Tips on managing staff relationships and boundaries
Register for Pizza Summit West 2026 Vancouver on June 1 – details inside!
P. 10 Digital marketing trends and how you can make the most of them
P. 20 Buzz from Vegas Pizza Expo
Vemag 500 Pizza Dough Divider
n Gently handles even the stiffest dough
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n Divide to exact weights
n No divider oil needed
n Increase production and grow your business
6 From the Editor
8 Industr y News
The latest industry news, deal makers, and movers and shakers
10 The Pizza Chef Digital marketing trends
15 Tools of the Trade New products
19 Recipe
Sourdough Focaccia
22 Making Dough
ONLINE
Canadian Pizza Podcast is back!
The podcast, Pizza Industry Influencers is back with a series of conversations with Hooray for Pizza Day in Toronto, Professor Zaaa in Windsor, Ont., and, in our latest, Rocco Agostino and Hilary Drago, of Pizzeria Libretto of Toronto and its newest project, Bar Libretto, Toronto. Listen and watch at canadianpizzamag.com.
Six ways to increase revenue by updating your pizzeria’s look 14 18
12
Talking teamwork
Tips on managing staff relationsihps and boundaries to increase efficiency at your pizzeria.
By Katie Flannery
14
Pizza Summit West preview
Get details about the Summit and competition.
16
Knowledge you knead
ON THE COVER
We talk with Maurizio’s Pizzeria and The Lock Wood Fired Pizza for insights on managing staff relationships. See page 12.
18
Exciting sessions at Bakery Showcase in Toronto May
Boosting your breads
Sourdough starter and khorasan flour can enhance your bread, bakers learn at B.C. artisan event.
By Colleen Cross
Entrepreneur stories
From Pizza Expo, stories of determination, creativity, resilience and community.
By Colleen Cross
BY COLLEEN CROSS
AI and your pizzeria
Are you dabbling in AI?
When the AI platform asks you to confirm you’re not a robot, you know you’ve reached a turning point in technology and human interaction!
In my personal life, I played with AI to plan trips or do deeper online searches and comparisons. I always do so with the assumption I can’t trust its answers.
It’s the same way, I created a Facebook page way back in 2006 when social media was new and full of possibility.
We at Canadian Pizza think about and discuss AI a lot. Without getting too technical, we will never use AI to create content: that’s the job of the editor, writers and contributors. We do, however, find it useful for repurposing the original content we create. We’ve used it now and again to create infographics based on our original news stories or features. You will always know when we’re using AI because we will label and credit the platform (Google NotebookLM, Copilot, Gemini, etc.) when we do. As we play, we learn and have developed policies to guide our use of AI while sticking to high standards to serve you, our readers.
AI is changing by the minute, and it’s always better to know what you’re working with.
I watched a good webinar hosted by the Baking Association of Canada. The host was Matt Symes, CEO of Symplicity Designs, founder of Levership and AI Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of New Brunswick. Symes, who grew up working in his family’s small business, knows his stuff and gave us straight talk in plain language about what AI means for our work.
Symes works mostly larger businesses, but he wants small businesses like pizzerias to benefit from its advantages and to move from being scared to being excited about the possibilities of AI to improve workflow and increase sales.
Because AI has so much data, he says, it is an exceptional prediction machine that can help businesses make more margin per hour. In his words, “it lets us do more, not work more.”
“There is some upside to AI if you can commandeer it.”
But only about 15 per cent of small businesses are adopting and integrating AI into their daily work. This worries Symes, who firmly believes we need to do this to remain competitive.
Something I learned from his talk is the 10-80-10 rule. This is a way of harnessing AI: You spend 10 per cent of the effort creating a detailed prompt or instruction telling the AI what you want it to do and how you need it done. The AI spends 80 per cent of the effort completing the task and you spend 10 per cent reviewing its work.
Instead of using AI as a fancy Google, try practicing this conversational framework, called RICCE, that helps us train AI to work for our benefit:
R – Role: Tell AI who it is.
I – Input: Give it the right details.
C – Context: Set the tone and purpose.
C – Constraints: Keep it focused and relevant.
E – Evaluation: Review and refine the output.
The idea of giving AI a job or identity caught my attention. First, it’s a little creepy. Second, it helps AI understand your perspective and what will be helpful to you. Symes said if you don’t give Copilot, Open AI, Gemini or whatever AI you use a role, it will automatically turn to Reddit, Wikipedia, Linked In and Forbes.
Third, it made me think about all the parts of a pizza owner and operator’s job and the unique perspective it gives you. On any given day, you are baker, cook, recipe developer, supervisor, kitchen manager, trainer, HR manager, accountant, marketer – the list goes on. With this system, the speaker said, “Instead of doing the work, you are going to frame and verify the work. We are entering a new era of how we create value.”
His takeaway: “AI will not replace people. But people who use AI will replace people who don’t.”
Don’t let choosing an AI tool stop you – the top ones are all good, Symes said. Pick one and run with it. It’s like any tool you may have in your toolbox, whether it be a user-friendly conveyor oven, a cheese shredder, an electronic thermometer or a POS system.
It’s worth exploring. And it might just put money in your pocket. | CP
April 2026, Vol. 32, No. 2
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Three pizza recipes from master pizzaiolo Franco Pepe; Ontario launches registry to help workers report exposure to workplace hazards; Police investigating after tip jar stolen from pizza shop | FOR MORE PIZZA NEWS, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com
PIZZA EXPO
Canadians earn top honours at Vegas Pizza Expo
It was a record year for Canadian pizza makers at Las Vegas Pizza Expo as Mirko D’Agata of No. 900 Pizzeria Napolitaine became the first Canadian pizza chef to be crowned Pizza Maker of the Year competing in an exciting final against three fellow Canadian pizza makers at the prestigious International Pizza Challenge.
D’Agata, who won in 2025 in the Neapolitan category, this year won in the Pan Pizza category with “My Padellino with Ossobuco” Roman pizza. He got the nod from judges in the final showdown for his pizza alla pala with zucchini ricotta lemon zest burrata and mint chiffonade over other category winners in Traditional, Non-Traditional, Neapolitan, Italian Classica and Best Cheese Pizza Slice.
D’Agata told Canadian Pizza, “I’m incredibly proud and humbled. Winning World Champion Pizza Maker at Pizza Expo is a dream come true, and it’s a recognition of years of hard work, passion and dedication
– not just mine, but of the entire team at No. 900.
