way too exotic and overpriced for my liking. A cheese, pepperoni, and sausage choice would be fine with me.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894 - There were a handful of places in Vancouver, BC back in the late 90s/early 2k where they had this type of format. Some where it was only 2 types. And they were only $1 CAD. Around 65 cents USD. That’s what I’m talking about! My friends and I made frequent trips up to Canada because we had a strong USD and stay in decent hotels for 3 nights at a total shy of $100. This was a full on suite with balcony too.
Aside from the New York boutique pizza you’re describing a little Caesar’s. Every one I’ve been to has maybe 2 or 3 people working max.. usually one. A couple of chairs to sit and wait and pickup your order. Simple pizzas and minimal non pizza items
Im from the twin cities and in Minnesota, we have our own style of pizza. Has thin crust, tons of cheese, it's quite salty, and there are plenty of toppings. The reason this form of pizza got popular is because it was created to get people to buy more beer. This form of pizza would be sold in bars.
9:30 “I’m in the business to make a profit.” And that is the problem with the world today. There is no longer a passion for the business itself, only for the almighty dollar. Sad.
A genuine brick oven and upstate NY water for the dough be the heart of a good pizza joint for me. Keep it limited to pizzas, calzones and maybe a juice and lemonade dispenser to complement fridges for sodas. Keep aesthetics like a 70s or 80s pizza joint in NYC.
This is great advice that applies to so many "fast quality" food store fronts. Especially relevant in more populated or downtown/uptown areas where you couldn't just slap a food truck on the side of the road where parking is already a nightmare, and cooking in an actual kitchen is a 1000x easier. Late night clientel typically aren't looking for sit down service, they want to grab one of the better dogs, slices, kebabs, whatever is easy to eat to soak up the alcohol before there trek home or take home with them. I think a lot of places think they need to be doing liquor sales for a profit, and while alcohol is a profit maker then being a bar becomes the primary focus and food second, your food becomes shit, and now your a failing dive bar. Majority of places don't make their own alcohol, but everywhere make their own food.
I know absolutely nothing about the pizza business let alone owning any business involving freshly made food. With that being said, this is how I would make a pizza shop. Growing up in the Southern California suburbs throughout the 90s and 00s, we had several pizza shops. Those that are still around in my home town typically had great pizza and/or great dinning experience. Our town had a Shakey’s franchise and the owner actually spent good money on advertising and on an excellent dining area with plenty of TVs for watching sports games and a nice arcade area. I haven’t been there in at least 10 years since moving from California; but from what I remember, it was never empty with plenty of customers.
I owned a Pizzeria and it was successfull. I did almost everything you said except online ordering but back then it wast as easy to do back then as it is now.
Now I know the perfect pizza place: exactly this, with a legit arcade machine in the waiting area. Customers can order online, or they can walk in, order a pizza in person, play pacman while their pizza bakes, then walk out with a pizza and a high score. As a pizza consumer, this sounds like perfection.
Catering is a good medium between having delivery or not. I deliver catering on cargo bikes, most successful restaurants i see aren't messing with apps but will occasionally do catering through a third party. You're not messing around with individuals, corporate clients, far greater value proposition
I like the way you talk. If you do one thing and do it right, folks will line up. I ran a dog cart for a guy once, and he used premium everything. Folks were always willing to pay extra for his menu.
If I was going to start a pizza place, it would be Big Shoulders Pizza, named after Carl Sandburg's poem about Chicago ("City of the big shoulders"). Big Shoulders Pizza would fearure all three main Chicago styles of pizza; tavern-style thin crust, deep dish, and stuffed. The mascot on the pizza boxes would like the basic "pizza chef," only bigger and buffer, with a sleeveless t-shirt holding a deep dish pie on the peel. About the location; there's few "hole in the wall" kinda joints in my town, unless I want to open it in a mini-mall, but there's enough closed fast food places, including an old-school Pizza Hut that would be decent. Besides a $10 tavern-style cheese pie, the main gimmick pie would be The Hizzoner (named after how Chicagoans call their mayor), the biggest pizza in my town, a double-decker pizza with all the meats on the bottom deck, all the veggies on the top, along with all the cheeses on both decks. It would also be an online challenge pizza; eat a whole Hizzoner in an hour or less, you'd get your money back, and recognition on our website and social media pages.
