PZ - September - October 2013

Cheese update

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Are you getting your discount on mozzarella yet?

Volume 19 Issue 5 September/October 2013

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12 CHEESE UPDATE

Taking a look at what progress the new 3(d) milk class program for mozzarella has made so far.

14 PIZZA, PERSIAN-STYLE

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Perperook introduces Iranian pizza to an urban market.

20 FOODSERVICE 2014: BOOM OR BUST? What do the experts have to say on what’s in store for your industry?

22 QUEEN MARGHERITA

PIZZA IS ON THE MOVE Tips on growing from one location to three and on how to succeed with a take-out/delivery spinoff.

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27 PROTECT YOUR DOUGH FROM PESTS How the acronym DOUGH spells advances in pest management.

22 Photo credit: Matt Sherkin

www.canadianpizzamag.com

DEPARTMENTS 6

editor’s desk

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pizza bites

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Pete the Pizza Man

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the pizza chef

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marketing insights

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making dough

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guest column

30

pizza on fire

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 pizza 3

“Packed from Fresh Tomatoes, Not from Concentrate”...

President Tom Cortopassi (kneeling) and “Coach” Dino Cortopassi (standing) in one of our

Since 1942, our Restaurateur customers’ success has depended on the superior taste of the food they serve and of our products. As a family-owned business, it feels good knowing that so many of our customers have relied on our “Packed From Fresh Tomato” products from generation to generation.

Whether your restaurant has a long family history, or whether you’re the founder, you can depend on our family making the best “Real Italian” tomato products...always Packed From Fresh Tomatoes, Never From Concentrate...generation after generation!

Tom Cortopassi President/Owner

Dino Cortopassi Coach/Owner

Generation after Generation.

tomato fields in Stanislaus County, California

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STANISLAUS E

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The “Real Italian” Tomato Company 1202 “D” Street

Modesto, CA 95354 Toll Free 1-800-327-7201 ©2010 Stanislaus Food Products

from the editor’s desk Sept/Oct Vol. 19, No. 5

The future of pizza ctober is National Pizza Month, a celebration with American roots that is also embraced in Canada. The industry enjoys a delicious cap to its national month with Halloween as a superstar sales day, and we at Canadian Pizza celebrate in our own networking way with the Canadian Pizza Show on Oct. 29. Most food holidays seem confined to a single day. The fact that pizza gets a whole month is a testament to its popularity in North America. Despite its fan base, pizza consumption in Canada contracted by 70 million servings from 2009 to 2011, reported Linda Strachan, a restaurant analyst with the NPD Group in an article for www.restaurantcentral.ca. Pizza is ordered often, but not as often as it used to be. What will the future of pizza look like? I believe pizza will remain a force to be reckoned with for delivery, a preferred Canadian choice for take-out, a fun family meal and a sophisticated choice for a date or outing with friends. Pizza will still be all things to all occasions, but the trends we see now will be amplified. Chains have sunk their teeth into technology. Their combination of price prowess and R&D investment in digital platforms such as apps will attract next-generations for years to come. A recent report by iStock Analyst hailed Domino’s 80 per cent share boost as one of the greatest turnaround stories for a brand. What does this mean for the independent pizzeria? Dig your heels in and consider whether you really want to compete on either of these fronts. Do what independents have always done in the face of chain competition, and that is the one thing that chains aren’t designed to do: dare to be different. But what will different look like in the

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future? Quite possibly, it will look like the past. With every push into modernity, we feel nostalgia. New things harken for old comforts, but the tolerance for poor service is waning. There are simply too many options for people today, and will be even more tomorrow, with the best of the pack continuing to prune the pack, refine the rules and set new expectations. The future for independent pizzerias lies in much the same place where it resides right now: guest experience. I would love to see more stories come to life, more action. I could imagine this looking like mascots who visit kids at tables, dinein movie nights, pizza spinners on the floor, delivery drivers outfitted in the unexpected (think blazers or shirts and ties), and local musician showcases (even better if it happens to be one of your staff who plays in a band). You already know that the pizza places with personality get lots of buzz, and this will be amplified in the future. The ante is being raised as we speak. How will you deliver nostalgia with a splash? People will pay more for experience, and that is true for take-out and dine-in alike. The pizza place of tomorrow will need to focus on recruiting and training the staff who can deliver the kind of customer service that will keep it competitive, because at some point there is going to be an end to the tolerance for poor hospitality. The door is open now that customers can write up their displeasure and publish it in real time. As a food, pizza is delicious. It’s darn near perfect. Pizza’s taste is its strength, not its weakness. But having the best pizza in town won’t always be enough, if it even is today. As you think about National Pizza Month, consider what the pizza scene will be and what Þ ÕÊÜ Ê` ÊÌ ÊÃÕVVii`ÊÌ iÀi°ÊU

@CdnPizzaMag

6 pizza SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

Editor Laura Aiken laiken@annexweb.com 416-522-1595 Assistant Editor Karly O’Brien kobrien@annexweb.com 905-713-4358 Publisher Christine Livingstone clivingstone@annexweb.com 519-429-5173 888-599-2228 ext. 239 Sales Assistant Jarah Stefek jstefek@annexweb.com 888-599-2228, ext. 219 Media Designer Jaime Ratcliffe Group Publisher Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexweb.com President Mike Fredericks mfredericks@annexweb.com Mailing Address P.O. Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT #40065710 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT, P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 e-mail: subscribe@canadianpizzamag.com Published seven times per year (Jan/Feb, Apr/May, Jun, Jul/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov, Dec), by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. Printed in Canada ISSN 1203-6838 Circulation e-mail: subscribe@canadianpizzamag.com Tel: 866-790-6070 ext. 207 Fax: 877-624-1940 Mail: P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 Subscription Rates Canada – 1 Year $ 19.00 (+ applicable tax) Best pricing (Can/USA/foreign) available online at www.canadianpizzamag.com Occasionally, Canadian Pizza Magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.. No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2013 Annex Publishing and Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. www.canadianpizzamag.com

Contact your local repesentative to arrange a demonstration British Columbia Castle Agencies North Vancouver, BC, Canada Tel/Cell: (604) 904-7681 Contact: David Terretta Email: king@castleagencies.ca

Alberta MAC Sales & Marketing Calgary, AB, Canada Phone: 403-281-8540 Contact: Steve MacKell Email: mackell@telusplanet.net

Manitoba/Saskatchewan Dennis Braun Agencies Winnipeg, MB Canada Tel: 204-663-8077 Cell: 204-229-4613 Email: denbraun@mts.net

Ontario Distex M.&M. Inc. Mississauga, Ont Tel: 905 565-5990 Toll Free: 1 888 645-7324 Email:info@distex.ca

www.wowoven.com

Quebec Distex M.&M. Inc. St-Laurent (Quebec) Tel.: (514) 382-3620 Toll free : 1-800-567-3620 Web: www.distex.ca

Atlantic Provinces/Maritimes Flanagan Agencies Inc Moncton, New Brunswick Tel: (506) 387-8757 Contact Mike Flanagan Email: mike@fai.ca

pizzabites Ecojet introduces DIB to clean equipment cojet’s new application for dry ice, referred to as “dry ice blasting” (DIB), helps to clean industrial equipment even when there are live electrical components present, according to a company release. Dry ice (commonly used in refrigeration, and for stage special effects) is now being used in a wide array of restoration applications, and for cleaning. Dry ice is composed of CO2 without any additives. This is designed to make it an effective cleaner for both heavy duty and delicate surfaces. The product is environmentally friendly, sterile, non-waste generating and non-conductive. EcoJet uses two different techniques: pellet blasting and snow blasting. Pellet blasting is best used on tougher contaminates, whereas snow is used when a gentler approach is necessary to preserve the surfaces of the substrate being cleaned. Pellets were used for Rising, the esteemed Zhang Huan’s art sculpture, which is located at Richmond Street and University Avenue in Toronto. This process nearly restored the sculpture to its original appearance, says the company press release. The large-scale exterior sculpture measures about 20 metres by 20 metres, weighs approximately 22 tons and resides just north of Adelaide Street on University Avenue. Rising was installed about a year ago, and was exposed to acid rain, exhaust soot, and sidewalk and brake dust.

