Pizza Today - March 2018 - 70

BE IN ROOM
S220-221
ON WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 21 AT
3:30 P.M. AT
THE LAS VEGAS
CONVENTION
CENTER DURING
PIZZA EXPO.
You will be inspired, moved,
entertained and proud. Three young
pizzeria owner/operators will take
the stage to share their stories of
success, vision and innovation.
Afterward, you, the pizzeria
professional, will select one to
be our inaugural Pizza Today
Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
The award winner will receive a
memorial trophy and free tuition
to Tony Gemignani's International
School of Pizza. Plus, Pizza Today
will travel to the recipient's location
to feature the pizzeria in an
upcoming issue of the magazine!
HOW DID WE ARRIVE AT OUR
THREE FINALISTS? LET'S GO BACK TO
THE BEGINNING.

The face of the pizzeria
industry is changing. We see
it at International Pizza Expo,
during visits to pizzerias around
the country and in our daily
conversations with pizzeria owners.
The new generation of pizza
professionals are change-makers
7 0 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / M A R C H 2 0 1 8

and innovators.
That prompted us to ask
the question: How do we
recognize and raise awareness
of young pizzeria owners who
will shape the pizza industry
for decades to comes?
After extensive
brainstorming, the idea to
create an awards program
emerged - not just any
program, but one that would
inspire the entire pizzeria
industry.
With the largest gathering
of pizza people in the world
at Pizza Expo, we have the
ideal platform to showcase
young operators' successes. We
continued to build on the idea
by creating the framework
for the award. What would
the ideal age range be? We
decided 40 years of age was
an ideal cutoff for an industry
where the average age of a pizzeria
owner is over 50. We established
a criteria with an open submission
process available to any operator
in the country. In an online form,
we asked candidates to provide
the full scope of the business
they have built, from overall
business concept, sales figures and
employee programs to community
involvement and marketing
initiatives. We also asked for links
to their Web sites, menus and
social profiles.
WHAT BETTER WAY TO SEE THEIR
VISION THAN VIDEO?

We asked operators to send us
a four-minute video and answer
specific questions: 'What is your
pizzeria's brand? How do you
market your pizzeria? What
community outreach initiatives
do you organize? How has your
company grown during the past
12 months and what are your

future growth plans? Why should
you be honored as Pizza Today's
Young Entrepreneur of the Year?'
We took to Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, Quick Tips E-news, and
the Pizza Today and Pizza Expo
Web sites and called on to the
industry to apply.
Ask and ye shall receive: Scores
of owners from across the country
(and a few international folks)
submitted for the award.
NARROWING THE FIELD

The Pizza Today and Pizza Expo
staff read every form and watched
every video submitted. All of us
were inspired by each operator's
story. Watching owner after owner
tell of their triumphs with passion
and purpose were goose bump
moments. It reinvigorated us and
made us proud to represent the
booming industry.
The most difficult part was
selecting the final three. It was a
month-long process of watching
videos, re-watching videos,
reviewing submission materials and
making notes. We created a point
system for each criteria area. We
reviewed each candidate on their
overall business concept, employee
programs, community involvement
and marketing programs. We looked
for innovation, business growth,
robust year-to-year sales growth
and passion. We first narrowed the
field to a dozen, then 10 and then
six. We did so individually to keep
the voting process impartial. Then
the team sat in a room with the final
six and reviewed everything again,
discussing each candidate, casting
votes for our final three.
These creative and motivated
finalists encapsulate the essence
of the award. Without further
ado, here are Pizza Today's Young
Entrepreneur of the Year Award
finalists (in alphabetical order):
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - March 2018

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