The Hot Slice

This week, we share our conversation with Nicole Bean, co-owner of Houston-based Pizaro’s Pizza Napoletana. During PizzaCon 2024 in Philly, Executive Editor Denise Greer had a lively conversation with Nicole about top-of-mind pizza business issues, taking on a leadership role in the pizza industry, multiple pizza style and using AI in the business and an in-depth talk about dialing AI prompts. 

Bill Hutchinson, wife Gloria and son Matt opened Pizaro’s in 2011. Nicole and husband Brad came on board in 2013. Today, Nicole is president of Pizaro’s, which operates two locations. 

In a previous Conversation in Pizza Today Magazine, Nicole said, “ There was a lot of education with customers during the first year and tons of feedback about wanting more toppings and a more substantial crust to hold those toppings from those who didn’t quite understand the concept of Napoletana pizza. We knew our Napoletana was great and didn’t take long to catch on here in Houston, but we wanted to give customers something more. After opening our second and larger location (closer to downtown) in 2015, I went out to San Francisco to Tony’s International School of Pizza to learn to make Detroit-style while also learning Chicago, New York and Sicilian. Matt and I launched Detroit six months after I got back from school. I used only social media and local press to spread the word on our newest baby. Response to our Detroit went better than expected and continues to grow. It was only a year ago (2017) that we launched New York-style, which took us 10 months of development with dough, tomatoes, cheese and market testing.” 

The podcast interview took place during PizzaCon in Philadelphia, PA on November 7. Check out a recap of the event: Inaugural PizzaCon a Hit in Philadelphia https://pizzatoday.com/topics/industry-news/inaugural-pizzacon-a-hit-in-philadelphia/.  

Two years ago, Chris and Angela Woodbeck received the call that many operators have feared. Their beloved pizzeria, Mangia Macrina’s in New Hartford, New York was on fire. Worse, when they arrived, they found out it was arson.  

It has been a long road back as the couple are about to reopen the pizzeria in a new location in Utica, New York. They share their story of bringing their business back, the obstacles they’ve faced and the transition. 

Mangia Macrina’s also has a location in Little Falls, New York as well as operating a food truck that has been instrumental in entering their new market of Utica. 

Learn more about Mangia Macrina’s at https://mangiamacrinaswoodfiredpizza.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mangiamacrina/.

Katie Lee owns Katie’s Pizza & Pasta with three locations in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Recently, the pizza company scored a huge client for its frozen pizza line to be sold in Walmart grocery stores starting in mid-to-late 2025. 

We get into what went into such a lucrative retail deal. There is so much more to Katie Lee’s story. She shares her background, how she started her business and what led her into the frozen market.  

For more details on the Walmart deal, see the following release: Owner Katie Lee and Culinary Director Chef Jake Sanderson received the news onsite at Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, immediately following their pitch, which focused on Lee’s unrelenting drive to grow the brand and keep doing more to share their award-winning offerings with a wider audience. Only a fraction of the hundreds of businesses who pitch thousands of products during Walmart’s Open Call receive the prestigious Golden Ticket offer.  

“We did it! We got a Golden Ticket,” said Lee. “It’s the American dream come true, and we’re so proud to expand into Walmart. We’re so grateful to our St. Louis fans who have supported us as we started offering frozen pizzas through our restaurant business during the pandemic. We dreamed big and expanded into local grocery outlets, nationwide shipping, then moved into wider retail distribution, and now Walmart.” 

Katie’s is outperforming the strong frozen pizza category with over 100% growth year over year for the past three years, which is 10 times the growth of the entire category. What sets the Katie’s frozen pizza line apart is the team’s commitment to hand-crafting the premium artisan pizzas daily with scratch ingredients. Katie’s is the only restaurant of its size that makes pizzas and pastas by hand for retail, raising the bar on packaged frozen food. Going the extra mile ensures freshness and quality in every hand-stretched wood-fired pizza.  

Following the 2021 renovation of its frozen production facility, Katie’s frozen pizzas and pasta bakes became available at local St. Louis grocers Dierbergs Markets and Straubs. Growth continued with additional expansions into retailers including Fresh Market, Fresh Thyme, Kings-Balduccis, Mothers, Whole Foods Markets and more.  

About Katie’s Pizza & Pasta 
Katie’s Pizza & Pasta’s promise is to create moments of enjoyment between friends and family through passion-filled food and warm hospitality. Katie Lee’s dream to bring hand-made, in-house artisan and Neapolitan pizza to St. Louis began through one location under the ownership of her father, Tom Lee, in 2008. Today, KPP includes three locations. KPP Rock Hill opened in 2013 followed by the Town & Country location in 2017. The largest location opened in 2023 in downtown St. Louis’ Ballpark Village featuring a pasta-making station, wood-fired grill, expansive patio, private events space and in-house market selling to-go items. Katie’s portfolio of fresh and frozen pizzas, pastas and sauces are available at many grocery retailers and shipped nationwide. Since 2014, KPP’s “Giveback Tuesday” program has donated over $470,000 to St. Louis-based charities. To learn more and sign up for our newsletter visit KatiesPizzaAndPasta.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X to see the latest.

