The Hot Slice

Send us Fan Mail This week we continue sharing our mini session interviews from the exhibit hall at this year’s International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Guests are Que Wimberly of The Missing Brick in Indianapolis, Indiana and Neil and Richie Syal of RockFire Grill in Goleta, California. Both operations have created unique products that sell well in their markets. --- Send in a voice message: https:...

Send us Fan Mail Marc Schechter and Danny Stollers of Square Pie Guys in the San Francisco, California, rallied 15 West Coast pizzerias to celebrate National Pepperoni Pizza Day (September 20) by donating proceeds to a charity. On the chat is also Dennis Lee of Sunset Squares, Leah Scurto or PizzaLeah and Matt Lucas of Evolution Bake. We talk Bay Area pizza scene, collaboration, pepperoni pizza an...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we pulled two pizza professionals from the International Pizza Challenge competition area to talk shop. First up, Andy Brown, who owns Andy’s Pizza with three Washington, D.C. locations. He was still abuzz from winning the non-traditional pizza category when we brought him up to the studio to learn more about his business and his winning pizza. Next, we chat with Hassi...

Send us Fan Mail As we continue our coverage from Pizza Expo, we are talking to pizzeria professionals in person from the expo hall. This week, we chat with Sammy and Molly Mandell and Phil Bossart at Dallas, Texas-based Greenville Avenue Pizza Co and Ali Haider, owner of 786 Degree Wood Fired Pizza in Sun Valley, California. These pizzeria leaders bring a lot of energy to the pizza industry and h...

Send us Fan Mail We brought The Hot Slice Podcast to Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Find out what hot pizza industry trends Editor in Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer have found in the exhibit hall. There’s a big one that you couldn’t miss: plant-based options. See what else they discover in this episode. Find out more about International Pizza Expo at http://pizzaexpo.com . --- Send...

Send us Fan Mail It’s Pizza Expo week so we are bringing back one of our favorite episodes of 2021 with Giovanni (John) Cesarano, one of Long Island’s King Umberto’s youngest partners. We talk continuing the family business and infusing fresh perspective. John loves to bring new and innovative products to the menu. Don’t miss John reveal his biggest menu success and worst flop. This episode is hos...

Send us Fan Mail Serhan Ayhan grew up in the pizza business at his family’s restaurant, Boston Pizza in Queens, New York. But what happens after the family retires? That’s what Creative Director Josh Keown and Executive Editor Denise Greer explore with Serhan on this week’s The Hot Slice Podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-hot-slice/message

Send us Fan Mail This week, we get a primer on the mobile pizza business from Siler Chapman, mobile operator and vice president of PerfectingPizza.com. He shares who’s getting in the business, startup costs, challenges and profit opportunities with mobile pizza units. This episode is hosted by Editor In Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer. Want to go more in depth? Siler will be i...

Send us Fan Mail Pizza Expo Update after Bill Oakley’s recording: In accordance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines, the state of Nevada has instituted the following face mask directive: Everyone, both vaccinated and unvaccinated , are required to wear face masks in ALL public, indoor spaces in the state of Nevada. Please note: these public, indoor spaces include ex...

Send us Fan Mail This week’s guest, Nicole Russell, just wrapped Season 1 of her hit series, Pizza Wars on First We Feast. On the show, Nicole competes with leading chefs, making some of the most trending pizzas today for a panel of celebrity judges. Nicole owns Last Dragon Pizza in Rockaway, Queens, New York. She dishes on the show, her business and what direction she wants to take it, pizza ment...

Send us Fan Mail The first year of running a pizza business is tough enough without throwing in a worldwide pandemic and a worker shortage. Hear the story of Bart Weidlich, who opened Kidder Street Deli in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, just four months before the COVID-19 shutdown. This episode is hosted by Pizza Today Editor In Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer. --- Send in a voi...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we revisit a pizza-packed episode with a Pizza Today contributor and pizzeria owner, Audrey Kelly of Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage in Boulder, Colorado. She’s an inspiration, making the leap from pizza maker to pizzeria owner. She dives into her dough process, her versions of Sicilian and Grandma pies and more. This episode is hosted by Editor In Chief Jeremy White and Exe...

