Pizza Today - March 2017 - 34

price standards. If you are higher in
price, then justify it in the ambiance,
service and product quality. Don't be
afraid to charge more. Don't apologize
for making the best possible product if that is the actual truth of your
product.

bossed menu with the menu placed
into the edges is a nice look (but
a very expensive one). My suggestion is to go with what hasn't been
done. At least what hasn't been done
around you. A file folder, a distressed
clipboard, elastic bands attached to
a board of some kind or old concert
posters with the menu written inside
are funky ideas. Remember that
dining out is about having a unique
experience, and that needs to resonate
all the way down to your menu.
Bi-fold, tri-fold or double sided.

Most of time the choice of tri or
bi-fold is left just for the to-go menu.
If you use the same menu for inhouse and to-go, it should be because
you aren't a sit-down establishment or
rely on a menu board. Keep in mind:
the more folds, the more complicated
it is on the customer.
Price font and placement. The
price on a menu can be the most or
least focal thing, depending on your
treatment of it. If the prices are all
directly below each other or with
dots leading to it, then it will pull
the eye directly to price. Placing the
price subtly after the menu item in a
smaller font will place the emphasis
on the food item as opposed to the
price.
3 4 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / M A R C H 2 0 1 7

$9.95, $9.99, $10 or just 10? Along
with price placement is how you
convey that price. The days of $9.99
are kind of over. Not completely over,
but kind of over. Rural markets and
suburbs with slightly older, more
family-based demographics still will
go for this subconscious attempt to
dissuade someone from thinking
you've breached a certain price point.
I've found in my more urban and city
life locations that it comes across as a
cheesy ploy. A straight-forward number is more on point. Regardless of
which style you choose, don't put the
dollar sign in front. It pulls the brain
into evaluating price and not thinking
about food.
How much to charge? Is your

priced based upon:
* What the other guy is charging?
* What you think it's worth?
* What you believe the market will
bear?
* Actual food cost?
The ideal would be to set your
prices based on food cost (but that
might lead to items with a $12.73
price tag if you went for a straight
20-percent food cost on an item that
takes $2.54 to make). You could round
up or down, but do it with purpose.
Don't do anything just because the
other guy is doing it, but be aware of

Photos or no photos? Photos are
considered by and large passé. To-go
menus can have them, but in-house
menus really shouldn't unless literacy
is an issue. Photos can sell for you
online and in printed items, but you
don't want to come off like a Denny's
when you are trying to be the best local pizzeria in your customers' eyes. If
you are going to use photos on a to-go
menu or for online purposes, make
sure of two things:

1. That it is actual photos of your food,
not stock photos.
2. That you have a pro take them.
How to reprint. Your best bet is
to have a pro do your first menu run
and save it to InDesign or some type
of program that allows you to easily
modify the price and/or menu items.
From there you can export it to a pdf,
and have a print shop take care of the
rest. Paying a graphic designer $100
an hour to change a few prices is a
waste of money.
The nitty gritty. The real focus
needs to be direct but enticing. Long
stories about a few menu items and
almost no description for others
will come off as disjointed. When it
comes to speaking more in depth of
menu items, leave that to your staff
to explain their take on the item with
background memos on each item as a
part of their training. Be yourself, be
honest and be open to having a menu
that is as genuine as you. n
MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini's
Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - March 2017

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