Remember back a couple of years ago when PMQ put out the issue with the red and black cover? The cover story was on Vincent Sciglitano, owner of the Blackbird Café in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. On my most recent trip back to Sydney, Australia, I called Vincent to catch up and have a bite to eat. When I called, he said we had to go out and take a look at his new concept, so off we went to Hoochie Mamma. Here, Vincent has reinvented the proverbial wheel when it comes to selling pizza in Australia by introducing the concept of pizza by the slice. Once again I was quite impressed with the atmosphere and buzz he had created. While slices may not be new to Americans, Aussies are finding it to be a very desirable choice. It doesn’t hurt that his employees are easy on the eye too. Vincent offers some advice on selling slices in Australia along with some very eye-opening and inspiring advice about what owners/operators think when it comes to letting employees be themselves (i.e.; tattoos, piercing and attire).

 Hoochie Mamma was open for about two years prior to Vincent’s arrival operating as a convenience store and deli. “I drove past it a hundred times and thought it had great potential,” Vincent said as we sat at the sidewalk table in front of the restaurant. “This area is midtown and a very Bohemian area. It traditionally has been a very Thai area and the restaurant market has been overflooded with Thai food. Thai food is a traditionally cheap way of eating, which helps because the area is loaded with college students. Being from a pizza background, I had some great ideas for a concept to reinvent the wheel with this place. I walked in, talked to the owner and told him I was interested in the place and that I would like to either buy him out or we could go in business together. He said ‘No Worries’ because he saw the same potential,” Vincent said.

THE CONCEPT
“We have the café/deli side and the convenience store side,” Vincent says. “I did what I did with Blackbird as far as developing the concept, just added elements of a café to make it so it could be multi-purpose as a deli-like operation and convenience store by day and a café/restaurant late at night. They are two separate businesses. What I have done is convert it from deli-only to a restaurant where people can come in, sit down and eat with a menu on the table or get food for takeaway rather than only having the choice of limited takeaway like they did before.”

Vincent said that he has seen no difficulty in merging a convenience store and restaurant and says the most important thing about running a convenience store is understanding your market. He said that because of the business the convenience store was doing they knew they had students as customers. What they managed to do with the store’s sales was find out what the students bought and wanted. Students want their cut meats, sodas/cold drinks and waters. Students don’t have a big budget to eat on and Hoochie Mamma picked just a few products. Some have been successful and some not, but in time they established what their clientele wanted and went after that market and increased business by 20 percent. Some things students don’t need are expensive deli items…it wouldn’t suit Hoochie Mamma’s market and would require restyling the store to try and obtain a market like that. Vincent says that with the students there, you need to have the salamis and cheeses. He also says the biscuits and chocolates, along with sodas, sell great and you have to ask yourself ‘What can I do to sell more?’ if you want a dual concept like this to work.

Hoochie Mamma has a captive market of about 6,000 to 8,000 students with the University in their backyard, a medical center next door with about 700 people and about 1,000 or so nurses right around the corner. They are offering something no one else is offering in the area in that it is a funky, cheap and convenient place to eat in or take away. Vincent says his three elements of success are cheap food, a funky atmosphere and something to do.

SELLING SLICES
This is Vincent’s first venture into selling slices. “It is the best time and place to try slices because we already have the takeaway and deli side and the smartest thing to do is introduce slices with this type of food,” Vincent says. “We do about six trays a day and there are about 12 slices per tray. The tray is about 55 centimeters by 55 centimeters and it creates about $50 in sales per tray. You can’t get that by selling whole trays or whole pies, but it is really about convenience because it is food ready to go. There is no wait time at all. As the slice business improves and increases we will add more slice space. We generally start about 11:30 or 12 in the morning and keep three to six types out. We keep a cheese pizza, a vegetarian, one with the lot on it and a chicken-based one.

“Pizzas are in a heated area and we can reheat it in about 15 to 30 seconds by popping it in a little toaster if it has been there a little while and has cooled off.

“You have to be careful of what you put on top because you may have to reheat it, so you can’t overstack toppings” he continues. “You also have to be careful with the dough for slices. You can either cook it half-finsished and put it back in the oven and cook it for a minute longer or fully cook it. Partially cooking gives you more time to keep the pizza on display, but it depends on how quick you can sell it. It you have high table turnover, you don’t have to worry about reheating it. Slice sales do good until about three in the afternoon, but lunch around here is out of control. We are doing 350 to 400 people for lunch over the counter.”

FINDING THE RIGHT PLACE
Vincent says there are three factors he looks for in a concept/location; the ability to change to menu to what he does, the length of the lease and knowing the clientele in the area. His customer demographics are across the board…some are families, some have suits and on the other side you have kids with studs and bolts in their faces, but it still a family place. He says there are specific times with certain types come in, but most always it is a good mix. During lunch, Vincent says they have students, business people, and a little of everyone, but at nights, when you insert the alcohol element, it changes a little.

EMPLOYEES
At some point, nearly every pizza shop owner has had someone walk in with blue hair, tattoos, a wallet on a chain and a stud in their nose looking for a job. Generally, you turn them away, but Vincent has a different attitude…and one that seems to work. “When training employees, we allow them to bring out their own personalities,” he says. “We don’t have uniforms because that is not who they are or how they dress on their own. We have uncovered some amazing personalities that help the business by allowing them to be unique and individuals. We do have boundaries and regulations…you can’t come in here wearing a bikini top, but it doesn’t matter about piercings, facial jewelry and stuff like that. I don’t find that letting employees be themselves is a problem for customers or management. Times have changed and people are more accepting of different styles, especially when the employee is happy and smiling and the food is great. I’ll tell you a little story…we had this little Japanese girl who started to work in the Blackbird (see article at www.pmq.com/mag/2004may_june/blackbird.php) for a job. She always looked down and couldn’t speak very good English. Within two months she was so funky with three colors in her hair and the whole lot. Her English improved and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen to watch the flower grow. That is what happens with people and with customers…they get into it. I don’t have to manage my employees because they manage themselves because it is such a fun place to work.”