It's Time to Sign Up NOW for the Pizza Power Forum and Start Building Your Dream Pizzeria

With less than a month to go, now is the time to register for PMQ’s Pizza Power Forum, September 4-5 in Atlanta, and get a year’s worth of moneymaking ideas in just two days.

Click here to learn more and register today!

What are your pizzeria’s pain points? What’s absolutely driving you up the wall? Underperforming employees who just don’t seem to buy into your mission? No real plan for social media? Are you stumped when it comes to opening store no. 2? Are you struggling with your dough? Is your pizza good, but not great…or great but still not good enough for your standards?

When it came time to choose the speakers for PMQ’s inaugural Pizza Power Forum—taking place September 4 and 5 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta—putting the roster together was a pleasure for all of us at PMQ. We looked for industry innovators, rising stars and emerging chain operators who dealt with all of the pain points listed above and came out on top. Whatever you’re going through, whatever’s ailing your business, these speakers have already experienced it and want to help you power forward to greater success.

The hard part was narrowing the session topics down to eight. Our goal was to set an agenda built around one goal: to address those common pain points so you can start building the pizza company of your dreams. Not just a restaurant that serves delicious pizza, not just a pizzeria that turns a profit, but a pizza business that can run itself, whether you’re there or not. A name brand with long legs, one that can grow and thrive anywhere, in any town or city, for decades to come.

For more than 25 years, PMQ has been the bible of the independent pizza industry. Now we’re excited to gather our readers together under one roof to brainstorm, swap trade secrets and success stories, and teach and learn from each other. Just think about it:

Spend two days at the Pizza Power Forum, and you’ll go home with a year’s worth of moneymaking ideas.
You will meet and network with some of the savviest independent pizzeria operators, rising and established culinary superstars, and emerging chain leaders in the business.
You will find answers to the problems that keep you up at night. Whatever those might be, many at this event have already encountered and solved them.
You will enjoy full access to the QSR Evolution Conference and NextGen Restaurant Summit, hosted respectively by PMQ’s sister brands, QSR Magazine and FSR Magazine.
You’ll go home feeling inspired, energized and emboldened to take your pizzeria to the next level.

Read on to learn more about the Pizza Power Forum, session topics and speakers. Your all-access pass covers every panel discussion and fireside chat, plus nightly events, breakfast and lunch for both days, and keynote presentations. It will be the best $149 you’ve ever spent, and we can’t wait to meet you there!

The Pizza Power Forum

September 4-5
Location: Atlanta Marriott Marquis,
265 Peachtree Center Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA

Conference Agenda: Fireside Chats

Topic: Culture Is King: Attracting and Retaining Employees by Being Cooler Than the Competition

Speaker: Alex Koons, founder/owner, Hot Tongue Pizza, and co-owner, Purgatory Pizza

By capitalizing on staff members’ unique talents and treating them as valued contributors, you’ll build a team that truly buys into your mission, shows up on time every day and is happy to go the extra mile. In this session, the operations/marketing rock star behind L.A.’s Hot Tongue Pizza and host of the popular Pie.2.Pie podcast will show you how he has built a company culture that’s decidedly cooler, more authentic, more personally fulfilling and more attractive to younger employees. But, as he explains, the hard work that goes into it isn’t quite so cool!

Topic: Robots! The Present and Future of Automation in the Pizza Industry

Speaker: Andrew Simmons, owner/master franchisor, Mamma Ramona’s/Pizza Roboto

Pizza making robots. Automated dough prep. AI-driven online ordering. There’s a slew of tech in the pizza space that can transform your business. Andrew Simmons has tested many of these tools—plus a pizza subscription service and other innovations—to sell more pizza, improve efficiency, cut costs and make better use of labor. He has had his share of successes and setbacks and will share his story, including the ups and the downs, to help other operators navigate the future of the pizza industry.

Topic: Building a Business That Works For You (Rather Than the Other Way Around)

Speaker: Peyton Smith, owner, Mission Pizza Napoletana

The adage “Work smarter, not harder” applies to you, the pizzeria owner, too. Let’s assume your restaurant is a success, and your systems and processes are in place. Now it’s time to revisit your priorities. Do you want a full, rewarding life outside the kitchen? Do you want to spend more time with your family and pursue other passions? Peyton Smith, owner of Mission Pizza Napoletana, shares how he has created a work/life balance that leads to both profits and pleasure and prevents burnout for himself and his employees.

