Personalized gifts can go a long way What birthday gift did you get as a kid that you still remember to this day? Really look back to that moment and the feeling it elicited from you. Think of the joy and happiness of that moment, whether it was some...

Couple of issues ago, I briefly touched on marketing and promoting your craft beer menu. Because I own two restaurants myself, I understand firsthand how important the marketing and promoting of your bar menu is to your sales and bottom line profits....

It’s International Pizza Expo Month! Hopefully, I’ll get to meet many of you in Vegas and, hopefully, we can enjoy a pint or two at The New Operator Reception, Beer & Bull or at The World Pizza Games Finals & Block Party. This will be my ...

Booster Shot Back in the good old days of Facebook, you had to work hard to earn “fans” for your page, because the more fans you had, the more people you could reach with your messaging. That is no longer the case. About two years ago, Facebook b...

I can’t tell you how exciting it is for football season to be underway.  It’s not just because I love the sport, but also because the sport and its fans love pizza! What’s better than watching your favorite football team and eating a delicious...

Why use stock photos when there are better options? A baby told me about your new pizza. Actually, it was a baby and her three-year-old brother. Samantha and Matt have over 113,000 followers, thanks to an Instagram account started by their food-blogg...

I’m sitting in the car driving from Pittsburgh to Akron, Ohio, with Scott Anthony. We are finishing up a whirlwind trip of my book tour. We started in Punxsutawney, then to Altoona, Pittsburgh, Akron, and Columbus. I have toured big cities like New...

Do ‘Best of’ pizza lists have merit?   We all get the same messages in our inboxes. When a Web site releases a list of “Top 10 Pizzerias in the USA” or “50 Bucket List Pizzerias,” I instantly get a barrage of “Do you approve of thi...

Learn more about your competition and the industry by touring other pizzerias   Let’s pretend for just one page in this magazine that you aren’t 100-percent satisfied with your pizza. You’ve been making it for years but a little voice in y...

Being critiqued is difficult for any restaurant owner. And it’s not just newspaper and magazine critics anymore. These days there are so many critics or “want to be” critics out there when you take Bloggers, Yelp, Tripadvisor, etc. into account...

Even the biggest dive spots have a vibe to cash in on Marketing folks call it “branding” but I’ll just call it “vibe.” It’s a huge part of what attracts me to (or keeps me away from) your business. I don’t believe there are any best piz...

When I opened Pizza Rock II in Las Vegas, I tailored the menu very much like I did in the first store in Sacramento. However, I did add a few new styles. You see, I have a restaurant in San Francisco where my Neapolitan line is the busiest and my Mar...