Pizza Today

06/17/2024

What to you do when you lose that key employee? First, breathe and then get a game plan. Melissa Rickman Wholly Stromboli shares 8 action steps to take.

What Happens When You Lose a Key Employee? Steps to follow to help navigate loss of a key employee at your restaurant.

06/14/2024

-- Hillary’s Chicago Pizza, St. Augustine, Florida
"We evolved and do our deep dish, thin crust and some Chicago Italian beef sandwiches. We use a cornmeal, flour and butter dough. We use the same dough for both styles of pizza. We cold bulk ferment for 24-72 hours and find the sweet spot at 48-72." --co-owner Hillary Lake. Check out a quick Q&A with Hillary:

Q&A with Hillary Lake, co-owner of Hillary’s Chicago Pizza, in St. Augustine, Florida. Farmer's Market pop-up pizza to a brick-and-mortar pizzeria.

06/13/2024

This week on The Hot Slice Podcast is Chip Myles of Myles Pizza Pub in Greenville, South Carolina. His passion for the pizza business and his customers radiates through this episode. Listen at

Chip Myles of Myles’ Pizza Pub in Greenville, South Carolina, on The Hot Slice Podcast. He talks relocating the business from Bowling Green, Ohio.

06/11/2024

This week’s Pizza Today Featured Pizza of the Week goes out to Fat Daddy's Pizzeria with locations in Provo and Orem, Utah and its Korean Corn Cheese Pizza. We selected this pizza for its balanced flavor profile that features one of highlights of the summer harvest, sweet corn. We noticed an uptick in pizzas featuring sweet corn last year and that number has only increased. Check out more on the Korean Corn Cheese Pizza at https://hubs.ly/Q02Brcvj0

06/11/2024

Happy Pizza Margherita Day – June 11
Let’s celebrate with margheritas from 22 pizzerias!

A Slice of New York, Murrysville, PA
Bflo Pizza Bistro, Buffalo, NY
Cut Stone, Kenosha, WI
Fireova Pizza, Dallas, TX
Four Brothers Wood-Fired Pizza, Clarksville, TN
Go 4 Pizza 2.0, Rancho Cordova, CA
Good Vibes Pizza Co., Austin, TX
Italian Deli and Market, Marco Island, FL
Much Ado About Pizza, LLC, Pleasanton, CA
Piazza Pie, North Tustin, CA
Pizzeria Stellina, Portland, OR
Reginelli's Pizzeria New Orleans, LA
Righteous Slice Rexburg, ID
San Basil Mobile Pizza, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Saverio's Authentic Pizza Napoletana, Massapequa, NY
Strega Nona's Oven, Gainesville, FL
Newport Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, 5 Locations in KY, OH, IN
Terra Nostra Pizzeria Gourmet, Guatemala City, Guatemala
The turning peel, Portland, OR
Tony's Pizza Palace, Smithfield, RI
Wanderers Kneaded, Edinburgh, Scotland
Whit's Pizza Pies, Portland, OR

More on Pizza Margherita Day at: https://hubs.ly/Q02Bmw1n0

06/10/2024

PIE Awards are back and better with lower entry prices and updated categories! Submit your pizzeria now! Entries submitted by the Early-Bird Deadline of June 28 get huge savings. More on the categories and deadlines at:

New Pricing, Category Changes with Pizza Today’s 2nd Annual PIE Awards launch with categories: Pizza Company of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the year, Pizzeria Startup of the Year.

