If you want to design a pizza menu with guaranteed appeal to teenage customers, why not let them design it for you?
The two-store Wise Guys Pizzeria, with locations in Grapevine and Roanoke, Texas, did exactly that in a partnership with students from the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District. And the pizza brand has gotten free coverage from local TV stations and news sites in the bargain.
Kaylie Kotecki, who teaches an advanced culinary class for the school district, collaborated with Wise Guys owner Kevin McNamara on a unique assignment. Kotecki’s class was split into three groups, and each was charged with pitching their own dream pizza to McNamara and his team at Wise Guys’ Grapevine store. As part of the assignment, the students also had to calculate the costs for making each pizza to ensure it would fit Wise Guys’ budget.
Related: This Pizzeria Went from $200,000 to $1.5 Million in Annual Sales in 18 Months. All It Took Was a Smartphone.
They ended up pitching three pies—the Maui Monster, the OG Twist and the Don Maca-Loni. Only one was expected to make the cut and get featured on the Wise Guys menu. But, after reviewing the options, McNamara threw in a twist of his own. “Because all of them were so great, we decided we’re going to let the guests decide,” McNamara told KTVT.
Over the next six weeks, Wise Guys will feature each pizza on the menu for two weeks, and the one with the top sales will be the winner. It’s a smart marketing move, ensuring that the students’ friends and family members will show up to try out the pies—and, hopefully, become regular customers.
The Grapevine-Colleyville ISD’s website offered more detail about each pie.
The Maui Monster, for example, comes with an Alfredo sauce base, plus Canadian bacon, pineapple and red onions. According to team member Jorge Garcia, “We both wanted to do an Alfredo-based pizza, and then we brainstormed to give the pizza a bit more ‘pop.’ It’s not loaded with a lot of ingredients, but it’s also not too simple.”
Macy Lanier is a co-creator of the Don Maca-Loni pie. She said her team noticed that Wise Guys offers fried mac and cheese balls on the menu, which inspired their entry. They also went with an Alfredo base and sprinkled on some mozzarella. “Cheese pairs well with cheese, so we decided fried mac and cheese balls would go well on a pizza,” Lanier said. “We think it’s going to win because it’s simple.”
For the OG Twist, student Albin Jacobson said, “We wanted to come up with something that people liked and was marketable but was also different from the rest of the things on the menu.” Jacobson’s team opted for a mozzarella-stuffed crust topped with a spicy marinara sauce, more mozz, garlic oil, ricotta, basil and capers.
Kotecki, said her culinary class teaches students about the restaurant business, marketing and real-world problem-solving. “They actually start in principles of hospitality, where they learn all about the restaurant industry, including the ins and outs,” Kotecki told KTVT.
And who knows? Some of those youngsters could end up as Wise Guys employees—or managers, maybe even owners—one day. “We’re super excited to have these kids be a part of the future story of Wise Guys Pizzeria,” McNamara said.