Going fully automated cheapens the experience. A lot of people want the mom and pop experience and not the cookie cutter franchise model. I get cutting the expense, but if I look you up and the app gives little Caesars vibes, im gonna assume it's similar quality
Ive been cooking for 17 years worked my way up from a dishwasher to a sous chef. No culinary school i learned all in house hands on. I agree with the small foot print. Alot of people dont understand less is more. Every wants to have a menu with 40+ items then complain about cost. Keep things simple. Makes things you want to make. That you want to eat. Be the best at one or two items. Focus on quality & consistency. I want to do a bakery with a similar concept. Limited to no seating. Small menu. S tier items.
This guy is just after the money. Good pizza with people that care, automatically brings money. People like this take shortcuts everywhere else because it’s “ a business”. Forget that, too many pizza shops out there, go where there is good pizza and good customer service
Very close to what I am currently setting up, but I will also do deliveries to a small area. That's why "no phone at all" is a bit too radical for me, I'll go with "any special offers or promos only online for orders paid in advance" and you need to leave me your email address too. If you call, you pay the full price. I think whit a bit of education 99% of my customers will order online anyway, but it's good to have this open line of communication when you're doing deliveries.
@ maybe. But I want the least possible barriers to order and from my experience the average consumer isn’t knowledgeable enough. I don’t want to educate the customer to order. I just want it to be easy.
You don't want to educate the customer or convince them to buy something. Sell them what they want. I'd add the square pizza (I prefer it personally) afterwards.
I would only want to do online, or come in and order, I would only want to have about two to three tables in the beginning, some people do like to sit down and eat the pizza right there, another important thing the right location, if you're in an awful location which I've seen some restaurants have it doesn't do well. Once you start to grow then you could add the phone option, and maybe even more types of pizza, I'd probably start with cheese, pepperoni and sausage at first, then add more cheeses, meats, and even veggies. Add delivery later once you take off,
I guess it depends on how close to Detroit your shop would be. Up here, people definitely eat Detroit style multiple times a week. If your shop is outside the Detroit area, you might be right, but good pizza is good pizza. There are shops here that offer both styles and do very well. The most popular style of pizza here is actually modern Detroit style from Jets pizza.
The "limited menu" thing is the most important part for any new restaurant. Most of the time when I eat at a new restaurant, and I really really like the food, I notice they have a small menu. Its easier to do a few things very well than a lot of things well.
It is *usually* a red flag when I go somewhere and they have pizza, Chinese food, fish and chips, barbecue, and chicken pad Thai, because I know the majority of it is probably just precooked frozen food.
It is also cheaper
Same with a food truck. If I see more than half a dozen items on the menu I'll go to the truck next door with 1-2 exceptional things.
@@TheOfficialCaseMadeI get that feeling with fusion places. If you want to mash things together for 1-3 items then that’s fine. Once you start fusing everything then it’s doing too much.
I don't like small menus. I like options.
I watched because of the arcade cabinet. Now I want a pizza.
Street Fighter II. A classic 👍🏾
That's the only reason I watched too. 😅
@@UR_LOCAL_VEEEE Me too. It turned out it was 9 minutes of a regretful guy going "I would do it my way. Actually I would do it the way I HAD to do it until I could do it the way I WANT to do it unless I HAD to do it another way"
Yeah, I wanted to hear him saying something like, “My pizza sucks, but no one minds because they come in for the Street Fighter 2 tournaments.”
Same here 😂
When I was about 6 years old, my dad would walk me up to our main street with a little neighborhood pizza shop. I don't remember anything about the pizza, but I'll never forget the Street Fighter 2 cabinet. I think we had NES at home but this was definitely something I had never seen before. What a beautiful machine, such a big screen, so many colors, everything moved so fast, and the glorious sounds. It even spoke. It's one of my favorite memories and seeing your icon brought it all back! I would most definitely wander into this pizza shop
I want a walk in grab and go slice shop. Pep and plain cheese slices only at the lowest price point possible to still maintain profit and sell quick volume. Like near a school or heavy foot traffic corner. Have something people want to take pics in front of and let them be the social media marketing along with myself
Good idea. It's all about volume and location.
