Pizza Today - August 2017 - 58

still not particularly expensive, and we can
get a huge yield out of a bag," Jerrier
explains. "Our doughball may cost us
20-something cents, and a Margharita pizza,
fully loaded, probably costs us $1.25 to
make, and we sell it for $13. It's our number
two-selling pizza."
Cane Rosso's bestseller isn't even on their
menu. The secret menu "Honey Bastard" is
a white pizza with mozzarella, hot soppressata, bacon marmalade jam and drizzled
with housemade hot habañero honey when
it comes out of the oven. "It's No. 1 at every
restaurant in every part of Texas," Jerrier
says. "It's kind of one of those things that's
5 8 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7

taken on a life of its own."
The Margharita is also popular, but so too is the Luana,
which is made with sausage, hot soppressata, mushrooms,
San Marzano tomatoes and housemade mozzarella. All
pizzas are 14 inches and prepared VPN style, proving that
everything in Texas doesn't have to be bigger to be better.
Surprisingly, the Brussels sprouts appetizer (Brussels
sprouts with pancetta, straciatella, Pecorino Romano,
shaved almonds and a balsamic reduction) is a heavy hitter,
and Jerrier calls cauliflower the "it" veggie of this season.
They make burrata in house as well, and change it seasonally simply by changing what they serve it with. Fried
mozzarella just made its way onto the menu and is also
selling well.
The restaurants had offered beer and wine in the past,
but a full bar with signature cocktails is a relatively new
addition for Cane Rosso as their respective cities made
it easier to get liquor licenses. At the high end, liquor
accounts for around 25 percent of sales, but "we're not
open late, late hours. We close at 11, even on Fridays and
Saturdays. We're not a drinking bar," Jerrier says. Texas has
a great craft-beer scene and signature drinks sell well, but
Jerrier is working on his wine list to be more accessible
for patrons. "Most people just settle on something and we
don't want them doing that," he says.
TOP LEFT:
Packed dining
room at lunch
TOP RIGHT:
Make line and
customized
wood fired oven
BOTTOM LEFT:
Old Fashioned

As Jerrier and his investors expanded throughout Texas, "we kind of used a Nautilus approach to

growth," Jerrier says. "We started in Dallas proper and we
kind of spiraled out. We went to White Rock first, which
is only seven miles from our first location. Then the third
one was Fort Worth, which is 30 miles away. The fourth
was Fairview, which was our first suburban one. It's still
about 30 miles away."
Jerrier calls Dallas "provincial," meaning that residents
tend to stay in their respective areas. That's good for Cane
Rosso because the restaurants don't cannibalize each other.
And as young professionals get married and move out of
the city into the suburbs, there's probably a Cane Rosso
nearby, giving the company continued name recognition.

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Pizza Today - August 2017

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