He said, “The competition was intense, emotional and very fun. With 750 participants from all over the world and a blind tasting jury, every moment counted. It pushed me to perform at my very best. Before the final, I had to wake up during the middle of the night to prepare my dough. It was exhausting but incredibly rewarding.
The chef shared details of his winning Pan Pizza entry, “My Padellino with Ossobuco,” for which he used three flours (00 / 0 / Tipo 1), hydration of 78 per cent, cold fermentation of 20 hours and room temperature fermentation of 10 hours.
Ingredients included low-temperature cooked ossobuco, Milanese-style risotto cream, 30-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano emulsion, gremolata (parsley, garlic and lemon) and the pizza was topped with a delicate saffron tuile (wafer).
“My focus now is to bring that same level of excellence to our restaurants, starting with the summer menu. I want to continue sharing my passion for pizza, training the next generation of pizzaioli, so next
year I would be glad to celebrate a colleague of mine if they win and not me!”
Three other Canadians competed in the final bakeoff, in which competitors chose ingredients from a curated table and were required to include green chili jam on their pizzas: Paulo Guerra of Paulo Makes Pizza in Toronto (winner of the new Italian Classica category), Kevin Moreira of Boa Bakery in Binbrook, Ont. (Best Cheese Pizza Slice category and Daiya Dairy-Free Traditional Division), Patrice Desmeules also of No. 900 (Traditional category winner), who placed an impressive third in the final showdown.
Other results of note include Allison Leroux of Crowded Table Pizza in Mississauga, Ont., who was first in the Non-Traditional international division, Sotirios Tzakis of Descendant Detroit Style Pizza in Toronto, who placed second to Leroux, and Selime Dahmane of Vancouver who was first qualifier in the Italian Sandwich preliminary. Sebastiano Cappellano of Non Solo Pane in Dorval, Que., earned second place in Neapolitan.
There were a record number of competitors overall, a record number from Canada and several pizza makers competed in multiple categories.
PHOTO:
TRENDS
Fastest-growing herbs, seeds and spices at restaurant chains: Technomic
Operators at emerging Canadian chain restaurants are increasingly using classic and specialty herbs, seeds and spices to enhance dishes and drinks, with pumpkin spice and saffron among those trending, according to Technomic’s latest research.
Pumpkin spice is on the rise at chain restaurants. Originally a fall flavour, pumpkin now appears earlier each year in limited-time coffee and pastry options, often paired with butterscotch or chai to complement the nutty flavour, the firm reports in its monthly newsletter.
Operators are turning to saffron as a more premium spice. This expensive specialty spice has a sweet but earthy flavour profile and is added to both desserts, such as ice cream, and savoury meat dishes, including beef and chicken shawarma, Technomic reports. Its growing popularity can be attributed to consumers’ desire for more premium, quality experiences when dining out or doing pickup or takeout.
Sea salt, peppercorn and dill are more common options found on emerging chain menus. Their growth points to operators considering using these more familiar herbs and spices in different menu items. For example, each of these items regularly is served atop savoury dishes, namely appetizers, sides and entrees, but they are also appearing in cocktails or indulgent desserts.
‘Eccentric’ emulsions and chicken skin 2 new Canadian menu trends: Technomic
A new report highlights trends from independent restaurant menus in Canada, including two notable directions shaping how operators innovate with ingredients and presentation.
Technomic’s recent “Canadian Emerging Eats” report identifies eccentric emulsions are becoming a creative tool for chefs, who are using unconventional mixtures or playful preparations to add sensory interest and texture to dishes. These emulsions introduce unexpected flavours and visual appeal, giving familiar ingredients a fresh twist.
Examples include the Vegan Napoleon, featuring black bean cakes, Winkler corn tostadas, pickled rutabaga, carrot emulsion and savoury rhubarb port sauce at Fusion Grill in Winnipeg, and Crispy New Potatoes with pumpkin seed emulsion, crispy Thai sausage, crème fraîche, and charred scallion at Lulu Bar in Calgary.
According to Technomic, chicken skin is emerging as a standalone menu element, reflecting a push toward whole-bird use, reduced waste and added texture. Its use as a crunchy garnish or chip-like component brings richness and contrast to modern dishes.
Notable examples include Chicken Skin Chips with jalapeño cream cheese dip at JinBar in Calgary and a Deviled Egg topped with crisp chicken skin, togarashi and tobiko at Hop Scotch Dinner Club in Halifax.
OPENINGS
Toronto’s Mercatto Italian restaurant opens location in Port Credit, Ont.
Toronto Italian dining brand Mercatto opened its first location outside Toronto, Mercatto Centrale in Port Credit, Ont., on March 13. Founded in 1998, the brand offers an Italian-inspired menu and is operated by Alter Ego Group, the waterfront restaurant spans approximately 8,500 square feet, with 5,000 square feet dedicated to dining, bar and private dining spaces. The restaurant has more than 300 seats, including more than 200 indoors and 90 on the patio.
PARTNERSHIPS
Pizza Nova official pizza of TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ont.
Longtime Ontario pizza franchise Pizza Nova and Oak View Group have signed a multi-year agreement making Pizza Nova the official pizza partner of Hamilton’s TD Coliseum sports and entertainment venue.
The Ontario chain will serve its menu to guests at the downtown 18,000-seat arena, which hosts major concerts and events, including the recent hosted the Juno Awards.
“Venues like TD Coliseum bring communities together to share memorable moments,” says Domenic Primucci, president of Pizza Nova, in a news release. “We are proud to be part of this experience and to bring to local fans the same commitment to quality that has
been at the heart of our success since 1963.”
The brand’s team will handstretch the dough onsite and include the company’s signature sauce and mozzarella blend.
“Pizza Nova brings a trusted Canadian brand into the building and adds a favourite food option for event attendee,” said Tom Pistore, president of OVG Canada.
RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
Top women chefs showcased at RC Show tasting event
Worth Association hosted a tasting event elevating women in food and beverage during the RC Show in March.
“Yes Shef” featured 20 food and beverage stations presented by women and giving attendees and the media direct access to their stories, perspectives and innovative dishes.
Established in Vancouver, the event recently expanded to Ontario, having raised more than $57,000 to date in support of emerging women in the culinary industry. Participating culinary leaders include Donna Dooher of Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, Charlotte Langley of Nice Cans.
During the evening, “Yes Shef” mentees were awarded scholarships, with each mentee receiving $1,000 to support their continued growth in the hospitality industry.
