The Hot Slice

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we’re exploring the story of a 50 th anniversary and a love story and growth and change at Perry’s Pizza in Huntington Beach, California. We chat with owners Jess and Dawn Bingaman, and Lynette Swanson. Perry’s Pizza started long before Jess and Dawn came in the picture. The original Perry’s opened in 1973. Jess was a manager at Perry’s in the 8...

Send us Fan Mail On The Hot Slice podcast this week is veteran pizza maker/pizzeria owner Joe Carlucci. Joe owns Valentina’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Madison, Alabama. He followed up first-place win in the Traditional Division at last year’s International Pizza Expo with a Non-Traditional victory this year. He went on to win and be named Pizza Maker of the Year. This is the first time in challen...

Send us Fan Mail Pizza Expo 2024 turns 40 and we’re going all out. While we’re not disclosing what we have planned, we’re marking the occasion in a major way. This week, Jeremy and Josh talk Pizza Expo. Attendee registration opened last week. This also means competitors can register for the show and sign up for the International Pizza Challenge and World Pizza Games. For those not familiar with Pi...

Send us Fan Mail Pizza Expo 2024 turns 40 and we’re going all out. While we’re not disclosing what we have planned, we’re marking the occasion in a major way. This week, Denise and Jeremy talk Pizza Expo. Attendee registration opened this week. This also means competitors can register for the show and sign up for the International Pizza Challenge and World Pizza Games.   For those not familiar wit...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we catch up with Scott Rivera, owner of Scottie’s Pizza Parlor in Portland, Oregon. We last visited Scottie’s in 2018 to profile the hot Portland pizzeria as an On the Road Feature. In the feature, he shares, “I think a lot of New Yorkers and people from the East Coast can relate to not finding good pizza when they move away,” Rivera says, addin...

Send us Fan Mail Jeremy and Josh read and respond to some recent emails sent to Pizza Today by readers. They talk pizza tech, desserts and business in this episode. But the real gold is near the end when the 2024 Pizza Expo Opening Day Keynote speaker is announced. It takes a legendary person to get the 40th Anniversary of Pizza Expo call, and we know you won't be disappointed. Be sure to wat...

Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice was back on the pizza show floor interviewing pizzeria pros at Pizza and Pasta Northeast on October 1-2 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. This is Part II of a two-part series of short interviews. We get the pulse of the industry from the exhibit hall. In this episode, Jeremy and Denise chat with: Melissa Rickman, Wholly Stromboli, Fort Lupton, Colorado Othoniel...

Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice was back on the pizza show floor interviewing pizzeria pros at Pizza and Pasta Northeast on October 1-2 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. This is Part I of a two-part series of short interviews. We get the pulse of the industry from the exhibit hall. In this episode, Jeremy and Denise chat with: Louise Joseph, owner of Dough Girls, Inc. in Greenwich, Connecticu...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice, we sit down with Dan Collier. Dan Collier is co-owner and President of PizzaMan Dan’s, a regional chain in Southern California with 8 locations founded in 2012. Dan began his pizza career as a delivery driver in 1984. He served as President for a 20-store chain from 1987-2002 before becoming a Franchisee from 2002-2012. Dan has been a speaker and educat...

Send us Fan Mail Our guest this week is Mya Anitai. She owns Franny’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, Highlands, New Jersey. She took over a longstanding pizzeria Francesco’s Italian Restaurant in May 2019 and rebranding the business into Franny’s in February 2020. Mya discussed the rebranding with us in a previous Conversation. She said, “Francesco’s had been in business for 40 years before I purchase...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we chat with Frank Zabski of New Haven, Connecticut. After a corporate career wore him thin, Frank got into the pizza business with a mobile unit he named "Fired Up Pizza Truck". With the catering business, Frank aimed to "bring the party to you, not just the pizza." The truck catered parties and events for 50-125 people and...

