Some of the most interesting and useful stories find their way to PMQ from our vendors who are out in the pizza shops working with owners/operators on a daily basis. Richard Ferrara, VP of Marsal & Sons, gave us the tip on this amazing pizzeria called Z Pizza and introduced … More
Business & Marketing
Marketing magic
This economic pullback is the first one where pizza sales fell rather than increased. Traditional wisdom offers that in recessions, consumers eat more pizza. Here are some thoughts and reasons why we saw different results during this business cycle and what it might mean for our future. Pizza remains America’s … More
Business & Marketing
An appetizing update
Customers don’t order food items individually as in any other type of restaurant. You can only add so many additional toppings to your menu. The answer to this dilemma—add appetizers to your menu. An average ticket can jump from just a large pizza and a possible bottle of soda to … More
From the Editor
Letter from the publisher
Will you be able to say you were there? I’ll never forget the first copy of Pizza Marketing Quarterly and how exciting it was to see it in print. That was October of 1997. Feedback was coming in, and it felt so satisfying to know that our brand-new mom-and-pop pizza … More
Business & Marketing
Exclusive! university marketing 401
For the past year, we’ve brought you ideas on how to market to college students in our series on university marketing. During this time we’ve been working with universities to ask students themselves why they buy pizza. There hasn’t been a study done on this group to date, so read … More
Business & Marketing
Madison's marketing mania
What would you do if you opened four new stores in seven months? Chuck Darrah and his wife Melissa, owners of Madison’s Pizzeria in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were faced with just that question. Madison’s Pizzeria, open since 2000, currently has five stores open and running. Through a variety of marketing, Chuck … More
Business & Marketing
On the wing with the Blackbird Café
What do you get when you combine a former professional tennis player, Darling Harbour, a neo-retro restaurant, colorful employees and great food? What you get is the extremely successful Blackbird Café. As senior editor of PMQ Magazines, I have had the privilege of visiting pizzerias everywhere from Milan and Venice, … More
Business & Marketing
The ice dream: ice cream and gelato
America’s favorite dessert (ice cream of course) draws crowds—and their money—every year, regardless of outside temperatures, diets and other dessert alternatives. Almost everyone enjoys a scoop of ice cream every once in a while. In fact, we all love ice cream so much that in the year 2002, the United … More
From the Editor
Letter from the publisher
U.S. PIZZA TEAM WINS GOLD Not since 2001, when Tony Gemignani won a world championship for the fifth time, has the U.S. Pizza Team been able to win a gold medal. Well, we can now proudly announce another world champion. This time is was Michael Shepherd running to the stage … More
Business & Marketing
Answer this question and watch customers line up
There is only one question your potential prospects want answered before they risk their money with you: “Why should I do business with you instead of your competition?” Basically, they want to know: “What’s in it for me?” This is especially true if you have a new business and you … More
From the Editor
Cheese price volatility and price expectations
Cheese prices were undoubtedly volatile during 2003 and thus far in 2004, but that's not necessarily a surprising development, for a couple of reasons. First, cheese prices have shown extreme volatility almost every year since 1996. Simply put, the odds greatly favor volatile rather than flat or relatively flat prices. … More
Business & Marketing
Signs, signs, everywhere a sign. . .
In many cases, your first impression with people is your sign, but signage includes much more than that lighted thing on a pole out beside the road or on top of your building. The definition of sign is not only a public notice bearing information or advertising, it is also … More