Chef Eva Chin was awarded Best Dish for her Chicken and Mushroom Congee, while Chef Charlotte Langley received the People’s Choice Award for her Atlantic Canadian Lobster Rolls.
THE PIZZA CHEF
BY DIANA CLINE
Diana Cline is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine Chef of the Year, three-time winner of “Canada’s Best Pizza Chef” at international pizza competitions, a judge for international pizza culinary competitions in Las Vegas, Italy and France, and a partner with Diana’s
& Lounge in Winnipeg.
Current digital marketing trends for pizzerias
For an independent pizzeria, digital marketing can be one of the best ways to connect with your customers and potential customers. With a small budget and minimum equipment, used wisely, independents can net huge returns. Here are top trends and content ideas.
1. Short-form video dominates discovery
Platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts are the most powerful marketing tools for restaurants today. Short, authentic clips – such as dough stretching, oven shots or slice pulls –perform better than polished ads. Important to note: Facebook reels are still pulling among an older audience, so don’t count them out just yet. What works best for pizzerias: 5-10 second pizza “cheese pull” videos, behind-the-scenes dough prep, staff personalities, limited-time pizza drops, day-in-the-life of a pizza maker.
2. AI-powered marketing and automation
Artificial intelligence is becoming the backbone of restaurant marketing. Examples of uses: AI writing social media captions, automated ad optimization, predicting busy nights or menu demand and creating personalized promotions based on past orders.
3. Hyper-personalized marketing
Restaurants are moving toward data-driven personalization using customer data. Examples include birthday or anniversary pizza offers, “Your favorite pepperoni pie is back” messages, location-based deals when it rains or during events and a new style of crust offered for a limited time. Collecting first-party customer data (email, SMS, loyalty programs) will
SAMPLE MARKETING STRATEGY FOR A MODERN PIZZERIA:
A high-performing pizza brand might use:
Daily/biweekly Instagram and Facebook Reels
Weekly SMS promotion, Google Business post
Monthly Influencer collaboration, charity event
Quarterly New pizza launch campaign, experiential event
be essential for marketing success. Most POS systems have the capacity to capture more than a name and phone number. If you’re not sure what yours can do, ask their support line to help you set it up and automate it.
4. SMS, conversational ordering
Customers increasingly expect to interact with restaurants through messaging. Messaging platforms allow restaurants to send menu links, promotions and order confirmations instantly. Common tools include SMS promotions, WhatsApp ordering, chatbot reservations and text-based customer service.
5. Google and map search optimization
Restaurant discovery is shifting toward “zero-click search.” Customers often view menus, check reviews and place orders without ever visiting a restaurant’s website.
Critical areas where you can make the most of this include Google Business Profile posts, review responses, updated menus, food photos and local keywords.
6. Online ordering and delivery ecosystem
In a crowded market, storytelling is becoming the biggest marketing differentiator. Tell, don’t sell.
Digital ordering continues to dominate pizza sales. Key statistics: 84 per cent of pizzerias report online ordering sales. Online sales average about 27 per cent of revenue. Your marketing should focus on app-ordering incentives, delivery specials, QR-code menus and loyalty rewards for online ordering.
7. Storytelling and authentic brand identity
In a crowded market, storytelling is becoming the biggest marketing differentiator. Tell, don’t sell; tell the story of why you opened the business,
what made you decide to open a pizzeria instead of a clothing shop. Or a burger place. What drives your passion for your pizzeria? What makes your pizzeria unique over the other pizza places in the neighbourhood? That is, what is your pizzeria’s reason to exist?
8.
Community marketing
Consumers – especially gen Z – are returning to local, community-focused restaurants where they feel recognized. They love local events, pizza classes, tasting nights, charity fundraisers and loyalty programs for regulars.
9.
Blending digital and physical experiences
Pizzerias are integrating technology into the dining experience. Restaurants are increasingly combining in-store experiences with digital engagement such as digital menu boards, QR-code menus, alternative-reality (AR) menu previews and live-streamed cooking classes.
10. Prioritizing purpose
Customers increasingly support brands with meaningful missions. Sustainability is moving from marketing angle to operational expectation. Popular messaging themes include zero- to lower-waste kitchens, use of local ingredients, charity partnerships and community initiatives.
11. Events that go viral
Successful dine-in restaurants have created a niche for themselves by hosting experiential events. More than showing up for a meal, this type of event creates shareable moments and positions your brand as premium or unique. Examples of experiential events include pizza tasting nights, chef’s table experiences, pizza and wine pairing events, pizza-making classes, mystic tarot card reading nights and paint nights. | CP
Cucina
Pizza makers
Bring your best signature pizza to the Original Canadian Pizza Summit and Chef of the Year competition—or come experience it with your team.
Bring your team for a fun, high-energy day out
Meet and network with pizzerias from across Canada
Discover new trends, techniques, and ideas
Enter your signature pizza for a chance to win a trip to the Pizza Expo in Las Vegas Whether you’re competing or just coming to watch, you’ll leave inspired. Presented by Get your brand in front of Canada’s pizza makers. Contact Stephanie Jewell [Sjewell@ annexbusinessmedia.com] to book your booth or explore sponsorship opportunities.
Taste incredible pizza from coast to coast
Connect with top ingredient and equipment suppliers
Join the action in the Great Pizza Box Fold-Off
TALKING TEAMWORK
Tips on managing staff relationships and boundaries to increase efficiency at your pizzeria
BY KATIE FLANNERY
What is the perfect balance between work and camaraderie among pizzeria staff? Is it better to keep your staff as friendly and close as possible, or are there instances when professionalism must prevail? Whether you’re building a new business or expanding an established one, managing functional working relationships among your staff that can change in size and dynamic can be difficult.
We talked with two pizzeria owners who, after being hit by lower employment rates industry-wide during the Covid-19 pandemic and a slow recovery since then, have realized that balancing the needs of their employees and the needs of their business helps their business grow and keeps
STRATEGIES FOR STAFFING SUCCESS:
• Flexible hiring and rehiring
• Setting clear expectations and standards for employees
• Making time for fun either at or outside of work
employees happy and reliable.
These solutions include flexible hiring and rehiring, setting clear expectations and standards for employees, and of course, making time for fun either at or outside of work. The challenge is in finding dependable employees, and creating a professional yet welcoming work environment where they can work efficiently and happily during their time there, however long it may be.
