Pizza Today - March 2021 - 62

Pasquale di Diana: The
camaraderie and brotherhood in
the pizza industry is a beautiful
thing. If somehow that community
can be developed online I think it
could help me brainstorm solutions
to my everyday operational issues.

it'll be normalized like the flu and
we will have to learn to live with
this new virus, and hopefully there
will be immunizations available to
all so we can move forward without
having to wear a mask and social
distance.

Nicole Bean: Possibly smaller
snippets sent via email as a weekly
or monthly blast - something
where I can get insight quickly and
get back to the shops. Ideas that I
can ponder on during the week and
work to develop or maybe reach
out to others about would be really
helpful.

Michael Androw: I am definitely beginning to see a light at
the end of the COVID tunnel. In
Connecticut the positivity rate and
hospitalizations have plummeted in
the past two weeks. Our Governor has now begun the reopening
process.

Michael Androw: I would like
to see a fully archived library over
the years of all of the seminars so
they can always be referenced. I
think with the recent passings of
Big Dave and Tom Lehmann it
has given me a new perspective. I
would love if I had recorded some
of those conversations over the
years to look back on.

PT: Are you seeing a light
at the end of the tunnel in
your area with regards to
COVID-19?
Scott Anthony: I see light.
Sometimes it fades a bit as we hear
of new outbreaks and mutated
viruses, food costs, etc. - but we
are making progress.
Pasquale di Diana: Yes, I
believe a combination of people
learning to live with COVID
smartly and the hope that the
vaccine will roll out rapidly puts
us in a position that we can begin
rebounding from all this later in
the year.
Nicole Bean: Absolutely. I feel
like people are getting tired of
being cooped up and having to
wear masks all the time. Eventually

John Arena: Living in Las
Vegas it is hard to predict how long
recovery will take. A tourist/convention-based economy is highly
vulnerable. That being said, the vibe
here amongst operators is positive
with new start-ups taking shape
and residents rallying to support
local restaurants.

PT: What did the Great
Quarantine of 2020 teach
you about your business
model and what you needed
to do to ensure its relevancy?
Scott Anthony: Be adaptable.
I feel that keeping Top of Mind
Awareness was critical, too. People
needed to know you were there for
them and they needed to connect
with you, so I needed to keep my
content relevant. Not just talking
about food or specials, but about
cleanliness, taking extra ServSafe
classes, getting certified by the state
for compliance with CDC and
Department of Health guidelines.
Pasquale di Diana: The
Great Quarantine taught me that
anything is possible and no matter
how much we plan and forecast,
there are things that can come up
that we just cannot control and are

out of our hands. In the beginning
of all this, I had to scale down the
model and trim as much possible,
and learned that we were able to
do it rapidly. We needed to be
quick to adapt to many factors and
circumstances, and literally we were
making changes daily to ensure our
relevancy and survive through all
this.
Derek Sanchez: We have a
great model as it is 95 percent
takeout. We now need to prepare
for what people want next. A place
to sit and enjoy with their family.
Nicole Bean: Being such a crazy
turn of events that happened fairly
quickly like a wave; I think it was
important to let it come over you
and then ride it out like a scene
from Point Break.
I learned that my business model
was resilient, moldable and ready
for whatever was coming. We
pivoted quickly and I wanted to
make sure that my staff knew we
wanted them to remain employed,
but also for my customers to know
that we would still be available
to them at all costs. We removed
third-party delivery and started our
own in-house delivery to cut costs
for us and the customer, but also
ensured customer service was met.
Along with many other pizzerias
we offered pizza kits with a video
QR code to provide the customers
with not only a one-on-one experience with us, but also a chance to
see what we do daily to create their
pizzas.
I believe our biggest success
was maintaining our regular menu
throughout this entire pandemic.
Where many restaurants cut menu
items or revamped their entire
menu and processes we kept moving forward in order to give our
customers a feeling of normalcy
that I think paid off.

6 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / M A R C H 2 0 2 1 	

060_PIZ_0321_FTroundtable.indd 62

2/10/21 1:51 PM
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - March 2021