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Canada gains foodservice traffic in the first quarter anada, Australia, and China rang in 2013 with an increase in foodservice visits as other countries across the globe experienced weak traffic growth in the first quarter of the year, reported to The NPD Group. The weak numbers for restaurant visits in Continental Europe the last quarter of 2012 continued into the first quarter of this year. They were augmented with soft traffic in North America and Japan, reports NPD’s CREST, which continually tracks commercial foodservice usage in Australia, Canada, China, France,

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Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Australia, Canada, and China were the only three countries that posted traffic growth in the first quarter out of the 10 countries tracked. Despite foodservice traffic gains, China reported the weakest traffic and check growth since CREST China began tracking the country’s foodservice industry in 2010. There were foodservice spending gains in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan and the U.S. with declines in France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

pizzabites

CRFA urges officials to regulate card fees

Branding vital for small business

he Competition Tribunal may have rejected the complaint against credit card companies, but it has found that a stronger regulatory framework for credit card fees is required, reported the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) in a news release. This is an issue that the CRFA has been telling the government about for years, the association noted in the release. “The federal finance minister has the authority to regulate credit card fees,” says Garth Whyte, CRFA president and CEO. “With the Tribunal’s ruling, it’s clear it’s high time government takes action. We can guarantee that CRFA will be pursuing this matter further with government.” IMPACT OF CREDIT CARD FEES: UÊ A typical full-service dining restaurant could pay $10,000 or more a year in credit card fees. UÊ Credit card fees are charged on the meal, the tax and the tip. In many cases the credit card fees are higher than the restaurant’s profit. UÊ · The restaurant industry as a whole pays $40 million a year in credit card fees on sales taxes alone.

reating a recognizable and trusted brand is an important concern in today’s competitive market, according to 93 per cent of small business owners (SBOs) in a recent survey. The quarterly American Express Small Business Monitor revealed that 71 per cent of SBOs have prioritized branding strategies with brand experience rated as the most important part of their business’ overall brand. SBOs are also placing a high value on branding with 51 per cent reporting that branding is critical to attracting new business. “Having a powerful brand is vital in today’s economy, it can be the difference between a business that blends in with the crowd or stands out from the competition,” says Athena Varmazis, vice-president and general manager of small business services for American Express Canada, in a news release. “It’s refreshing to see business owners placing an emphasis on branding since it’s their platform to tell their business’ story with current and future customers.” With consumers embracing social media and leveraging social platforms when making purchase decisions, almost three quarters (73 per cent) of SBOs report that they need to constantly monitor their brand’s perception. As such, SBOs have welcomed digital elements into their branding with more than half (52 per cent) of business owners using a company website to build their brand. Yet many still rely heavily on traditional approaches stemming from internal communications. Sixty per cent of business owners rely on the actions of their employees to communicate the brand to their customers and almost half (45 per cent) of these report it being effective. Furthermore, 32 per cent of small business owners leverage events to help increase brand awareness. Eighty-four per cent of business owners state that branding is important for the overall success of the business. While SBOs feel an increased need to stand out from the competition, 55 per cent aren’t refining their brand annually and may be missing the opportunity to assess the evolving trends to ensure their business stacks up in the market. Thirty-six per cent of SBOs admit that they are interested in expanding their brand, but don’t know where to start. Despite this, 86 per cent of SBOs still choose not to capitalize on the resources thirdparty experts offer, with 29 per cent of SBOs relying on themselves in the development of their business’ brand. Results reveal that Canadian SBOs are wary about the outlook of their business and are therefore making more reserved and thoughtful decisions when it comes to business growth. The index portion of the monitor reveals a decline in SBOs’ optimism levels year over year. Although 55 per cent of SBOs remain hopeful about their future financial position, this has decreased by 15 per cent since this time last year. While 39 per cent of SBOs report their business’ current financial position is improving, this number is down 21 per cent from April.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 pizza 9

the pizza chef

Diana Coutu

Is it time for a price increase?

hen was the last time you increased your prices? And when you did, did you raise the prices for all the items on your menu, or just a few? Some operators implement a price increase yearly, while many of us are afraid of losing business over the smallest increment. I’ve spoken with many operators across the country who haven’t increased their menu prices in years. When I ask them why, the answers are all too familiar. There has been almost non-stop talk about a stressed economy and cutting back, not to mention the news about financial distress and recession in the U.S. Putting the gloom and doom news aside, all of our input costs are going up yearly. Here in ManYou can raise your prices and still keep your customers smiling. Most of our customitoba, minimum wage increased twice in ers didn’t even notice when we recently increased the price of our pizzas. the same year. Why is it that some operators don’t believe these input costs need to fix over a larger issue. Rather than increase wanted to make sure that they had been be passed on to our customers? How are our prices a little every year, where cus- charged the correct price. Once my staff we to stay in business if we don’t charge tomers may or may not notice, we now informed them that it had been over four had to implement a much larger increase. years since our last price increase almost enough? We approached it like having to rip a all our customers agreed that it was indeed In my city of Winnipeg, I’ve driven past several old and weathered pizza banners bandage off of an open wound. We could time. There were a couple of irate customeither do it slowly and ers, and we did our best to make them with a fluorescent numpainfully, or we could do it happy by offering a free side salad or other ber stuck over the original with one swift movement item with their order. price. It looks bad. Let me Why is it that and a shortened exaggersay that if you don’t have Overall, the increase has been a very some operators ated pain, but get it over positive experience. It’s something we money to purchase a new with. We chose the latter. banner or sign, then that should have implemented a long time ago. don’t believe We informed all our staff Really, we were the ones standing in our should be an indication that these input that a price increase had Ü ÊÜ>Þ°ÊU it’s time for a price increase. taken effect and prepped We recently implemented costs need to them with a short response Diana Coutu is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine a long overdue price inchef of the year champion, internationally recognized be passed on to explaining why. It’s impor- gourmet pizzaiolo, co-owner of Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria crease at my pizzeria. Our tant to give your staff a in Winnipeg, Man., and was a director on the CRFA board last price increase was in our customers? script to use in the event from 2009-2013. In addition to creating award-winning 2009, four years ago. We recipes, Diana is also a consultant to other pizzeria that a customer is ques- owner/operators in menu development, creating systems believed that it was nectioning a price increase. essary to keep our menu to run a pizzeria on autopilot, along with marketing Are you curious to and positioning to help operators grow their business efprices static in order to keep fectively and strategically. She is available for consulting the existing business we had. This was a know what happened? Most customers on a limited basis, for more information contact her at very poor strategy and simply a bandage didn’t even notice, while a few others just Diana@dianasgourmetpizzeria.ca.

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feature

Slowly but surely, the new cheese discount for fresh pizza makers is making its way to the front lines.

Canada’s new 3(d) milk class is sputtering into action BY JULIE FITZ-GERALD fter over a decade of lobbying by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA), a new milk class has been created to level the playing field for restaurateurs that make and serve fresh pizza. The new 3(d) milk class, which took effect June 1, will give processors a reduction of approximately $0.72 per kg on the price of milk, according to the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC). Since the discount is being given to processors, it is up to restaurants to negotiate the price they pay with their suppliers; however, it is expected that suppliers will pass the savings on to restaurants. The 3(d) class applies to mozzarella cheese made in Canada and sold in packages of not less than 2 kg, including mozzarella, part skim mozzarella, pizza mozzarella and part skim pizza mozzarella. The class does not include brick cheese or cheese blends. Despite advanced warning about the new milk class, processors of mozzarella have been slow to register; something

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that is frustrating excited restaurant owners who themselves registered immediately to be eligible for the discount. The CDC announced on May 1 that the new 3(d) class had been approved by the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee (CMSMC) and would take effect June 1, simultaneously sending notices to manufacturers of mozzarella to ensure awareness. For a program that is intended to grow the market for mozzarella in the restaurant sector, benefiting farmers, processors and restaurants alike, the new class seems to be sputtering at the start line. Tony Sabherwal, owner of the Magic Oven pizza chain, is one of many restaurateurs who applied for a registration number in anticipation of the June 1 launch date, but is unfortunately still waiting for his cheese suppliers to register for the new milk class. “We were among the first restaurants to sign up for the program to receive our registration number. It’s been a month-

and-a-half now and I still have yet to hear from my suppliers . . . . We have three main suppliers that we use. The organic supplier had no idea what we were talking about. Our specialty supplier had an idea of the program, but five weeks later we still haven’t heard from him. We’re not shopping around necessarily, but we’re thinking about it. We spend a substantial amount on cheese,” Sabherwal says. Josee Pigeon-Laplante, CDC’s manager of the 3(d) milk program, admits that the new cheese class got off to a bumpy start, but says that any initial problems have now been solved. “There were details that needed to be finalized but now almost all of the processors are registered. The big companies, the big manufacturers have registered now,” she assures, reporting that as of mid-July the CDC had 16 processors of mozzarella registered and over 4,000 restaurants registered across Canada. For those processors that signed the agreement for the new milk class prior to July 11, their registration has been made retroactive to June 1, however it is up to restaurants to negotiate with their suppliers for the discount, PigeonLaplante explains. Going forward, registration for participants will be effective from the first day of the month that they register in. Garth Whyte, president and CEO of the CRFA, says that its members have yet to see any savings. “People want to know what’s happening. Initially they were really excited. There’s been a lot of anticipation, it’s been a long time coming, but now it’s been long in delivery. Our next steps are to make sure it flows through to our members and we’re going to have to be the honest broker to make sure that everybody’s playing fairly and appropriately,” he says. Despite an admittedly slow start to the program, restaurateurs and the CRFA are still very excited about its creation. After years of rising cheese prices and the fact that manufacturers of frozen pizza have received a discount under the Special Milk Class Permit Program for some time, the playing field is finally becoming more equal. “It’s been over 10 years and it’s been a real inequity. You’ve seen the proliferation of competition, selling ‘like-delivery’ pizza. It’s just not fair with frozen pizza having a

