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This Week in Pizza

A rampant pig virus could send pork prices soaring in 2014, with an estimated 10% of the nation’s sows already infected by the disease, according to the Wall Street Journal. The virus, called porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), has killed thousands of young piglets and spread to farms in 22 states, bumping up lean-hog futures and creating uncertainty in the market. Smithfield Foods, Inc., the world’s largest pork producer, has said the virus could kill as many as three million pigs this year. Although many adult sows may be infected with PED, it’s only fatal to young pigs and, according to veterinarians, poses no threat to human health or food safety.

Read more at PMQ.com.

Proof that Pizza is Your BFF
Just for fun, think about all of the ways that pizza has stood by your side throughout your life – school lunches, after-school snacks, the perfect date food, study companion, party food, etc. Take a look at all of the ways that pizza is everyone's best bud and then share the list with your customers on your restaurant's blog, Twitter or social media!

View our list here.

Pizza TV: Pasquale's Deli & Pizza
Patrick Maggi was still a teenager when his dad sold off his pizzeria, but pizza sauce was already in the youngster's blood. Maggi couldn't resist the siren call for long and soon opened a pizza restaurant of his own, Pasquale's Deli & Pizza in Damascus, Maryland. Learn about Maggi's philosophy of pizza and his emphasis on gluten-free pizza in a new spotlight video from Pizza TV.

Watch the video at PizzaTV.com.

PMQ Creates #FollowThePizza
Random acts of pizza-giving kindness are spreading around the country, thanks to PMQ's "Follow the Pizza" campaign. Using the hashtag #followthepizza, PMQ has been offering pizzeria operators (and their customers) the opportunity to "pay it forward" by sending pizzas to randomly selected strangers as an act of goodwill. To get the process started, PMQ selected five people at random during National Pizza Week earlier this month and ordered pizzas for them through our subscribers. In turn, each recipient is encouraged to order a free pie for another person, with the goal of establishing a long chain of pizza-giving in the social media world throughout 2014. Participants are urged to use the #followthepizza hashtag, and recipients are asked to post photos of themselves and their pizzas on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. We encourage our readers to join in the fun and keep the chain going. And once you've started your own #followthepizza chain, promote it on your social media and let the local news media know about it as well – it could garner some terrific publicity. Click the link below to get started!

 

Pizzeria’s ‘Donation Creation’ Helps Charities
Brickfire Pizza, located in Osceola, Wisconsin, may not have a website yet, but the company knows how to work with the resources it has, maintaining an active and friendly Facebook presence to engage with its customers. Along with special offers, such as the weekly “Friday Night Features,” Brickfire earned 69 comments earlier this month with a post that simply read, “First person to tell me the current temp of our oven will win a FREE one-topping 12” pizza! Go!” Another post featured a photo of a pizza box filled with Dum Dum suckers—the person who correctly guessed the number of suckers won a 16” pie. That post generated 96 likes, 225 comments and 80 shares. Additionally, Brickfire Pizza promotes and sells a different “Donation Creation” pizza each month, with 10% of the sales going to a local charity or non-profit organization. Past Donation Creation pies have included the Reuben Pizza and the Shrimp Scampi Pizza.
   

Spreading the Love for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day has become one of the biggest days of the year for many pizzerias, thanks to heart-shaped pies and, in some cases, special menus aimed squarely at the lovebird market. The Irving, Texas pizzeria i Fratelli recently started promoting its Valentine's Day menu featuring a four-course meal with a wine flight. For the first course, guests can choose between the Champagne Brie Soup, Caprese Salad and Chopped Greek Salad, while the second course offers choices of Gorgonzola Mussels, Balsamic Steak and Shrimp Cocktail. Third course choices include Grilled Ribeye, Veal Marsala Scallopini, Blackened Salmon and Sea Bass. The dessert menu features Chocolate Crème Brulee, Bailey's Irish Cream Crème Brulee and Strawberries and Cream. Guests pay $45 for the four-course meal and wine flight package, $35 for the four-course dinner only and $25 for the wine flight only.
   

   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
   
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