Today is one of the busiest days for pizzerias so the crew at Pizza Today bring you a lighthearted episode where Josh, Jeremy and Denise talk Halloween in pizzerias, favorite Halloween pizzas, interesting Halloween finds.

Here is the infamous Halloween Pizza featuring candy corn: https://pizzatoday.com/recipes/pizzas/halloween-cookie-pizza/

We also talk PizzaCon, happening next week in Philadelphia and the newly announce Pizza Expo Columbus.

More on PizzaCon at https://pizzacon.com.

Learn more about Pizza Expo Columbus at https://pizzatoday.com/topics/industry-news/pizza-today-international-pizza-expo-bring-national-pizza-show-to-columbus-in-2025/

Have a great Halloween!

Miriam Weiskind has already amassed a huge following in the pizza industry with The Za Report. Now, she is set to open her first brick-and-mortar pizzeria, Yums of PDX in Portland, Oregon. 

If you are looking for an inspiring episode. This is it. Miriam brings so much energy and enthusiasm about her journey and the pizza community. 

Miriam’s background is in design and branding. But after capturing the NYC Pizza Run title, her pizza journey took off with Scott’s Pizza Tours where she spent 8 years leading pizza fans on pizza tours throughout New York City. In 2019, she began she began perfecting her pizza-making skills and at passion quickly sent her to into professional pizza-making when she found her first apprenticeship at Paul Gee’s in Brooklyn. As the COVID-19 Pandemic left many New Yorkers isolated, Miriam started making pizzas and giving them to first responders and people impacted by the shutdown.   

The Za Report pop-ups and pizza giving continued as Miriam gained national attention for her efforts. She was even featured on the Food Network series Chopped on a pizza showdown episode “Wanna Pizza Me” in 2023. 

All of that has led her to find the right opportunity in Portland, Oregon.  

Miriam goes in depth about her journey to a brick-and-mortar pizzeria and how integral her pizza mentors and apprenticeships were. Sit back and enjoy this extended The Hot Slice Podcast 

Learn more about The Za Report at https://www.thezareport.com/ and Yum’s of PDX at https://www.yumsofpdx.com/. Follow Yum’s of PDX  on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/yumsofpdx/. Also follow The Za Report at https://www.instagram.com/thezareport/ . 

Show Notes:  

Are you a Pizzeria to Watch in 2025? 

Pizzerias to Watch feature looks at the total operation, from sales and employee programs to community outreach and marketing. We invite you to submit your pizzeria for our Annual Pizzerias to Watch feature. 

https://pizzatoday.com/pizzerias-to-watch-questionnaire/ 

Register for PizzaCon, the fun new event is November 7 in Philadelphia. Registration is live, so secure your spot to attend today! Learn more about PizzaCon.

Denise goes one-on-one with Louise Joseph on life in her pizza truck business, Dough Girls in Greenwich, Connecticut.  Dough Girls specializes in wood-fired pizza on the go.  

Dough Girls rolls to local events, fairs, festivals, farmers markets and private and corporate catering locations. Louise talks about what events and locations work for her business. We learn what makes for good consistency.  

What does it take to keep the pizza truck rolling? Louise shares the maintenance she focuses on to make sure her truck stays operational. We talk winter in a food truck in the Northeast, more weather and other challenges.  

Dough Girls has been going strong for nine years and Louise shares why she plans to continue her business in the truck and not a brick-and-mortar.  

Learn more about Dough Girls at https://www.doughgirlsonthego.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/doughgirlspizza/ 

This week, Denise and Josh chat with Robert Garvey, co-founder of Robert’s Pizza & Dough Co. in Chicago, Illinois. Robert had just returned from Italy, where his pizzerias was honored as a Top 50 of “The Best 100 Pizzerias in the World” by 50 Top Pizza. Robert's additionally received the special award for "Performance of the Year 2024 - Robo Award". 

We also talk about Robert’s picturesque location on the Ogden Slip on Lake Michigan, with an amazing patio. 

Robert is a New York native, entrepreneur, marine engineer, business owner, journalist, playwright, teacher and certified Pizzaioli from the Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli. He also shares how his love of dropping into a New York slice shop planted a seed to open Robert’s. We get into Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company’s origin start and the 25-year-old wild yeast starter.  