Amen, pizza is the simplest food, it should be the simplest experience.
So lil caesars
@ they aren't a slice shop
@@SweetSweetVideoBoom not too bright are ya?
This is pretty much exactly how Rosa's in downtown Atlanta operates and it's been going for over 30 years now. Keep it simple and small. Location is everything. If the pizza has a good reputation and is near density, it'll flourish.
Antico's is the best pizza in Atlanta...Felinis in lil five had some classic local pizza though.
It's about two factors, quality of product and location. It's why NYC has so many corner pizza shops and most of them are so good. Concentration of pizza shops are actually a good thing. The competition pushes everyone to be their best and pizza connoisseurs flock to areas where the best pizzas are, creating a local food scene in and of itself.
most of them aren't good
Yes but good luck with that NY style rent
I’ve heard Most of them are bad
@@racerdude7149 correct
When you compare apples to apples they're insanely good. You can't compare the 2pm dollar slice that's mostly open for greasy late night against a normal priced independent pizza shop in the burbs that just made you a fresh whole pie for 30x the price.
The fresh whole pies in NYC blow most of the country out of the water, and if you can even find a to go slice shop if you compare $4 to $4 slice they crush it too
I am a food business consultant and you are on the right track. Someone asked me what business I would start if I had $250,000... what would it be?? I told them that I would open a pizza shop, take-out only, ordering kiosks (no registers or phone), incentives for online ordering, a limited quantity amazing pizza of the day, with a menu of 6 items total. Possibly a $10 cheese pizza to build daily cashflow. I would use $100k just to hire a marketing company to blast the internet with videos, ads, and influencers for the first 4 months. I would drop 50% of all net revenue into marketing for the 1st year. My prime focuses would be technology and marketing, not to mention the most instagramable pizzas I could make. I would give away the customer's first order if they sign up for marketing emails, then the next order if they subscribe or follow me on at least 2 platforms. Great video, and you are right to start "small and great". "Needs vs Wants" is an exercise every small business owner should do once a month. It keep you from the "business creep" that pushes us into unprofitable areas.
is a $10 large pizza even particularly profitable after accounting for storefront and wages? I guess you could be the only employee if they can only order online or through a kiosk but you still need to pay yourself.
Ordering kiosk? Okay that sounds like you're trying to reach a certain demographic that orders doordash religiously because they're allergic face to face conversation. At that point, just become a shadow kitchen.
This is disgusting.
@@mind-of-neoInteresting comment... Disgusting in what way?
Do you own and run your own business?
Man that arcade setup gave me ratatouille flashback to my first ever slice of pizza I had in my life. Walked into this pizza shop down the street with my pops and saw the Capcom arcade. The 6 year old in me would be mashing the buttons and moving the joystick while waiting for the pizza to be cooked. Absolutely loved it! Thank you for bringing me back.
Every point you made was applicable well beyond pizza! Thanks for the insight and perspective.
Great video, and sound business sense.
My favourite pizza place opened in Glasgow three months back (we travel 15 miles each way to get there and back)
, and it seems to be using the same business model that you're advocating.
- NY-Style pizza only.
- Six items on the menu.
- Tiny footprint (front of house is maybe 12' x 10'; the kitchen is probably the same).
- Take away only (unless you count one small table for four at the window inside, a table outside, and a shelf on a wall inside you can stand at).
- No delivery.
- Usually just four staff (two cooking, two serving).
Franks???
This decor reminds me of my local shop that closed down due to covid restrictions.
Best place on earth, owner makes pizzas to order from his house for friends. But I miss his shop (still has the vintage arcade machines, one being a metal slug one)
Great points I agree with all your points especially start small and scale up & expand when sales warrant it... People tend in life to try and be flashy at the beginning and worry about everything under the sun rather than simply QUALITY!!!