Turnover is a huge issue within the food and drink industry. Entry-level food service is known for being physically demanding, repetitive work, so many employees take seasonal positions or may leave for more competitive opportunities. Chef Maurizio Mascioli, owner of Maurizio’s Pizza in Parry Sound, Ont., is aware of this phenomenon and takes a realistic
approach to the hiring and training process. As a small takeout-only pizzeria lounge located in a tourism town, Maurizio’s depends on both a reliable cycle of employees to assist during the busier seasons and a good reputation with local staff who stay through the slow periods. Parry Sound’s population grows during the spring and summer, requiring more support staff to keep up with demand for his delicious thin-crust pizzas and calzones. This is a part of what is considered “heathy” turnover, a natural increase and decrease in jobs over time that is predictable and can be accounted for when designing a business, as Mascioli has done. During the warmer seasons Mascioli hires mostly part-time students and young adults visiting with their families. He then reduces his staff to his more long-term workers during winter. This creates a healthy balance of dependable support when it is most required and slower periods with reduced labour costs.
Professional separation
Mascioli explains why this system works for his business model: “What I’ve learned in the past is that we are not a career-based kind of entity for people, and I understand that. Unless someone has the desire [to run] their own establishment one day. That’s a different story. Then we can train them to be an owner operator, and we’re definitely open to that idea. But unless you have that utter passion for food … there’s got to be a small level of insanity if you want to run a restaurant.”
Many of his staff are students or young adults visiting town for the summer, but some of his long-term staff stay with the business for three to four years. He believes owners should help new employees develop not only their cooking skills but also their customer service and etiquette skills so they can be successful later on in their careers. He encourages his trainees to ask questions as often as needed to maintain an open, respectful but professional environment.
“I find having more of a professional relationship with [my] staff versus being a close-knit kind of operation has been far better in the long run,” he says. “The staff can hang out themselves, but there needs to be separation between the operation and the staff. For example, bowling nights or pool nights [outside of work] or something like that are great.”
Mascioli maintains that having fun is important, but more accessible off the clock – so he makes time for it. “Restaurants are very stressful environments. When it’s ‘go’ time, it’s ‘go’ time. There are instances of high stress, and if you cross the boundary between owner and employee, they may mistake you for their best friend [when you have to manage or discipline them.] But at the end of the year, we all go play paintball.”
He finds this professional but friendly layer of separation between owner and employee to be necessary to ensure a trickling-down effect that maintains the balance required for
a successful business with healthy turnover: “An efficient owner creates efficient and happy employees, and efficient and happy employees create happy customers,” he says.
Tight-knit crew
This “professional separation” model has worked very well, especially considering his business is take-out focused, in a semi-remote location and has a fluctuating population of employees and customers to consider. Josh, Jeremy and Tony Paone of The Lock Pizza in Port Colborne, Ont., have a slightly different business model and location, therefore they take a different approach to staffing and employee relationships.
“We hire locally first. Most positions
awesome. They have a little group chat with all the employees: it makes it kind of easy with shift changes, or if anybody needs to cover any shifts, they just message each other in the group chat, and then just give either me or my brother a heads-up on who’s coming in, who’s switching what. That aspect is pretty easy. I don’t really have many concerns or issues,” Paone says. Since the population of Port Colborne remains relatively stable year-round, The Lock looks to keep its staff similarly stable too. “Hiring was tougher in the early years. We’ve built a reputation where good workers want to work here. We keep expectations clear and treat people fairly – when staff feel respected and appreciated, they stick around.”
Approaches to
staffing include flexible hiring and rehiring, setting clear expectations and standards for employees, and of course, making time for fun.
come through word of mouth, social media and in-store postings, so we usually get people who already know us and our small town,” Josh Paone says. We’re a family-owned wood-fired pizzeria and we’re genuinely passionate about pizza – not just selling it but making it properly. We offer a respectful, fun workplace, steady scheduling, flexibility, staff meals and room to grow,” he adds.
As a sit-down establishment in a small town, The Lock relies more heavily on the team’s ability to provide a full-service dining experience and build relationships with customers. The father-and-sons trio encourage a tightknit staff who all look after one another.
“Having such a tight group, it’s
Like Mascioli, they tend to hire like-minded people who have a passion for the industry. The Locke are known for their more creative twists on wood-fired pizza, which attracts workers who are looking to experiment with or improve their pizza-making skills on a more longterm basis. As a busy restaurant, Paone values that staff care for and look after each other to get through the stress of the day. “We do staff meals, appreciation parties and the occasional get-together outside of work. We celebrate birthdays and milestones, and sometimes share a pint after a long night. Nothing bonds a staff faster than a 200-pizza Friday night – and someone accidentally burning five pizzas during the rush.” | CP
JOIN US AT THE CANADIAN PIZZA SUMMIT WEST
Bring your team for a motivational pizza day and/or register to compete at Pizza Summit – a free event!
BY CANADIAN PIZZA STAFF
Make plans to join us at the Canadian Pizza Summit West on June 1 at Platinum Sponsor and Host Sysco’s facilities in Port Coquitlam, B.C.!
Designed to help independent pizzerias network and grow their pizza business through ideas and innovations, the Summit and Chef of the Year Competitions will take place on Monday, June 1, at our host and Platinum sponsor Sysco’s location, 1346 Kingsway Ave, Port Coquitlam, B.C.
What to expect
The Canadian Pizza Summit and Chef of the Year Competitions is a one-day event just for pizzeria and restaurant owners and operators offering:
• Exciting competitions featuring signature pies from diverse pizzerias!
• Ideas to take back to your pizzeria!
• Samples of delicious, cutting-edge pizza: the best Canada has to offer!
• Lunch and Learn about industry hot topics.
• Engaged sponsors and exhibitors specializing in and serving the pizza industry!
• Opportunities to network!
• Learn what other pizzerias are doing – all in one place on one day!
Who should attend?
Are you a pizzeria owner, operator or employee? Attend! Are you planning to open your own pizzeria or pizza franchise? Attend! Are you a food-service or catering owner or employee who has a focus on pizza? Attend!
What’s at stake?
Naturally the winner and top placers win bragging rights. Our new Chef of the Year West will receive a free trip to compete in the International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo in March 2027. Canadian Pizza magazine will feature you on the cover! And of course, an award to display proudly in your pizzeria.
Great Pizza Box Fold-Off
Want to show off your box-folding skills? Enter!
The Great Pizza Box Fold-Off is open to owners and employees of Canadian pizza operations aged 14 years and older. The Fold-Off will be held in the afternoon at the Summit while the Chef of the Year competition results are tabulated.
SCHEDULE
9:00 a.m.
