Pizza Today_February 23 - 14

MAN ON THE STREET SCO TT WIENER
Popping the
Pop-Up Bubble
A
few weeks ago, I ran into a friend
who makes pizza for a living.
She got her start about fi ve years
ago and has been busy running pop-ups
at bars and events ever since. She told
me about plans to shift up from running
spotty pop-ups to something more
dependable but expressed frustration as to
what that might look like. All she knew
was that she didn't want to settle into
a brick-and-mortar location. So many
young pizza makers are in the exact same
situation: unhappy with the limitations
of pop-ups, but uninterested in opening a
restaurant.
Pop-ups are a tempting way to get into
the pizza business because both obligation
and risk are minimized. You can
partner with a local bar or event space
and set up a schedule that fi ts your life.
No need to write a huge menu, just off er a
few options you can execute with minimal
setup. It only takes a couple people to
run the show and some additional time
and labor for ingredient prep. If you're
renting space at a commissary kitchen you
have the benefi t of only paying for the
time you need, unlike monthly rent at a
restaurant where you're paying even if the
lights are off . At a pop-up, your customers
expect and require much less than they
would at a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
Sounds like bliss, right?
Th e problem with pop-ups is scale.
Th ey work great as a side hustle, but not
as a full-time business. Since the pop-up
relies entirely on YOU, it's impossible
to call in sick or go on vacation without
losing a gig. Maybe you've built a loyal
and adoring fanbase, but relying too
heavily on them will lead to customer
burnout. If you're popping up in diff erent
locations every week, the uncertainty of
not controlling your own space might be
enough of a challenge to derail you. It's
not a long-term business model.
For anyone who wants to be a pizza
maker but doesn't want to be trapped
within four walls, catering is a logical
solution. Nomadic pizza making sounds
fun, but popping up at a bar on a slow
business night just to throw away dozens
of doughs and hours of hard work does
not. Catering events fi xes that problem.
I used to think of catering as a service
business with multi-cuisine menus and
options galore, but pizza-specifi c service
is in high demand right now. I get several
e-mails every month asking me to recommend
mobile pizza catering companies.
Th e more I think about the limitations
of pop-ups, the more I think about
independent rock bands. When I used to
play in one, we had to be careful about
how many shows we booked in the same
area. It was important to spread ourselves
out to reach more people. I wonder if
there's room for nomadic pizza makers
to go on tour to reach a wider audience
and build their brand. Sure, there are
complications with local health codes
and traveling with ingredients, but it's
not impossible. Wouldn't it be interesting
to see a network of traveling pizza
makers bringing their talents to diff erent
cities every week?
I love the fact that so many people
have been bitten by the pizza bug over
the past few years and it makes me
extremely excited about what the business
will look like in the future. One
thing I'm convinced of is that it won't be
confi ned by ingredients, style or walls.
SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott's Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org Instagram: @scottspizzatours
14 / PIZZATODAY.COM / FEBRUARY 2023

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Pizza Today_February 23

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