In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert made a bold proposition. Attempting to restore New Orleans—replete with poverty, corruption and racial division—to its original state “doesn’t make sense to me,” Hastert said, adding, “It looks like a lot of that place could … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
Piecasso Pizzeria and Lounge: An Extraordinary Portrait of Pizza Success
Eduardo Rovetto may be the hardest-working ski bum in the pizza business. When he isn’t carving turns down a winding peak or shredding the slopes on a snowboard, Rovetto, 39, runs a single-unit pizzeria in tiny Stowe, Vermont, that has earned a national reputation. Tucked away between the Green Mountains … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
Eco-Friendly Strategy Turns Green into Gold at Earth Bread + Brewery
If you like Ping-Pong, weird science experiments and soothing French dance music, Earth Bread + Brewery (earthbreadbrewery.com) may be the restaurant for you. If you love flatbreads and craft brews, you’re really in luck. And if you also care passionately about the environment, this sprawling, two-story pizzeria/brewpub, located in … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
Bite-Sized Big Apple Pizza Uses a Strong Marketing Mix to Achieve Booming Sales
A lot of single-unit restaurants have a Facebook or Twitter account. But Big Apple Pizza (havelockpizza.com), a pocket-sized pizzeria in Havelock, North Carolina, stands out as a shining example of a mom-and-pop shop that has fully embraced the digital age, combining the best of traditional neighborhood marketing strategies with … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
Nima’s Pizza keeps earning top honors on the national competition circuit.
Jane Mines wasn’t even interested in making pizza when her husband, Rick, bought the already established Nima’s Pizza & More (nimaspizza.com) in Gassville, Arkansas, 11 years ago. But, by 2013, nothing could stand in her way, not even a broken-down car on a Friday night in the middle of nowhere. After … More
Food & Ingredients
Metro Pizza’s John Arena Transforms Breakfast into a Moneymaker With Lulu’s Bread & Breakfast
John Arena, co-owner of Metro Pizza (metropizza.com) in Las Vegas, could hurt you if he wanted to. With 42 years of training in Japanese martial arts, he could take you down with a swift karate chop to the neck or shatter your wrist with a pair of nunchakus. And if … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
A Minnesota pizzaiolo is also an Olympic medalist who's training for another shot at glory
Running a pizza shop doesn’t leave a lot of time for hobbies, but Pete Fenson has found a way to split his time between his passion for pizza and his Olympic dreams. A bronze medalist in curling in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, Fenson spends his evenings with his … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
Slice Pizza & Brew Makes Every Night a Friday Night
Southerners love their black-eyed peas and turnip greens. They’re pretty fond of pizza, too. But a pizza topped with black-eyed peas and turnip greens—well, that dog, as folks down South like to say, won’t hunt. Or so you might assume, until you try the Soul Pie at Slice Pizza & … More
Business & Marketing
Shield's Pizza
In 1940s Detroit, pizza was picking up steam as a favorite food. When a former employee of a local pizzeria brought his recipe to the Polish owners of Shield’s Bar, pies were quickly added to the menu to feed hungry patrons. The bar—opened in 1937—began to serve food in 1946 … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
Rock & Brews Wows the Family Crowd With Pizza, Craft Beers and Classic Rock
As the flamboyant co-founders of Kiss in the 1970s, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, notorious for their Kabuki makeup and R-rated stage antics, wanted to rock and roll all night and party every day. As sober-minded family men and entrepreneurs in 2013, they’ve got somewhat higher aspirations: They aim to … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
Luigi's Apizza
In 1956, Joseph Abate opened up Luigi’s Apizza (luigisapizza.com), named after his father, in North Haven, Connecticut; his oldest son, also named Joseph, was three years old. The business moved in 1960 to North Haven, then operated in East Haven for 35 years, until 2007, when the younger Joseph—who had … More
Pizzerias & Pizzaioli
Fast-casual pioneer James Markham blazes a bold new trail into pizza’s future
From MOD Pizza to Project Pie, the outspoken entrepreneur aims to reinvent the way pizzerias serve their guests.