Registration opens
10:00 a.m
Trade show floor opens
10-10:30 a.m. Welcome and keynote speaker
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Chef of the Year Competition begins (Flight 1)
12:30-1:00 p.m Lunch and Learn
1:00-3:30 p.m Chef of the Year Competition (Flight 2)
3:45-4:00 p.m
Great Canadian Pizza Box Fold-Off
4:15 p.m Winners announced
4:30 p.m
Trade show floor closes
Prizes:
• Winner: A free trip (flight*, hotel, entry to Pizza Expo) to compete in the International Pizza Challenge at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Canadian Pizza magazine will feature you on the cover! And of course, an award to display proudly in your pizzeria. *The prize is $500 Cdn to be used towards your flight.
• Second place: An award to display proudly in your pizzeria.
• Third place: An award to display proudly in your pizzeria.
• All chefs: A certificate to recognize your participation in Chef of the Year.
• Great Pizza Box Fold-Off: $100 gift certificate from the Annex Pizza Bookstore
Who can attend?
This event is open to pizzerias and their teams from across Canada!
Can’t make it to B.C.? Come to our Canadian Pizza Summit in Toronto at Faema on Oct. 19 !
Thank you to our host and Platinum Sponsor, Sysco, our Gold Sponsor Lactalis Canada Foodservice and Silver Sponsor Fritsch for supporting this key industry event. | CP
Entry applications will be accepted first come, first served. Register now at canadianpizzashow.ca!
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
TECH TOOLS
Pizzeria-focused AI tool helps recover lost orders, saving you money
At Pizza Expo, Rollin Dough displayed their automated ordering AI that aims to prevent pizza shops missing phone calls, especially during peak hours.
Cofounded and designed by 30-year pizzeria owners, the platform works to recover lost
orders and is estimated to save owners an average of 20 hours every month.
According to the designers, the system is built around the real rhythms of a pizza kitchen, not a one-size-fits-all template. They started by analyzing the day-to-day operations pizza shop and built the software around it.
Among the tools included are around-the-clock order taking, call transferring, data tracking, SMS marketing, SMS ordering and live ordering.
Every customer gets through, even during peak hours or after closing.
The AI answers incoming calls, speaks naturally with customers, collects their order details and confirms everything,
with no staff involvement needed. All orders are sent to a live dashboard you can view using the order tablet provided.
rolindough.ai
SEATING
Privacy panels add outdoor space to your pizzeria
The Casasanta booth at Pizza Expo had dedicated pizza ovens on display with award-winning Canadian pizza chefs Tom Mercante of Mercasa Little Italian Eatery and Kevin Moreira of Boa Bakery making pizzas and demonstrating what they can do.
The team had another type of
innovation on display through their adjacent brand Elevated Metal Craft: outdoor kitchens and privacy panels.
Timed well for the spring season, the panels are designed to provide privacy to guests seated in your outdoor patio and are particularly useful when the space is near passersby on the street.
The sturdy metal walls come in different widths (privacy walls, wider privacy fences), feature several decorative patterns and can be combined with angle options to customize your space.
They can include single or multiple planters and are available in four colours.
elevatedmetalcraft.ca
Who doesn’t love pizza? With these 60 simple recipes and step-by-step dough-tossing instructions from a five-time world champion pizza thrower, your favourite pizzeria can be your own kitchen.
Recipes range from the classic Pizza Margherita to the contemporary with unusual toppings like pesto, as well as more exotic entries like the Thai Curry Chicken. Thick or thin crust, on the grill, kid-friendly and even desserts. Pizza delivers.
$25.50 | Item#0811845540
KNOWLEDGE YOU KNEAD
Demo by celebrated cake artist April Julian among exciting sessions at Bakery Showcase
BY BAKERS JOURNAL STAFF
The Baking Association of Canada will present Bakery Showcase at the Toronto Congress Centre May 3-4, 2026. Join industry professionals from bakeries (retail, wholesale, commercial, in-store), grocery, pizzerias, restaurants and food-service outlets at Canada’s only business-to-business baking event!
Several dynamic sessions set for Bakery Showcase May 3-4 will highlight talented creators and operators in the industry.
Panel: Women in Bakery
Join us to celebrate the start of a new series highlighting “Women in Bakery. Hear from inspiring women sharing their career journeys and lessons learned along the way followed by a live, engaging Q-and-A. Be inspired by voices shaping the past, present and future of baking!
From Dough to Data: Supporting Bakery Growth with FCC and IC Canada
Industry leaders discuss how FCC financing and IC Canada advisory services help pizzerias, bakeries and food businesses navigate growth, improve operations, and build sustainable, competitive businesses across Canada. Bring your questions!
In a can’t-miss demo, celebrity cake artist April Julian will share some of her techniques for transforming cake into hyper-realistic objects.
Bakery Cup of Canada competition
Throughout the showcase, visit the Competition Area and watch talented bakers, working in pairs, created top-notch breads, croissants, pastries and stunning artistic showpieces. Cheer them on, witness innovative techniques and flavours, meet emcee and host Tracey Muzzolini of Christies Bakery and Il Secondo pizzeria in Saskatoon, snap photos of the displays
and be among the first to learn the winners on Tuesday, May 4, at 3 p.m.!
Creating Your Signature Sourdough Bread
On Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m., join Jamie Brown of Germany’s Böcker to learn how the understanding of sourdough has changed over the last decades. Through an interactive talk and tasting, you will discover that sourdough is far more than just “sour.”
Learn how each Böcker sourdough category shapes the aroma, taste and character of baked goods and get to know the Böcker Sourdough Language as a practical tool to describe these differences. Led by an expert at Böcker, you will evaluate a sourdough bread through a short sensory session. Bring your questions about sourdough, fermentation and baked goods made with sourdough and finish up with a Q-and-A.
Is It Cake? The Art of Crafting Hyper-Realistic Edible Details
Go behind the illusion as celebrated cake artist and TV personality April Julian demonstrates techniques for hyper-realistic edible details, transforming cake into lifelike objects, with practical tips, a live demonstration and an interactive audience Q&A session happening on Monday, May 4, at 12:15 p.m.
April Julian is a Filipino-Canadian cake artist and TV personality known for hyper-realistic cakes artistry featured on Netflix’ Is it Cake? and as a head judge Food Network’s Bake Master Battle.
