Advertise on podcast: How You Slice It

Andrew from Airport Pizza joins Bruce on How You Slice It to share his story of coming to America, building a pizza shop, and becoming part of the community he serves. They talk about the reality of running a local pizza business, giving back, learning new technology, and how Slice’s phone ordering service helped make handling orders easier as the business grew. If you own a pizza shop, are thinking about opening one, or just love hearing real stories from independent operators, this one is for you.

Cory from Two Guys Pizza was one of the first pizza shop owners I ever had on the podcast. More than a decade later, we catch up on how his business has changed, what he has learned, and why he is not in a rush to open a second location. We talk about running a busy single-location pizza shop, balancing growth with family life, staffing, hours, delivery, rising food costs, using technology and AI, and how customers are finding restaurants today.

Night Owl Pizza’s co-owner joins the podcast to talk about opening during COVID, growing to three Atlanta-area locations, and running a pizza business from 4 PM to 4 AM, 365 days a year. We get into late-night sales, hiring struggles, scaling with conveyor ovens, managing multiple locations, and what he would do differently if he started over.

Nicky from Nicky Slices Pizza Club joins me to talk about the path from making Detroit-style pizza at home during COVID to opening a brick-and-mortar shop in St. Louis that is on pace to do over $1.3 million in its first year. We get into building an audience before opening, finding the right partners, why they do online ordering and walk-ins only, controlling food and labor costs, and the expensive surprises that came with opening the shop. If you’re thinking about opening a pizza shop, this is a good one to take notes on. Follow Nicky Slices Pizza Club: Instagram: @nickyslicespizza

What happens when your pizza shop gets so busy that your biggest problem isn't getting customers... it's making enough pizza? In this episode of How You Slice It, we're talking with Grumpy's Pizza in New Jersey to see how they've built one of the area's most talked-about pizzerias. We talk about learning sourdough, simplifying the menu, building systems, and why they're making the jump from an 800-square-foot shop into a much larger space.

What happens when you combine New York-style pizza, smash burgers, and a modern approach to running a restaurant? In this episode, I sit down with Tony Parker from Smash & Slice to talk about building a business that's different from the typical pizza shop. We get into:  Why they decided to serve both pizza and smash burgers  Growing from one location to two  Keeping a focused menu without sacrificing creativity  Using influencers the right way  Restaurant marketing that actually drives sales  The operational decisions that make running the business easier  Where the restaurant industry is headed If you're a restaurant owner looking for ideas on growth, marketing, operations, or building a stronger brand, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways. Let me know what you think in the comments, and don't forget to subscribe for more conversations with independent restaurant operators.

Giuseppe Sacchetti didn't just open another pizza shop. He spent years obsessing over dough, trained with Gabriele Bonci in Rome, opened during the pandemic, and built a business that now serves fresh pizza, wholesale dough, focaccia, and gourmet frozen pizzas across Montreal. We talk about:  Why dough is the most important part of pizza  What he learned from Bonci  The science behind frozen pizza  Why he slices pepperoni to order  Montreal's unique pizza culture  His plans to build a pizza brand across Canada

This week I'm joined by Santo, a second-generation pizza shop owner who walked away from the family business, spent five years in the corporate world, and then decided to come back and open his own pizzeria. We talk about what pulled him back into pizza, the realities of finding a location, negotiating a lease, build-out costs, equipment decisions, and what it's really like during those first few months after opening. If you're thinking about opening a pizza shop—or you're already in the process—this episode is packed with lessons that can save you time, money, and headaches.

Mark, owner of Leo's Pizza in Williamsport, PA, shares the story of closing his first shop, learning some tough business lessons, and reopening with a completely different mindset. Today he's focused on running a simple operation, making great pizza, spending time with his family, and building the business around the life he actually wants. In this episode we talk about:  Closing his first pizza shop and starting over  The biggest financial mistakes he made  Why he keeps the menu simple  Running a one-man pizza operation  Building a reputation through quality pizza  His dough process and equipment  Why he doesn't follow every trend  Creating a business that fits your life If you're opening a pizza shop or trying to simplify your current operation, this conversation is packed with practical lessons from someone who's been through it.

After 25 years in business, Bill was burned out. He was seriously thinking about selling his pizza shop before a visit with another owner completely changed his perspective. In this episode, we talk about:  Why he almost walked away  The marketing changes that helped his business grow again  How better food photography increased online orders  Using Toast Online Ordering and QR codes  Why he still believes in in-house delivery  The biggest lesson he's learned after 25 years in the pizza business Whether you've been open for 6 months or 30 years, this conversation is full of practical ideas you can use in your own shop.

What happens when a serious car accident forces you to start over from scratch? In this episode, Bruce talks with Chuck Rozay, owner of Uncle Chuck's Pizza in LaSalle, Illinois. After helping build a successful pizza business and recovering from a life-threatening accident, Chuck took a chance on himself and opened his own pizzeria with no investors, no partners, and a limited budget. They discuss building a pizza shop for around $30,000, running multiple pizza styles from one dough recipe, using DoorDash, creating a word-of-mouth business, and what it's like opening a shop in an area where most customers have never experienced true New York-style pizza.

In this episode, John from Johnny’s Pizza shares how he transformed an existing pizza shop in the Philadelphia suburbs into a modern, highly respected pizza brand. We talk about learning from New York pizza shops, experimenting with ovens, managing growth, opening a second location, hiring staff, social media, cheesesteaks, pizza trends, and the reality of running a successful pizza business.

This session, brought to you in partnership with Women in Pizza, explores  Independent ownership and how the industry relies on people who bet on themselves.  "How Women Are Shaping Independent Ownership" highlights the women who are doing exactly that, and what their experiences reveal about where the industry is headed. Host:Anna Crucitt // Mercurio’s https://mercuriosgelatopizza.com/ Panelists:Giorgia Caporuscio // Don Antonio https://www.donantoniopizza.com/Mary Ann Giannone // Paulie Gee’s https://pauliegee.com/Julia Molinari // Molinari's https://www.molinarisrestaurant.com/

Slice founder and CEO, Ilir Sela, chats with Tomor Turkeshi (Argento’s by Tommy), Kemal Andican (Tabor Pizzeria), and Vito DeCandia (Angel City Pizza) about rising costs, shifting customer habits, delivery economics, and the growing gap between chains and independents.  Is your pizzeria set up to last? This episode of Shop Talk will leave you with the insights and takeaways needed for you to future-proof your shop.  Panelists: Tomor Turkeshi // Argento’s by Tommy https://www.argentosbuckeye.com/Kemal Andican // Tabor Pizzeria https://www.taborpizzeria.com/Vito DeCandia // Angel City Pizza https://www.angelcityla.com/