Pizza Today -April2023 - 14

MAN ON THE STREET SCO TT WIENER
I've heard the phrase, " I just want to go
home and order Seamless. " Your small
business is cut from the equation, treating
you merely as a kitchen.
I'm starting to see new concept companies
that partner with independent
restaurants to reproduce their food at
scale in a network of ghost kitchens. It's
an interesting model that capitalizes on
consumers' desire for convenience. But
what happens when the ghost kitchen
version competes in the same neighborhood
as the original version? Could the
licensee put the licensor out of business?
It's entirely possible.
One of my favorite pizzerias in New
Killer Convenience
t wasn't long ago that home food
delivery was a novelty. Even though
Chinese food and pizza delivery
both landed in the fi rst half of the 20th
century, neither really took off until after
WWII. After just a couple decades, home
food delivery became the standard with
pizza as its poster child. Now you can get
just about anything delivered to your door
within minutes, from a dozen chocolate
chip cookies to a cup of coff ee. Some say
it's bliss, but I'm worried about what we're
losing as restaurants give into the growing
convenience culture.
I
Every pizzeria has had to confront
the double-edged nature of third-party
delivery services. If a pizzeria is willing to
pay the high commissions and customers
are willing to pay premiums, the relationship
works. Th e true problem is that your
pizzeria isn't just losing control over the
last mile of the transaction process, you're
also losing your identity. No longer is the
customer yours, they now belong to the
delivery service. Customers no longer
order from Joey's Original Pizza, they
order from Brand X Restaurant Aggregator,
Inc. I can't tell you how many times
York City is Totonno's Pizzeria Napoletano
on Coney Island. Th ey shut their
doors in March 2020 and only reopened
earlier this year. Th is is a classic pizzeria
that's been around since the 1920s with
a rare coal-burning oven driving the
business. People used to queue down the
block hoping for a chance to score one
of the day's limited pizzas. When they
reopened after nearly three years, the
business model was completely reborn.
Totonno's no longer has dine-in service;
they do only takeout and delivery. It's
admirable that they've fi gured out a way
to keep the business alive, but a piece of
me is disappointed that customers will no
longer be able to experience the dine-in
service of one of NYC's classic pizza
parlors. Is convenience the savior or the
killer?
Th e trick for the pizzeria is to provide
the ease of use without losing identity. It's
clear that consumers love convenience.
We like quick and easy ordering through
apps that already have our credit cards
locked and loaded. I just hope we can
stop ourselves from ending up in a future
where great food is just something that
arrives on your table with the push of a
button, entirely devoid of the passion and
heart that went into its production.
SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott's Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org Instagram: @scottspizzatours
14 / PIZZATODAY.COM / APRIL 2023

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Pizza Today -April2023

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