As a new coronavirus relief package totaling $484 billion—including an additional $321 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)—heads to President Trump’s desk, the James Beard Foundation announced this week that its research shows less than half of restaurant applicants for the PPP have received funding. The foundation surveyed just … More
Coronavirus News
PMQ Live Update: How to Get Your Coronavirus Money with Michael Rasmussen Pt. 1
Michael Rasmussen of HiTechCPA, PMQ’s longtime Accounting For Your Money contributor, has joined PMQ’s Brian Hernandez and CEO/Publisher Steve Green for a series of PMQ Live Update videos focused on the new federal stimulus program and financial resources available now to pizzeria operators during the coronavirus pandemic. In this first … More
Coronavirus News
Corning, NY Pizzeria Gives Free Gift Card to Frontline Workers Every Day
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Atlas Brick Oven Pizzeria, located in Corning, New York, is celebrating local frontline heroes with a daily drawing for free food in the form of $50 gift cards. Atlas announced on April 16 that it would donate a $50 gift card every day for … More
Coronavirus News
LaRosa’s Team Member Relief Fund Tops $300,000 in Three Weeks
LaRosa’s Family Pizzerias, with 65 stores in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, created a Team Member Relief Fund that has grown to more than $300,000 in less than three weeks, the company announced. LaRosa’s nearly 4,000 team members have all been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and related restaurant closures in … More
Coronavirus News
Could This ‘Blueprint for Recovery’ Save the Restaurant Industry?
The National Restaurant Association has sent a proposal to congressional leaders for how the restaurant industry can be saved from total disaster due to the coronavirus pandemic. The association again called on Congress to provide financial relief, seeking $240 billion in aid specific to the restaurant industry for losses suffered … More
Coronavirus News
PMQ Live Update: Exploring Revenue Models During COVID-19 with Joey Karvelas
In this installment of PMQ Live Update, Joey Karvelas of Karvelas Pizza Company in LaGrange, Georgia, tells PMQ’s Brian Hernandez about the new reality created by the coronavirus pandemic. For Karvelas, the pandemic started to feel real when the community was filled with a sense of nervousness after its St. … More
Coronavirus News
PMQ Live Update: John Stetson of Stoner’s Pizza Joint On Communicating Effectively During the Pandemic
In this installment of PMQ Live Update with Brian Hernandez, John Stetson, owner of Stoner’s Pizza Joint franchises in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia, talks about staying vocal, communicating with employees, and helping the community with help from the community during the coronavirus pandemic. With the infrastructure for delivery … More
Coronavirus News
Snappy Tomato Pizza Helps Girl Scouts With Cookie Sales During Quarantine
Snappy Tomato Pizza Company has partnered with the Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness Road and the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio to help sell their Girl Scout Cookies in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown. Snappy Tomato, which has 47 locations in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and New Mexico, will … More
Coronavirus News
Salvatore’s in New York State Uses Range of Smart Marketing Tactics During Pandemic
With nearly 30 locations around New York state, Salvatore’s Old Fashioned Pizzeria has played it smart during the pandemic, using a number of marketing tactics to maintain top-of-mind awareness with customers and a sense of goodwill in the community. For starters, the company has used social media to promote its … More
Coronavirus News
Michigan Pizzeria Plants a Pay-It-Forward Tree
The pay-it-forward concept has taken root—in the form of a tree—at The Cabin in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. While other pizza shops have set up post-it-note walls for customers who want to donate pizzas and other food to those in need during the coronavirus pandemic, The Cabin encourages them to purchase … More
Coronavirus News
The Great American Pizza Party Takes Place Friday, April 17
Americans are encouraged to support their favorite pizza restaurants on Friday, April 17, for The Great American Pizza Party, a national event to support the pizza industry during the COVID-19 crisis. The event offers a chance for pizza lovers to bring back that time-honored tradition of Friday-night pizza at home. The … More
Coronavirus News
SBA Runs Out of Money for Coronavirus Loans
The federal government has disbursed $349 billion in coronavirus loans to small businesses—and now the money is gone. Funding for the Paycheck Protection Program lasted about two weeks, indicating that the country’s small businesses—including restaurants—are in dire straits. According to the New York Times, more than 1.4 million loans had … More