06/06/2024

JUNE 11 is PIZZA MARGHERITA DAY! Let's celebrate by sharing your amazing margherita pizza photos. Email me your margherita pizza 📷 with your pizzeria's name, location and Instagram handle to [email protected].
Learn more about Pizza Margherita Day and its history: https://hubs.ly/Q02zRxyv0

06/05/2024

Chris Decker Truly Pizza wants you to get in on the Summer Pizza fun. Check out his On Deck column Summer Pizza: https://hubs.ly/Q02zFHWF0. Then follow his instructions: "I would love for you to make your own version and tag me and Pizza Today on Instagram (Pizza Today and everythingbutanchovies ). Let’s fill Instagram with the most amazing and colorful pizzas we can!"

summer time pizza recipe, summer vegetable pizza, On Deck by Chris Decker cofounder of Truly Pizza in Dana Point, California

06/04/2024

This week’s Pizza Today Featured Pizza of the Week goes out to Rolling Stone Wood Fired Pizza Co., in Muskegon, Michigan and its Root Veggie Pizza. The pizza features Asparagus pesto, fresh house pulled mozzarella, julienne of purple and orange carrots roasted with hot honey, roasted radish with lemon and pepper, brocoflower with garlic, Parmigiana Reggiano, Pecorino Romano and spicy chili onion crisp. Read more from the Rolling Stone Wood Fired Pizza Team: https://hubs.ly/Q02zrV5g0

Want to be considered for Pizza of the Week? Tag us PizzaToday and use the hashtag . We can’t wait to drool over your amazing pizzas!

06/03/2024

-- “I’m a big believer in the idea that you don’t rise to the occasion — you sink to the level of your training.” – Mike Tomlin, Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Nick Bogacz draws inspiration from sports. "The characteristics between the sports world and owning and operating a pizzeria are vast. It is really what I fell in love with many years ago. I was a skinny beanpole as a kid, and that meant that I became the coach of many of my brother’s youth sports teams. I gained many leadership qualities at a young age unknowingly." Read his Building Blocks column:

Get Teamwork and Training Sports Inspiration to gain success in the restaurant business. Build your team in the people business.

05/30/2024

This is a CAN'T MISS episode of The Hot Slice Podcast! Co-owner of Mattengas Pizzeria with 8 locations in San Antonio, Texas, Hengam Stanfield is dropping some serious knowledge. Listen now:

Hengam Stanfield, co-owner of Mattenga’s Pizzeria in San Antonio, Texas on The Hot Slice Podcast. Growing restaurants, Making Dough Show on YouTube

05/29/2024

Just in time for summer, Audrey Kelly, Audrey Jane's Pizza Garage in Boulder, CO, shares tips on how to create a delicious salad pizza. Yes, we said salad! "It’s important to have a variety of flavors and profiles to balance it and make it pop. Think sweet, salty, sour, bitter, crunchy, chewy, creamy and soft. Luckily there are so many fruits and vegetables during these hot summer months to choose from." Read her Kitchen story now:

Fresh salad toppings on summer pizzas. Summer Squash Salad Pizza recipe featuring summer seasonal produce. Salad on pizza ideas.

05/28/2024

PIZZA TODAY'S PIZZA OF THE WEEK IS THE 522 FROM IZZY'S PIZZA Izzy's Pizza - Omaha IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA. “This pizza features our Brick and Mozzarella cheese blend, Fontanini Chorizo, Roasted Pineapple, Cilantro Lime Crema, Pineapple Jalapeno Sauce, and Cotija Cheese. A little extra Cilantro on top for the pop,” says owner Brett Geiger. Find out how he came up with it, what's behind its name, and why we love it at: https://hubs.ly/Q02yCktS0

Want to be a contender for Pizza Today's Pizza of the Week? Tag us PizzaToday on Instagram and use the hashtag .

Photo courtesy of Izzy's Pizza.

05/24/2024

: Pizzeria Florian pizzeria_florian on Instagram, East Aurora, New York
Co-owner Jay Langfelder says Pizzeria Florian is an accumulation of past business and life experiences — enclosed wood fired pizza food trucks and the brick-and-mortar Jay’s Artisan Pizzeria. After relocating to Savannah, Georgia, the couple returned to New York in 2022 and started Pizzeria Florian as a wood fired pizza pop up and caterer in 2023. “We quickly realized we needed a permanent home for the concept and took out a lease near our home in East Aurora,” he says. “With a chance to make any pizza we wanted we went back to the drawing board creating a pizza with all of our favorite characteristics from New York, New Haven, Naples and even a bit from our favorite pizzas in Toronto. We wanted a pizza that had the freshness of Neapolitan, but would also hold crispy for dine in or in a box, learning from our experiences during the Covid 19 pandemic."
Read more in Destinations: https://hubs.ly/Q02ypGjQ0

