The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed to rescind restrictions on tip pooling by restaurants that pay the full minimum wage to tipped employees. The Obama administration put restrictions on this practice in 2011. It maintained that tips belong to employees, not restaurant owners, and could not be distributed … More
Study: Meal Kits Could Pose Serious Threat to Full-Service Restaurants
Meal kit delivery could take business—especially higher-income diners—from full-service restaurants in the coming years, according to a new study by research firm Pentallect. Pentallect’s report, titled “Meal Kits: Are They a Real Threat to Foodservice, Retail or Both?” describes the meal-kit sector as a “small, explosive-growth and high-interest food industry … More
Activated Charcoal Adds Flair to Pizza Presentation, But Is It Really Good For You?
Activated charcoal’s on a roll as an additive in pizzas, pastas and even ice cream, but does it really have the health benefits claimed by some? Naples-born pizzaiolo Salvatore Olivella of Olivella, which opened just last year in North Bergen, New Jersey, developed his own recipe for charcoal pizza dough, … More
Study: Seattle’s Minimum Wage Hike Has Not Caused Job Losses in Restaurant Industry
An increase in the minimum wage has not resulted in restaurant job losses in Seattle so far, according to a study by economists at the University of California, Berkeley. But a separate study by researchers at the University of Washington says minimum-wage workers in general have seen their hours cut … More
A Feast For the Eyes: Edible Pizza Bikini Makes a Splash for Villa Italian Kitchen
Selling for a cool $10,000, the Pizza-Kini is made with mozzarella, tomato sauce and meat and veggie toppings.
Little Box Pizza: New Pizza Truck Is On a Mission to Improve Lives
Just when it seemed consumers had seen it all in the Stamford, Connecticut food scene, an innovative, socially conscious, quality-driven pizza truck drove into town in the form of Little Box Pizza. In addition to authentic pizza made with honest ingredients and crafted-to-order, each mobile pizza kitchen is operated by … More
The PMQ staff drops in on Imo’s Pizza, Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza and Parizza, France’s most fabulous pizza show
Imo’s Pizza | St. Louis PMQ editor-in-chief Rick Hynum finally experienced St. Louis-style pizza at the chain that invented it—Imo’s Pizza. In a stopover at the cozy Broadway Street location in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Hynum dug into a pie topped with fresh bell peppers, mushrooms, bacon, sausage and onions. … More
PMQ editors hit four amazing pizzerias in two cities this fall.
Toronto On a trip to Toronto, editor-at-large Liz Barrett and her husband Benjy joined Amadio’s Pizza owner Joe Leroux and his family for dinner at two historic pizzerias. At Toronto’s first pizza shop, Vesuvio Pizzeria & Spaghetti House, they met Ettore Pugliese, who has been working the ovens since he … More
PMQ staffers make a week-long run through Midwest pizza country
AB Mauri – St. Louis, Missouri The PizzaTV crew got a crash course in the chemistry of pizza making during a visit to the headquarters of AB Mauri, the company that produces Fleischmann’s Yeast and other food ingredients. This state-of-the-art facility boasts a 5,000-square-foot bakingHUB and pilot fermentation center, with a … More
PMQ staffers visit Federal Hill Pizza, Amadio’s, Buddy’s, Shield’s and Loui’s
Federal Hill Pizza makes creative use of vaudevillian elements in its decor. Federal Hill Pizza Driving from New York to Boston this summer, PMQ publisher Steve Green remembered an interesting conversation he’d had a few years earlier with a man named Billy Manzo. “He’s a man of taste—literally,” Green … More
The PMQ staff visits Italian Fiesta Pizza, Vito & Nick’s and Bella Bacino’s
Punch-out pizza-box coupons and signs stating the rules are part of the charm at Italian Fiesta. Italian Fiesta Pizza With five locations, this no-frills strip-mall pizza shop is best known as the childhood pizzeria of Michelle Obama (is it mere coincidence that the First Lady and President Obama own … More
The PMQ staff travels the country and the world in search of moneymaking ideas
Pangea Kitchen Evansville, IN Pangea Kitchen has a lot of working parts. Branded “a global soul food market,” the strip-mall location packs in stations with fresh mozzarella and pastas; a deli with meats, cheeses and gourmet goods; an assembly line churning out Neapolitan, Sicilian and fried pies crafted to … More