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Atomica Pizza in Kingston, Ontario has carved a niche for itself by offering traditional Neapolitan cuisine served in a contemporary, upbeat space. The mix of old style Italian pizza served amid modern surroundings seems to work for this Canadian eatery. The modern vibe is further exemplified by music. Upbeat house or lounge music is always playing throughout the store.
“It’s a contemporary room with clean lines and a lot of the furnishings and fixtures are imported from Italy,” says Tim Pater, president of the company. “You feel like you’re stepping off into a room in Rome or Milan.”
The modern environment is juxtaposed nicely with the Old World flavors.
“We use high quality Italian ingredients like San Marsano tomatoes from Naples, for instance,” Tim continues. “All of our meats and cheeses are imported. All of this is on a traditional thin crust. We make our dough fresh every day right here with live yeast and spring water. We hand stretch each pizza to order. These are little things that add up to make our pies distinctive. Customers respond to that.”
One Store Serves All
Tim says Atomica gets deliveries twice a day from a main supplier, which cuts down on the need to freeze food, and helps maintain freshness. Daily produce deliveries are also received and a local Italian food shop supplies some of the harder to find tastes. For example, the signature pizza, the Atomica, is topped with, among other authentic Italian flavors, ‘la bomba’ spicy tomatoes and Calabrese salami. It’s a ten-inch pizza (as are all of Atomica’s pizzas) and sells for $14.95. Other Italian ingredients that Tim says distinguish Atomica’s offerings include, Tuscan ham, Gorgonzola and goat cheese, lavender and truffle oil. The most expensive pizza is the Friutti di Mare which sells for $16.95 and features sun dried tomato cream, baby shrimp, bay scallops and argula.
In addition to pizza, Atomica is known for its Panni sandwiches and its crowd-pleasing pasta dishes which include an authentic Ravioli della Zuccha for $13.95. This delicacy is garnished with pumpkin ravoli, brown butter sage cream, Italian bacon and pumpkin seeds. To complement such true Italian fare, Atomica operates a full bar including a regional Italian wine list, martinis and frozen drinks as well as Italian coffee and cappuccino.
“It’s very much like an Italian bar and eatery,” Tim declares. He and his partner Bob Joy, have been in the food business all their lives from dishwashing to catering to opening a French bistro, Le Chien Noir. When the location next door to the bistro became available, Tim responded like the savvy businessman that he is: He opted to open something completely different from a French bistro.
“I looked around our market and didn’t see anybody doing authentic Italian pizza,” he recalls. “Everything was the standard big chain stuff. We thought there was room for this, and so far it looks like we made the right call.”
For now, Atomica has just the single location in Kingston where it employs a staff of fifteen. Currently the store doesn’t offer delivery. Tim says the operation’s food costs are 30 percent and labor costs are 36 percent.
“That labor cost is a little higher than we’d like it to be and we’re keeping an eye on that. We operate an upstairs kitchen and a downstairs kitchen and that tends to drive labor costs up a little bit.” Also driving labor costs are incentives such as health care. In order to retain good employees, Atomica offers health care and dental packages to full-time employees who have been with the company for over six months.
“We pay for our managers plan and with the other employees, we split the cost,” Tim says.
Students in Season
Queens University in Kingston is located just blocks away from Atomica but Tim reports his store attracts a broad range of clientele.
“We get plenty of student traffic, no question about that, but we also get older people and families. You have to have a good mix of customers I think to be successful rather than keying on one certain segment of the market.”
Many operators in Canada believe it’s a good idea to offer delivery, especially during the country’s long winters when customers are more apt to stay inside. Tim notes that January and February are generally slow months for the pizza industry in Canada except for his location in Kingston.
“We’re a little slower in January and February, but this is where the university comes in as a plus for us. Unlike some other locations in this country, winters are good for us because the students are here,” he points out. “We actually experience a lull in the spring when the students leave but then the summer tourist season comes along to pick up that slack.”
Tim points out another plus for Atomica in the summer months is the large outdoor deck out in front of his store.
“That adds 20 seats for us in the summer,” he says.
Tourism in the summer is a great driver of sales for Atomica. For history buffs, the town is a gold mine of places to see and visit, as Kingston was the original capital of Canada.
“There’s a big fort people can visit as well as some of the older, historic buildings that are still intact,” Tim points out. “We have a nice waterfront that brings in people. We have a very scenic area known as the Thousand Islands. Our location is helpful because we’re right down the street from a big farmer’s market that’s extremely popular.”
Even though a business may have a solid customer base, advertising and marketing are still important aspects of any operation. The trick, of course, is to discover what kind of advertising works best for a particular market. Flexibility is key. Many pizzerias report that radio advertising is not an effective use of ad dollars but Tim says Atomica has found the opposite to be true.
“Radio spots have been good for us. There are also newspaper entertainment guides that are placed in all hotel rooms so we purchase print advertising in those guides. I would say advertising is probably about five percent of our budget.”
A Buck across the Board
As with any business, occasionally Atomica has been forced to raise menu prices. Like so many operators, Tim has found this to be just another aspect –albeit an uncomfortable one- of doing business in a sometimes volatile marketplace.
“We’ve raised prices but nothing massive,” he says. “Last year we raised everything one dollar across the board but that was the first hike since we opened, so that’s not so bad.”
And what was his customers’ reaction to the raised prices?
“There was actually no reaction whatsoever,” he recalls. “Our prices are pretty reasonable to begin with, and our food is of a high quality. We’ve never had a single customer tell us our food was over-priced.”
Down the Road
Every pizzeria owner is aware how important continuity is, but at the same time, positive change is very much a part of any restaurant’s overall dynamic. While it’s not necessary to constantly re-invent oneself, the savvy operator knows the benefits of keeping a sharp eye out for that minor tweak that can keep a business fresh and new in the eyes of its customers. Tim says there are no plans to open a second Atomica – at least not yet - but he and his partner are always looking for new ways to engage their clientele.
“If we decide to make some changes, we’re looking at our menu,” Tim says. “We’re tossing around the idea of gearing the menu to tapas and small plate dishes. We’re thinking we may try to emphasize our wine bar and bring in tapas to add that as a new segment to what we’re already doing.”
Tim says another idea is to break down Atomica’s antipasto plates into smaller portions of marinated meats and cheeses.
“This would give us a plate to offer with lower prices but we would also increase our wine by the glass and try to boost our liquor sales. We feel like it would give us a new dimension.”
A new dimension is what Atomica strives for in the old city of Kingston, Ontario. By mixing the two worlds – cutting-edge house music and Old World flavors, Atomica has come up with a formula as fresh as their dough.