There was no mention of pizza by the slice as part of the equation but most of shops shown in this video had counters with half a dozen pizzas on display. I think that serves 2 functions, not only does it allow you to grab a couple of slices for a quick lunch but it shows the whole pizza customers what's available without having to describe each pizza. So many of the national chains only sell whole pies these days.
Slices are great for lunch, but when you have to find a parking spot, and then walk in, stand in line... it's NOT a quick lunch, or convenient.
Someone REALLY needs to sell slices in a drive through. I guarantee people will love it.
Not a pizzaria owner nor im looking to be one, but I think the motto "add it later when needed, its easy to add not to remove" applies to pretty much any kind of business, great vid!
A lot of great points in this video. I'm feel good about the plan thats forming in my head. Thank you!
Looking at these Pizzas makes me realize how spoiled I am by all my local parlors.
Where you live??
@@bradbaker4679probably northeast. he said parlor
Exactly the model I did but my down fall was location. I was near a a huge lake and surrounded by small restaurants. But walkability and demographics was terrible. People just werent spending money or willing to walk or try a new place without a big discount, or fancy dine in. Without delivery I wouldnt survive as long as I did. But delivery was also the final dagger. 30-40% wasted on the apps and marketing. Bruces model works in densely populated areas with good foot traffic. If I were to do it all over again I'd build a great pizza first, find the best location possible with foot traffic will beyond 9pm, and then focus I building an email list or database of sort with atleast 500-1k customers that are interested in your style of pizza in that area, then open small shop.
Bro there's better business models out there beyond pizza, you're only reaching a small part of the world
How close were you to the lake? Being competitive with delivery is rather tough if you try and outsource it, especially if the driver doesn’t double as your opening or closing staff.
One thing that helped on the delivery model when I graduated high school early and asked for more hours, my store manager turned me loose to doorhang during the days.
What she didn’t count on was how I’d summarize the sales data and figure out the one main thoroughfare in our low-selling areas that, if I tagged just one block, all the delivery driver traffic would generate additional orders from all the neighbors realizing “oh, THAT’s the store that delivers out here!”
Also, don’t forget soliciting car dealerships, motorcycle shops, any place that puts on major weekend sales events and wants a reliable pizza vendor on-hand.
The smaller menu and smaller selection of toppings instead of trying to compete with the California experimental pizza shops also makes a lot of sense. When you start adding four different types of cheeses, two or more sauces, and enough toppings that you need a dual compartment makeline, ingredients get expensive.
But a lake location, if you could deliver pizza on a boat, especially on the Fourth of July, you’re in business!
Scardino's Pizza in La Puente, CA. It's a tiny hole in the wall pizza shop. It's always busy on the weekends, it must be a goldmine.
Small world. I live close by, I’ll check it out. Thanks for the recommendation
This is the model for the neighborhood bar as well. The small guys typically make a great living as they have minimal overhead and take care of the regulars.
Actually I know a small bar that also does take out pizza. Two different businesses but go together well and can be run simply on one small footprint.
@@robinatorm8013yep there’s a pizza restaurant by me that has like an entire downtown building block. One room that isn’t heated in the winter for special events in the summer, one room that is a bar, and the rest restaurant. Not sure if they do delivery but they’ve been slammed every Friday night for 25 years
Thanks to the algorithm for this gem.
I wasn't an owner--or even an opening crew member--of a pizza shop, but it had my heart for the three years I worked there. My first step in the culinary industry. We placed top ten in deep dish one year at the Pizza Expo in Vegas. When it closed down, I was heartbroken. I still think about how I'd do it differently if I ever won the lottery. Because winning the lottery is the only way I'd feel comfortable making that big a bet having worked in and covered the industry since I left that job.
There was one occasion where I got offered a Food & Beverage Director job at a theme park and my brother said, "here's your second chance to do a pizza shop right."
I agree with everything you said in the video...except that Detroit style pizza deserves its shine and I'd feel wrong not serving it. Great video! Can't wait to share it with my students.
super helpful, was adding a lot of other items to my menu to start off. Need to focus on basics and what I want. Thanks for the tips.