30 per cent advantage. They still have ceive is passed on to fresh pizza makers an advantage, but it’s a step in the right across the country. The pilot program is set to be re-evaluated in 15 months to direction,” notes Whyte. Sabherwal is also excited about the determine if it is fulfilling its purpose long-awaited program. “The price of and working well. That means that for cheese has been going up one to one- its proponents, the pressure is on to enand-a-half per cent a year and our mar- sure the program is running smoothly gins are slipping, so we’re not doing as and that all parties involved are benefitwell as we could be. It’s about being ing from the price reduction. As for what to expect from the 3(d) profitable. This program has been a long time coming. The CRFA has been milk class over the coming year? “Like anything else, there are adminat it for 10 years now and finally it has come to fruition. Obviously we’re all istrative challenges, but it’s particularly very happy and now we’ll be able to challenging for an entity that’s never done this type of thing before, and that make a real living.” However, just how much of an impact would be the Canadian Dairy Commisthe new 3(d) class will have on Sabh- sion. I think over time it will improve erwal’s business remains to be seen. “It and become more streamlined, people will be more aware and all depends on the kind the take-up will be good. of savings we receive. “There’s been I’m hoping that we can I think four years ago extend it. It should be a when we were expanda lot of win-win and I’d love to see ing we were able to deal anticipation, it expanded to other memdirectly with the manubers who are using a lot of facturer to buy loads of it’s been a long mozza that’s not for pizza. cheese as opposed to But first we want to make cases of cheese and we time coming, sure that we can maintain were able to pass on but now it’s the integrity of the system the entire savings to our to ensure it’s being used customers. I don’t think been long in for what it’s supposed to this 3(d) class is going be used for, and that’s retail to offer that kind of savdelivery.” and restaurants,” Whyte ings to us. I’ve heard says. numbers of one to three For an industry that purper cent. I’m not sure if it will affect our menu price in that chases $2.5 billion worth of dairy prodway, but maybe in our specials or value ucts annually, Canada’s restaurant owners have much to gain from the discount packed offers,” he explains. The CRFA is expecting the new milk offered by the new 3(d) milk class. As a class to have a very positive impact on result of these savings, dairy processors and farmers are hoping to see a growth its members who serve fresh pizza. “It should result in a price reduction in sales of cheese in the restaurant pizza in their mozza cheese, which is real- category, making the new milk class a ly a major component of all pizza, so Ü }ÊV L >Ì Êv ÀÊ> Ê«>ÀÌ iðÊU they’ll see some real price reductions in For further information or to register the thousands of dollars for some businesses and that’s huge, especially when for the program, please visit the CDC’s you’re looking at rising food costs across website at www.milkingredients.ca or the board. We’re hoping that should in- follow the links on CRFA’s website at crease business and even for some the www.crfa.ca. quality of their pizzas. They may use more mozza and it may hopefully spur Julie Fitz-Gerald is a freelancer writer/editor based in Uxbridge, Ont., and a regular contributor to Canadian on more pizza sales,” Whyte says. Pizza magazine. The CRFA hopes the new program will be a win-win situation for everyone involved including farmers, processors and restaurant operators. The association is now turning its focus to mozFor more on the prep table, visit zarella processors to ensure they are www.canadianpizzamag.com registered and that the discount they re-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 pizza 13

feature

The crispy, crunchy crust does a solid job supporting the myriad of toppings typical of pizza in Iran.

Pizza, Persian style BY LAURA AIKEN

ave you ever wondered what kind of pizza they eat in Iran? One new pizzeria has introduced Iranian-style pie to Toronto, and is finding popularity beyond the Persian community. “Pizza back home in Iran is all square and heavy on toppings with a thin crust,” explains Haman Shirvani, who co-owns Perperook pizza shop with his friend of 10 years, Fred Diant. Perperook is a unique name to hear in Canada, but it is actually the same name as that held by a popular pizzeria in Iran. Shirvani and Diant sought permission to use the name from the pizza place in Iran for their venture in Canada. The friends gutted and rebuilt the modern quick-serve eatery from a former sports space, which gave them 400 square feet on the ground level for a small counter and a few tables, plus 350 square feet of kitchen upstairs. It’s a tight space, but the uncluttered black and red modern design keeps it feeling more spacious than it is. Perperook offers 12 different pizzas, fries, onion rings, salads, sandwiches, wraps and burgers. Their signature pizza, and one of their top sellers alongside the Spicy Steak, is fully loaded to say the least: cheese, beef kielbasa, chicken bologna, roasted chicken breast, beef and turkey hotdog, roasted

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portobello mushrooms, onions, olives, and green, red and yellow peppers. The use of cold cuts and the sheer number of toppings is inherent to the Iranian style. The most popular toppings in Iran are kielbasa, hotdogs, green peppers, olives and onions, says Shirvani. Believe it or not, the 9 x 9 inch square pizza that carries that long signature pie list has a thin crust that is crunchy and can support the weight, even with the generous amount of five-blend cheese on it. The thick, almost cracker-like crust, which is baked in a conveyer oven, took six months, and two chefs (one American and one Italian) to develop. Once ordered, the pizza takes seven minutes to land in the box. The rest of the featured pizzas carry fewer toppings and are more North American while still being different. The restaurant uses only portobello mushrooms, the Meat Lover pizza has two meats plus olives, and the Aloha Chicken pizza pairs pineapple and sundried tomato: all creative twists on classic North American pies. Corn is featured on more than one pizza, and the BT pizza uses turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. There is one halal pizza on the menu, which is their simple cheese and beef pepperoni. Shirvani and Diant felt their concept would be a good fit in North York, Toronto, where they are situated in a mixed Persian and Korean community. They also serve

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Istak, a fruity, non-alcoholic Iranian beer, and Zaban sandwiches (Zaban being beef tongue that the restaurant stews for 13 hours). However, they were surprised by the repeat business and word of mouth spread by customers outside their known market. Perperook opened January 15 and celebrated its grand opening May 18. “We had over 2000 people come for the grand opening,” says Shirvani. “We ran out of food and discovered Koreans and nonPersians liked it too.” Popularity can be a challenge in a small kitchen. Currently they use almost 100 per cent fresh ingredients, right down to grinding their beef in house daily. While fresh is an appealing narrative for customers, part of the methodology for the business partners comes down to the fact that there simply isn’t space for a freezer in the kitchen. All marinades and dipping sauces are scratch house recipes too. Shirvani and Diant are on the lookout for space for a second, larger location that could help service their original space. For now, the business partners are continuing to look for more ways to bring new customers in to try a à ViÊ vÊÌ i ÀÊÕ µÕiÊ« ââ>°ÊU For more on the prep table, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com

marketing insights

Are two brands better than one? Michelle Brisebois

ynergy happens when the sum of something is greater than its individual parts. At its core – synergy is about combinations that are magical. For example, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were arguably much stronger together than they were on their own. From the Wright brothers to the 1987 Edmonton Oilers, great teams make great progress. A bit of marketing synergy can be yours if you decide to embark upon a cross-promotion with the right partner. Cross-promotion is defined as a marketing activity where customers of one product or service are targeted with an offer of another (usually related) product. The trick is to carefully choose which brands to hitch your wagon to and to be clear in your mind as to what you wish the end result to be. Look for partners who have similar customers to you, but who have different products or services. If you sell upscale takeout menu items then a local dry cleaner would be a likely ally. Think about your product – in this case it’s geared towards people with a disposable income who want to save time. Whether I’m buying a ready-made meal or a cleaned, pressed, ready-to-wear clothing item – I’m really buying myself free time. The goal here is to share customers. Your customers become aware of and start to buy from your cross-promotional partner, and in turn, their patrons come to you. Once you’ve established that your partner’s customer base is in simpatico, verify that their brand image is too. Your brand will be linked to your promotional partner’s so you’ll want to look at their brand health to make sure you won’t tarnish yours. Does your prospective partner have the same approach to customer service, product quality and business culture? How

