Pizza Today - February 2017 - 72

"We still do all the preparation ... we make our

own lasagna - whatever we need to do everyday.
There are three of us, so we can get a lot done."
-- JOE TIPTON
we make our own lasagna -- whatever
we need to do everyday. There are three
of us, so we can get a lot done. We don't
have a big staff, which we like. We have
consistency. We don't get any complaints
at all."
Pizza, which is baked on deck ovens,
accounts for more than 70 percent of sales.
Sal's menu also boasts hot and cold subs,
Italian dinners like chicken parmigiana,
breaded fried scallops, stuffed manicotti
and ravioli. Their popular "Pizzaburger" sub
features homemade sausage and is served
on local bread.
With so much made in house, Tipton
and Melice keep a keen eye on waste
management. "I do all the ordering, so we
don't ever have a lot of stuff (spoiling) in
the refrigerator," Tipton says. "We make
sure that we keep it fresh."
Baking on a deck oven requires a
learning curve, as does making dough.
"Dough is simple, but it's hard. Do you
know what I mean?" Tipton asks. "You
have to know the temperature of the water,
and the yeast -- our recipe is simple but
you have to know how much flour to put
in, etc. ... It's time consuming, and we
make it in small portions."
Draft beer and a few wines are available
but don't account for a heavy portion of
sales. "It's not like people are sitting here
for four hours drinking," Tipton says.
Tipton and Melice admittedly don't
do much marketing. "Where we are

right now, we're really happy," Tipton says.
"We just like it small. One of us is always
here, and a lot of times, we're together."
Aside from dine-in, "we do limited
delivery, and we only do it between 4 p.m.
and 10 p.m." Tipton says. "We don't do it
during lunch at all. It's not real big. Most of
our clientele is actually takeout. They come

7 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 7

in after work and they go home and they
don't want to cook. We have sit down, but
we're not like crazy sit-down. ... I'd say
65 to 70 percent (of sales) is pick-up. The
rest is split between dine-in and delivery. ...
We just do one driver, and my wife helps us
out, or one of my daughters."
After working in the restaurant business
and owning his own, Tipton admits
managing employees has been his most
difficult task. "I'm a good worker, Sal's a
good worker, (Sal's nephew) Joe is a good
worker. We're easy to work with. But when
you become a boss, you have to talk to
(employees) about what they're not doing
or what they did. That was always the
toughest thing for me (in the beginning).
... Now, I'm a straight shooter. I don't let
things bother me. ... I need to trust my
employees, or I don't need to have them in
my store."
Tipton and Melice have no
immediate plans for expansion, and
hope that a family member will eventually
take over the business. "Our families are so
combined, it's like one," Tipton says. "I'm
Irish American and he's Sicilian, but we're
like one."
Handwritten tickets, knowing their
customers by name and being in the
store daily have made Tipton and Melice
successful pizzeria owners, and it's worked
for more than two decades. Adds Tipton:
"We like that personal touch." n
MANDY WOLF DETWILER is

Pizza Today.

managing editor at
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - February 2017

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