The Hot Slice

Send us Fan Mail Jeremy White, Josh Keown and Denise Greer are here to get you ready for Pizza Expo less than week away. Find out their favorite show moments and get insider tips on how to approach the packed schedule of events. For all things Pizza Expo, visit http://PizzaExpo.com .

Send us Fan Mail Veteran pizzeria owners Jennifer Morales and Phoebe Reckseit have experienced a lot in their 30+ years in pizza business at Pizza Girls in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. On this episode, we talk words of wisdom, employees, closing a location and what’s next for the Pizza Girls.

Send us Fan Mail This week, our guest is Eric Rickman of Wholly Stromboli in Fort Lupton, Colorado. We talk overcoming obstacles, husband and wife business roles, expansion plans and employee strategies. Eric will join us as a panelist on an Overcoming Obstacles session on Wednesday, March 23 at Pizza Expo. More details at pizzaexpo.com.

Send us Fan Mail This week, we explore the interworking of building a family business from food truck to brick-and-mortar and beyond. Lasonia’s idea to sell Jay’s family night pizzas has turned into the flourishing Triple Jay’s Pizza in Atlanta, Georgia. Also see how they’ve reached TikTok acclaim.

Send us Fan Mail This week we dive into Juan Perez’s passion for pizza making. Juan is executive chef at Posto in Boston. He has reached millions of viewers on TikTok and Instagram. Find out how he does it. Also learn how Juan manages and trains pizza makers at Posto and the pizza he grew up on in Columbia. Check out his social: https://www.instagram.com/juangpizza/ https://www.tiktok.com/@juangpi...

Send us Fan Mail 87. Getting Real on Labor & Pricing Bruno Zacchini, owner of Pizza Bruno in Orlando, Florida, is on the show this week. He shares the reality of labor and menu pricing and how it’s impacting his pizzeria. Big things are also ahead as he plans to add a second location.  

Send us Fan Mail Rocky Shanower is a visionary restaurateur and a keynote speaker at Pizza Expo 2022. We chat about new directions with his two concepts, Park Street Pizza and Bahler Street mobile catering. He’s devised some new strategies for retaining employees and they are working at his Sugar Creek, Ohio pizzeria.

Send us Fan Mail Pizza Man Dan Collier is one of the most respected voices in the pizzeria business. We talk Pizza Expo education, how he’s growing through internal franchising and what’s next for his California-based Pizza Man Dan’s. And, of course, we get the skinny on all of his pizza swag, including the famous pizza Corvette.

Send us Fan Mail We have the Jersey Pizza Boys on the show this week to talk Pizza Across America, the largest pizza delivery donation happening the week of National Pizza Day (Feb. 9). Carmine Testa and sons Michael and Nicky founded Pizza Across America with Scott Wiener and Slice Out Hunger. We couldn’t let dough acrobatic celebrities off the show without chatting about the upcoming World Pizza...

Send us Fan Mail The week, we chat with Ken Forkish, the man behind Ken’s Artisan Bakery and Ken’s Artisan Pizza in Portland, Oregon. We learn more about the James Beard Award winner leading up to his keynote address at International Pizza Expo and a big January announcement. He also dishes on his first two books: Flour Water Salt Yeast and The Elements of Pizza, as well as an upcoming third book.

Send us Fan Mail As attracting and retaining employees continues to be a challenge, Dallas-based GAPCo adds its third location. Co-owners Molly and Sammy Mandell dive into the employee component with Editor In Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer.

Send us Fan Mail The Editorial Team at Pizza Today gather to reflect on 2021 and look forward at 2022.  Get 2021 highlights and 2022 pizza predictions. Learn more details on the quickly approaching Pizza Expo 2022 and competitions happening at the show. Happy New Year. Wishing you great success in 2022.

Send us Fan Mail We revisit a great conversation with Nicole Russell on her Pizza Wars video series, Last Dragon Pizza and the pizza community. She dishes on the show, her business and what direction she wants to take it, pizza mentors, women in the pizza industry, traveling to Italy and Pizza Expo.

