PMQ’s first Pizza Power Forum takes place September 4-5 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta. It’s the only event that focuses solely on independent pizzeria operators and emerging pizza chains. A total of 16 veteran pizzeria operators and rising stars of the industry will share their expertise and perspectives on igniting growth, making superior pizza and increasing sales and profits. Click here to learn more about the Pizza Power Forum and register here today!
“It’s a woman’s world,” according to Katy Perry, “and you’re lucky to be living in it.” Amen to that. We might add that the pizza industry is a woman’s world, too, and always has been, although it’s usually the husbands, sons, grandsons and nephews who get all the credit.
At least, that’s how it used to be. Not anymore. Today, women are the savvy chefs and entrepreneurs behind some of the country’s most acclaimed pizza shops. They’re the innovators who are driving positive change and growth, both as hometown independents and as executives steering the major pizza chains. And they’re the charismatic, forward-thinking personalities who step up and lead, push forward and blaze new trails in a business that can be slow to evolve with changing times.
In short, they’re power players guiding the pizza industry into the future.
We’re excited to spotlight five of these female leaders at PMQ’s Pizza Power Forum, taking place September 4-5 in Atlanta. Some of them you’ve heard of, others might be unknown to you. But we chose them carefully, based on their pizza skills, their visionary mindsets and their leadership qualities. Here’s a closer look:
Speaker: Sofia Arango, Atlanta Pizza Truck and Latinos en Pizza
Session topic: “Marketing Masters: Making Your Brand Stand Out in a Crowded Field”
Arango is the co-owner of Atlanta Pizza Truck, the first food truck ever certified by the AVPN, and the founder of Latinos en Pizza, a nonprofit that showcases and gives voice to the hardworking Latinos and Hispanics who comprise more than 25% of the U.S. restaurant labor force. A changemaker with a big heart for underserved communities, Arango is also a social media and marketing dynamo who brings humor, wit, savvy and authenticity—and just the right amount of polish—to every post.
Speaker: Erica Barrett, Dough Boy Pizza
Session topic: “Leveraging Technology to Build the Pizzeria of the Future”
Whatever Barrett wants, she goes after it. An appearance on Shark Tank in 2014 helped hone her entrepreneurial skills and scored a $100,000 equity deal with Barbara Corcoran for Barrett’s first company, Southern Culture Artisan Foods. On CNBC’s The Profit, she also made a big impression on host Marcus Lemonis, who invested $75,000 in the business in exchange for equity. But the pizza industry knows Barrett for Dough Boy Pizza, an emerging Deep South brand that’s all about speed and efficiency, where customers place their orders via kiosks and the entire restaurant is run on digital screens that can be updated in real time. It’s as “smart” as restaurants can get without actual robots.
Speaker: Alexandra Castro, Pizza With Ale
Session topics: “Perfecting Your Dough: Tips and Tricks” and “Pizza and Beyond: Developing a Menu That Really Performs”
At 30 years old, Alexandra Castro of Pizza With Ale is one of the industry’s rising pizza stars, but she’s no newbie. She started her own restaurant, called Pizzapolis, in her native Colombia when she was just 23. Later she moved to New York, where she learned under famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten at The Inn at Pound Ridge, then served as head chef of a renowned Montreal pizzeria called Magpie. But teaching pizza to others is what she loves most, and this AVPN-certified pizzaiola and professional instructor has learned it from the best, including Massimiliano Saieva and Domenico Tolomeo in New York and Enrico Baffoni, founder of the Escuela Pizzaiolo Baffoni in Bogatá.
Speaker: Louise Joseph, Dough Girls Pizza
Session topic: “Perfecting Your Dough: Tips and Tricks”
As the pizzaiola behind Dough Girls Pizza in Greenwich, Connecticut, Joseph started her award-winning pizza truck in 2015, before pizza trucks were cool, and remains booked year-round to this day. Prior to that, she attended Johnson & Wales University, owned restaurants in Fairfield County, and served as a private chef for families in Greenwich and Weston. For Dough Girls, she spent three years tinkering with her dough recipe until she got it perfect—and she mixes it entirely by hand to make it that much better. No machines for her. Dough Girls Pizza, she says, “is all about the dough because we are the dough.”
Speaker: Janet Zapata, 550 Pizzeria
Session Topic: “Secrets of a 50 Top Pizza Restaurant”
Pizza fans in Laredo, Texas, fell madly for the personable, down-to-earth Zapata when she was still a cashier at Laredo Pizza Factory. The co-owner saw her innate talent, mentored her, and sold his half of the business to her when he moved out of state. But Zapata soon realized she didn’t need a partner. The faith-driven entrepreneur launched 550 Pizzeria on her own, earning numerous awards for her pizza and the fawning devotion of the community—as well as the employees who see her as their ever-supportive hero. The icing on the cake: 50 Top Pizza named 550 Pizzeria to its list of 40 “Excellent Pizzerias” in the U.S. for 2024, praising its “excellent service, always with a smile.” 50 Top Pizza noted, “[Zapata’s] love and passion for the world of leavened dough has led to her critical acclaim, many awards, and, most importantly, the approval of the public.”