Also featured:
Jerry’s Pizza Pie, Honeybrook, Pennsylvania
Pizza Thief, Portland, Oregon

05/23/2024

Congrats to Joana Mendes, assistant manager at Domino’s in Ipswich, England, for being the first woman to win Domino's World’s Fastest Pizza Maker title. We hope to see you compete in the World Pizza Games at Pizza Expo 2025.

Read the Release: https://hubs.ly/Q02ygP_Y0

See the 2024 World Pizza Games results: https://hubs.ly/Q02ygP_Y0

World Pizza Games World Pizza Champions Women in Pizza

Joana Mendes Wins Domino’s 2024 ‘World’s Fastest Pizza Maker’ Title. Mendes is first woman to win the competition, record-breaking time of 39.2 seconds

05/23/2024

This week on The Hot Slice, we have Patrick Elston, co-owner of Gus Franco's Pizza in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania bringing his energy, personality and enthusiasm for the pizza industry. Listen now:

Listen to Patrick Elston co-owner of Gus Franco’s Pizza in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania, on The Hot Slice Podcast. We talk daily dough, business growth...

05/22/2024

We added answers to two more common pizza dough problems in our Troubleshooting Pizza Dough Hub:
**Why is my pizza dough too soft?
**Why is my pizza dough so sticky?
Get answers to your pizza dough questions in our Troubleshooting Pizza Dough Hub:

Pizza dough problems like sticking to peel, soggy dough, undercooked or burnt dough, and tearing or weak dough, tough or sticky and how to fix them

05/21/2024

What summer ingredient are you excited to add to the menu soon?

We all know Editor in Chief Jeremy White is all about peaches. But I'm ready for those cherries and sweet corn. I highlighted 8 summer toppings for you to test in your kitchens this summer.

Get ideas and recipes for eight Summer Pizza Toppings, including summer tomatoes, sweet corn, zucchini and berries. Explore summer pizzas and summer pizza recipes.

05/17/2024

Happy National Pizza Party Day! 🍕🎉🍕 Ain't no party like a PIZZA PARTY!

05/16/2024

Interesting. California Pizza Kitchen is switching up the idea of Take-and-Bake Pizzas to Grab-and-Grill Pizzas for the summer.

Read the release:

California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), is stoking the flames of flavor with its new Grab & Grill pizza promotion, a sizzling twist on its restaurant Take & Bake pizza experience.

05/16/2024

Shelby Hall bought her Fox's Pizza Den Cheat Lake when she was 23. She highlights the adventures of being a new business owner and the elements she had to learn along the way. She talks about how she set the tone for a strong leadership environment in her restaurant; the new energy and ideas that she has brought to the business, like community outreach and introducing a mobile unit; and about chasing a rush from buying the business, adding catering and maybe adding another location. Listen to Shelby on The Hot Slice Podcast:

Shelby Hall, owner of Fox's Pizza Den, Cheat Lake, Morgantown, West Virginia, on The Hot Slice Podcast

05/15/2024

What is your restaurant’s limitation today? What is your bottleneck? Mike Bausch shares how to tackle them.

