New York City was under siege ... by pizzeria owners. Not the everyday inhabitants of the Big Apple, but from all across the globe as PMQ's New York Pizza Show, in its second year at the Jacob Javits Center, took over the city on the 100th anniversary of pizza in the U.S. New products, techniques and ideas, some focused on making dough in more ways than one, swirled around the aisles. "The thing that most amazed me was the amount of information that my fellow pizzaiolo and pizzeria owners were willing to share with each other. With few exceptions, the seminars were packed with useful and POWERFUL tips from people who have not only 'been there and done that,' but have 'been there and made a great living doing that,'" Joe D'Amico of D'Amico's in Litchfield, Connecticut, said.
Pizza itself was the star of this show, as the entire industry commemorated the 100th year since the first pie was made at New York's Lombardi's Pizza. It was truly a landmark occasion for the pizza industry. As John Brescio, owner of Lombardi's, the oldest and first pizzeria in America, cut the anniversary cake at the party, he said, "This is not just for Lombardi's, it's for everyone in the pizza business."
In all, over 1,700 pizza and restaurant professionals attended the two-day run. Exhibitors from every facet of the pizza restaurant industry were on hand, from dough suppliers, oven makers, pastry specialists to point of sale marketers and more, all showed their newest and best. Peter Reinhart, author of American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza, said "The New York Pizza Show brings together people from so many facets of the industry that it quickly becomes apparent that there is something of value for everyone. The addition this year of workshops devoted to future thinking and broader issues, such as social responsibility of pizza operators to their customers and to the larger community, were a good example of the evolution of this event and how it can work on many levels at the same time."
The PMQ show received massive national media coverage. There were over 275 separate stories in 122-plus markets, according to a report by VMS, an independent monitoring service. This show generated national attention for the industry as members of the U.S. Pizza Team and pizza Chef Santo Bruno appeared on The Martha Stewart Show. Bruno also appeared in The New York Post with his edible brainchild: pizza on a stick.
Ten-year-old Josh Bailey appeared on Good Morning America showcasing his acrobatic pizza twirling skills and the U.S. Pizza Team demonstrated acrobatic routines on Cold Pizza, ESPN2's national morning show, and made an appearance with the Italian team on the CBS Early Show.
Christine Pappas, a casting agent for ABC Television's Wife Swap, was on hand recruiting for the primetime show. She found 20 potential families for the reality television series in the first four hours. ABC wasn't the only one on hand looking for camera-ready talent. Producers of the upcoming film Pizza King came looking for extras and stunt doubles who can toss a pie. Even Martha Stewart got into the fun, tossing pizza on her national daytime television show and also spoke about it the following week at her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
A new international pizza champion was crowned as, for the second consecutive year, the Aussies won the America's Plate. John Lanzafame of Hugo's Pizza Bar in Sydney, successfully defended their title against all challengers and retained the America's Plate – the pizza industry's equivalent of the Stanley Cup. The America's Plate competition pitted rivals from Australia, Canada, Italy, France, New Zealand, and the U.S. against each other in an effort to create the world's finest pizza.
The U.S. Pizza Team held open tryouts and "pizzathletes" from across the country competed for the right to earn a spot on the team. James "Jef" Fraley of Ingleside Village Pizza in Macon, Georgia, won the dough stretching competition by throwing the largest pie, while Rafael Ortiz of Stefano's Pizza in Wilton, Connecticut, took home the top prize for style in freestyle dough tossing. Roger McColly of Domino's in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, earned a place on the team for his ability to make a pizza the fastest out of several competitors.
Jeff Doyle of Revention POS, Houston, said, "It's a no brainer: we exhibited at both New York shows and are definitely returning to PMQ's New York Pizza Show. We had three times the number of qualified leads with a 30 percent closing ratio."
Attendee Vincent Perniola said, "PMQ's New York Pizza Show is not only fun, it's PMQ brought to life. All year long we read about the latest developments in the pizza industry, but at PMQ's New York Pizza Show, you actually get to see them and even taste them. It's the perfect opportunity to ask questions, helping us better understand what products may be right for us."
If you missed this year's show, don't make the same mistake twice. Start planning for PMQ's 2006 New York Pizza Show. The show will take place on November 6-7, 2006 once again at the Jacob Javits Center.
– PMQ –
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