Managing a pizzeria requires purchasing the right product for the right price, and while you can’t always control food costs, you can control your relationship with distributors. Building a strong relationship with your suppliers is an essential step in building the foundation of a successful business venture. PMQ collected tips from operators and distributors who volunteered their advice on making this essential relationship work. “Not only is having quality food important —having quality relationships is, as well.”
Matt McClellan, owner
Tour De Pizza (tourdepizza.com)
St. Petersburg, FL
Steve Negri, owner
Mandy’s Pizza (mandyspizza.com)
Pittsburgh, PA
Vince D’Amico, vice president of sales
D&D Foods
Egg Harbor Township, NJ
Nick Sasso, kitchen manager
Nick’s Pizza (nicksgrantville.com)
Grantville, GA
“There is more to buying ingredients than cost; you have to think about what you are selling. Cheap isn’t always good!”
Mike Hauke, owner
Tony Boloney’s (tonyboloneys.com)
Atlantic City, NJ
“Not only is having quality food important—having quality relationships is, as well. Find a company that deals with operators like family. This builds the trust every operator/distributor relationship needs.”
Rob Triulzi, driver
Andoro & Sons Food
Wentzville, MO
“It takes much patience! You’ll encounter wrong items, out of stock items, mis-routed trucks, and cheese prices going through the roof—but these things are out of the representative’s control. Many owners don’t know this and take their frustrations out on the rep.”
Ron Mathews, founder
Rockstar Pizza (rockstarpizza.net)
Brownsburg, IN
Giorgio Giove, co-owner
Brother’s Pizza
Staten Island, NY
Daniel Westmoreland, general manager
Little Caesars (littlecaesars.com)
Oxford, MS
“The most important thing a pizzeria owner or manager can do is receive the salesperson with an open mind when called on. It’s also very important the sales rep listens to the customer’s needs and gives him what he’s looking for.”
Thomas Russo, vice president of sales
Vesuvio Foods
Edison, NJ
“The most important thing when dealing with pizzerias is to know the owner’s vision. It’s important for a vendor distributor to know how the owner wants his customers to view the pizzeria.”
Jeanette Catena, sales representative
Orlando Foods
Maywood, NJ
Eddie Napoleone, owner
Nappies Foodservice
Oakdale, PA
simply because, as an operator, I know it’s important to do my research and stay on top of things.”
Frank Catena, owner
Luna Pizza (lunapizzanj.com)
Three Bridges, NJ