Pizza Today - September 2023 - 3

Commentary with Jeremy White
What's On Your Mind?
W
ho's your competition? Is
it the handful of other
independent pizzerias
in your town? Th e major
national pizza chains?
McDonald's? Th e locally owned
and operated tavern that has
amazing fi sh and chips?
All of the above.
Sam's Club sells pizza. Th e
movie theater sells pizza. Th e
frozen aisle in the supermarket
sells pizza. Th e deli in the supermarket
has take-and-bake pizza.
Th e bakery up the street makes
amazing dough and, every Th ursday,
sells pizza.
None of it is as good as yours,
thankfully. Most of it isn't even
close (tip of the cap to the bakery...
you're glad they specialize
in pastries). And obviously no one
in their right mind is opting for
a Big Mac over your handcrafted
work of art if they have any choice
at all.
Yet, here we are. Th ousands of
people are going up and down
your street every day and pouring
into other establishments. Th e
Chick-Fil-A drive thru doesn't
stop from 11-3. Th at tavern isn't
only selling out of fi sh and chips
during Lent. You've seen the same
Papa John's driver go past your
shop what seems like a hundred
times in the past couple of hours.
You know there's enough to go
around and you're doing fi ne. But
you just can't help but notice the
sushi place across the street hasn't
had an empty parking spot after
6 p.m. for weeks now. Because
you're a competitor, because you're
hungry, you want more. You don't
want to become complacent. You
want to grow sales. You want to
soar.
You want to do everything right.
From how you mop the fl oors at
night to how your staff phrases
certain upsell pitches to the music
you play in your restrooms. You
want to leave no stone unturned.
You want to tighten the ship and
annihilate the competition. You
want to seize the day. And the
next. And the one after that.
If that's your mindset right now,
just know that's the reason my
team does what it does at Pizza
Today. It's why Bill Oakley's team
does what it does at Pizza Expo
and Pizza & Pasta Northeast.
We're here to help you elevate and
celebrate the industry we're all
fortunate enough to call our own.
So I ask you, dear reader:
What's keeping you up at night
right now? What would you like
to see us write about in upcoming
issues of Pizza Today or cover
with seminars at the next Pizza
Expo? We want to hear from you!
Drop me a line (my e-mail address
is below my signature) and let me
know what's on your mind.
Jeremy White
Editor In Chief
jwhite@pizzatoday.com
Pizza Today® (ISSN 0743-3115) is published monthly. Domestic U.S. subscriptions are $29.95
VOLUME 41 * NUMBER 09
SEPTEMBER 2023
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Pizza Today - September 2023

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