Send us Fan Mail Jeremy, Denise and Josh hop in this week’s podcast give all the skinny for the upcoming Pizza & Pasta Northeast at the Atlantic City Convention Center on October 1-2. Pizza & Pasta Northeast showcases top suppliers for pizzerias and Italian restaurants. The two-day show features a schedule of pizza and pasta demonstrations by top chefs, seminars and workshops given by indu...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we chat with Drew Butler, who perhaps has been destined to be in the pizza industry. Things aligned for Drew when he was making pizzas out of his house as fundraisers for youth sports. He had been looking for a building to start his business when friends shared that a beloved local market had an unused pizza oven. Instead of undertaking a costly...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we have our upcoming Pizza and Pasta Northeast Keynote Speaker Will Grant on the show. Will owns That's A Some Pizza in Bainbridge Island, Washington and Sourdough Willy’s in Kingston, Washington. One of four Master Pizzaiolo in the United States Will has been making pizzas for 39 years with his family pizzerias. He has opened 13 restaurant...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, Jeremy and Denise sit down with Melissa Rickman, owner of Wholly Stromboli in Fort Lupton, Colorado. Rickman, a seasoned pizza business maven, regularly contributes to the educational lineup at Pizza Expo and Pizza & Pasta Northeast. She has written articles for Pizza Today and has led a variety of seminars and food demos at the two aforemen...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we are chatting with Gemma Cataldo, manager at Antonio’s Italian Restaurant in Elkhart, Indiana. We recently named Gemma a Rising Star in the Pizza Industry. She competed in her first International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo this year and took home first place in the Traditional Division. Her only other competition showing was in the Young Pi...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast our Editor-in-Chief, Jeremy White, reads some letters he's received recently from pizzeria operators regarding dessert sales in their shops. Desserts can often be challenging to move, but they can create great incremental revenue when a well-thought-out dessert program is put into place. In this installment, two operators chime in via e-mail...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast are 2023 Rising Stars in the Pizza Industry Alex White, Dani Garcia-White, Cameron White, Justin Ford, co-owners of Yukon Pizza in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Read their Rising Stars Q&A at https://pizzatoday.com/topics/people-pizzerias/alex-white-dani-garcia-white-cameron-white-justin-ford-yukon-pizza-downtown-las-vegas-nv-rising-stars/. Yuk...

Send us Fan Mail Thiago Vasconcelos and Alissa Gibson, owners of Pedroso’s Pizza in Austin, Texas, on The Hot Slice Podcast. Pedroso consists of a permanently placed trailer and a commissary kitchen. The couple opened Pedroso’s in the middle of the pandemic in a much smaller food trailer than their current trailer. Thiago spent a decade working as a pizza maker for Tony Gemignani in San Francisco....

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, our guest is Anthony Petralia. We last caught up with Anthony over a year ago to talk ghost kitchens for a Pizza Today Magazine article Going Ghost: A Look at Ghost Kitchen Operations and Setup ( https://pizzatoday.com/topics/finance-growth/a-look-at-ghost-kitchen-operations-and-setup/ ). His dad Don reached out to us to share that Anthony has g...

Send us Fan Mail Neel and Palak Vaidya, Troy’s Italian Kitchen on The Hot Slice Podcast On this week’s The Hot Slice Podcast, Executive Editor Denise Greer and Senior Creative Director Josh Keown chat with Neel and Palak Vaidya, co-owners of Troy’s Italian Kitchen in Arlington, Virginia. Neel was recently named a Rising Star of the Pizza Industry by Pizza Today. Neel and Palak’s journey to pizza w...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we have Steve Carcarey co-owner of Collegeville Italian Bakery Pizzeria Napoletana in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Collegeville first opened as a bakery. Steve and his wife Patrizia took over the business from her parents. Since then, the couple has added on a dining room, full menu, catering and a thriving packaged goods business. According to its “About Us”, Patrizia s...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we hear the story of Futuro in Indianapolis, Indiana. Owners Luke Tobias’ and Sarah St. Aubin’s incomes halted during the COVID-19 Pandemic. With a newborn, the two looked for direction. With Luke restaurant experience and Sarah’s business and customer contact savvy, they started a popup pizzeria from their home. They specialized in multiple pizza styles and made up to...

Send us Fan Mail Pizza Today talk Letters to the Editor This week on The Hot Slice Podcast Editor In Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer talk Letters to the Editor. We touch on some big industry topics, including Pizza Expo, education, entering the pizza industry, pizzeria valuation, our pizzeria operator survey and more. Here are some excerpts from a few of our Letters to the Edi...

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s The Hot Slice Podcast, Executive Editor Denise Greer chats with Peter Falzo, owner of Vinnie’s Pan Pizza in Millburn, New Jersey. Peter created Vinnie’s to honor his uncle who owned a successful pizza restaurant for decades. Peter shares his story of transforming his Italian restaurant into a high-demand carryout pizzeria. He details how he created Vinnie’s Pan Pizz...