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How to get better reach and more customers by pairing up with a like-minded company do they treat their staff, their vendors, and the environment? Is their tone and manner a good fit with yours? If your crosspromotional partner has a rough and tumble motorcycle gang image, perhaps it doesn’t square well with your familyfriendly positioning? After completing a thorough inspection of brand, target and tone, look for all of the touch points you can leverage effectively. First, consider the digital assets. Can you both place messages on each other’s websites, Facebook pages and Twitter posts? Additionally, you and your cross-promotional partner can kick it up old school with bag stuffers, coupons or print ads that combine both of your brands. If either of you have a newsletter (print or electronic), perhaps you can include a product spotlight that features the other’s business? With an electronic newsletter, you can insert links that click through to promotional offers and downloadable coupons on each other’s website. Events are another means of cross-promoting two businesses. Perhaps a local sports equipment retailer sponsors a golf tournament and you are the food vendor of choice? Also, you could offer a contest for your customers, with prizes contributed by your partner. Your partner could then have their own contest featuring your products or services as a prize. Why not approach a local moving company and tell them that you’ll give each of their customers a free pizza on the day they move into their new home located within a 10-kilometre radius around your restaurant? They likely won’t have the oven hooked up and being new to the neighbourhood, they won’t know where to go to order some takeout. If your delivery arrives as part of the moving day deal – they’ll love the way you’ve

made them feel welcome and you’ll have captured a new customer before they find your competition. For the moving company, this can be a great value added to offer their clients. The granddaddy of all cross-promotions has to be the McDonald’s/Disney Happy Meal. Could you partner with a local business to give a “toy” surprise with one of your bundled meals? Perhaps it’s candles from a local gift store to make the takeout romantic? If your partner has gift cards – you can include one loaded up with an amount for customers to save on a purchase from their business. If you have gift cards – consider offering them as a gift with purchase to your cross-promotion partner. As with any marketing initiative, you must measure, measure, measure. Did your partnership move the needle? Did you see the desired results? If you’re simply wishing to create awareness then this might be hard to measure. You could approximate it by measuring visits to your website, as an increase in traffic might suggest increased awareness. If you’re looking to drive new customers to your door or to reactivate lapsed customers then make sure your team is asking each customer about how they heard of the promotion or make sure a coupon or code is presented that connects the purchase to your initiative. Great partnerships work because each party has complementary goals and because the partners feed off of each other’s energy to take success to the next level. Seriously consider a cross-promotion with a like-minded partner. You may just be the iÝÌÊ}Ài>ÌÊÌi> °ÊU Michelle Brisebois is a marketing professional with experience in the food, pharmaceutical, financial services and wine industries. She specializes in retail brand strategies.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 pizza 15

In partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Canada

Pizza

is the world of food’s chameleon. By mixing and matching ingredients and sauces in a myriad of ways, people have made pizza a cultural love affair for many countries around the globe. Combine the truly global nature of pizza with today’s gourmet cheese market and you get an unprecedented opportunity to offer your customers ethnic-inspired twists on old favourites while still connecting with big trends such as eating local. Cheese has and always will star in a leading role on your pizza. Get creative and let it shine!

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY

Cheese is a big chunk of the pizza-making pie. Why not earn a little more from it? When you accent your pizza with a premium cheese you can upsell by a nice margin for a tidy profit. For example, an accent of .25 cents worth of cheese may allow you to raise the price of the item $1.00 or $1.50. Customers perceive the value and love the chance to try something new. It is becoming more and more common for pizzas to carry a main cheese and secondary cheese as people’s tastes become increasingly sophisticated. Using a higher-profile cheese also means getting more flavour, which in turn means using less cheese. “When using highquality cheese, it’s all about the flavour and not so much about the oooey-gooey,” says Kathy Guidi, cheese expert and author of Canadian Cheese: A Pocket Guide (McArthur Publishing). Try using full fat for maximum flavour and let the tongue speak for itself. If you’re wondering just how much Canadians love their cheese, consider this: In 2009, the annual cheese consumption in Canada was 12.28 kg per person, up from 11.58 kg in 2007 (Statistics Canada). There has been a boom in specialty cheese books, classes and blogs. One can only think to predict interest is growing and sales are poised to climb. Let fine cheese be the ingredient that differentiates you from you competition.

Top 5 ideas to try today

1 2

Pairing wine and cheese in your pizza

Imagine merlot-soaked red onions, with a spicy sausage and beautiful aged cheddar. Delicious!

Smoky flavours are big

Try a smoked blue cheese like Blue Haze from the monks at the Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac in Quebec. A bourbon-inspired sauce with a creamy, smoky cheese would be a terrific balance on the tongue.

3

Ethnic-inspired pizza

Now is a great time to add ethnic-inspired pizzas to your menu, like an India-inspired Butter Chicken pizza finished with a twist of Canadian-made pillow-soft Burrata by International Cheese Co./Santa Lucia.

4 5

Soft Cheese Blend a soft cheese such as ricotta into your sauce.

Canadian flair

Add Canadian Brie or Camembert to a wild mushroom pizza for the ultimate in earthy.

cheese producers make some marvelous ones, award winners, in that realm.” For a firm cheese full of accolades, try Louis D’or, a 40-kg cheese wheel, from La Fromagerie du Presbytère in SainteÉlizabeth-de-Warwick, Que, grand champion of the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix. Sue Riedl of the Globe and Mail called it a “conversation show stopper.”

HOMEGROWN HEROES

Canadians are increasingly committed to buying and eating local. A recent study by BMO suggests that Canadians are willing to pay more to put local food on their tables. The survey showed that 81 per cent of Canadians are likely to purchase Canadian cheeses when shopping, with the No. 1 benefit cited as supporting their local producers. Locally inspired dishes topped the Canadian Restaurant and Food Association’s list of hot trends for 2012 in their chef survey for the second year in a row. Artisanal cheese was the No. 1 choice for a side and No. 9 as a hot trend overall. This survey reflects what customers are most excited about right now, and it can’t be denied that they’re excited about homegrown cheese. An online conversation from an Ontario VQA wine and cheese tasting event even trended No. 1 on Twitter. That’s amazing! KEEP AN EYE ON….

Firm cheese: People are starting to understand firm cheeses, says Kathy Guidi. “Soft cheeses seem to be where they begin, now they are starting to be swayed into firm, and Canadian

SAVVY SELLING

Since local ingredients are of utmost interest to your customers, shout the provincial home of your Canadian cheeses from the rooftops. Be specific about the cheesemaker. Pepper your menu with all the romance your star attraction deserves. Write “an amber-ale-beer-flavoured cheddar from The Village Cheese Co., made in the Thompson-Okanagan area of B.C.” rather than “cheddar.” One definitely sounds more exciting to try than the other. Resources like The Definitive Guide to Canadian Artisanal and Fine Cheeses by Gurth Pretty are a great way to find new cheeses and the story behind them. Let your own cheese passion spill into your marketing. If you are sending your customers e-newsletters, consider giving them information that will build excitement for your ingredients, such as different breeds of dairy cow or the difference between raw and pasteurized cheeses. Have little cards made up for customers to keep that tell them where they can buy the local artisanal cheese that they just ate at your establishment.

In partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Canada

FROM COAST TO COAST: TRY THESE GREAT 100% CANADIAN COW’S MILK CHEESES SMOKED PROVOLONE BY QUALITY CHEESE (BELLA CASARA) www.qualitycheese.com

Based in Vaughan, Ont., Quality Cheese Inc. makes award-winning specialty Italian cheeses.

HERB AND GARLIC GOUDA BY SYLVAN STAR www.sylvanstarcheesefarm.ca

This great gouda out of Red Deer, Alta., earned a championship title at this year’s Canadian Cheese Grand Prix.

CASEY BLUE BY THORNLOE CHEESE www.thornloecheese.ca

Thornloe Cheese has been making respected and award-winning cheeses in Ontario’s north for over 70 years.

CURDS BY VILLAGE CHEESE CO. www.villagecheese.com

The Village Cheese Company is a small cheese plant in B.C. based on the estate winery concept that proudly proclaims on its website: “We have set the cheese industry back 70 years and we’re proud of it!”

MAPLE SMOKED CHEDDAR BY BOTHWELL http://bothwellcheese.com

Bothwell Cheese has been creating beautiful, award-winning cheeses in Manitoba’s dairy belt since 1936.

BRIE OR CAMEMBERT BY NATURAL PASTURES CHEESE COMPANY http://naturalpastures.com

Head cheesemaker Paul Sutter is known for crafting taste bud-titillating specialty cheeses from milk produced by Heritage Dairy Farms on Vancouver Island, where cows roam happily on a farm committed to sustainable practices and animal stewardship.

FRESH MOZZARELLA BY INTERNATIONAL CHEESE CO. LTD. http://internationalcheese.ca

International Cheese of Toronto, known for its signature Santa Lucia line, handcrafts over 32 different cheese products, including award winners.

FONTINA BY FROMAGES CDA www.fromagescda.com/en

Fromages CDA is a Quebec-based organization that distributes several different fabulous cheeses from multiple acclaimed artisanal cheesemakers.

MONTEREY JACK BY ADL www.adl.ca

Amalgamated Dairies Limited of P.E.I. recently won 3rd place in the American Originals category for their Monterey Jack at an American Cheese Society event in Montreal.

making dough with Diane

Destined to dine How to turn your pizza operation into a destination Diane Chiasson ith so much competition in the pizza business today, you need to make your operation stand out from the rest. It’s time to turn your pizza place into a consumer destination for both locals and tourists, and draw new customers from beyond their immediate marketplace. Instead of just being a local pizzeria that sells and delivers pizza, try to create an experience for your customers that is interesting and different enough to make customers tell their friends and family that they need to come check you out. Instead of being a place where people stop to pick up a pizza, you can turn your business into a place where people will want to bring their family, friends and out-of-town guests for a fun experience. Here are seven ideas to help you become the go-to restaurant in your area:

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1. GET SEASONAL Your most popular, basic and signature items should always be available, but it’s important for your pizza operation to continually offer new seasonal products. Get creative with your pizza toppings and offer new and fun pies to give your customers an incentive to keep visiting to see what you throw at them next. Always offer daily specials, and make sure the specials really do change daily. Hold special events or seminars to educate your customers on all the different types of meats, sausages, fresh produce and cheeses that exist in our world, and create delicious pizzas for them to try. 2. EXPAND BEYOND PIZZA In order to become a consumer destination, it’s important to pique the interest of more than just those who are interested in pizza. Consider expanding your product line to

sell a range of fun retail items. Turn your pizza operation into an emporium for cool books, knickknacks, toys, kitchen utensils and other interesting items..

sor and community member. Host themed events during holidays, and sponsor your local schools, sports teams and charities. Make your name and your brand memorable within your community, and the community will remember and recommend your pizza operation.

3. OFFER ENTERTAINMENT The key to becoming a destination is offering some sort of entertainment for guests. Set your operation up so that your pizza 6. TURN YOUR STORE INTO A chefs are front and centre. Get your pizza GALLERY chefs to put on a “show” by tossing pizza There are thousands of artists out there dough and getting customers involved in who are looking for places to display and making their pizzas. If your operation at- share their work. Work with local artists in tracts a younger crowd or your area on consignment, many families with small and turn your pizza operaThe key to children, considering settion into a mini art gallery ting up a videogame area as well. But don’t just stick becoming a or a special play area so that to paintings – consider cedestination is parents can spend more ramics, sculptures, bags or time in your operation clothing. The additional offering some while their kids are kept products will help draw sort of entertained. more interest and customers to your restaurant, and entertainment 4. MAKE SURE YOUR won’t cost you a thing! for guests. STAFF ARE ON BOARD Friendly service is the key 7. DON’T BE AFRAID TO to creating a great expeTRY NEW THINGS rience for your customFinally, it’s important to be ers. Ensure your staff are always friendly, open to trying new things in your busicourteous and knowledgeable about each ness. Some will work, some won’t, but and every single product you offer. Your the key is to keep changing. Your cusstaff should also encourage customers to tomers should experience something new try samples of your products, and make and fun each and every time they walk them feel at home. Keep children happy through your doors so that they keep reand busy by offering toys, colouring books, ÌÕÀ }Êv ÀÊ>Ê iÜÊiÝ«iÀ i ViÊi>V ÊÌ i°ÊUÊ balloons and treats while they dine or wait for takeout. Make sure that your staff are on Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consulboard with your vision by listening to their tants Inc., has been helping restaurant, foodservice, ideas, and allowing them to contribute cre- hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 25 years. Her company provides innovative and atively to your business. revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising 5. GET YOUR NAME OUT IN THE COMMUNITY Get your name out by being an active spon-

18 pizza SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns, and much more. Contact her at 416-926-1338, toll-free at 1-888-9266655 or chiasson@chiassonconsultants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com.

feature

Foodservice 2014: boom or bust? Find out what the experts are projecting in the short and long term for your business BY KARLY O’BRIEN

S

ince the last recession began, business owners have been anticipating when the economy would jump back into gear. According to one economist, the trends are pointing to just that. “We just got word from the Bank of Canada that they are expecting significantly better economic growth in 201415,” Ted Mallett, vice-president and chief economist for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), tells Canadian Pizza. “The consumer is starting to get past some of the debt concerns that they had leveraged and that will leave Canadians with more money left over to spend.” In the second quarter of this year, there was a bit of a pause following the positive business outlook that began in Q1. Despite the sink in optimism, Mallett notes that certain aspects could translate into a better third and fourth quarter. “The worldwide economy is helping to bolster our export sector and the U.S. economy in particular is showing much better signs of performance, strengthening the foundation of growth,” he explains. “All those sorts of things suggest that we have got some kind of a firming of the baseline.” Mallett also makes note of the association’s Business Barometer, which has increased by nearly five points to 64.2. Here are the numbers across the province. In Saskatchewan 71.2 per cent of businesses are optimistic in Canada, followed by

Alberta (66.8 per cent), Newfoundland and Labrador (66.7 per cent) and Ontario close behind (66.5 per cent). British Columbia is above the national average at 64.9 per cent, while New Brunswick (58.9 per cent), Manitoba (58 per cent), Nova Scotia (57 per cent) and Quebec (56.4 per cent) are all below it. Prince Edward Island remains at the bottom end of the scale at 49.2 per cent. An index level above 50 means owners who expect their business’ performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting a weaker performance. However, the economy is still weak, and weather has proven to not only put a damper on business expectations, but also cause an actual decline in sales for restaurant operators. The CRFA’s latest

Restaurant Outlook Survey indicated that 31 per cent of restaurateurs expect sales to increase in the next two quarters. In 2012, 40 per cent said sales would boost. Twenty-eight per cent of respondents reported that bad weather had a negative impact on the business, compared to 19 per cent for the same time last year. Operators have also cooled on the hiring front this year with only 21 per cent planning to bring in new employees before the end of the year, compared to 29 per cent last year. “One in two of our members is concerned about the economy, and their sales and hiring plans reflect this,” says Garth Whyte, CRFA president and CEO, in a press release. “Expectations in our industry are a gauge of the broader economy. Indeed, pundits are forecasting Canada’s

The CFIB’s Business Barometer has increased by nearly five points.

20 pizza SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

economic growth to remain soft in the second half of 2013 with modest job creation ahead.” HIGHER FOOD PRICES Food prices have remained about the same at 1.4 per cent in the first four months of this year, but there are signs that the cost of food is set to increase in the upcoming months. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) pointed out that last year’s drought in the United States could lead to a increase in food prices this year of roughly three or four per cent. This will mean higher prices for meats and vegetables. In the CRFA’s outlook survey, more than half of operators reported greater food costs in the first quarter. With menu inflation already around two per cent, operators are apprehensive about increasing menu prices again. Most operators have decided to maintain current prices until the end of the year, and will re-evaluate their prices based on the market and 2014 projections. QUICK SERVE VERSUS FULL SERVE The lives of Canadians seem to be getting busier due to a heavier workload and fewer resources. This could explain why full-service restaurant sales don’t carry the same customer base as they used to, a customer base being absorbed by quick-service restaurants. “People’s lives are demanding with everything moving a little bit faster,” says Mallett. “The demand is to get the food quick and then dedicate the saved time elsewhere, so restaurants who see their sales down may want to incorporate snacking foods to go that don’t take much time to make.”