Send us Fan Mail Like many in the pizza business, Pete Tolman didn’t set out to do pizza. But, when he did, he dialed everything in, from the gorgeous Detroit-style pizza, business planning, marketing, and décor to create Iron Born, a hot spot pizza brand with two locations in the Steel City. On this episode, he dives into his business incubator beginning, developing the concept, the pizza and gro...

Send us Fan Mail Owner and pizzaiolo Vincent Rotolo shares some jewels about moving Good Pie into a bigger location, the unique business environment of Las Vegas, enlisting the help of pizza legends, building a strong employee culture and the pizza styles that connect Vincent to his heritage.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-hot-slice/message

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of the Hot Slice podcast, the Pizza Today editorial crew reads and discusses some "Letters to the Editor." We get tons of awesome e-mails and decided to share and discuss a few. We had so much fun we're already planning to do it again!--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-hot-slice/message

Send us Fan Mail Tom Iannucci is a lifelong learner of pizza making and the pizza industry. He shares how Pizza Expo and Pizza Today took him from pizza enthusiast to owner. We talk various perspectives of what pizza is and how challenging tourism-rich Hawaii can be to meet global travelers’ expectations of pizza.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-hot-slice/message

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Manny Karvelas of Karvelas Pizza Co. in Georgia to talk about retaining employees, leadership, logistics and priming a family owned business for growth.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-hot-slice/message

Send us Fan Mail King Umberto is a legendary Long Island, New York pizzeria. We sit down with one of its youngest partners, Giovanni (John) Cesarano. John is one of Pizza Today’s Rising Stars in the June edition of Pizza Today Magazine. We talk continuing the family business and infusing fresh perspective. John loves to bring new and innovative products to the menu. Don’t miss John reveal his bigg...

Send us Fan Mail This was such great episode that we brought it back for a replay. Listen to World Pizza Champion and Restaurateur Tony Gemignani and his right hand Laura Meyer, also a World Champion, together talk pizza business and the next big thing in the industry. This episode is hosted by Pizza Today Executive Editor Denise Greer and Editor In Chief Jeremy White.   Tony and Laura talk:  How...

Send us Fan Mail Listen to a rising star in the pizzeria industry Marcus Medina talk food truck beginnings and opening his carryout-only pizzeria, Hella Pie Pizza Co. in Tracy, California, in the midst of the pandemic. Marcus shares his story of finding pizza passion in this 30s, being self-taught and always striving to improve. He “sits down” with Editor In Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor...

Send us Fan Mail The team at Pizza Today gather to discuss what’s happening right now in the pizzeria industry. We’re tackling the worker shortage, a big push to switch to the Delivery and Carryout Only model, online ordering and the state of industry as dine-in resumes. Get the inside scoop on Pizza Expo 2021. See how you can get four free tickets to the show by winning our Pizza Expo 365 Pizza B...

Send us Fan Mail Brenda’s Pizzeria sits in the mountains of rural Maryland. Owner Brenda McDonnell shares the inner workings of the business, as well as how it has fared during the pandemic. See how she rewards her team with trips to Pizza Expo. This episode is hosted by Editor In Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-hot-slice/mess...

Send us Fan Mail In the face of a quickly shrinking labor pool, Pittsburgh-based pizzeria owner extraordinaire and Pizza Today contributor Nick Bogacz is springing into action with an aggressive hiring and employee retention plan. Editor-in-Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer delve into the details with Nick in this can't-miss episode of the Hot Slice.--- Send in a voice mess...

Send us Fan Mail Bill Jacobs of Piece Pizzeria and Brewery in Chicago sits down with Jeremy White and Josh Keown on this episode of The Hot Slice podcast. As Piece nears its 20th anniversary, Jacobs discusses New Haven-style pizza, live music, beer and the hope of returning to normalcy soon as the effects of the pandemic begin to diminish.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-hot-slic...

Send us Fan Mail Executive Editor Denise Greer sits down one-on-one with Maggie Mieles, daughter of Dom DeMarco who now operates the famed di Fara pizza in New York. Maggie shares stories of her father and growing up in the business. We talk about di Fara’s recent growth, continuing the legacy of the 56-year-old business and the new addition of a ghost kitchen.--- Send in a voice message: https://...