Timeless advice. Thank you.
100% nailed it. I’ve never owned a pizza shop but I owned a cafe for a few years. Almost everything you said I always tell people verbatim..sad part is I think that advice usually falls on deaf ears as everyone always thinks they’re going to make it their own way. Start small, and make sure you’re completely in control.
Great vid ;-). I identified with: SF arcade, cooling off pizzas on edge of box, New York style is great to judges all pizza shops imo.
this is the best advice ive ever heard....really could be applied to more than pizza
JUST the video I needed. THANK YOU!!
Glad I could help!
thank you for the business advice, definitely extends farther than just pizza shops
I've been a restaurant chain manager for a pizzeria chain in Copenhagen, that had 4 restaurant, I've open up 3 pizza restaurants myself.
And I kind agree on this, we did drop wolt after 1 year because we could not make money on thoes pizza.
We did dine in from the start, and that saved the business.
But yes, keep it small, low overhead, low payroll, no take out company's, and you need to cut a good deal on quality suppliers, and don't underpay you staff, you get what you pay for.
Used pizza concession trailer parked next to the garage and a virtual restaurant on all the delivery apps.. I think I'd make it 6 months before the city came to shut me down and if I was making money I'd just move it to one of those cheap "garage" storage units for $600/ month
I don’t even want to open a pizza shop but all your advice was so insightful and valuable.
French onion pizza! omg, just thought of that and now i'm salivating. Caremalized onions, sauteed mushrooms mixed in, bacon, and like a gruyere cheese
When I think of a good pie I think of fresh in house proofed dough. Add good toppings and you're golden. Doesn't need to be the weird stuff. Basics. Gotta have consistently good pie. 👌
Thanks for your work! From a discerning pizza consumer.
Pizzeria with arcade games. That was my jam back in the old days. That's the only reason I clicked on this video to be honest. 😂
There is a popular pizza joint by me that is take out only, they only take phone orders. only thing that is annoying on busy nights, you call then they tell you that their at 3-4 hour wait. would be nice for them to have an online platform that would tell the customer the wait time or one could pre order earlier.
Call them in the morning and put an order in for dinner time.
@hxhdfjifzirstc894 yes, that is the way. But sometimes I want it now!
This is exactly what I've been wanting to do! It's very validating to know it would work!
I'm very lucky to live in New York, there's great pizza everywhere. But the scene is very competitive. I've seen places come and go after only a few months.
@@bmck1124 New York is a tough market
Thank you bro!
This is exactly the way to open a new shop!
Soooo many failed attempts, could have made it if only they would have followed the golden rule of NY style pizza.
"LESS IS MORE"
Love the channel, and the pizza game!
Regards.
This video is just amazing advice in general, you can ignore the word pizza and supplant it with any food from the industry. Burger spot, hot dog spot, fries, small diner, small bakery, run-up food truck. The advice in this video is applicable across the board.
Anyone who finds a good location to open a pizza spot needs to realize you’re going to be working six or seven days a week 14 hours a day for 10 years straight to create a successful business . Even if you show that type of commitment make all the right decisions it still 40% chance your business is still going to fail within five years . This is the rule for any business .
Good point, but a food cart/trailer that only sells slices and has optimal _drive through access_ could be open only for lunch and dinner, and move plenty of slices per week. You could have one side of the cart for walk-up/whole pizzas, and the other side of the cart for drive through slices.
$5/slice, 8 slices per pie... how many slices can you sell between 11am and 7pm? If you can average 7 slices per hour, that's $100k per year, _per cart._
Hell, if you can partner with an established pizza parlor, it might be a win-win... they sell a large volume of daily pizzas to you, at a discount, and you flip them via drive through convenience (value added). They're already going to have employees on the clock, waiting for orders to come in... might as well have them making your daily quota, instead of standing around. Probably better to buy them uncooked, and bake them onsite, so they're fresh out the oven, on demand.
the first shop looks really nice. Love the retro styling.
