Pizza Today - February 2019 - 46

FEATURES

Who Will Be Our Next
Young Entrepreneur of the Year?
V OT E N E X T MONT H AT P I Z Z A E X P O !

ALEX KOONS

S

cores of pizzeria operators
across the country submitted
their survey responses and
videos for consideration for the 2019
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Award. The honor, open to pizzeria
owners in the United States under
the age of 40, will be decided upon
by International Pizza Expo attendees this month.
The process of whittling down
the entrants to three finalists was
anything but easy. After poring over
the submissions, the editorial crew of
Pizza Today are pleased to announce
the trio who will stand on the stage
at Pizza Expo to make their case for
the award.
The three finalists are Rita
Halkias of Cheshire Pizza & Ale in
Cheshire, Connecticut; Alex Koons
of Purgatory Pizza in Los Angeles;
and Mitch Rotolo, Jr. of Rotolo's
Craft & Crust in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana.
"We were blown away by this
year's submissions," Pizza Today
Editor-in-Chief, Jeremy White, says.
"It was exceptionally difficult this
year to trim the list of entrants down
to three. In fact, it got pretty brutal
near the end as we fought back and
4 6 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 9

R I TA HA L K I A S

forth over that third and final ticket
to Vegas. It probably would have
made for good reality show television!"
EACH FINALIST BRINGS DIFFERENT
CONCEPTS TO THE TABLE. But they all

share some commonalities as well.
Namely passion.
"The one thing you cannot take
away from any of these three finalists
is the passion that exudes from them
when they talk about their businesses," White says. "They clearly, beyond
question, are consumed with what
they do. They are chasing something
much bigger than themselves, and
the excitement that radiates from
them in their videos is undeniable.
"I'm looking forward to putting
these three on stage at International
Pizza Expo and letting them tell
their stories. I think attendees will
be inspired. I'm glad I don't have to
vote for the winner. It's not going to
be easy!"
THE YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE
YEAR AWARD PRESENTATION AND
VOTE IS SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 6 FROM 3:30-5:30 P.M. IT IS
FREE FOR ALL REGISTERED ATTENDEES.

M I TCH R OTO LO JR.

Each finalist will give a 15-minute
talk at the reception, highlighting key
moments in the founding and growth
of their companies and describing
their business philosophies.
The audience will then vote live
via the Sli.Do app to determine
the winner. Scott Wiener, host of
Scott's Pizza Tours and our Man
on the Street columnist, will emcee
the event. The winner will receive
a memorial trophy and free tuition
to Tony Gemignani's International
School of Pizza - not to mention
bragging rights and a cover feature
in an upcoming issue of Pizza Today!
MEANWHILE, LAST YEAR'S YOUNG
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR HONOREE, Sammy Mandell of Greenville

Avenue Pizza Company in Dallas,
will deliver a keynote address that
same morning from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
During the keynote he'll reflect a
bit on what winning the inaugural
award meant for GapCo.
For those who can't make this
year's show, we'll be live-Tweeting
throughout the event, as well as
posting daily updates and even some
videos on PizzaToday.com, Facebook
and Instagram.


http://www.PizzaToday.com http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - February 2019

Pizza Today - February 2019
Commentary
Contents
Contributors
Expo Spotlight
Interact
Conversation
Man on the Street
Tony’s Trending Recipe
Road to Pizza Expo
Destinations
Knead to Know
In-Store Marketing
Slice Business
Detroit Style - Part Ii: Making It a Career
Marketing Trends
Pizza Expo 2019 Preview
Pizza Today on the Road: Pizza Jerk, Portland, Oregon
Preferred Supplier
Pizza Today Yellow Pages
The Marketplace
Reader’s Resource
Mike’s Monthly Tip
Pizza Today - February 2019 - CT1
Pizza Today - February 2019 - CT2
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Pizza Today - February 2019
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Cover2
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Commentary
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 4
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 5
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Contents
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 7
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 8
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 9
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Contributors
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 11
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 13
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Interact
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 15
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Conversation
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 17
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Man on the Street
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 19
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Tony’s Trending Recipe
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 21
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Road to Pizza Expo
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 23
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Destinations
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 25
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Knead to Know
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 27
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 28
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 29
Pizza Today - February 2019 - In-Store Marketing
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 31
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 32
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 33
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Slice Business
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 35
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 36
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 37
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Detroit Style - Part Ii: Making It a Career
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 39
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 40
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 41
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Marketing Trends
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 43
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 44
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 45
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Pizza Expo 2019 Preview
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 47
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 48
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 49
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Pizza Today on the Road: Pizza Jerk, Portland, Oregon
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 51
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 52
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 53
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Preferred Supplier
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 55
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 56
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 57
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 58
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 59
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 60
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 61
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 62
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 63
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 64
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 65
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 66
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 67
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 68
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 69
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 70
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 71
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 72
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 73
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 74
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 75
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 76
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 77
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Pizza Today Yellow Pages
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 79
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 80
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 81
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 82
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 83
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 84
Pizza Today - February 2019 - The Marketplace
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 86
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 87
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 88
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 89
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 90
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 91
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 92
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 93
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 94
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 95
Pizza Today - February 2019 - 96
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Reader’s Resource
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Mike’s Monthly Tip
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Cover3
Pizza Today - February 2019 - Cover4
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