Tuesday night I was trying to cook a thin crust pizza loaded with eight toppings and realized that even with 30 years experience this product was going to be mediocre at best…and the customer was willing to pay $28 for it. And it just broke my heart…to think this customer wasn’t giving me a chance to do a good job!!! And then, I came upon a pizza restaurant that does things abit differently. http://www.apizzascholls.com/index.htm Check it out…if you create your own combo, you are limited to 3 toppings, and only 1 can be a meat. And by the way, this place is getting great revues in the Pacific Northwest. But, think of the money they are turning down, so they can ensure a quality product…what a refreshing insight!!!
that is a refreshing pizzeria, very well presented.
looked like they have deck ovens like Baker’s Pride or Blodgett and there pizzas looked like they are baked at 650 to 900 degrees, and explains the 3 topping limit…
I did not realize these ovens would go that high, and maybe the ovens on there site is not the ones they actually use…
I will have to visit there to find out for sure…
If anyone has been there and know, please let us know
I’d hardly say it looks great - look at the picture of him cutting the pizza - the place looks pretty mucky - you could use this as a ‘how many hygiene problems can you spot’ competition for your staff.
no aprons - looks like he’s just walked in from the street with jeans and t-shirt on - they obviously do wear aprons as they’re in the other pictures - maybe he didn’t have chance to put his apron back on when he come back from doing the trash ?
box of cigs sat above the cut area
uncut pizza sat on the shelf thats with the cigs and other accessories
looks like a pretty filthy cloth sat behind the pizza box
loads of clutter every where
its hardly the image of a clean shop that you’d want to publish to you customers is it?
“its hardly the image of a clean shop that you’d want to publish to you customers is it?” from Wizzie Wassel
You are absolutely right, he was not wearing an apron and there was a pack of cigs on the shelf.
I did not even notice it, my bad…
and, a pizzeria like that is everything that the nationals are not
I doubt they have a POS, do delivery, or have a concept of door hanging or coupons
And I appreciate the way the national chains do it too, they are slick, these pizzaiolas definitely not
That is an artisan pizzeria, much of our population is not aware of…and still all pizzeria’s roots
I am not that either, I am a delco out of a trailer with a wedding tent next to it !
I do appreciate what they are doing and work on blending that artisan influence into my pizzeria.
That site gave me the idea of posting a letter of my thoughts on toppings anf the effect on the crust…I know that is not a positive for $$$, but more of a priority for me…, I cringe when people want “everything”,
and that can be a signature pizza in some pizzerias, and people love it…
Anyway, that is the great thing about this pizza business, there is so much to appreciate and so many ways to do it, from frozen microwave to pizzaiolas doing there own thing…
It would be interesting to have a poll about Pizza Scholls site, I bet it would be fairly split…positive and negative
the bottum of that crust may scare some people only familiar with the chain style pizzas !
another artisan pizza place that I enjoy visiting is Chris Bianco’s in Phoenix, AZ his wbe site is below
not as much detail on his site as the on the other place on this thread,
Otis http://www.pizzeriabianco.com/index2.html
Back to the original question - I think it is OK, if presented properly, to offer things on your menu that you are proud of, and to decline to make certain modifications if they are “off menu”.
I do.
For instance, we make a seafood pizza. And we sell slices with toppings added. But you cannot order the seafood as a slice topping - only as a whole pizza. Baking the seafood completely WITH the pie instead of adding it (to our par-baked slices) changes it.
I’ve also declined to offer a crust that’s “in between” our thinner and thicker styles.
If not on the menu, I can explain that
a) We can’t assure quality
b) We can’t assure consistency
c) We can’t assure proper handling as staff isn’t trained
Bottom line - I OFTEN satisfy all kinds of special requests, and almost always happily and for free. But there are some that I decline - and I don’t lose the customer over it either…
So YES, I think you can limit the quantity of toppings on a thin combo.
Or you could RECOMMEND a limit with an explanation, perhaps?
I have to agree that there are times when you must say you are not willing to make exactly what the customer wants. An example of this is when someone wants to order a double veggy pizza. With the amount of fresh veggies on a pizza like that it simply will not cook properly, you will end up with pizza stew.
Otis
Your reply on the website is spot on. I like your idea about informing your guests about toppings…It’s this kind of information, and policy making which defines who you are, and what makes you different…you certainly don’t want to sell another commodity. Keep plugging away Otis!!
John
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