BOB Essentials: A Starter Guide to Opening Your Bakery
On Monday, May 4, at 11 a.m., Kimberly Houston and Scott Calvert of the Retail Bakers of America will host an information-packed learning session
Before you open your doors, you need a roadmap. Inspired by the Retail Bakers of America’s Business of Baking program, this session breaks down the essential concepts every new bakery owner should understand, offering a clear aerial view of planning, operations, and strategy. We’ll also highlight how industry associations – like the Baking Association of Canada and the Retail Bakers of America – provide guidance, community, and resources that help new
bakeries launch with confidence. In just 45 minutes, we’ll walk through the key considerations of opening a bakery – from business models and layout choices to staffing, workflow, and everyday realities – so you leave with a grounded understanding of what it truly takes to get started.
Demonstration: Le Pain au Chocolate
On Monday starting at 1:30 p.m. in the demo area, join Julien Bruyer, R&D Director, Ace Bakery (FGF Brands), as he presents a variation of Modern Pain au Chocolate, featuring new flavours and designs to elevate this amazing product. You will learn stencil print design, bicolour technique, shapes and scoring. Julien is one of three skilled members of Team Canada, who won the Americas Selection of the Coupe du monde de la boulangerie in Las Vegas and competed in the finals in Paris to place fifth in the world. Bring a notebook and your appetite for buttery samples!
Demonstration: How to Make Award-Winning Pizza
Join Canadian Pizza magazine’s Chef of the Year Bart Nadherny as he kneads, stretches, tops, bakes and serves his delicious signature pizza from Son of a Peach Pizzeria (and sister shop Sunshine Doughnuts) in Burlington, Ont. Learn advanced pizza techniques, how to achieve balance and key considerations when adding pizza to your bakery-café menu! Bring your appetite!
Canada’s Independent Retail Bakery Leaders: A National Panel of Vision, Craftsmanship and Entrepreneurial Success
On Monday, May 4, at 2 p.m., a dynamic panel will bring together some of Canada’s most influential artisan bakery owners for an inspiring, forward-looking conversation. This session explores how independent bakeries are redefining quality, scaling creativity, and navigating the evolving retail landscape. Attendees will hear candid insights on growth strategies, operational resilience, community-driven branding and the craft of baking.
Marissa Sertich, executive director of the Retail Bakers of America, will moderate and panellists will include Kate Cram, owner, Red Seal baker and entrepreneur, Old Town Bakery, Nanaimo, B.C., David Baxter, owner, Circles and Squares Bakery, Toronto, and Junelle Casalon of Castle & Coal in Toronto.
Thank you to our Showcase sponsors: BakeMark, AB Mauri, Paperless Forms by Datahex, Puratos, FCC, Ardent Mills, Lallemand and Les Margarines Thibault.
Want to see what products that might help your pizzeria work smarter, not harder; trends other bakers are talking about; and what challenges and successes they are having,? Register now at bakeryshowcasecanada.ca to attend with your team. | CP
BOOSTING YOUR BREADS
Sourdough starter and khorasan flour can enhance your bread, bakers learn at B.C. artisan event
BY COLLEEN CROSS
On Feb. 23, the Baking Association of Canada hosted 50 professional bakers, students, farmers, grain cleaners and small-scale millers at Farmer-Miller-Baker Summit at Okanagan College in Kelowna, B.C.
In the morning, participants took turns learning from two interactive bread-making demonstrations led by Eric MacDonald, head baker at Sprout Bread Shop in Kelowna, and Elizabeth Boyle of Quails’ Gate Winery. MacDonald demonstrated how to make bread using khorasan. Sprout partners with Treasure Life Flour Mills, and co-owner, farmer and miller Ben Yarschenko joined the demo to talk about the unique characteristics of the ancient grain.
SOURDOUGH STARTER MAKES FOR FLUFFY FOCACCIA
Elizabeth Boyle, pastry sous chef at Quails’ Gate in West Kelowna, showed attendees how to make a fluffy, flavourful focaccia using 50 per
cent sourdough starter.
Sourdough starter has myriad uses and incorporating even a little into your bakery’s savoury and sweet products can greatly enhance flavour. Boyle presented an engaging demonstration of how to elevate your focaccia using sourdough starter.
Boyle, the pastry sous chef at Quails’ Gate Winery in West Kelowna, made a yeast-based focaccia, which she described as a great “back-pocket bread.”
Over the years, she has enhanced
focaccia with the kitchen’s 18-plusyear-old sourdough starter, lovingly nicknamed “Billy,” into it. At Farmer-Miller-Baker Kelowna, demonstrated her “all-in” dough method.
Boyle typically uses a 50-50 mix of sourdough starter to flour, in this case, Rogers Foods’ high-protein flour donated for use in the demonstration.
“It’s easy and everything goes into the mixer,” she told two groups of inquisitive bakers attending the education day. “You can add inclusions at the end if you like.”
Elizabeth Boyle of Quails’ Gate Winery displays her herb and garlic focaccia made using 50-per-cent sourdough starter as Martin Barnett of the BAC snaps a photo.
PHOTO: CANADIAN PIZZA
RECIPE
BY ELIZABETH BOYLE
Eric MacDonald, head baker at Sprout Bread Shop (right), demonstrated his first fromscratch recipe, made with khorasan flour from Treasure Life Flour Mills. The mill’s Ben Yarschenko (right) shared technical insights.
While preparing the dough and pulling aromatic, finished focaccia out of the oven for participants to inspect (and enjoy at lunchtime), Boyle offered the audience – a mix of professional bakers and Okanagan students – a few tips:
• Look for bowl to have clean sides and shininess to the dough.
• Bake at 375 F but understand that the temperature may vary depending on your oven’s heat.
• Use ice water to help cool your starter as needed.
• Be prepared to knead the dough by hand for 12 to 15 minutes. “It’s worth it!”
• Cold bulk fermenting helps the dough relax and develop more flavour.
SHOWCASING KHORASAN
Eric MacDonald, head baker at Sprout Bread Shop in downtown Kelowna, presented a demonstration of his first from-scratch recipe at Sprout Bread Shop, the Village Loaf, made with khorasan flour from Treasure Life Flour Mills.
Sprout partners with Treasure Life, and co-owner, farmer and miller Ben Yarschenko joined the demo to talk about the unique characteristics of the ancient grain, which features higher protein, selenium and fibre content than modern wheat.
MacDonald, originally from Calgary. He has been working with Sprout for seven years.
He said Khorasan is a high-protein grain that is weaker in the sense it has less elastic gluten.
He recommends mixing it with organic white flour to strengthen it. He shared that initial test loaves at the bakery were “obnoxiously sweet bricks you could build a house with.”
