Pizza Marketplace Podcast

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Sonia Barajas-Najera, vice president of franchise administration for Shakey's Pizza. Shakey's began franchising in the 1950s shortly after it was founded. After a number of ownership changes, the brand currently has 43 units. There's a new flagship in Culver City that took...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Jamie Cecil, vice president of franchise development for Mellow Mushroom. Mellow Mushroom started in 1974 and has grown to 160 units. The brand is known for its cool vibes. Each store is unique. "I like to call them kind of unicorns. There's not one store that looks alike, whi...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Bryan Ketelhut, vice president of franchise and business development for Little Caesars. Ketelhut has been with the company for years and now heads up domestic franchising. He's also a former franchisee himself. Little Caesars is known for its streamlined operations. From a development...

In episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Joe Carlucci, founder and owner of Valentina's Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Alabama. Carlucci, who has dozens of years in pizza, is a member of the World Pizza Champions and a leader in the industry. Carlucci opened Valentina's, named after his daughter, in the midst of COVID. Prior to t...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Genero Perez, chief marketing officer for Peter Piper Pizza, a legacy brand with more than 50 years in the industry. The brand has about 115 restaurants in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and the northern part of Mexico. The restaurants all have a lunch buffet Monday through Friday from 11 a.m...

Riko's Pizza is redefining America's love affair with pizza, and with five corporate stores and seven franchised units, the full-service pizzeria sells thin crust, tavern-style pizza. The pizza is what drew Carl Bachmann , president and COO of Riko's, to the brand. They're taking over the East Coast one bite at a time. "That's really what enticed me to join the brand...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Scott Wiener, director of Slice Out Hunger, about the Pizza Across America even that brings together pizzerias across the country for a good cause. The week of National Pizza Day, Feb. 9, pizzerias are encouraged to donate 10 pizzas to their local hospitals, first responders, shelters or so...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, talks to Jennifer Jackson, vice president of public relations for Hungry Howie's. Jackson spoke about the public relations and advertising the pizza brand does. Hungry Howie's differentiates itself by offering flavored crusts. Jackson said the butter cheese is the top crust flavor, but the brand does unique LTOs like...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb.com, talks to Eric Soller, founder of Old Scratch Pizza in Dayton, Ohio. With a formal culinary background and years working with mixer giant Hobart, Soller said he was primed and ready to open his own restaurant. "I love pizza," Soller said. "I was thinking about a lot of things...

In our most recent Pizza Marketplace Podcast, Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talked to Dallas Massey, senior vice president of Papa Murphy's Take N' Bake Pizza. Massey discussed the brand's $10 Tuesdays promotion and how it has evolved over the years. In the beginning, consumers could purchase any pizza in any size for $10 on Tuesdays. Over the years, however, with the...

Michigan-based Saroki's Crispy Chicken & Pizza pairs delicious chicken and pizza in a mega gas station setting. However, it wasn't always this way. The brand, which has 19 location, used to have good pizza, but not great pizza. Owner Todd Saroki went to California to study under master pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani. What he brought back was a pizza product customers love. Todd Saroki and...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Tory Williams, general manager of Bright Penny Brewing Co. in Mebane, North Carolina. The brand has three locations, all of which operate differently. The main restaurant and brewery is in downtown Mebane where the brand does all its beer manufacturing. Neapolitan pizza is the brand'...

In this episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com, chats with Jordan Krolick, president of Blue Moon Pizza and Jeff Goldt, chief operating officer of Blue Moon Pizza. The Atlanta pizzeria brand, known for its unique hybrid pizzas and passionate customer base, is ready to expand with franchising. Today, it has five units. Looking...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Mike Burns, CEO of &pizza based out of Washington, D.C. The brand was founded in 2012 by Michael Astoria who's still involved with the brand today. Astoria traveled the country and found D.C. was a blank slate and ripe for a gourmet pizza brand. "Really, there wasn't a st...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Kevin King, who recently took over Donatos Pizza last October as president and CEO. Under King's leadership, the brand is embracing strategies to keep it relevant for both new and existing customers amidst rising pricing wars in the pizza industry. Donatos started in 1963 when its foun...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Mary Jane Riva, CEO of California-based Pizza Factory . The brand was founded in 1985 in two small California towns and will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. Riva and her husband, Bob, came aboard as franchisees in 1990 and opened five of their own Pizza Factory locations. In 2012,...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to John Stetson, CEO of Florida-based Stoner's Pizza Joint. The brand was founded in 2013 in Savannah, Georgia. The first location had a stone oven, which is from where the brand takes its name. Though the brand enjoys its double entendre namesake, there's actually no cannabis involv...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, Editor Mandy Detwiler talks to Carl Comeaux, CEO and partner of Texas-based Crust Pizza Co. Comeaux joined the company after being a fan of its pizza. Crust now has 30 units in Texas and Louisiana and plans to grow another 15 in 2025. It has seven corporate stores and 23 franchised units with a goal of 250 units in nine years. "We're look...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Jim Metevier, CEO of Mountain Mike's Pizza . The California chain of 240 restaurants is making waves on the West Coast with its toppings-heavy pies and tight operations. Metevier has more than 30 years experience in the restaurant industry. He previously served as the company's preside...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Brandon Hunt and Zane Hunt, brothers who launched Via 313 in Austin, Texas. Zane said he and his brother were raised in the Detroit, and grew up eating square pizza, now known as Detroit-style pizza. "You thinking about where we're at right now in 2024 with the hyper gentrificatio...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to Little Caesars franchisee Vicki Dunn-Marshall. Dunn-Marshall's focus on philanthropy has led to start Pizza Paws, a campaign that raises money for police K-9 units across the country. The idea came about after there was a prison break in one of the towns where she operates a Little Cae...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace , talks to Wesley Keegan, founder of TailGate Brewery, a nine-unit pizzeria and brew hall in Nashville, Tennessee. Keegan started with a brewery, but found his customers would have a beer and then leave to go find food. He tried bringing in food trucks, but that didn't seem to work. Instead, he...

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, and Jeff Hetsel, president of Cicis Pizza . Hetsel says Cicis, which is a buffet concept, is doing well with positive sales, and the brand is currently looking for ways to leverage technology to increase those sales. "One of the great things we try to do is if you don't see your favorite p...

 In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace Podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, talks to John Arena, co-owner of Metro Pizza in Las Vegas. Arena recently opened a signature pizzeria called Truly Pizza in Dana Point, California, with a group of friends. Together, they've built a concept new to the city that brings in both tourists and locals alike.