What type of pizza do you sell?

Hello all,

It is my first time posting here. I have read the forum for a while and have learned a lot. I am curious if you can all respond. I am looking into opening a pizzeria in the near future. I frequent a pizzeria that has several locations that does excellent business for a delco. Their prices are on the high side and they do little to no advertising. As a matter of fact I believe all of their locations are delco.

The thing about their pizza is you either love it or hate it. It is all about their sauce. It is an extremely sweet pizza sauce. When I first ate their pizza I thought wow this sauce is way too sweet but the more I ate it the more I liked it. I have talked to several of their customers while waiting to get my pizza and they told me they are now hooked.

So here is my question,

Would you rather sell a product that people would either love or hate?

Or a product most people will like but will not set you apart from your competition?

The thing is for a delco they are busy. Their customers are loyal and their product can be inconsistent yet the sauce sets them apart and they have a loyal following.

Thanx

I grew up in the NYC gas deck pizza world and this style pie is my favorite and it and a Sicilian are only ones I sell. I have to be passionate about what I sell or it is of no interest. For me food is an extension of oneself and ones love so how could I sell something that I am not deeply passionate about? In the NYC area there are all kinds or unique variations of the NY pie and I feel mine fits that category. Sorry I didn’t answer the question directly but I am a small operator who makes every pie. I have to be this way to keep them right and couldn’t do what you are thinking of doing. No insult or anything intended but I see so much generic middle of the road pizza out there that it confuses me. I was raised with pizza as a high calling thing and one has to respect it that way. Walter

Thats one heck of a difficult first post to answer.

I can add that advertising is a must until you get established, but choosing the correct advertising avenue can be very difficult, and if the right one isn’t chosen, it is wasted monies.

My thoughts, (which may be completely wrong) is to not be like everyone else, but at the same time, you cannot be so far out in left field that you only appeal to a small minority of people.
How saturated is your market, what age group, what income levels? Are they plain old “Why isn’t this like Dominos?” type of people. or do you see people wanting options and something truly different?

Again, tough question, I’m gonna let the people with way more experience opening new shops speak now.