Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast

Matthew Cutolo of Gargiulo's in Brooklyn, New York, joins PEEL: A PMQ Pizza Podcast to discuss preserving one of New York's oldest Italian-American restaurant legacies while introducing new generations to authentic Neapolitan pizza. A third-generation member of the family that has owned Gargiulo's since 1965, Cutolo shares how he became the sole keeper of the restaurant's century-old cannoli recip...

Ryan O’Hara, co-owner of Pizza Grace and Big Spoon Creamery in Birmingham, Alabama, joins PEEL: A PMQ Pizza Podcast to discuss how a sourdough-focused pizzeria earned a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand just months after changing ownership. Alongside his wife, Geri-Martha, O’Hara acquired Pizza Grace in 2025, preserving its naturally fermented foundation while reimagining nearly every other aspect of the busi...

French pizza maker Boris Berard of ORA 1929 Atelier Pizza in Nice, France, joins PEEL: A PMQ Pizza Podcast after earning a Top 25 finish in the Traditional American category at the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas. Competing against more than 700 pizza makers, Berard's fermentation-focused approach combines ancient Einkorn wheat, wild sourdough cultures and a multi-stage dough process in...

Domino’s Largest U.S. Franchisee: Whether you’re a franchise operator or an independent pizzeria owner, there’s something fascinating about somebody who starts as a delivery driver and winds up operating 160 pizza stores across five states.

Jon Garland of Saccone’s Pizza joins Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast to talk about his Tips From the Team feature from the May issue of PMQ Pizza Magazine and what a “year of growth” has meant for him as an operator, competitor, husband and father. Garland reflects on leadership, time management, community involvement and learning to work with greater intention, both in his personal life and at the pizz...

Michael LaMarca of Master Pizza joins Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast to talk about his May Beyond the Box segment for PMQ Pizza Magazine and the difference between having a marketing plan and simply planning to market. LaMarca breaks down the building blocks of effective pizza marketing, from branding and promotion to publicity, public relations and sales. Along the way, he shares insight into local st...

Brian Weavel of Perfect Crust Pizza Liners and Incredible Bags joins Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast to talk about his 40 years in the pizza business, from getting started young and running Anna’s Pizza & Pasta for 24 years to helping operators improve delivery quality today. Weavel shares lessons on community involvement, employee relationships and learning the hard way what it takes to build something...

Dave Dombrowski of Pizza Mia joins Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast to talk about his roots in the pizza business and the kind of grassroots, boots-on-the-ground marketing that helped him stand out. Dombrowski shares stories about creative promotional tactics, building buzz through unconventional ideas, and connecting with recognizable names before they became famous. Along the way, he offers insight int...

Dan Richer, owner and operator of Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City, New Jersey, joins the show to talk about his origins as a pizza maker and the details he’s still obsessed with (4:21). Richer talks about his recent and burgeoning love of golf and how the game shares many similarities with pizza making. He later shares how Razza seeks to balance sourcing seasonal, local ingredients with giv...

Giovanni Labbate joins the show to talk about his journey from franchise operator to independent owner of Tievoli Pizza, his success on the international pizza competition stage and what it takes to build a standout concept (2:18). The conversation touches on family legacy, food trucks as a growth engine, and why simplicity—on the menu and in operations—can be a competitive advantage. Brian Hernan...

Woody’s Wood-Fired Pizza owner Jon Bortles explains why he chose not to chase multi-unit expansion after watching what it took for his father to build and manage nine locations (3:50). Bortles breaks down how Woody’s has grown revenue in creative moves inside a single flagship from a high-volume buffet model to a food truck, takeout kitchen and—potentially—selective licensing (37:58). Later in the...

In his third appearance on the show, Sean Jefairjian—owner and operator of A Slice of New York in Murrysville, Pennsylvania—breaks down what his shop looks like a year after an 8.2 rating from Dave Portnoy (2:48). He tells all about his appearance at the One Bite Pizza Fest in September, and details a new sourdough ball venture he’s undertaken as he begins to grow as a pizzeria owner outside of hi...

In this episode, Mellow Mushroom’s VP of Franchise Development Jamie Cecil joins the show to talk about how a 50-year-old “stealth franchise” is entering a new era of intentional growth. He shares why the brand’s uniquely local vibe, commissary-driven consistency, and full-service roots still resonate today—and how new formats, technology, and smarter economics are shaping its future. Jamie also o...

