What is your pizza history? How did you end up where you are?

[MidnightRider]

I graduated Law School in 1999, practiced in house at Sprint for 3 years, then started my own practice. I burned out in 2009 and saw an opportunity to fill a need in our neighborhood. Lots of people ask me if it was longtime passion of mine to open a restaurant and it was NOT. It was a business decision in a field in which I had interest. I think this is the most important piece that prospective restauranteurs miss - your passion for food does not pay the bills. Anyway, we’re 5 years into it with a lot of errors and mistakes behind us. We’re looking forward to at least 5 more!!

When I looked at the local pizza places with longevity, I noticed they were imbedded in neighborhoods and were not trendy (coal fired, neopalitan, etc.). That’s what we wanted to build - a neighborhood restaurant kids grow up with and then crave when they go away. I’m thankful to my neighbors/guests for sticking with us, sometimes to a fault. It’s very humbling when you have local folks that want to support you just because you are the local pizza place. I don’t know if I can do this until I die, but I’m loving it for now.

I love your observations on pizza stores with staying power!

 

[314]

Tell us what you changed in 2012 to get such great sales increases.

Just got back to the basics and focused on “Be the best at what matters most” (A great book by Joe Calloway) to my customers which is accurate orders (give em what they ask for) that showcase our quality (great food) no matter if its a cheesebread or a multi-topping specialty pizza it has to be made its best (or remade before it goes to them). Which were all “duh” moments. We switched to a different style dough docker which aided in a better rise and more consistent look regardless of who was making it.

Get the orders in the oven quickly so we can truly execute the biggest part of the mission because customers call when they are hungry and regardless if you tell them it is going to be 45 minutes, they just don’t call back as frequently when your slow and the food is just not quite as hot either (unless your making a Lou Malnatti’s pizza which bakes for 40 minutes, which we are not).

Our goal is to be out the door on a delivery in avg of 14 minutes with singles or doubles. We quote 30-40 minutes on the phone still but often are at the customers door in 22 minutes. Pizza is still hot! Of course quality check and accuracy for the whole order are key again with the driver. If you forget a bottle of soda you have ruined their meal! And maybe the soda wont 100% ruin their meal but forgetting a $0.60 dip cup for the cheesebread will. We added 1 or 2 drivers to every shift more than we had ever scheduled and the 1st 6 weeks many complained thinking it was slower than normal with the extra bodies. I looked at it as advertising budget rather than labor. After that 6 week moment my drivers who had been thinking it was slow were hustling more than ever before - they bought in! 2 Years ago in my Longmont shop I would do 4500 in sales and had a max 11 drivers on shift. Now our average is 7000 and I have 16 (and need to find a couple more) drivers on. We record “lates” as anything OTD +25 minutes. We average <10 lates per week and 90% of those are from Lunch Shift, which is built up but still random.

We did ZERO extra advertising from Oct 2012 to June 2013 but sales began rising all based on the extra attention to detail for the customer experience. And yes I understand that what I just typed should all be “duh” moments but the fact of the matter is most people do not push that hard.

In June 2013 I did something I have never done in my years as an owner - I began advertising. I used EDDM 11x17 (folded once) menus and I set up 16 weeks worth of drops to cover my entire area (2500-4000 total pieces a week) and hit for 8 weeks on then 8 weeks off the 8 weeks on, etc. I have been doing that ever since. The menus have helped to move people away from the coupon demand and exploring all the kooky specialty pies we make. Getting higher tickets and in turn my drivers are also making higher tips by being faster than our competition. The advertising just sticks better when your customers see you perform and execute the product better. Eventually price becomes a non factor (but you all know that).

Many of the other franchisees in my chain have followed suit and are posting similar results (some half execute and are getting some results). My bank account has never been happier, even with high price cheese and flour and pork.

 

[jackaloo]

What kind of dough docker? We use a $6 plastic docker they last a couple months usually. At Domino’s 25 years ago we used a metal dough docker with a half-inch thick rubber docking mat; worked good but I don’t know anyone who sells rubber docking mats now.

Also, How many incoming phone lines do you have?

