Pizza Today - May 2018 - 32

FRONT OF THE HOUSE

ingly requires great attention to detail. Everything the customer
sees, hears, touches, smells should reinforce your story."
If this sounds a lot like what theme parks do, you're right.
"But wait a second," you say, "I'm not trying to become a
theme restaurant. That trend pretty much died out by the '80s."
Okay. But in the larger sense, your theme can be pretty
much anything as long as it's something you can express
quickly and directly. You don't have to go the traditional "oldcountry pizzeria" route to have a compelling story. "Nowadays
it's not that you're celebrating Italy, necessarily, since in fact
pizza is also a very American dish," says Ryan. "There are great
pizza restaurants that are very modern and cool, or that look
very industrial.
"The main thing is your theme - or story - needs to be
consistent. It needs to follow through from the font you use on
your signage and on your Web site, and in your color choices.
That same story needs to be instantly recognizable and apparent in all touchpoints: in front of the parking lot, on your sign,
in the front of your store design, in your indoor signage. It
should instantly come through in the floor finishes, the colors,
any props or decorations."
Keep in mind the ever-shrinking attention span we hear
so much about. Communications and decisions occur in 140
character tweets, three-minute YouTube videos and text messages composed of emoticons and five-letter (or less) SMS
abbreviations.

SO THE MINUTE A PATRON WALKS IN THE DOOR, THEY SHOULD
GET A SENSE OF "THIS IS WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS." Better

yet, if your landlord and zoning allow, get as much of your
uniqueness right out to the sidewalk so people will notice you
and say to themselves, "I gotta go check that place out!"
Matt Goodwin owns Boiler Room Artisan Pizza in Spokane, Washington. His theme is basically "solid and good."
His interior design theme of steel, rivets, wood and concrete
harkens back to the boiler room of some massive factory in
the days of iron, steam, hard work and can-do confidence.
"We have two wood-fired ovens, and we fabricated them
to look like big industrial boilers. The pizzas and all our food
is cooked in these two wood-fired ovens," Goodwin says. "I
wanted to be a little hipper, a little more modern, a little more
unique, compared to the average pizza joints."
There's no particular obvious connection to pizzas or Italian food, but as Ryan pointed out there doesn't have to be as
long as there's a strong story behind everything and as long
as that story can be communicated quickly and clearly. You
want to give your customer plenty of reasons to post pictures
of your entryway, reception area, lounge, seating area, outside
patio (along with the food), etc. to all their social media
accounts. Try to make every square foot memorable.
Says Goodwin: "I think our ambience is conducive not
only to bringing in families that want good pizza, but also
to bringing in business outside of just the traditional pizza
restaurant business. At the Boiler Room you can have a
traditional pizza experience, but you can also have a business
meeting. You can feel comfortable coming in for a couple of
craft beers with friends. It's a different experience than with a
traditional pizza restaurant."
FIRST IMPRESSIONS INVOLVE ALL FIVE SENSES. The more senses
you can stimulate, the bigger and longer-lasting impression
you will make. Music is powerfully connected to emotions
and motivations and can affect mood, heart rate, behavior and
acts as a trigger for stored memories. Instead of just piping
in the same mix tape you play in the dining room, consider
a separate thematic loop for the reception area that ties into
your overall story and design theme.
If you really want to bring people in the front door, try
venting kitchen aromas to the reception area and even outside onto the sidewalk. Smell is the most powerful sense, with
a direct connection to the deepest, most primitive parts of
our brains. Grocery stores know this. They vent the bakery to
the front door. Cinnabon accomplishes the same "gotta have
it" result by placing their ovens at the front of the store. Even
Starbucks makes sure that the only smell that dominates the
air inside and just beyond is the smell of fresh-brewed coffee.
As an added benefit, studies have shown that the most
recognized and most loved scents worldwide are fresh baked
bread, bacon, cheese and garlic. Go figure. n
ROBERT BRUCE is

3 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / M AY 2 0 1 8

a freelance writer based in Oregon.

http://www.yamatoamericas.com/ http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - May 2018

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