Peter and Ava van Boekhout own and operate Sprout, which opened in 2018 in downtown Kelowna’s historic cannery building. The Sprout team are using the khorasan bread as a showpiece to draw in customers and teach them about the benefits and characteristics of ancient grains. MacDonald said he wants to bridge that gap and show people a new kind of bread.
Yarschenko discussed the benefits of milling using a pin mill. Ben says it’s best to mill the grain as fine as you can get it.
The finer you mill the grain, the better the protein you get. On a practical note, studies show that grinding grain super-fine can double your shelf life. Gluten is more extensible, he added.
Anthony Vink, owner of Art and Craft Pizza in Lethbridge, Alta., flew in for the event to expand his knowledge of flour and dough techniques and characteristics. Attendees enjoyed a lunch featuring herb-and-garlic focaccia made using sourdough starter and freshly milled local grains and sponsored by Lallemand.
The afternoon featured a variety of panel talks and presentations. Thomas Tumbach shared the story and aims of LocalMotive Farmers Network Cooperative, an exciting non-profit organization of growers and producers in South Okanagan that aims to connect farmers and consumers to create a sustainable local food system that includes an outlet where small businesses can sell their food products and baked goods. Bruce Stewart shared the story of True Grain, a pioneering artisan bakery with locations in Cowichan Bay, Summerland and Comox Valley. Martin Barnett, executive director of the BAC, led a lively panel talk with MacDonald, Yarschenko, Stewart, Barb Munro of Fieldstone Organics and Brenda Kopy, mill supervisor and production planner for Rogers Foods.
The day finished on a bustling networking note with a social hour featuring local wine, cider and craft soft drinks, and appetizers made by the college’s culinary students. It is the latest in a series of gatherings designed to bring farmers, millers and bakers together to learn, share and connect. | CP
Sourdough Focaccia
INGREDIENTS
• Bread flour 515 g
• Sugar 42 g
• Salt 14 g
• Yeast active dry 16 g (11 g instant)
• Olive oil 84 g
• Water 300 g
• Starter 100 g
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. All-in method, mix for 7 minutes on low, then on medium for 5 minutes or until you see “windowpane” gluten development. The dough should look nice and shiny.
3. Roll dough into a smooth loose ball and place into a 1/4 sheet tray, oiled with parchment paper stretched to corners.
4. Cold bulk ferment overnight for a slow ferment to relax the dough and develop more flavour*
5. Proof for 45 minutes to an hour, you want it to jiggle when ready.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden.
* Can be baked off the same day. Just proof for 1 to 1.5 hours.
ENTREPRENEUR STORIES
At Pizza Expo, two pizza entrepreneurs share stories of determination, creativity, resilience and community
BY COLLEEN CROSS
The International Pizza Expo offered its usual variety relevant seminars and demos. The show was made more exciting than ever by the growth of its competition program and interactive features like the jazzy Glambot photo station. From what we heard at the Canadian Pizza booth, operators love the result. Here we share two stories of operators who are great pizza makers, and above all, smart entrepreneurs driven to succeed.
Engineering success: Mattenga’s Pizzeria
What if you brought an engineering, problem-solving approach to running your pizzeria?
We learned the answer to that at an inspiring keynote talk by Matthew and Hengam (Enga) Stanfield, the power couple behind Mattenga’s Pizzeria, an award-winning San Antonio-based business and Pizza Today’s 2025 Pizzeria of the Year.
The business is known for its community focus, delicious fresh pizzas and innovative approach to marketingEstablished in 2014, the business
has seen ups and downs and now has seven locations in the San Antonio metropolitan area, generating annual sales of more than $7 million, we learned. It’s never been easy. Matt described feeling frustrated at one point with the challenges of running the business.
Determined to succeed, they asked themselves three questions:
1. Is there a system problem?
2. Is this a training issue?
3. Do we have a management problem?
Developing their GRR method (Gradual Release of Responsibility) helped set them on the path to success. In 2017, when they were expecting their third child (they now have five), Enga found the interviews, hiring and related
tasks took too much time and set out to create a training system. Managers ask employees for help and work together to complete tasks. The manager then asks their own supervisor to check the work, a way of holding everyone accountable and making sure things are done right.
It may not surprise you that Enga and Matt both trained as engineers, quit their jobs in 2014 to open their dream business based recipes created with the help of Enga’s parents.
Four years in, they opened their second location, “Why Not Pizza.” Opening a third location would mean that, as two people, they couldn’t physically be in all places at once. They
Attendees pose at the new Glambot photo station.
PHOTO: CANADIAN PIZZA
knew they had to devise a practical system.
They progressed from a period of low sales and high labour needs to one of high sales and low labour needs. In order to end the vicious cycle and achieve consistency and balance, Matt said, “It was time to take the pedal off of marketing and step back to focus on operations.”
In addition to the training strategy, in 2019 they started and continue to swear by a marketing strategy that sent out two consistent messages at the same time each week: “Hump Day Special” at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and “Feed the Family Deal” at 4 p.m. on Fridays. Two emails and two text messages about these features went out “rain or shine” weekly, a task that took two to four hours.
“It’s about creating habits,” Enga said, adding that, to speed up the task, they created a template ready to plunk in text, images and video.
The business was making money, but at great cost to the owners and their growing family. “At two stores, we made an average of $120,000 in profits with both of us heavily involved in the business. This was not sustainable,” Enga said.
What they did in 2019 highlights how you define success. They decided to sell the business.
In February 2020, while expecting their fourth child, they received an offer to sell for $550,000 and planned to accept it. But then they made a “Why not sell” list and high on that list was creating a legacy for their family and community. They decided to go all-in.
Growth and accolades followed. In 2022 they were named the third-fastest-growing business in their region. They bought a food truck. In 2023 they were voted best pizza in San Antonio. By 2024 they were operating four more businesses. Podcaster Dave Portnoy visited their pizzeria, prompting a 60-per-cent bump in sales.
Then, after a shooting incident at one of their locations, they took stock, closed two stores and, while attending Pizza Expo, planned out the next four years, including developing a policy for when a shooting incident occurs.
They’ve since added a commissary, operate seven locations and are in a good place.
They applauded their team, some of whom were there with them at Pizza Expo and stood up to be recognized. A favourite strategy is to ask employees to post and share
photos of teachable moments. “This is how they build leadership and skills,” Matt said.
