Story by Tracy Morin | Photos submitted by Berwick Pizza and Fine Folk Pizza
For most pizzeria owners, generating new menu ideas is one of the most fun parts of the job. And, luckily, pizza offers one of the best blank canvases, allowing chefs’ creativity to run wild. Sweet or savory, sparingly topped or smothered to the crust’s edge, pizza can satisfy every taste and texture fantasy known to humankind.
So why not let your employees—or even your customers—join in on the fun? PMQ recently caught up with two pizzerias that are whipping up new menu energy, employee excitement, and customer engagement (in-store and online) by asking their communities to create and choose the next specialty pizzas on offer.
Unleashing Employee Creations
At Berwick Pizza and Subs in Green Camp, Ohio, co-owner and general manager Austin Buckland completed his second Employee Pizza Series earlier in 2025, after a smash inaugural event last year. “All employees are given a time frame to submit their idea for a new pizza,” Buckland explains. “It can be anything (savory or sweet), as long as it does not use the majority of ingredients that we’ve already used on a pizza. This is probably the most challenging part, because we have done around 200 different pizzas!”
Employees tell management what ingredients they want, and Buckland will purchase enough to make a couple of testers. When the employee gets approval that it’s worthy of being released, they’re entered into the contest. Each pizza in the contest, such as the Strawberry Pop Tart (below) is then available for one week, Tuesday through Sunday.
“Once we have a total number of entries, we draw numbers at random to determine what week their pizza will be offered,” Buckland says. “The winner is determined by total number of pizzas sold. The winner gets a paid shift off, bragging rights and the promise for their pizza to return as a Pizza of the Month. In addition, there are rewards for every single person who competes, based upon how many pizzas they sell. For example, 100 pizzas sold gets them a $100 gift card.”
To promote the contest, Buckland designs a custom poster for each pizza, as well as posters to advertise the contest that hang in the shop. Each employee-created pizza receives three social media posts, posted on the same day of the week at precisely the same time every week, to ensure the fairest contest possible. One post focuses on the employee and how long they have been with the team, their favorite task, and how they came up with their pizza. One post is their pizza’s poster. And the final post is a final reminder for customers to come try the pie.
“We started this to give our employees the chance to have the spotlight, and they ran with it!” Buckland says. “And it’s a win-win. The employees get to unleash their creative and competitive sides, and we get to engage more customers and sell more pizza.”
Buckland chuckles as he recalls one employee who “will do whatever it takes to win,” he says. “Her name is Patience, and she won first place this year and third place last year. Her parents both work at a factory nearby, and they take her posters and hang them around their workplace and advertise her pizza. They will even buy 30 of her pizzas at a time to take to work and sell to their co-workers. This not only instantly boosts our sales; it has led to new customers, who had previously never heard of us, wanting to try other pizzas, and repeat customers who loved her pizza so much they came back that weekend for more. It gives our employees’ friends and families a chance to come in and support them.”
General customer response, meanwhile, has been similarly enthusiastic. “We have customers who told us they are online waiting at the assigned time each week to see which pizza is going to be released next,” Buckland says. “Some customers try most or all of the pizzas. And some of the pizzas are very well-loved—enough that customers are begging for them to come back! Because the winner gets to be Pizza of the Month, customers get another chance to buy it. This year’s runner-up, General Tso’s, was so highly requested that we brought it back for a temporary time, then finally gave in and added it to the full-time menu.”
The contest has gathered steam among staff, too: Last year, 10 employees entered; this year, the count reached 13. “Overall, it’s a fun opportunity for both employees and customers to get involved in our business,” Buckland concludes. “And everyone gets to eat tasty and innovative pizzas along the way!”
Customer Pizza Contests
Employees aren’t the only ones who can craft memorable specialty pies. Michael DeNunzio, president of Fine Folk Pizza in Fort Myers, Florida, is finding sales success with the Artisan Pizza Contest, which asks customers for their best recipe ideas. DeNunzio (pictured above at left with a customer) promotes the ongoing competition heavily with posts on the Fine Folk website and social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
Winners get their pizza featured on the menu for a full month and receive a $50 Fine Folk gift card. Additionally, anyone who submits an entry gets 10% off their next online order.
With these posts and enticements, DeNunzio grabs attention, gets straight to the point—and gives customers multiple reasons to enter (while encouraging bounceback buys with the 10% off deal). In the online form, customers submit their phone and email—and are also asked for their favorite monthly special pizza from the past. DeNunzio also promotes the contest through emails and its Text Club.
“It’s a fun way to bring people into our world,” DeNunzio says. “We’re not just saying we want to hear from our guests—we’re giving them a chance to put their stamp on the menu. It keeps things fresh, gives our regulars a reason to get excited, and, honestly, it’s a blast for our team, too. When someone’s creation makes the menu, everyone’s talking about it, sharing it, and it just builds this sense of community around the brand. At the end of the day, it’s about having fun, making great pizza, and keeping people connected to what we’re doing.”
Last July’s winner, Da Gabogool, was a huge hit at Fine Folk. It featured marinara sauce, Italian sausage, capicola and soppressata under the cheese (mozzarella and Parmesan shavings), plus fresh jalapeños, diced onions, red pepper and garlic. Post-bake, prosciutto, arugula and fresh basil accented the flavor-packed pie. In September, the Mashed Masterpiece claimed top honors with a garlic oil base, mozzarella, Monterey Jack cheese, chive-infused mashed potatoes and bacon, plus a post-bake drizzle of sour cream.
“People love it,” DeNunzio says. “The contest has been a lot of fun, and we’ve had a ton of ideas come in. Our customers are into it, and you can feel that excitement when they talk about their creations.”
Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.