According to the NPD Group, when compared to 2007, annual visits to quick-service restaurants (QSR) have increased by more than 300 million. Despite the recent sales boost of full-service restaurants (FSR), it is still below the pre-recession 2007 period. Take a look at the figures: QSR has gained more than 350 million visits, while FSR has had a 63-million decline in visits over the same time period. NPD also found when Canadians opt out of cooking, they choose a QSR 64 per cent of the time compared to a FSR at 24 per cent. “It would appear this is where the industry is headed,” says Mallett. The quick-service sector is expected to increase sales by 0.4 per cent in the third quarter, with another two per cent increase by the fourth quarter, while the full-service sector isn’t forecasted to see an increase in sales until 2014, according to the CRFA’s quarterly InfoStats report Overall, the report states restaurant sales have been increasing year over year, with 2013 starting out with almost $4 billion in sales compared to $3.8 billion in 2012, and about $3.6 billion the year before that. “If people are confident about their immediate futures, then they start looking longer term and they are a little more relaxed about their spending profile, which will most likely translate into more LÕà iÃÃÊ`i> }ÃÊ ÊÌ iÊv `ÃiÀÛ ViÊÃiVÌ À°»ÊU For more on what’s hot, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 pizza 21

feature

Queen Margherita Pizza on the move Queen Margherita Pizza restaurant is ready to open its third location and finding success with spinoff take-out/delivery concept FBI Pizza BY JULIE FITZ-GERALD

I

Photo credit: Matt Sherkin

n just three short years since bursting onto the Toronto pizza scene, the owners of Queen Margherita Pizza (QMP) are getting set to open their third location and say they are enjoying the success of their new busy take-out/delivery concept called FBI Pizza. And there is more excitement on the horizon: co-owner John Chetti says to expect a major announcement within the next few months that will alter the business in a spectacular way. Chetti sat down with Canadian Pizza for a Q&A about all things Neapolitan. Let’s start from the beginning. What led you to enter the pizza industry? It was something we always wanted to do. It just kept getting delayed and delayed and then I walked into Queen Street on a real estate deal to look at the building. It was the perfect room; everything lined up. I went back to my partners and I said ‘I think I found the spot.’ Before you knew it, Queen Street opened. It was April, 2010. What was the vision for QMP when you opened the first location on Queen Street in the Leslieville neighbourhood? It was supposed to be our Sunday night dinner. Traditionally on Sunday night, Italians have pizza for dinner because they’ve had a big lunch. It was suppose to be light, airy, good cheeses, good side dishes. It was suppose to be antipasto, pizza and either a salad or dessert; that’s the vision we initially had. The vision slowly changed to allow for what people wanted, so instead of offering salad at the end we ended up doing dessert

A peek inside the new Baby Point location.

at the end. What are some of the reasons that QMP has had success in the competitive Toronto pizza scene? I think the reason we’ve been successful is the reason that continually sets us apart from the next person and that’s the fact that everything that comes into the restaurant is fresh. It’s either Italian or local, so we try to do our best to keep it as authentic as possible. Sometimes neither choice works and you have to go outside the box, but for the most part we try to keep everything as fresh and local and/or Italian as possible. The fact that we bring in whatever is fresh daily helps significantly. For example, this week we’re running golden chanterelle mushrooms hand-picked in Ontario.

22 pizza SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

What has been the single most important factor to the success of your first location? I think it’s preserving your ideologies, making sure that you keep it real even though you’re expanding, and not overlooking what’s important to you. Understanding that this is who we are, this is what we’re doing and this is our philosophy. It’s very easy as you get bigger to get away from your core values because you think that that’s what you need to do, but we try to do the opposite. We stick to what we know and we expand based on our ability to do what we want to do. We have no problem sitting on a spot for a little bit longer until we’re ready. At what point did you and your business partner, Rocco Mazzaferro, decide

to delve into the world of delivery with Full Blooded Italian (FBI) Pizza? We were trying to give people a real product that works economically and is a sustainable business model as well. So it was a pilot project to see if we could give customers something better and would they understand the quality difference between FBI and [chains]. One of our slogans is this: Taste is subjective, quality is fact. And we always try to give the best quality. I’ve always said, you may not like something, but you will never be able to say that it wasn’t fresh or it wasn’t good, it just might not be to your taste, which is different. Those are the principles that we work from. I know Mazzaferro is now taking the lead with FBI Pizza, but can you speak to how it’s been received? It’s doing really, really, really well. There’re two FBI locations and I’m sure there are more in the works. I had to take a step back about seven months ago, after I had my son. It was just getting to be too much. I have three children between four years old and seven months! As far as competition goes, do you know of any other pizzerias that are doing delivery/take-out of Neapolitan style pizza in a similar way to FBI? No, we’re pretty much it. Turning back to your crown jewel, QMP, 2013 looks like a year of expansion. With additional locations, consistency of the product is important. How do you ensure that each QMP location meets the standards that you’ve set in Leslieville? For one, we made a commitment to our top pizzaiolo and he responded by stepping up to the challenge in terms of educating himself and getting himself up to speed with expansion and testing the variables prior to us expanding. So it wasn’t until we got the green light from him that we said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ He’s trained every single person that goes on the station, he goes to make the dough and he ensures that the process is exactly the same in every location. We acknowledge the risk that there can be a difference from place to place and we try to minimize those risks the best we can. I think we’re within a five per cent variable from each location, which is pretty good. What can customers expect from the new Baby Point location that opened in March? We’re not looking to do these copycat restaurants, where you walk into one and it’s exactly the same as the other. We believe in taking the space and transforming it into something beautiful. We take a unique space and we try to make it something spectacular. When you walk into Baby Point, you’re going to see a different menu. It is one of our showcases. It allows us to cook a little bit more and it’s just a different menu than Queen Street. Queen Street is equally good, but it’s a different menu and different options. We want to be able to give people different experiences in different parts of the city; however the pizza is going to be exactly the same. For example, Queen Street has a prix fixe menu, whereas Annette St. has a full menu a la carte. How are customers receiving your entry into the west end? If the number of people visiting the store is a reflection of reception then we’re doing fantastic! When is your Dundas West location slated to open? We just got permitted yesterday, so construction is starting immediately. We should be open in about three months; we’re shoot-

ing before the end of the year. It’ll have the same Queen Margherita pizza. It will have our signature dough, sauce and cheese, however, the menu surrounding the pizza will be different. It’s a different market. You’ve got Susur Lee across the street; there’s a lot of highend stuff and we have a very high-end product, the only difference is that our price points are relative to their high-end price points. What we’re looking for is a chic dining experience. We’ll have a nice bar, great pizza, we’ll have a new concept for our appetizers and we’ll see how it goes. It’s going to be something new. With your business multiplying so quickly, is there any time for life away from the pizzeria? Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way, but you know, a happy wife a happy life! We try our best. With your ambitious plans for expansion playing out across the city, what’s next on your list for QMP? You can expect a major announcement before the end of the summer! We’ve got big things happening, but we will never dilute our product and that’s why we’re not rushing into everything. What we’re doing in the next three months, should, instead of diluting our product, be more of a collaboration to make things better. It’s not a collaboration with other pizza people or anything like that; it’s just something that should enhance the profile of the V «> Þ°ÊU Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed. Julie Fitz-Gerald is a freelance writer based in Uxbridge, Ont., and a regular contributor to Canadian Pizza magazine.

T

he taste of

Tradition

Manufacturers and Distributors of Italian Specialty Cheeses and Food Products

T. 905.544.6281 F. 905.549.1196 20 Morley Street, Hamilton, Ontario, L8H 3R7

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 pizza 23

THE 2013 CANADIAN PIZZA SHOW

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OCTOBER 29, 2013 • INTERNATIONAL CENTRE, MISSISSAUGA PLATINUM

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“It was very informative, inspiring and confirmed other pizzeria owners have the same ideas as us. Lots of what we learned we have thought of, just now we know we need to ACT. The experience was just overall great!” Josh & Rhonda Schlueter – Lotamecheese Pizzeria, Cambridge

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FEATURING SOME OF THE GREATEST MINDS IN THE BUSINESS! Market like a master: The secret to raising profits by spending less Speaker: Diana Coutu, Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria Who else wants more sales on a slow day without spending an arm and leg to get them? One of Canada’s best-known pizzaiolos will share her proven strategies for increasing sales through social media and other low cost marketing strategies that are proven profit makers. Diana will also reveal how to get savvy about managing her brand’s reputation online. Diana Coutu is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine chef of the year champion, internationally recognized gourmet pizzaiolo, coowner of Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria in Winnipeg, Man., and a member of the CRFA board of directors from 2009-2013. In addition to creating award-winning recipes, Diana is also a consultant to other pizzeria owner/operators in menu development, creating systems to run a pizzeria on autopilot, along with marketing and positioning to help operators grow their business effectively and strategically. Diana has been a three-time speaker for the American Institute of Baking and a judge and competitor at the International Pizza Expo.