ROI Bottlenecks -- What is your restaurant's limitation today? What is your bottleneck? Fixing bottlenecks to increase profits

05/14/2024

Friday is NATIONAL PIZZA PARTY DAY 🍕🎉🍕! What do you have planned? Tag us in your Pizza Party Day posts.
Want to know what other pizza holidays you should have on your calendar? We made a list: https://hubs.ly/Q02x4W2t0

05/09/2024

This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series with pizzeria operators who are defining their pizza businesses in their own ways.
>>Jason Dascoli, Rock City Pies and Ice, Bloomfield, Colorado
>>Rick Herman owns Log Home Wood Fired Pizza in McGregor, Minnesota
>>Sam Boulis owns Gabby's pizza Winchendon,MA
>>Salvatore Reina owns Francesca Pizza & Pasta NJ and Squared in Elmwood Park, New Jersey
Listen now: https://hubs.ly/Q02wGM1-0

05/08/2024

Chris Decker's Arrabbiata Pizza Masterpiece!!! 😍😍😍
"I have always loved a little spice on my pizza. It is funny: I never really liked to add red pepper flakes to my whole pizza, but there is something about adding them to a reheated slice from a slice shop that I always loved. Call me crazy. Anyway, adding some Calabrian chili to your pizza sauce can really elevate the flavor and give your pizza some serious punch. I played around a little, trying to find the right balance of heat to complement the sweet of the tomato. This is a super simple recipe that is packed with flavor." Get the recipe: https://hubs.ly/Q02wwMBx0

Truly Pizza

Get the Arrabbiata Calabrian Chili and Cup and Char Sausage Pizza recipe by pizza chef Chris Decker, co-founder of Truly Pizza in Dana Point, California.

05/07/2024

L'industrie pizzeria in Brooklyn just nabbed a No. 1 spot on a national list of Best Slices of Pizza, According to Chefs. We see some familiar names and newcomers on the list. Check out who ranked L'Industrie No. 1 in our Guide to the 2024 National “Best Pizzas” Lists: https://hubs.ly/Q02wrBsr0

05/07/2024

Mother's Day is THIS SUNDAY! How have you marketed to families and moms? Show us! If not, we have a few ideas for you:
>> Showcase the moms that work at your restaurant on social and on digital boards, if available.
>> Offer a discount or free meal to moms when group of four dine in.
>> Create a Mother’s Day Family bundle with apps, pizza, desserts and drinks.
>> Do a callout on social for people to tag their moms and nominate them to receive ______ (i.e. pizza bundle, free pizzas, special gift.) Draw winner(s) on Mother’s Day.
See more ideas and some research on how mom's are spending their day:

Celebrate Mother's Day at your restaurant. Explore 6 ways to show appreciation this mother’s day with marketing and promotion ideas.

05/06/2024

"For Flour + Water Pizzeria (San Francisco), we pulled inspiration from the pizzerias we all grew up frequenting. We wanted to play off that nostalgia with fun menu items like mozzarella sticks and Hawaiian pizza, while still putting a heavy emphasis on technique and recipes that showcase our team’s culinary approach and obsession with pizza. While we take our dough seriously, the experience is meant to be like a pizza party every night. It’s one of the best foods to enjoy with a group, so we created a space that’s inviting and relaxed." -- Thomas McNaughton
Read a full Q&A with Thomas and Ryan Pollnow, Flour + Water, San Francisco, California:

Q&A with Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow, co-founders at Flour + Water, San Francisco, California, pizza concept growth, pizza style, pizzeria, pizza shops

05/02/2024

This week on The Hot Slice podcast, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor. Denise interviews California operators:
Zak Fishman, Prime Pizza, 7 Los Angeles spots
Philip Adler, Freda's Pizza and Woodfired Kitchen, Camarillo, West Lake and Moorpark
Steven Barrantes, Slice Of Homage, San Jose
Listen now at

Listen to California pizzeria owners Zak Fishman from Prime Pizza, Philip Adler from Freda’s Pizza and Steven Barrantes, from Slice of Homage on The Hot Slice Podcast

05/01/2024

Common Pizza Dough Problems answered! We scoured our dough article archives so you don't have to! We pulled answers and links so you can dive deeper in your dough issue. Take a look and bookmark the hub to refer back to for dough help. We'll continue to add more dough questions and answers.

Pizza dough problems like sticking to peel, soggy dough, undercooked or burnt dough, and tearing or weak dough and how to fix them