More on Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company: 

Founded by Robert Garvey and Dana Hokin Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company serves handcrafted thin-crust, artisan pies with fresh and unique ingredients. The secret is in the crust: a Garvey family recipe affectionately dubbed ‘Za Dough’ that took 20 years to perfect. Located on the Ogden Slip in Streeterville, Robert’s Pizza is a cul-de-sac on the river tucked away from the bustle of the city with an expansive patio featuring beautiful views of the Chicago River & Skyline. Robert’s Pizza is recognized as one of the Top 50 Pizzas in the USA by TOP50Italy and is regularly hailed as one of the top Pizzas in Chicago by revered critics like Steve Dolinsky and respected food publications including Eater Chicago and USA Today’s 10Best. Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company is located at 465 N. McClurg or 411 E Illinois Street in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. For more information, visit: www.robertspizzacompany.com or find us on Facebook & Instagram @robertspizzaco. 

Show Notes: 

Friday, October 11 is National Sausage Pizza Day. Celebrate accordingly.  

It’s NATIONAL PIZZA MONTH, the best month of the year! Start planning now! We are here to help you plan to have the BIGGEST & BEST October National Pizza Month with the official NPM logo, graphics, fillable social media images, press release, customizable social media calendar, pizza fun facts and more. Go to the Toolkit. 

Register for PizzaCon, the fun new event is November 7 in Philadelphia. Registration is live, so secure your spot to attend today! Learn more about PizzaCon. 

This week, Josh and Denise sit down with Jay Hansji, owner of Pizza Buzz in Watauga, Texas. He shares how one pizza catapulted his business into a huge 6,000-squre-foot building. He even tried to discontinue the pizza and the people revolted.

Pizza Buzz is known for unique pizzas, from the famous pickle pizza and birria pizza to tandoori pizza and even customer creations as pizza of the month like the chicken parm pizza. We also talk about introducing Detroit-style pizza. 

We talk about what happened when Pizza Buzz moved from a small DELCO shop to a large sit-down eatery.

Jay also shares the pizza he made for International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo. We talk competition pizzas. 

We talk about Jay’s background and how he was able to grow the business from using frozen dough to award-winning pizzas. Jay shares how the pizza community helped him progress. 

We close on advice Jay has for blossoming pizza makers. 

Learn more about Pizza Buzz at https://www.pizzabuzz.com/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pizzabuzzfortworth/. 

Show Notes:

It’s NATIONAL PIZZA MONTH, the best month of the year! Start planning now! We are here to help you plan to have the BIGGEST & BEST October National Pizza Month with the official NPM logo, graphics, fillable social media images, press release, customizable social media calendar, pizza fun facts and more. Go to the Toolkit.  

Register for PizzaCon, the fun new event is November 7 in Philadelphia. Registration is live, so secure your spot to attend today! Learn more about PizzaCon. 

The Pizza Today crew is back together again. Jeremy, Denise and Josh hop on the podcast together for a special episode on the big 4th quarter for pizzerias and us. We’re here to help you get ready. 

We kick things off highlighting Pizza Expo’s newest event. PizzaCon, November 7 in Philadelphia. Registration is live, so secure your spot to attend today! Learn more about PizzaCon.

October is NATIONAL PIZZA MONTH, the best month of the year! We go into some tips and ways for you to capitalize on pizza month. We are here to help you plan to have the BIGGEST & BEST October National Pizza Month with the official NPM logo, graphics, fillable social media images, press release, customizable social media calendar, pizza fun facts and more. Go to the Toolkit. 

The year’s homestretch is filled with additional revenue generating opportunities from pizza’s biggest sales days, catering, holiday parties and gift cards. You won’t want to miss out on these sales avenues. We’re also talking about staying fully staffed and avoiding burnout. Read Time to Gear Up for the Holiday Season at Your Pizzeria.

As you can see, the 4th Quarter is a biggie. Let’s kick it off on the right foot with planning.

We’re not all business. We have some fun with Halloween. 

This week, Denise goes one-on-one with Rick Herman, CEO of Log Home Wood Fired Pizza in McGregor, Minnesota, with a population of 350 people. So how has this business thrived for 10 years? Rick dives into the pivotal anniversary, focus of the business and how he’s been able to engage the community.

We also talk about the shifts the business has been required to make to operate in a hamlet dependent on tourism of northern Minnesota. Find out how he’s able to maximize winters.

He also shares a fun pizza special tied to a scholarship that he created, along with other marketing tactics.

We talk about the unique needs and operational considerations (like supply chain, delivery, growth) present in small town pizzerias. He offers advice on what to consider if you want to start a pizzeria in a small community. 

Learn more about Log Home Wood Fired Pizza at https://northwoodspizza.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/loghomepizza/