By Matt Plapp
If you own a pizzeria in 2025 and still don’t realize that marketing is the only way to move the sales needle, you’re running out of time.
I’ve said it for years: The best food doesn’t always win—the best-known food does. You can make the best pizza in your city, have the cleanest kitchen in the county and run the most passionate team in your region, but if you’re not telling that story everywhere, every day, you’ll eventually get passed up by someone who is.
As I’ve hammered through in the past, you must dominate the three key places you can market daily:
- Inside your four walls
- On your website and digital channels
- On social media
If you’re not dominating at least one—and, ideally, all three—you’re not just losing opportunities. You’re handing them to the competition. But there’s an equally important fourth place you must own: your community. And that brings me to Aldo Salazar.
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Why Aldo & Manny Is the Perfect Marketing Multiplier
Last week, I visited Aldo & Manny Pizza & Pasta in Philadelphia, and let me tell you, Aldo has already done the hardest part: He’s built a truly amazing restaurant.
From the moment you pull in, you know you’re somewhere special. The food is phenomenal. The place is spotless. His team is locked in. And you can feel the pride in everything they do. But here’s the kicker: He didn’t stop there.
Most operators stop once they’ve got good food and good service. Aldo? He knows that great marketing is the multiplier. He understands that once you’ve nailed the product and the experience, the next step is to put gas on the fire by owning your story—online, offline, and face to face.
This is where 95% of restaurant owners miss the mark. They build a good business and wait for customers to spread the word. Aldo built a great business and then grabbed the megaphone himself. And he’s doing it right, everywhere.
So if you’re wondering what “good marketing” actually looks like in a real-world, small-town, family-owned pizza shop, this is it. What follows is the “Be Like Aldo Marketing Checklist”—10 simple, powerful and repeatable strategies I saw in action during my visit that every pizzeria can steal and use right now.
1. Own Your Brand Identity Everywhere.
A giant wooden statue of Aldo greets you before you even walk in. It’s fun, it’s bold and it matches his online presence perfectly. If you follow him on social, you know exactly who he is, and it all carries through offline. That’s what great branding looks like.
2. Showcase Your Product With Pride.
Inside, you’re met with a glass display of gorgeous pizzas and a spotless open kitchen behind it. No secrets. No clutter. Just confidence and cleanliness. You don’t need a sign that says “quality” when your kitchen says it for you.
3. Market Your Marketing (Loudly and Proudly).
Loyalty program signage was everywhere: on tables, walls, counters and even in the restroom. There was also a sign promoting his Pay It Forward program, where customers could prepay meals for those in need. It’s real community-driven marketing, not just feel-good fluff.
4. Keep Your Community On the Wall (and Up to Date).
Most restaurants have old, dusty team photos from 1993. Not Aldo. His Little League pics are current, clean and clearly cared for. It says, “We’re part of this community right now, not just back then.”
5. Build a Team That Smiles While They Work.
His staff was dialed in—heads down, working hard, but always smiling. That culture comes from the top down. You can’t fake it. You have to live it.
6. Get the Suck Out of the Way.
When I started filming on my phone, Aldo lit up—confident, charismatic, completely in his element. I asked him how he got so good at video, and he said, “Matt, you said in your podcast to start filming now so you can ‘get the suck out of the way.’ I did that last year.” That’s elite ownership mentality.
7. Turn Yourself Into a Local Legend (Literally).
Aldo created a small wooden statue of himself, “Mini Aldo,” and hides it in local businesses for scavenger hunts. Find it, and you’ll win free pizza. It’s fun. It’s smart. It gets other businesses involved. It’s the kind of thing people actually talk about.
8. Brand Your Touchpoints and Know Your People.
Aldo proudly showed me his fridge and said, “I know you’ll like this, Matt.” Inside? Custom-branded root beer. I love that he had different drink options, like niche sodas, but you know I really loved the branding! But more importantly than that, how about his hospitality? Aldo remembered I was a big root beer fan. That’s personalized hospitality at its finest.
9. Bridge the Gap Between In-Store and Online.
From pizza boxes to bathrooms, Aldo had QR codes everywhere, leading people to his online offers, loyalty program, and contests. He’s not hoping customers stay connected; he’s guiding them. And his CTAs were strong and a part of the operation’s language.
10. Add a Dash of Fun (Right at the Counter).
He had a contest front and center at the counter. Try to balance a quarter on a lemon in water, win the pot. We all tried it. We all laughed. It turned a simple checkout moment into a memorable experience.
Final Thought: Aldo Isn’t Lucky. He’s Intentional.
When I left Aldo & Manny’s, I didn’t just leave full; I left fired up. Aldo takes immense pride in his restaurant, his brand, his community and, most importantly, his professional development. His language mirrors the marketing principles I teach—not because he memorized them, but because he lives them. He’s not just a student of the game; he’s playing to win. And it shows.
Doug, the COO of America’s Best Restaurants, always says our ABR programs can be like pouring gas on a match or a bonfire.
Aldo? He’s already a bonfire. Be like Aldo.