Arcade machine brings me back to a tiny Pepis pizza joint in the 80's that had Asteroids and another machine. Spent so much time in their after school. And the smell of pizza all the while was amazing. Still remember to this day.
I live in north italy, in lombardy.
The most common pizza shop in north Italy is Pizzeria to go, generally they also have just a couple of tables (with generic plastic chairs) seating 8 people max if you are really desperate.
they make NY style pizza. It's generally thin and a bit dry but it's very good, the shops are generally run by immigrants from Africa.
a margherita could cost you 5/6€ (around $6.50)
We also have Kebap shops that make good pizza.
We eat pizza at least once a week.
we also appreaciate a Verace, but it's not that common.
We make Detroit style pizza at home (we call it pizza della nonna)
Neopolitan pizza is something you have to really look for here in the north, but some pizzerias (expecially the ones where you seat down) will make it.
Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
Solid advice for a lot of businesses and products; not just pizza shops.
"Sometimes you have to do what you have to do in order to do what you wanna to do" hurts but true, absolute quote
Very good information and very true. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
I had no intention of opening a pizza shop untill i watched this video
good points. discount online ordering...only pick up, have one person be cashier-order taker-phone guy and one person be pizza maker/cutter/boxer
No way... is that a shot of The Edge at 1:06? Great place. Loved their pizza in Sandwich.
where is that?
Absolutely fantastic video, thank you for putting this out! Former burger joint owner here in the UK, sold it back in 2018. More and more feeling a pull back to a food place business and pizza has been top of my list. My burher joint had seating for about about 36 people, plus I delivered. The stress was immense. It did really well but burned me out to the point I was so happy to sell it. My vision for the pizza place is a slice shop, just a couple of varieties, hand filled cannolis as dessert option and ideally something I can run with 1 staff member per shift. And at most a couple of stools for dining in, no more than 4 people eating in.
This is pure nostalgia!
Right away, I saw Panuccis Pizza from Futurama... love it, lol!
I agree with everything except no phones. Anyone can order over the phone, however the old people are going to struggle with the online part. Unless you’re right next to a college campus that is. In that case cut the phone line.
This start up and expansion plan seems similar to what Little Caesar’s did. When they started it was pick up only. They only made cheese or pepperoni. And only one size was available. Then they grew more sizes, toppings, and extras like crazy bread.
I agree, I hope to start a shop and get out of the truck. Great episode btw.
Thank you :)
why so many trendy pizza places burn the sh** out of their crusts these days? got one last week that looked like 5:13, maybe even a bit worse ...
It the "fake" Italian pizzas lol The pizza in this video is worst than even Hunts brothers at the gas station lol
What brand of whole milk low moisture mozzarella cheese would you use? Would you use any other soft cheese(s) like fontina, provolone, etc?
If I opened a pizzeria it would have to be like Lucali because I can’t stand fluorescent lights and they don’t have any in the entire place.
I'd look into PFG/Roma's Baccio line ... It's too salty for my taste as it's got Buffalo milk in it, but it's what we use at our location. If it was up to me, I really like Grande...
@ Thanks! I’ll look into this cheese.
Great video. Thanks.
Thanks!
all solid advice, great video
As a consumer, I love this model. The only ways I get pizza now a days is online ordered carry out or by the slice while on the go.
This business advice would be relevant to most other food businesses.
Great suggestions. I would like to start the pizza van or small store by taking all the suggestions you had mentioned, small, sustainable, easy to operate, lowest staff max 2. Please suggest the resources, contacts. Iam open to work for few months to experience everything. Thanks for sharing tips
I totally agree with these points. I would probably keep the menu much more simple than 10 types of pizzas. Pizza places nowadays are becoming way too exotic and overpriced for my liking. A cheese, pepperoni, and sausage choice would be fine with me.
Gotta have Hawaiian. Pepperoni and Hawaiian are the 2 most popular pizzas.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894 - There were a handful of places in Vancouver, BC back in the late 90s/early 2k where they had this type of format. Some where it was only 2 types. And they were only $1 CAD. Around 65 cents USD. That’s what I’m talking about! My friends and I made frequent trips up to Canada because we had a strong USD and stay in decent hotels for 3 nights at a total shy of $100. This was a full on suite with balcony too.