 

[314]

What kind of dough docker? We use a $6 plastic docker they last a couple months usually. At Domino’s 25 years ago we used a metal dough docker with a half-inch thick rubber docking mat; worked good but I don’t know anyone who sells rubber docking mats now.

Also, How many incoming phone lines do you have?

We use this docker:
https://www.etundra.com/kitchen-sup...rs/update-rd-5-5-one-quarter-in-dough-docker/

No mat needed, some stores use a normal cutting board under to soften the noise. It’s not about pressure with it.

We only have 5 lines in our stores but also 2-4 online ordering services.

 

[pizzapiratespp]

Just got back to the basics and focused on “Be the best at what matters most” (A great book by Joe Calloway) to my customers which is accurate orders (give em what they ask for) that showcase our quality (great food) no matter if its a cheesebread or a multi-topping specialty pizza it has to be made its best (or remade before it goes to them). Which were all “duh” moments. We switched to a different style dough docker which aided in a better rise and more consistent look regardless of who was making it.

Get the orders in the oven quickly so we can truly execute the biggest part of the mission because customers call when they are hungry and regardless if you tell them it is going to be 45 minutes, they just don’t call back as frequently when your slow and the food is just not quite as hot either (unless your making a Lou Malnatti’s pizza which bakes for 40 minutes, which we are not).

Our goal is to be out the door on a delivery in avg of 14 minutes with singles or doubles. We quote 30-40 minutes on the phone still but often are at the customers door in 22 minutes. Pizza is still hot! Of course quality check and accuracy for the whole order are key again with the driver. If you forget a bottle of soda you have ruined their meal! And maybe the soda wont 100% ruin their meal but forgetting a $0.60 dip cup for the cheesebread will. We added 1 or 2 drivers to every shift more than we had ever scheduled and the 1st 6 weeks many complained thinking it was slower than normal with the extra bodies. I looked at it as advertising budget rather than labor. After that 6 week moment my drivers who had been thinking it was slow were hustling more than ever before - they bought in! 2 Years ago in my Longmont shop I would do 4500 in sales and had a max 11 drivers on shift. Now our average is 7000 and I have 16 (and need to find a couple more) drivers on. We record “lates” as anything OTD +25 minutes. We average <10 lates per week and 90% of those are from Lunch Shift, which is built up but still random.

We did ZERO extra advertising from Oct 2012 to June 2013 but sales began rising all based on the extra attention to detail for the customer experience. And yes I understand that what I just typed should all be “duh” moments but the fact of the matter is most people do not push that hard.

In June 2013 I did something I have never done in my years as an owner - I began advertising. I used EDDM 11x17 (folded once) menus and I set up 16 weeks worth of drops to cover my entire area (2500-4000 total pieces a week) and hit for 8 weeks on then 8 weeks off the 8 weeks on, etc. I have been doing that ever since. The menus have helped to move people away from the coupon demand and exploring all the kooky specialty pies we make. Getting higher tickets and in turn my drivers are also making higher tips by being faster than our competition. The advertising just sticks better when your customers see you perform and execute the product better. Eventually price becomes a non factor (but you all know that).

Many of the other franchisees in my chain have followed suit and are posting similar results (some half execute and are getting some results). My bank account has never been happier, even with high price cheese and flour and pork.

Ok, so what is the size of your delivery areas?

We run about 20 square miles per store with our busy store closer to 40 which has become way to large. It was fine 20 years ago because it was all rural with wide open streets everywhere. Now its full of traffic a signals which has made it difficult to run good delivery times. I know I have to some how reduce the size of the delivery area. I’m just not sure how to go about it. We have many longtime customers that now take too long for us to get to.

 

[314]

Ok, so what is the size of your delivery areas?

We run about 20 square miles per store with our busy store closer to 40 which has become way to large. It was fine 20 years ago because it was all rural with wide open streets everywhere. Now its full of traffic a signals which has made it difficult to run good delivery times. I know I have to some how reduce the size of the delivery area. I’m just not sure how to go about it. We have many longtime customers that now take too long for us to get to.

Pretty strict 4 mile radius. A little extra on some edges and little less when they run into the neighboring store.

