Pizza Today - June 2021 - 32

Stoneburner and Bastille. " We are concerned about the guest experience, and
about the unboxing of the food. "
The boxes had to be spill proof and
sturdy, as customers often eat in their
cars or at the park across the street
from Sunny Hill. Also, the boxes had to
reflect the premium branding of the restaurant. " We were worried about flimsy
packs that don't travel well, " Stoneburner says. " We have to think about keeping
on par with what's important to us. We
use organic local ingredients and we
wanted to carry that through our to-go
packaging. "
To make up for the added cost of the
eco-conscious packaging, Sunny Hill
charges one dollar for orders placed on
the Tock platform. " When you use the
online ordering system, it shows up as
a line item and you are aware, " Stoneburner says. " It's a dollar. We've gotten
almost zero pushback. "
Compostable is not the only ecofriendly option. During the pandemic,
Brasserie Brixton in Denver became
(Le) Brix Pizza and Wine. The owners built a Neapolitan wood-fired pizza
oven and began offering pizza, salads
and appetizers for takeout and delivery.
Menu items such as Roasted Carrots or
Beet and Burrata are packaged in plastic
containers.
" I find a lot of people, when containers are compostable, they use them only
once so it's environmentally unfriendly, "
says chef and partner Nicholas Dalton.
" I wanted to get something people could
take home, wash in the dishwasher, and
use again to take to work. " Dalton says
the plastic containers cost more than
traditional clamshell containers, but less
than compostable.

Presenting family meals
Some restaurants launched to-go
family meals during the pandemic. Los
Angeles-based Fresh Brothers, with
19 locations in California, launched a
Wings Tailgate Bundle and a Lasagna
Family Meal last year. " As people were
eating more at home, they were looking
for more creative ways to feed their

030_PIZ_0621_OPpackage.indd 32

families, " says chief executive officer
Geoff Goodman. " We never had a family size offering other than a large pizza.
We didn't have another core entrée that
we could offer to guests. "
The $39.99 Lasagna Family Meal features a fully cooked lasagna in a baking
tin, plus an order of garlic knots, inside
a large catering box. The $49.99 Wings
Tailgate Bundle comes in a large box
that features 50 wings on one side and
six sauces on the other side. " It's a nice
case, " Goodman says. " You flip up the
lid and it's a beautiful presentation. "
Also last year, Fresh Brothers
upgraded its salads, and started packing
them in fully compostable containers with clear lids. The clear lids help
consumers see the quality of the salad,
and the compostable feature reflects the
chain's commitment to the environment.
The investment paid off, as Goodman
says salad sales are up considerably. " We
always focus on getting better versus
simply getting cheaper, " he says. " We are
very in tune to what our guests expect
from us. Even when things are difficult,
those are times you work smarter and
not just find pennies. "
Safety is also a factor in takeout and
delivery packaging. Fired Pie in Scottsdale, Arizona packages its salads in clear
clamshell salad containers. The pizzeria
also offers Mac & Cheese, which comes
in the foil container that it is baked in.
" The only thing we did add was the
safety stickers on all third-party takeout, " says Fred Morgan, co-owner of the
21-location Fired Pie. The stickers display the restaurant logo and are meant
as a tamper resistant device. " There were
some reports on the news of third-party
drivers eating food from bags or boxes,
[and they] even showed a driver drinking a shake then delivering. " n

NORA CALEY is a freelance writer who
covers small business, finance and lifestyle
topics.

5/11/21 12:01 PM
Pizza Today June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today June 2021