Aside from the New York boutique pizza you’re describing a little Caesar’s. Every one I’ve been to has maybe 2 or 3 people working max.. usually one. A couple of chairs to sit and wait and pickup your order. Simple pizzas and minimal non pizza items
i totally agree and am starting small also
Sy's Pizza in Eugene, OR = garlic knots, solid simple slices, affordable with old-school vibes. I hit it up every road trip through there 10+ years
I went to the detroit style place in plymouth, loved it!!
Im from the twin cities and in Minnesota, we have our own style of pizza. Has thin crust, tons of cheese, it's quite salty, and there are plenty of toppings. The reason this form of pizza got popular is because it was created to get people to buy more beer. This form of pizza would be sold in bars.
9:30 “I’m in the business to make a profit.” And that is the problem with the world today. There is no longer a passion for the business itself, only for the almighty dollar. Sad.
video magnifico! Questo è ciò che dovrebbe essere un ristorante pizzeria, pizza gloriosa!
Good Business Model.
A genuine brick oven and upstate NY water for the dough be the heart of a good pizza joint for me. Keep it limited to pizzas, calzones and maybe a juice and lemonade dispenser to complement fridges for sodas. Keep aesthetics like a 70s or 80s pizza joint in NYC.
What about the hours of operation since it would be only you? What schedule would you have?
Just the look of that lobby tell me this some good stuff coming out of this kitchen.
Good advice for starting a food based business here in general.
This is great advice that applies to so many "fast quality" food store fronts. Especially relevant in more populated or downtown/uptown areas where you couldn't just slap a food truck on the side of the road where parking is already a nightmare, and cooking in an actual kitchen is a 1000x easier. Late night clientel typically aren't looking for sit down service, they want to grab one of the better dogs, slices, kebabs, whatever is easy to eat to soak up the alcohol before there trek home or take home with them. I think a lot of places think they need to be doing liquor sales for a profit, and while alcohol is a profit maker then being a bar becomes the primary focus and food second, your food becomes shit, and now your a failing dive bar. Majority of places don't make their own alcohol, but everywhere make their own food.
What’s the best software to use for a small pizza shop?
I know absolutely nothing about the pizza business let alone owning any business involving freshly made food. With that being said, this is how I would make a pizza shop.
Growing up in the Southern California suburbs throughout the 90s and 00s, we had several pizza shops. Those that are still around in my home town typically had great pizza and/or great dinning experience. Our town had a Shakey’s franchise and the owner actually spent good money on advertising and on an excellent dining area with plenty of TVs for watching sports games and a nice arcade area. I haven’t been there in at least 10 years since moving from California; but from what I remember, it was never empty with plenty of customers.
Soft drinks of choice.
I really can't be seen in a place like this anymore
That's right... " And howz yer muddah n faddah doin'...??"
Every pizza parlor needs a Jackie Jr enforcer to keep the undesirables away.
I owned a Pizzeria and it was successfull. I did almost everything you said except online ordering but back then it wast as easy to do back then as it is now.
Now I know the perfect pizza place: exactly this, with a legit arcade machine in the waiting area. Customers can order online, or they can walk in, order a pizza in person, play pacman while their pizza bakes, then walk out with a pizza and a high score. As a pizza consumer, this sounds like perfection.
What's the place in the beginning?
Garlic Breath Pizza on 733 Turnpike St, Suite 7
North Andover, MA 01845
agree 100% about phone orders being terrible. the amount of wasted time stunned me when i started taking phone orders during covid
I look for pizza places that sell by the slice and it's hard to find in the suburbs.
I’ve had dreams of owning a cheese shop. Was thinking a pizza deli as a section. The New York, the Italian and the infinicheese would be the menu.