 

[GotRocks]

The simple answer; Because I got bored and I like to start projects! I knew what I was getting into, and I had hours long discussions with the GF to fill her in on the sacrifices of restaurant ownership and whats all involved. She was 100% in on it. If there was any doubt on her end, I wouldn’t have done it.

Back in the early 80’s fresh out of high school, I was working as a mechanic on OTR trucks, everything I owned smelled like diesel fuel and I was sick of it. I decided to go to school and get a part time job at a restaurant washing dishes, I didn’t last in the dish area too long before the chef pulled me onto the line as a fryer cook, then he got me working saute & broiler. When the baker decided he would take up drinking as a profession, I was given the baking position. I paid my way through school by cooking and tending bar, out of school with a degree in hand, I worked as a field service electronics technician for a few decades, but I still was drawn to restaurant work because of the insanity of it all, and the fact that I thrive on chaos.
I saw the economy going ugly in the late 90’s, dumped my 401K, sold all my stocks, and bought a few toys to play with. Oh, and bought our home with cash too.
I was doing some work in electronics, doing some kitchen work, playing with BBQ on the side, and one day the GF asked what kind of money it would take to turn my BBQ hobby into an actual business.
So, we started a catering biz, that got way bigger than I ever expected and we were forced to get into a bigger building to meet our obligations, knowing the area well, I knew we would need to do a restaurant and cater to make ends meet in the winter non-tourist months.
My original biz plan was continuing our BBQ, adding Fried Chicken, & adding pizza made in a wood-fired oven. I wasn’t comfortable just doing a full carnivore BBQ menu, but lack of funding made it so I had no choice but to work solely with the equipment that I already owned.
Fast forward a few years, we relocated to a larger property, (purchased, not leased) And this location already had a stack of three “Sveba Dahlen” classic pizza ovens, a spiral mixer, and a huge granite work surface in an open-kitchen environment.
SO, here I am, and we are now in negotiations with another corporation that wants us to license our name/product to them so they can open 2 locations of their own.
We have outgrown our current location already, so I am considering getting another nearby property to do our BBQ at, and keep this location specifically for our pizza and wings.

Maybe if this licensing deal gets big, or someone with a pile of cash decides to buy me out, I may finally be able to wander out of the kitchen for a bit to jump on a new HD Street-Glide special, and tour the country, or do the motorcycle ride to Alaska on the Al-Can highway. Cuz I am getting too old for this stuff these days

 

[Daddio]

Maybe if this licensing deal gets big, or someone with a pile of cash decides to buy me out, I may finally be able to wander out of the kitchen for a bit to jump on a new HD Street-Glide special, and tour the country, or do the motorcycle ride to Alaska on the Al-Can highway. Cuz I am getting too old for this stuff these days

If you do the trip to Alaska you will be passing through my stomping grounds. Stop in for a bite and a visit.

 

[tguag]

I’ve grown up in the biz! My father stared when he was 16 and so did I (officially). but, I remember growing up and scrubbing pots and pans and making pizzas (for myself). My dad retired about 3 years ago and sold off his last restaurant and its property. Now, I am 32 years old and have had my own place for a little over 2 years. Its going well but I still have a lot to learn.

 

[Jennifer]

Ok, so what is the size of your delivery areas?

We run about 20 square miles per store with our busy store closer to 40 which has become way to large. It was fine 20 years ago because it was all rural with wide open streets everywhere. Now its full of traffic a signals which has made it difficult to run good delivery times. I know I have to some how reduce the size of the delivery area. I’m just not sure how to go about it. We have many longtime customers that now take too long for us to get to.

David,

Have you mapped your customer sales data to see how much business you’re getting from outlying areas – and which neighborhoods? A map view of sales volume could make it a lot easier to make decisions about where to adjust your delivery area.

If you’re running LiveMaps, look for “Map Customer Data” in the Store Manager help). If you still have Mappoint, you can find the instructions on the INSITE knowledge base (search for “show customer sales data on a map”), or email Support to send them to you.

Also, are charging higher delivery fees for outlying zones based on drive time?