Conference Agenda: Panel Sessions

Topic: Scaling With Integrity: How to Maintain Your Brand’s Standards During Growth

Speakers:

Michael LaMarca, owner/CEO, Master Pizza
Shahpour Nejad, founder/president/CEO, Pizza Guys
Brandon Hunt, co-founder, Via 313
Khanh Nguyen, founder/CEO, Zalat Pizza

It’s a common worry for operators adding new stores: How do you ensure consistency without diluting what originally made your pizza brand great? As a pizza company scales from one unit to two or more locations, maintaining that high level of standards requires long-term planning, strategic execution and hawk-like oversight. Our experts will teach you how to make that daunting task simpler.

Topic: Pizza and Beyond: Developing a Menu That Really Performs

Speakers:

Alexandra Castro, AVPN-certified chef/instructor/caterer, Pizza With Ale
Zane Hunt, co-founder, Via 313
Alex Koons, founder/owner, Hot Tongue Pizza, and co-owner, Purgatory Pizza
Khanh Nguyen, founder/CEO, Zalat Pizza

Is your menu really doing its job? With some thoughtful tweaks, you can boost its profit making potential in no time at all. In this session, you’ll discover the secrets to creating top-selling signature items with surefire broad appeal. At the same time, you’ll learn how to attract the intensely loyal vegetarian/vegan crowd as well as guests with specific dietary needs, who often determine where an entire family or group will dine out.

Topic: Perfecting Your Dough: Tips and Tricks

Speakers:

Alessio Lacco, co-owner, Atlanta Pizza Truck, and director, AVPN School Atlanta
Alexandra Castro, chef, caterer and private instructor, Pizza With Ale
Wilhelm Rodriguez, Master instructor and founder/owner, Papa’s Pizza
Joey Karvelas, founder/owner, Karvelas Pizza Company
Louise Joseph, owner/operator, Dough Girls Pizza

As a pizza maker, it all starts with your dough. Understanding dough management and performance is such an essential task, such an ongoing learning experience, that we’ve put together a panel of experts just for this topic. Because no matter how well your dough is performing, there are ways it can be improved. Don’t miss this session on the dos and don’ts of dough!

Topic: Leveraging Technology to Build the Pizzeria of the Future

Speakers:

Erica Barrett, founder/owner, Dough Boy Pizza
Bruce Hershey, founder/owner, Piper’s Scratch Pizza Shop
Alessio Lacco, co-owner, Atlanta Pizza Truck, and director, AVPN School Atlanta

There’s a high-tech solution to nearly every problem a pizza restaurateur faces today, from making pies faster, controlling costs and scheduling work shifts to streamlining the ordering process, building repeat business, even selling pizza in nontraditional locations. It’s a lot to keep up with, and the changes keep coming fast. In this panel discussion, innovative operators share the lessons they’ve learned, the tools and technologies they’re using, and how to master them all to sell more pizza.

Sofia Arango of Atlanta Pizza Truck and Latinos en Pizza

Topic: Marketing Masters: Making Your Brand Stand Out in a Crowded Field

Speakers:

Alex Koons, founder/owner, Hot Tongue Pizza, and co-owner, Purgatory Pizza
Sofia Arango, founder, Latinos En Pizza, and co-owner, Atlanta Pizza Truck
Bruce Hershey, founder/owner, Piper’s Scratch Pizza Shop

So many pizzeria operators get into the business simply because they love making pizza. Marketing their restaurant is another challenge entirely—one that’s easy to overlook until they’re faced with a half-full dining room day after day. Successful pizzeria marketing starts with maintaining a strong presence across all digital platforms while creating a brand with authenticity, solid values and a distinctive personality. From social media and SMS outreach to establishing your pizzeria as a community partner that truly cares, our experienced operators will show you how they do it—and how you can do it, too.

Topic: Secrets of a 50 Top Pizza Restaurant

Speakers:

Peyton Smith, owner, Mission Pizza Napoletana
Juan G. Perez, executive chef, Posto
Janet Zapata, owner, 550 Pizzeria

For restaurateurs, making the annual 50 Top Pizza guide to the world’s best pizzerias is like rocket fuel for their business, leading to free media publicity, enhanced credibility and marketing opportunities that can be capitalized on year-round. So what are these owners and chefs doing right? We’ll sit down with these three industry leaders to pick their brains and uncover their secrets of running some of the country’s most acclaimed pizza restaurants!