Pizza Marketplace Podcast

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Little Caesars franchisee Vicki Dunn-Marshall. Dunn-Marshall's focus on philanthropy has led to start Pizza Paws, a campaign that raises money for police K-9 units across the country.

The idea came about after there was a prison break in one of the towns where she operates a Little Caesars store. They brought in K-9 units from three or four states for several days.

"We were feeding the officers," Dunn-Marshall said. "They don't get support for what they do."

Human handlers pay for the food and vet visits themselves, perhaps using a small stipend from the department.

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Wesley Keegan, founder of TailGate Brewery, a nine-unit pizzeria and brew hall in Nashville, Tennessee.

Keegan started with a brewery, but found his customers would have a beer and then leave to go find food. He tried bringing in food trucks, but that didn't seem to work. Instead, he started his own pizzeria using the best ingredients he could find.

"We run a full pizza kitchen in all of our stores and it's really a full pizza restaurant by every measure, but being a brewery, we call it a taproom, and the majority of our taproom sales is pizza," Keegan said.

To learn more about beer and pizza sales, listen to the podcast in its entirety.

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, and Jeff Hetsel, president of Cicis Pizza.

Hetsel says Cicis, which is a buffet concept, is doing well with positive sales, and the brand is currently looking for ways to leverage technology to increase those sales.

"One of the great things we try to do is if you don't see your favorite pizza, we'll make it for you," Hetsel said. Pizzas are cooked in about three and a half minutes.

The biggest change the brand has made over the years is improving and increasing its "eatertainment" and game rooms.

 In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to John Arena, co-owner of Metro Pizza in Las Vegas. Arena recently opened a signature pizzeria called Truly Pizza in Dana Point, California, with a group of friends. Together, they've built a concept new to the city that brings in both tourists and locals alike. 

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks with Les Tomlin, co-founder and president of PizzaForno, North America's first automated pizzeria, about the rise of food vending machines.

"The concept of automated pizza is relatively new to North America but has been around Europe for almost 20 years," Tomlin told Detwiler. "We found this technology platform — we being my business partner and myself — in France, and we were just amazed that this technology platform had not yet made it to North America."

The pizza vending machine helps with square footage, rent, waste and wages. It bakes an 11-inch pizza in under three minutes in 65 square feet, Tomlin added.

To listen to the podcast click here.

Pizzeria menus can range from small and tidy to large and complex, but they've all got one thing behind them: research and development.

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Hisham Abdulfattah, partner and executive chef of Willow Street Pizza in Willow Glen and Los Gatos, California, about menu development.

Abdulfattah said his first job was working in a kitchen washing dishes at age 14. He later moved on to prep and cooking at a taqueria.

"I fell in love with the atmosphere of a restaurant and the fast-paced environment," Abdulfattah said, adding he went to a culinary academy right out of high school. "I worked probably every position in a restaurant, including front of the house."

During the pandemic, he got a loan and bought food truck, and one of his partners owned Willow Street Pizza, which he later invested in and now co-owns.

"There's something for everyone on their menu," Abdulfattah said. "Willow Street is a place where you can go and feel very comfortable and warm."

To learn more about Abdulfattah's approach to menu development, click the link to listen to the podcast in its entirety.

 Scott Weiner holds the Guinness World Record for the Largest Collection of Pizza Boxes. Weiner, who owns a pizza touring company in New York City, has become an expert in pizza boxes. Today's boxes hold more than just pizza — they're an extension of the pizzerias themselves. In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, Pizza Marketplace Editor Mandy Detwiler talks to Weiner about his collection -- which she personally certified by counting his collection twice. He's got nearly 1,900 pizza boxes now, and his collection has grown out of his Brooklyn apartment to a storage unit. 

We talked to Buddy's new CEO, Chris Tussing, to learn the history of Detroit-style pizza and what's making the style so popular in this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast.