By Alexandra Mortati | Photos courtesy of Gabby Rodriguez
Growing up in her parents’ pizzeria, Pizza Scene in Miami Lakes, Florida, Gabby Rodriguez wasn’t always sure that she’d end up in the business, too. “I saw myself in pizza because it was something my dad always envisioned,” she says. “He envisioned having three stores, one for each of his kids. But I saw myself [working] with kids, as a teacher or special needs teacher. As I got older, I grew to love pizza and not just the pizza aspect but the business side, too, and the potential to turn something like this into an empire.”
Rodriguez, the youngest of three, still works alongside her family, but it’s not always easy. “I’ve experienced the really hard moments where I want to throw in the towel and give up, and I’ve experienced those moments where we win together,” she says. “I have shared with our employees that they are my family as well even if they aren’t blood-related. We built this very family-oriented business. These kids—the youngest can be 16 or 17 years old—I see them as my younger brothers or sisters. We win together, we lose together. We work together as a team, and something [that’s important] to me is making sure everyone realizes that.”
She’s also proud of what her father has created with Pizza Scene. “My dad is a very smart businessman. He’s been in the pizza industry since he was 17. He started in Domino’s as a driver, then became a pizza maker, and then worked his way up to being a regional manager for Papa John’s….I’ve learned a lot from my dad. I take pride in the success of something my dad started from the beginning. He started this completely on his own, and now we get to see it succeed. Our customers are locals, so I have people coming in every day saying, ‘I used to come here as a kid.’ It’s a feeling that tickles your heartstrings. I appreciate all the positive feedback I hear from the community about what my dad has built. I love seeing how something so simple like pizza can bring people together.”
Becoming the Pizza Boss
Growing up in Pizza Scene meant Rodriguez learned to work every position. “Younger me would say my favorite job was cashier,” she said. “Younger me would be, like, ‘I don’t want to be making pizza,’ because I saw it as, ‘Why am I making this?’ Because when you’re not used to seeing women make pizza, it seems weird. Now, I would say, ‘I love making pizza. I love everything about it.’”
Her family, in fact, calls her the Pizza Boss. “My mom has names for all of us. My sister is the Pizza Princess, my dad is the Pizza King, my brother is the Pizza Prince, and I am the Pizza Boss. I take charge, and I’m very confident in what I do. I’m not seeing women in pizza as much as I see men, and our kitchen is open, so people see everything. And you’ll see people look at me like, ‘Wow, she’s the one making it.’ Not having that representation made me want to be that representation.”
Rodriguez started out as a cashier, “but ended up going wherever I was needed,” she recalled. “It didn’t matter if I was washing dishes, taking deliveries, scrubbing the floor…The hardest thing was learning how to do it from someone like my dad, who has been in the industry for so long. He’d show me how it was done, but he wasn’t like a teacher in that aspect. It’s easy for him because he’s always done it, but he wouldn’t know how to explain it to me.”
For Rodriguez, it’s a different story. She has brought her love of teaching into the family pizza business. “One of the employees we have here is now 19 but started at 17,” she said. “I taught him how to do everything. In that aspect, I was living my teacher fantasy out. I was able to show him what I’ve learned over the years.”
Leaving (and Returning to) the Family Business
During the pandemic of 2020, Rodriguez decided to find out if education really was the career for her and took a new job in Orlando. “I wanted to try something new since I’d been doing [pizza] my whole life, so I became a teacher’s assistant, and I was the happiest I’ve ever been,” she said. “I came back because my parents were struggling a lot, and the business wasn’t thriving. I had always told them I’d come back to help if they needed it. Coming back gave me a different outlook—I found a new love for it.”
In the end, that short-lived job “was actually the one thing that helped me realize 100% that pizza is something I want to do,” she recalled.
Rodriguez’s advice for others may at first sound unconventional. “Sometimes you have to leave something behind to realize it’s what you want,” she noted. “The grass is not always greener on the other side. Eventually, you’ll figure it out and know 100%, but you might have to walk away first. Leaving the family business, I had the comfort of knowing it was something I could always go back to. Leaving that door open gave me the courage to come back, and it felt like I had never left.”
‘[Pizza] Brings Me Back to Little Me’
Pizza Scene specializes in New York pies, but Rodriguez and her family like to try other styles. “I love New York style, but my favorite is Sicilian,” she said. “It’s funny because we just put them on our menu. My dad wanted to try Sicilian years ago, but me and my siblings were not on board with it. It’s a different process to do the dough, and he didn’t want to be the only one doing it. We did a lot of test runs back then, and it never came through, but now we finally have it down pat.
“Everyone has to be on the same page when it comes to stuff like that. Now all of us are constantly trying to think of different concoctions to put on our Sicilian. We just made a burger pizza that tastes like a burger. It’s exciting! We do a lot of Slice of the Days. We do test them, where we get the customers’ feedback to see what works and what doesn’t. We’re constantly doing new pizzas and constantly eating over here!”
Rodriguez said she could never get sick of pizza. “It’s something I’ve been around my whole life. The nostalgia of it—I remember when my dad was working and I’d visit him at work. I remember coming when I was younger. One of my fond memories is sitting down in our restaurant with my dad, and it was my first time eating lasagna. I remember it like it was yesterday. When I eat pizza, it brings me back to little me.”
But her perspective has shifted as she has matured. “In high school, I would eat pizza all the time. Everyone knew that if you came to my house, you’d get pizza. I was a little embarrassed [about] having a pizza business because everyone knew about it, and they would come with questions, and I didn’t like the attention that came with it. Now I’m proud of it.”
Rodriguez would like to run Pizza Scene one day. “I see myself taking over completely when my dad is willing to let go of the reins,” she said. “He’s the type he is because he loves the business, but I don’t think I can ever see my dad fully retiring, to be honest. My sister doesn’t currently work here, but I hope she will come back. I think she is doing what I did—taking a step away to realize, ‘Yep, this is what I want to do.’ I think my vision is still to one day run this with my sister. We could be the front-of-house and face of everything, and my brother is like my dad; he could run the back end.”
“My sister and I work very well together—it’s very effortless,” she went on. “When we are together, we have our own lanes, and she knows what I do, and I know what she does. We make sure we stay in our lanes, but, at the end of the day, we know any decision is both ours. Equally, we have that same respect for one another and include each other. Me and my sister were never at the point we’re at now; before, it was tough, and we’d bump heads a lot, but I think growing up and each of us realizing at the end of the day we are adults and our own people really helped us at work and in our personal lives.”
Gabby Rodriguez is dedicated and resilient, with aspirations to build Pizza Scene into an empire. She values teamwork and considers employees part of her extended family. She proudly embraces her role, taking inspiration from her father and aims to represent women and show them that they, too, can do this. She’s enthusiastic and embraces innovation and family legacy. Next time you’re in Miami Lakes, reach out to Gabby, grab a slice and talk about all things perspective, business, pizza, and representation!
Alexandra Mortati is the marketing director for Orlando Foods and founder of Women In Pizza, a not-for-profit organization that empowers women in the pizza industry to share their stories, display their talents, inspire innovations, and connect with one another and the world. This article originally appeared on the Instagram account for Women In Pizza. Click here to learn more about the organization.