Send us Fan Mail Eno’s Pizza Tavern in Dallas, Texas, is currently in strategic growth mode. We “sit down” with Shane Spillers to talk concept, pizza style, planned expansion, staffing and bringing a commissary online in this week’s The Hot Slice Podcast.

Send us Fan Mail This week we chat with Anna Crucitt of Mercurio’s in Pittsburgh, PA. The family business started with gelato and grow into multiple full-service restaurants and gelato distribution. Listen to her story. Episode Notes: We mentioned a code to receive $40 off your Pizza Expo 2022 Registration, here you go: EMRF20. Click the link to register today. http://registration.experientevent.c...

Send us Fan Mail Meet our 2021 Pizzeria of the Year: Razza in Jersey City, NJ. Enjoy a conversation with owner Dan Richer. His passion for the pizza, dough and his people is infectious. Listen to his inspiring journey. Read the full story: https://pizzatoday.com/departments/features/2021-pizzeria-of-the-year-razza-jersey-city-nj/

Send us Fan Mail Happy Thanksgiving! We’re revising a fun conversation with the one and only John Gutekanst. We talk pizza toppings, latest pizza trends from the International Pizza Challenge and learn what’s happening at Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio.

Send us Fan Mail This week, the Pizza Today team answers your pizza industry questions. We received several questions via social and e-mail. See our take on some of the industry’s hottest topics: long-term forecasting, pizza trends, influx of new competition, pizza styles and more.

Send us Fan Mail Thomas Reinhard is both a co-owner of a successful pizza company and an attorney. He goes in-depth into applying his legal knowledge for the pizzeria, Cascadia Pizza Company, with brick-and-mortar locations and mobile units near Seattle, Washington. You won’t want to miss the essential legal pro tips he shares.

Send us Fan Mail Bill and Cheryl Crawford co-own Righteous Slice in Rexburg, Idaho. They’ve pooled their talents together to bring their small city Neapolitan pizza and Rexburg loves it. But they’re not stopping there with the upcoming launch of a New York-style pizza. Read more about Righteous Slice at https://pizzatoday.com/departments/features/destinations-righteous-slice-rexburg-id-u-street-pa...

Send us Fan Mail Pizza Champion Derek Sanchez brings a contagious positive energy to the pizza industry. He is also fascinated by the science of pizza dough. Sit back, listen and you’ll learn all about bacteria’s impact on pizza and how that helps him win pizza competitions. You’ll also get the scoop on his upcoming restaurant opening in San Antonio, TX. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor...

Send us Fan Mail Rachel Cope started with one small pizza shop in Oklahoma City less than 10 years ago. Once Empire got rolling, the pizzeria crushed annual sales of $3 million and climbed from there. Today, she owns 84 Hospitality with seven different concepts. Listen to her story of fortitude, growth and business instincts. Empire Slice House was Pizza Today’s 2018 Independent Pizzeria of the Ye...

Send us Fan Mail It’s National Pizza Month so we have brought back our resident Pizza Master John Gutekanst to talk pizza toppings, latest pizza trends from the International Pizza Challenge and an update on what’s happening at Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-hot-slice/message

Send us Fan Mail Carrie and Anthony Lepoma opened Lepoma’s Pizza in Georgia in 2015. Passionate about pizza, growing the business was the couple’s unflinching mission. While the COVID-19 pandemic left many restaurants in trouble, it hit the Lepomas especially hard on a personal level in August of 2021. Carrie shares her touching story of loss as well as her uplifting drive to continue growing the...

Send us Fan Mail We continue our interview from Pizza Expo with two pizza operations that opened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Janet Duran from 550 Pizzeria in Laredo, Texas, has found success and incredible community support since opening in 2020. Dani and Alex White brought their vision to a Las Vegas commercial kitchen to launch Yukon Pizza. Listen to these inspiring pizza business startups sto...