Catering is a good medium between having delivery or not. I deliver catering on cargo bikes, most successful restaurants i see aren't messing with apps but will occasionally do catering through a third party. You're not messing around with individuals, corporate clients, far greater value proposition
I like the way you talk. If you do one thing and do it right, folks will line up. I ran a dog cart for a guy once, and he used premium everything. Folks were always willing to pay extra for his menu.
If I was going to start a pizza place, it would be Big Shoulders Pizza, named after Carl Sandburg's poem about Chicago ("City of the big shoulders"). Big Shoulders Pizza would fearure all three main Chicago styles of pizza; tavern-style thin crust, deep dish, and stuffed. The mascot on the pizza boxes would like the basic "pizza chef," only bigger and buffer, with a sleeveless t-shirt holding a deep dish pie on the peel. About the location; there's few "hole in the wall" kinda joints in my town, unless I want to open it in a mini-mall, but there's enough closed fast food places, including an old-school Pizza Hut that would be decent. Besides a $10 tavern-style cheese pie, the main gimmick pie would be The Hizzoner (named after how Chicagoans call their mayor), the biggest pizza in my town, a double-decker pizza with all the meats on the bottom deck, all the veggies on the top, along with all the cheeses on both decks. It would also be an online challenge pizza; eat a whole Hizzoner in an hour or less, you'd get your money back, and recognition on our website and social media pages.
Man I am not looking open a pizzaria but I still watched the whole thing cause I love pizza.
Baller video. I have no interest in pizza business but this was good.
Going fully automated cheapens the experience. A lot of people want the mom and pop experience and not the cookie cutter franchise model. I get cutting the expense, but if I look you up and the app gives little Caesars vibes, im gonna assume it's similar quality
The irony is, this is the kind of pizza shop I want as a customer. No frills, just good pizza on a paper plate, or in a box.
Ive been cooking for 17 years worked my way up from a dishwasher to a sous chef. No culinary school i learned all in house hands on. I agree with the small foot print. Alot of people dont understand less is more. Every wants to have a menu with 40+ items then complain about cost. Keep things simple. Makes things you want to make. That you want to eat. Be the best at one or two items. Focus on quality & consistency. I want to do a bakery with a similar concept. Limited to no seating. Small menu. S tier items.
Straight up , me too
This guy is just after the money.
Good pizza with people that care, automatically brings money. People like this take shortcuts everywhere else because it’s “ a business”. Forget that, too many pizza shops out there, go where there is good pizza and good customer service
Chicago style pizza only. Dine in. Five table joint. No phone orders.
Very close to what I am currently setting up, but I will also do deliveries to a small area. That's why "no phone at all" is a bit too radical for me, I'll go with "any special offers or promos only online for orders paid in advance" and you need to leave me your email address too. If you call, you pay the full price. I think whit a bit of education 99% of my customers will order online anyway, but it's good to have this open line of communication when you're doing deliveries.
Do a square pan pizza. It travels great, re-heats great and you can par-bake the crust.
I think that works well but I think you’ll loose the people who would order more than once a week.
squares are always better after a reheat
@Smartpizzamarketing maybe, but if you use the best toppings and your crust is light, airy,and not too thick, customers will find it very digestible.
@ maybe. But I want the least possible barriers to order and from my experience the average consumer isn’t knowledgeable enough. I don’t want to educate the customer to order. I just want it to be easy.
You don't want to educate the customer or convince them to buy something. Sell them what they want. I'd add the square pizza (I prefer it personally) afterwards.
I would only want to do online, or come in and order, I would only want to have about two to three tables in the beginning, some people do like to sit down and eat the pizza right there, another important thing the right location, if you're in an awful location which I've seen some restaurants have it doesn't do well. Once you start to grow then you could add the phone option, and maybe even more types of pizza, I'd probably start with cheese, pepperoni and sausage at first, then add more cheeses, meats, and even veggies. Add delivery later once you take off,
I guess it depends on how close to Detroit your shop would be. Up here, people definitely eat Detroit style multiple times a week. If your shop is outside the Detroit area, you might be right, but good pizza is good pizza. There are shops here that offer both styles and do very well. The most popular style of pizza here is actually modern Detroit style from Jets pizza.