Khanh Nguyen, founder and CEO of Zalat Pizza, joins the show as a special guest (2:55). Nguyen shares what it was like to leave a mansion in Vietnam to come live in a dorm room in the U.S. with his family of 11. He also discusses how he got into law, and then restaurants—and why his late-night Vietnamese restaurant unexpectedly became a service-industry hotspot. Nguyen outlines how Zalat came to b...

Victoria “Tori” Tiso of Tori T’s Pizzeria (Malverne, NY) and 914 Pizza (Harrison, NY) joins the show as a special guest (2:46). Tiso discusses her early years as a standout softball player and college softball coach and how those experiences affected the way she runs her pizzeria. She also talks about growing up around her father and uncle’s famous shop, Louie & Ernie’s in The Bronx, and how she m...

Mike Burns, CEO of &pizza, comes on the show to talk about exciting new franchising news for the 45-location brand (2:56). Burns lays out the brand’s growth strategy and why he says the brand can reach 300 locations by 2030. Burns also discusses his background in basketball coaching and how he climbed the ladder at Bojangles. Later in the show, Brian Hernandez returns to give a U.S. Pizza Team upd...

Salvatore Reina of Francesca Pizza & Pasta returns to discuss how a Long Island childhood and a formative first pizzeria job shaped his path, from opening in Elmwood Park and Glen Rock, New Jersey, to mentoring partner Adam Vuksanic and growing a tight-knit team (3:17). He breaks down their booming school-lunch program—now serving nearly 400 meals a day across 17 schools—and the scrappy marketing...

Vitangelo “Vito” Recchia, owner and operator of Bella Napoli Pizzeria & Restaurant in Port Charlotte, Florida, joins the show (2:36). Recchia discusses how a man who grew up in a pizza shop—but didn't make a pizza until age 30—became a highly acclaimed chef who was named "Best American Pizza Maker" at the 2023 and 2024 World Pizza Championships. Recchia recalls growing up in his family’s Pennsylva...

Jim Mirabelli, founder of NEPA Pizza Review, and Jim Henry—better known online as “Jimmy Hank” or “The Frico King”—join the show to talk about their unlikely journeys into the pizza world and how they teamed up to create the Virtual Pizza Academy (2:29). They discuss their partnership, their complementary teaching styles, what sets their online classes apart and why authenticity resonates so stron...

Joe Ledwidge, owner and operator of Ranger Joe’s Pizza in Kalispell, Montana, talks about a childhood at his parents pizzeria in Florida and his second act as a shop owner himself (2:33). Ledwidge shares the story behind the potent brand that is Ranger Joe’s and how it led to a beloved—and growing—local brand with franchising potential. He also talks about opening the brand’s second shop in Columb...

What does it take to run a pizzeria in one of the most competitive food cities in the world—and keep it thriving for more than two decades? In this episode, East Village Pizza co-owner Frank Kabatas discusses the realities of operating a popular shop in New York City, from middle-of-the-night equipment breakdowns to the unspoken rule that your doors must (almost) always be open (3:23). Frank share...

Erica D’Arcangelo, author of A Story About Pizza, joins the show to share how reconnecting with her family's Pennsylvania pizzeria reignited her passion for marketing (3:11). She tells the story of her grandfather’s journey from Italian immigrant and coal miner to founder of D'Arc's Pizza in Windber, PA, and how her father carried on the family’s proud pizza tradition. Erica shares how posting sim...

Tony Gemignani, founder of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana and Slice House, joins the show to share how he navigated the leap from independent operator to national franchisor (2:37). He discusses the challenges of maintaining consistency across locations, building infrastructure and maintaining quality while scaling fast. Gemignani also reflects on lessons from failure, the power of relationships with sup...

Nicole Bean, co-owner of Pizaro’s Pizza in Houston, joins the show to talk about her journey from corporate retail to pizza-making leadership (2:18). Bean discusses what it’s like to compete in international pizza competitions, how and why she introduced Detroit-style pizza to Houston in 2016 and what operators should know about running a gluten-free program. She also shares the evolution of her r...

Mike Kurtz, founder of Mike’s Hot Honey, joins the show to discuss how his industry-changing product came to be (2:31). Kurtz shares the challenges he faced as his product began to take off—and how a chance conversation with a professor at UMass-Amherst helped him unlock the secret to producing hot honey at scale. Kurtz also discusses why he still carries the same drive and collaborative mindset w...