How to serve gluten free safely Speaker: Dr. JoAnne Bennett Mirsky Are you gluten wise or gluten free? Don’t let the big chains be the only ones capitalizing on a this growing market. Dr. JoAnne Bennett Mirsky, a gluten-free consultant, will share her best practices for implementing gluten free menu items in pizzerias. She will discuss some of the issues pizza makers face in adding gluten-free goods, such as cross-contamination and staff training. Based on her success with restaurant clients, she will show you how offering gluten free options that can be seamlessly implemented and allow you to tap into a market worth nearly $30 million in Canada.* Dr. JoAnne Bennett Mirsky, a member of the Canadian Celiac Association, is a Chiropractor by profession and previously owned and operated two different Chiropractic Clinics in the Greater Toronto Area for eleven years before becoming a gluten free consultant. Her gluten free consulting business has been built on working with restaurants and helping them develop gluten free options, as well as helping individuals and families make the transition to the gluten free lifestyle. Her continued focus on nutrition through her education and career, has allowed her to provide accurate and practical information with respect to celiac disease and the gluten free diet. *Euromonitor International, Food Intolerance Canada and US.

How to line your pockets with line-ups Speaker: Rocco Agostino, Pizzeria Libretto Rocco Agostino, this year’s Canadian Pizza magazine Chef of the Year, is the executive chef and partner of Pizzeria Libretto; which made En Route magazine’s list of top 10 new restaurants when it opened in 2009. The pizzeria hasn’t slowed down since its early line-up laden days, and has expanded to include a second location and a sister restaurant in Enoteca Sociale. Rocco will share his winning formula for turning fresh and local into real profits. Executive chef and partner for Pizzeria Libretto and partner of Enoteca Sociale, his restaurants focus on simple, natural, honest, regional specific Italian cuisine using local and seasonal ingredients. Pizzeria Libretto is a certified Neapolitan pizzeria located in Toronto’s west end. He is formerly the chef/owner of Silver Spoon Restaurant and his experience includes Chef at Ferro Bar Café and studies abroad in Rome, Italy, for several years. He is also a graduate of the Stratford Chef ’s School. His philosophy is one of simplicity, flavor and passion: using a few seasonal ingredients to create a tasty dish that evokes memories of a passionate heart.

Demonstration: Gluten-free dough

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Diana Coutu will demonstrate how to make her best-selling from-scratch gluten free dough recipe while sharing the operator’s perspective on how to successfully add gluten-free products to your kitchen

guest column

Where should I lease? Some takeaway tips on site selection for pizzeria tenants Dale Willerton

hen I speak throughout North America, I routinely advise my audiences of the importance of proper site selection. The commercial space chosen by a tenant can, in fact, be a deciding factor in the success or failure of the business. I consider this issue so important that I have devoted an entire chapter to it in my new book, Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies. Here are just a few of the additional elements you should be evaluating when viewing available commercial space for lease and considering before signing on the dotted line:

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LOCATION WITHIN THE LOCATION Where is the commercial unit situated within the shopping plaza? Would you be leasing inside the plaza/mall or on the pad outside? Would you be located at the end of an abandoned corridor or within the busy food court? ACCESSIBILITY How easily can your customers access your new pizzeria? Are there stairs leading to your front door? If so, elderly diners may have difficulty getting to your door. Another often-overlooked issue is how do drivers approach and access your pizzeria (can they easily turn right into your parking lot or will a left turn across busy oncoming traffic be required?). VISIBILITY Can your pizzeria be seen from the street? Or, are there trees or other buildings blocking the view? Visibility by both drive-by and walk-by traffic is ideal.

PARKING This is another one of the key issues to evaluate prior to signing your first lease. In my own experience, I have seen parking become a highly contentious issue and one of the hardest things to correct after the lease has been signed. Typically, there are only so many parking spaces assigned and, once they are taken, they are gone. Negotiate for plenty of parking spots – so that you, your staff and your customers all have a place to leave vehicles. Consider where those parking spaces are located as well … those closer to your pizzeria door can be preferable. Reserving a couple of parking stalls directly in front of your pizzeria also can benefit your delivery drivers. SIGNAGE What signage is available to you? What type of signage is this? Where is it located? Where would your pizzeria name be placed on a common pylon sign shared by other tenants? Would you, as a pizzeria tenant, be charged for any additional signage requested? Negotiate now for “grand opening” signage (e.g., banners and/or pull-away signs). NEIGHBOURING TENANTS Ascertain who is doing business directly next door to you. Will this tenant be conducive or detrimental to your pizzeria? While asking the landlord/landlord’s agent about these neighbouring tenants, it can be a good idea to meet and quiz these tenants for yourself. Be friendly, be polite and introduce yourself as a prospective new tenant. ANCHOR TENANTS These are the major businesses/retailers, which pull customer traffic to a property. Typically, they are major grocery or depart-

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ment stores; however, this is not always the case. Consider the stability of those anchors. How long have they remained in the property? Are they planning to remain or move? I remember how many tenants were leasing in a small shopping plaza near my home, and were caught off guard when Safeway moved out. Major grocery chains frequently continue to pay rent on a vacant commercial space to avoid having a competitor move in. BROKER – FRIEND OR FOE? It is not uncommon for a pizzeria tenant to believe that the real estate agent or broker is working for them. However, it should be noted that the landlord is paying the listing agent’s commission and even an outside agent may be sharing in that commission. Remember, the higher the rent, often the higher the agent’s commission. Whether a landlord-paid agent can represent two masters you will have to decide for yourself. Brokers and agents do a great job, but who are they doing the job for and who is paying them to do it? Even the most altruistic agent can’t serve two masters equally. SERVICE OFFERING Will you sell pizza by the slice on a takeout basis or will you be offering delivery? In the first case, a convenient location for Þ ÕÀÊVÕÃÌ iÀÃÊ ÃÊ ÀiÊÛ Ì> °ÊU

Dale Willerton, The Lease Coach, is a commercial lease consultant who works exclusively for tenants. Dale is a professional speaker and author of Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals For Dummies (spring 2013 release). Got a leasing question? Need help with your new lease or renewal? Call Dale at 1-800-738-9202, email DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com or visit www. TheLeaseCoach.com. E-mail Dale for a free leasing CD entitled Leasing Do’s & Don’ts for Pizzeria Tenants.

feature

Protect your dough from pests How to use the acronym DOUGH to remember handy advancements in pest control technology BY ALICE SINIA, PHD

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uality for the price is the top value driver for foodservice consumers, followed by fresh ingredients and choice, according to a recent NPD Group foodservice study. As the industry strives to meet consumer demands, there is one constant threat to these factors that all pizzerias, distributors and suppliers of ingredients face: pests.