Driven to run create and run businesses
Frank Zabski, a pizza marketing expert and founder of the New Haven Pizza School, shared his inspiring story, marketing ideas and words of encouragement in the session “The Importance of Running Your Pizzeria with an Entrepreneurial Spirt.”
Zabski’s story is inspiring and it might sound familiar to pizzeria owners who don’t always conform to other people’s definitions of success. A resident of Milford, Conn., Zabski had a successful IT business. He learned to make pizza fritta (fried pizza) from scratch at 12 years old from an Italian immigrant and family friend.
His mother died suddenly when he was 15. Following that, things were not great financially for the family. They lost their house and he vividly remembers that white foreclosure sign on the front lawn.
Zabski mowed lawns, shovelled snow, and put himself through college by working three jobs. “You have to have something that drives you,” he said. “For me, it was that white sign.”
As an adult, after working for IT companies, he started and ran his own successful IT and computer business and also taught adult computer classes. In 2012, he launched Fired Up Pizza Truck and made pizzas on a grill. He did well, but the work was demanding and his wife gave him an ultimatum: ‘It’s me or the truck.” He sold the truck.
Ever the entrepreneur, in 2022, he opened a pizza school aimed at teaching members of the public how to make New Haven-style pizza. Zabski leads the classes at local pizzerias at off times of the day when the business is closed.
He encouraged others in the business to run classes, which help people appreciate the work pizza makers do and offer an opportunity for pizzerias to sell their pizza dough to take home, gift cards and other merchandise.
Frank Pepe, who operated the renowned Pizzeria Napoletana, is widely credited with inventing New Haven style in 1925. Called “apizza” (pronounced “ah-beets”) by locals it is thin, charred, chewy, crispy, baked in a coal-fired oven and lighter on cheese than a New York-style pizza.
‘You have to have something that drives you.’ – Frank Zabski, New Haven Pizza School
Zabski shared marketing ideas he’d had success with. “Smell sells,” the entrepreneur said. “If you can get the smell of your pizza out there, do it.” Make your pizza available for people to taste at every opportunity, he added. Another tip is to create urgency for your customers. For example, get the message out on social media that you have 100 doughs, then 50 doughs, then 30 doughs left by Saturday night. This strategy reliably drove sales for him at the pizza truck. |
The chefs use Saskatchewangrown durum wheat in many of their pastas.
MAKING DOUGH WITH DIANE
BY DIANE CHIASSON
Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping foodservice, hospitality, and retail operators increase sales for over 35 years by providing innovative and revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns. Contact her at 416-926-1338 or send her an email at chiasson@ chiassonconsultlants.com or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com
Six easy ways to increase your pizzeria revenue by updating your look
You can increase your restaurant engagement and influence impulse purchases by up to 500 per cent by updating your pizzeria’s look. This is a powerful way to attract new customers and increase sales. Here are six easy ways to increase your revenue by updating your look.
1. Upgrade your exterior to boost curb appeal
Your storefront serves as a 24-7 billboard that can either invite or deter customers. Curb appeal is special because it serves as your pizzeria’s silent salesperson. It’s the first point of interaction that dictates whether a potential customer enters your restaurant or continues walking. Studies show that up to 70 per cent of first-time sales at small businesses are driven solely by curb appeal.
Boosting your curb appeal is about creating a sensory and visual invitation that compels customers to stop and enter. Your physical front entrance area makes a first impression on customers and significantly influences their purchasing decisions. To get them in the door, you must have a well-designed storefront that serves as your primary advertisement, setting the tone for the quality of your pizza. Your storefront will dictate how customers react. Your customers naturally associate a clean, well-maintained exterior with better service, food quality and high hygiene standards inside. Keep your storefront area, window and door graphics, entryway way inside and out, patio area and parking lot clean and clutter-free.
If you have been in business for more than 10 years, it’s time for a simple coat of paint on the exterior facade and a deep clean of windows, sidewalks and entryways: this will create a critical first
Make sure your mobile optimization is fast and touchfriendly, as more than 90 per cent of customers check menus on their phones before visiting.
impression of high hygiene standards. Signs must be legible day and night: they represent your brand’s tone and make it easy for motorists and pedestrians to find you.
2. Clean up your windows and facade
Consumers want to believe the pizzeria they are entering is clean. Dirty windows or litter are immediate turnoffs that suggest the kitchen might also be neglected and cause potential customers to think twice about entering. Clean glass windows that let people see what’s inside help potential guests make gradual psychological commitments before entering your pizzeria. If possible, place your pizza-tossing station or oven in a window so passersby can see and smell the product being made.
3. Add some greenery and décor
Hanging planters, window boxes or a colourful seasonal wreath can make your entrance feel homey and welcoming.
Fresh trees and colourful flowers are a natural way to attract attention, but make sure your staff will keep them watered and alive. Guests often perceive a restaurant with well-maintained plants as higher-quality and more valuable than one without. Plants are natural sound absorbers. Strategically placed greenery can reduce ambient noise and echo by 20-30 per cent, making it easier for guests to have intimate conversations.
4. Update your interior atmosphere
Have a good look at your front counter, cases, equipment, walls and tables. How does your pizzeria look, feel, smell and sound?
Elevate your business’s visual appeal with eye-catching displays that showcase your creations. Use counters to display fresh, colourful ingredients, emphasizing quality and scratch-made recipes. Consider replacing standard tables with armchairs or couches to encourage customers to stick around. Offer a variety of seating options, including plush booths for privacy, communal tables for groups and barstools for solo diners.
5. Use effective lighting
Lighting is the silent seller that will increase your sales by more than 50 per cent. It plays a crucial role in how customers perceive your pizzeria’s products. The right lighting will ensure your pizza toppings look fresh and vibrant, which is crucial for customer appetite. It will also enhance the colours, textures and overall appeal of your products.
Choose a mix of ambient (general), task (for menus), and accent (to highlight décor) lighting. Use warm bulbs to make your food look more appetizing. Consider installing dimmer switches to transition from a bright lunch vibe to a warm dinner setting.
6. Boost your online presence
Use your online presence to replicate the sensory appeal of your physical storefront through high-quality visuals, streamlined operations with digital ordering and building a loyal community through direct engagement.
Google Business Profile (GBP) and local SEO are essential for appearing in “pizza near me” searches on Google Maps. Keep your hours, contact details and location-specific keywords up to date to drive foot traffic. | CP
Round pizza, Roman-style, Neapolitan? Modern bakery or traditional pastry? Multi production or single product? The possibilities are many.
