There are certainly differing views out there. Many folks, especially out east, like Grande and perhaps have become accostomed to the product. Despite the opinion of those around the big apple, NY has no monopoly on good pizza; it is just one style among many.
When we did blind tasting with a number of people (we invite the employees of businesses nearby for free pizza to test new ideas) Grande did not win on taste. Not even close. More importantly, as a delco, what is the cheese like ten minutes later across town? That is where the way Grande sets up makes it a no-go for me.
Years ago, in the first store I worked in (1978) and the first store I managed (1980), I learned that cheese is the number one factor in pizza cost and SAUCE is the number one factor in pizza taste. In the several pizza operations (4) I worked in or managed before owning my own nothing ever seemed to contradict that early lesson. Those stores included a flat, crispy style pizza at Knowltons in St Paul, several store locations with Dominos (pre 200 stores '79,'80), a deep-dish specialty house called “Green Mill”, an Italian place in Berlin Germany called Fra Diavolo and my own two stores over the last 11 years. (sold one store 10 months ago now)
By all means, if the Grande taste is the thing you are looking for go ahead and use it. But don’t use it because you have HEARD that it is the only way to go. Get some samples, bring in a crowd and do a cutting. Make sure everything is the same other than the variable you want to test. Do some plain cheese pies, a pepperoni and one or two of your best combos. Don’t even tell folks you are testing cheese, just ask which pie they like better. If the answer is clearly the Grande (or whatever else you test this way) then the extra money is probably worth it… if not…
The shelf life of cheese is several weeks. The prices at our food vendors lag the market by a 1-3 weeks. When I see the Chicago price rising day by day, I buy as much as I will use for the next month. That has saved me a fair amount of money over the years. I’ll have to check with my manager what the most recent price is, but she told me that it was $1.82, now that I think about it, I am not sure if that was this week or last week.
