5 Things to Know Before Starting Your Dream Pizzeria
John Arena, an industry consultant with over 50 years of experience in pizza-making, gives advice to anyone hoping to start their own pizzeria.
Before you quit your day job, there are some things you should know about the glamorous life of a pizza entrepreneur. The plain truth is that making pizza for a living is a lot different than impressing your friends at your kid’s birthday party.
However, the modern pizza landscape also has its share of former amateurs who are now enriching the craft. In Brooklyn, New York, Paulie Gee quit his tech job and opened his namesake pizzeria after practicing for years in his backyard, testing his recipes and getting feedback from prominent local food bloggers. In Chicago, Jonathan Goldsmith, a social worker whose culinary background consisted of cooking in a soup kitchen, brought passion and commitment while creating Spacca Napoli, which is now recognized as one of the world’s top Neapolitan pizzerias.
So how did they do it? More importantly, what can you do to avoid having your pizza dream turn into the next kitchen nightmare?
1. Learn restaurant math
Most restaurants have already failed when the lease is signed because many operators don’t understand how the numbers should work or, even worse, they know the numbers don’t make sense, but they think the magic of good intentions is going to somehow change the economic reality. Learn how to calculate expenses and be conservative when forecasting revenue.
2. Get ready to commit
Throw away your watch, your calendar and all notions of a set job description. To succeed, you are going to have to be committed to doing whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, every day. Holidays? Forget them. Weekends? The best time to make some money.
3. Practice your skills under the eye of a trained professional
Making pizza in a restaurant setting where speed, efficiency and cost controls are crucial is worlds away from making a couple of pies for the neighbors. Attend one of the many well-respected pizza schools around the country and then apprentice at a high-volume pizzeria so you can get a thorough understanding of what you are jumping into.
4. Make sure your location is compatible with your concept
For example, if you want to make deep-dish pizza that has a long bake time, don’t build your pizzeria in an office park where your guests have to eat quickly before getting back to work.
5. Get in shape, seriously
Making pizza is hard physical and mental work. Expect to be on your feet 12 hours a day, standing in front of a hot oven, working full-speed for hours at a time. Sure, many people can do that for a few days. Are you prepared to do that every day with no end in sight?
If you are undaunted by these challenges and truly believe in yourself, the pizza community welcomes you and wishes you all the best.