To help reduce the presence of these pests, it is important to implement an integrated pest management (IPM) program. This approach focuses on preventive measures to minimize pest attractants and block pests’ access to your business. Work with your pest management provider to ensure that your facility stays on the cutting edge with the latest pest control technologies. Here are some

steps to help keep pests from eating away at your bottom line, using an easy-to-remember acronym: DOUGH. D IS FOR DOCUMENTING Documenting pest pressures is typically done by hand. However, advances now allow for scanning and electronic reporting to create customized reports that measure trend data

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over time. Electronic reports are faster and easier to access than handwritten reports. They are also readily available and more accurate. Using barcodes on pest management devices allows for quicker, easier and more accurate inspections while making the process paperless. Once you have these reports, you can share them electronically with others in your business and digitally archive information so it will always be available for audits and inspections – unlike the binders you may be using now. O IS FOR ODOUR REDUCTION Consider installing a misting system with powerful all-natural reactants that neutralize airborne odours from accumulated waste and convert odourous anaerobic bacteria into non-odorous facultative bacteria. Such systems do more than mask with ineffective perfumes. Instead, they eliminate odours at the source. Identifying the source of odours is your first step to prevention. After you’ve located the source of an odour, you can more effectively work to eliminate it. U IS FOR ULTRASONIC DEVICES Ultrasonic devices have been used for some

time, but recent advancements have improved their effectiveness, especially in preventing rodents. These repellants use specific sound pressure (frequency) and power (intensity) to deter rodents from entering your facility, and are most effective when used around the exterior of building as they create rodent-deferring buffer zones. G IS FOR GO DIGITAL Today’s trap monitors can send real-time signals via e-mail, text messages or phone calls to you and your pest management provider when a pest is caught in a trap. Typically, traps are checked on a weekly basis, but there are certain areas inside your building – such as food processing areas – where you need a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to pests. Electronic trap monitors allow your pest management provider to respond immediately. When combined with electronic reporting, these technologies are particularly helpful in fine-tuning your IPM program. H IS FOR HANG Hang insect light traps in the interior of your business in strategic locations to combat flies. These newly designed traps attract flies using

ultraviolet light and capture them on a nontoxic adhesive trapping board inside the unit. The silent devices are discreet, so you can place them in virtually any location. This goes for food-preparation areas as well, since the technology uses a non-toxic glue-board for trapping, meaning you don’t have to worry about airborne contamination from the insect parts like you would with the traditional “bug zapper.” They also operate around the clock. Other advances in more traditional tools like pheromone traps, organic cleaners and insect bait traps have increased their efficiencies. When these tools are coupled with IPM best practices, you can make sure your reputation is protected and pests are not taking a L ÌiÊ ÕÌÊ vÊÞ ÕÀÊL ÌÌ Ê i°ÊUÊ

Alice Sinia, PhD, is Quality Assurance Manager – Regulatory/Lab Services for Orkin Canada focusing on government regulations pertaining to the pest control industry. With more than 10 years of experience, she manages the Quality Assurance Laboratory for Orkin Canada, performing analytical entomology as well as providing technical support in pest/insect identification to branch offices and clients. For more information, e-mail Alice Sinia at asinia@orkincanada.com or visit www. orkincanada.com.

PROFITS IN THE PIE Effective Marketing Tactics to Seize Your Slice of the $38.1 Billion Pizza Pie! Ř /HDUQ PDUNHWLQJ LGHDV WKDW DUH WULHG DQG WUXH Ŏ QRW ZDVWLQJ PRQH\ EXW PDNLQJ WKRXVDQGV RI GROODUV Ř /HDUQ WR HDVLO\ LPSOHPHQWHG PDUNHWLQJ WDFWLFV Ŏ KDYH DQ DFWLRQ SODQ \RX FDQ DFW RQ PDNLQJ \RX D ORFDO FHOHEULW\ Ř 7ZHDN LGHDV DQG PDNH WKHP \RXU RZQ Ŏ EH WKH WDON RI \RXU WRZQ ZLWK LQQRYDWLYH LGHDV WKDW JHQHUDWH IUHH SUHVV $XWKRU 6FRWW $QWKRQ\ LV UHFRJQL]HG E\ WKH SL]]D LQGXVWU\ DV DQ 2SHUDWRU ([SHUW DQG D PDUNHWLQJ JXUX 7RGD\ KH RSHUDWHV DQ DZDUG ZLQQLQJ SL]]HULD )R[őV 3L]]D 'HQ RI 3XQ[VXWDZQH\ DQG KH DOVR GRHV SULYDWH FRQVXOWDWLRQ IRU RSHUDWRUV DURXQG WKH FRXQWU\

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pizza on fire

Social graces The most important lessons I’ve learned about social media Tom Stankiewicz he old and tired word-of-mouth advertising has been transformed by the overwhelming use of the social media. It’s no longer a matter of telling only your close friends about the most delicious pizza you had for dinner. In an instant, hundreds of people could read about it, all people who otherwise would not even know that your pizzeria existed. Consequently, you could view every person who uses social media as a potential customer. The important question is, how do we engage these people in a conversation and make your product attractive enough to persuade them to purchase? Every day more businesses join social media hoping that the new forums will translate into increased revenue for them. However, many business owners who are new to social media very quickly find out that it can be overwhelming to keep up with the constant updates and maintenance of these sites. Our pizzeria joined the Facebook and Twitter communities and we have been introduced to a whole new world out there. I have assembled a few key observations that could help when your pizzeria is ready to join the world of social media (or is doing it but not seeing results). Without a question, social media can be an effective tool to grow your business. The trick is to engage people in a conversation or at least persuade them to stop for a few seconds to read your post. Your messages and advertisements have to be catchy enough to grab their attention within seconds before they are ready to move on to something else. If they like what they see or read there is a greater likelihood it will be shared with others they are connected with. It’s important to take time and think about the content of your posts so they are most effective in fulfilling the main purpose of driving more business to you. You don’t want to fall into a trap

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Knowing your audience is critical in orwhere all your posts are simply business advertisements. When your customers realize der to have an effective social media presthat this is all they will find on your social ence. It will make it easier to think of messages that will resonate with them. If you media pages, they may not come back. If you are unfamiliar or not very confi- don’t understand who your customers are, dent about your skills on social media, take your time and energy spent on the creation small steps. Taking the time to understand and maintenance of your sites will be wasted and learn the ways of various communities as the content won’t appeal to those you are will help you create a more effective business targeting. It will be more difficult to come page or tweet. Instead of opening accounts up with ideas that would prompt your readon every possible social media site, decide ers to like or retweet your posts. In the end, on one or two that your customers are most it would simply defeat the purpose of your likely using. From my experience, there is no business joining the social media. Don’t forget, results from your social meneed to play a guessing game. When asked, my customers have been more than happy dia traffic and efforts need to be measured. It to tell me which social media sites they use does not have to be a daily task; however, at least a monthly review frequently. It’s a good idea to should be conducted. If your tell your clients that you are Knowing your goal is to have 50 likes or planning to join, for examaudience retweets each month, then ple, Facebook, and see how is critical in each month this data needs they react to it. They might to be verified. If your goals even offer some suggestions order to have are not being met, then it of what they would like to an effective means your strategy needs to see on your site. Keeping social media be adjusted. Without analyzyour account fresh and up ing your results, you will not to date requires time compresence. know if your social media mitment, so fewer of them sites are successful. would definitely be much Social media can bring easier to manage. Once your level of comfort increases, you could sign up your business positive and negative attention. The information that is posted by you for additional social media sites. It’s no surprise that the younger genera- or others on your sites is instantly available tion is a main driver of social media popu- to anyone with access to the Internet. When larity. It’s almost like it is second nature to you reply to a customer’s message, it’s importhem and seems to require no effort on their tant to keep in mind that everyone will see part. If you have employees who are very it. If a customer has a concern regarding your knowledgeable about using social media, business and posts a negative message, think take advantage of it. They will be ecstatic that about your answer before replying. Your goal their skills are being recognized and jump at is to provide constructive feedback and avoid the opportunity to help. The cost for their as- }i iÀ>Ì }Ê>`` Ì > Ê i}>Ì ÛiÊÀië ÃiðÊU sistance would be far lower than if you hired a professional. However, it is important to re- Tom Stankiewicz has been in the pizza business for more than 15 years. He has been the proprietor of Bondi’s member that as a business owner you are still Pizza in London, Ont., since 2000, and is president of the Canadian Pizza Team. responsible for your social media content.

30 pizza SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

Become Canada’s next favourite pizzeria and

win $ 10,000 worth of free Saputo Pizza Mozzarella!

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Contact your Saputo representative or call your local Saputo branch office for more contest details.

Voting begins October 28, 2013 and closes Friday, December 6, 2013. Winners will be announced January 22, 2014. No purchase necessary. Contest registration ends on October 11, 2013 at 11:59 pm (MDT) and voting ends on December 6, 2013 at 11:59 pm (MST). Visit www.pizzahalloffame.ca for the complete rules. One (1) grand prize consisting of a one year supply of pizza mozzarella cheese (value of $10,000 CDN), ten (10) secondary prizes* consisting of free pizza mozzarella cheese (value of $1,000 CDN each) and three (3) participation prizes consisting of free pizza mozzarella cheese (value of $500 CDN each). The odds of winning depend on the number of participating pizzerias and the number of votes received by each of them from consumers. Correct answer to a mathematical skill-testing question required. Saputo is a registered trademark owned by Saputo Dairy Products Canada G.P. *There is one secondary prize remitted to one pizzeria per Canadian province, the Canadian territories being expressly excluded.

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Pizzeria Registration closes on October 11, 2013

Pizza Mozzarella will be awarded over a 12 month period.

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