The Hot Slice

Send us Fan Mail This week, we catch up with Scott Wiener to chat all things pizza. Scott started Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City 17 years ago. And his pizza enthusiasm has only grown. As Josh says on the podcast, “no one knows probably more about the pizza business than Scott.”  Scott has been a frequent speaker at Pizza Expo and contributor to Pizza Today. He judges the International Pizza...

Send us Fan Mail When most people think of Chicago pizza, they picture a deep-dish behemoth, a cheesy beast you need a fork and knife to conquer. But locals know the real MVP of the region is Chicago Thin – and it’s finally getting the love it deserves. We sat down with Tony Troiano of J.B. Alberto’s Pizza, a 60-year-old Chicago institution and recent winner of the Great American Pizza Challenge f...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for this special New Year’s Day edition of The Hot Slice Podcast. The new year is full of new opportunities. The Pizza Today team gathers to commemorate the New Year with 2026 thoughts and reflections. We highlight goals we have to help the pizza community. Denise highlights priorities in her first full year as Editor in Chief. We look at pizza trends and share our forecas...

Send us Fan Mail Listen to George Gilliam, owner of Uncle G’s Pizza in Birmingham, Alabama on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today Merry Christmas from all of us at Pizza Today and Pizza Expo. This week on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today, we are replaying one of the most popular episodes of 2025 with George Gilliam, owner of Uncle G’s Pizza in Birmingham, Alabama. George reached out to us...

Send us Fan Mail From handing out menus before she could even reach the tables to taking the reins as owner of Pino’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in Farmville, Virginia, Marilena Lentini’s journey is inspiring at every turn. In this episode, we talk about the terrifying yet rewarding transition from employee to boss. Lentini opens up about the importance of maintaining positivity, and how sh...

Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice Podcast is back with one last episode from the Pizza Today booth at Pizza Expo Columbus in October with in-person conversations with pizzeria operators. We’re continuing our Pizza Expo Columbus episodes. You’ll hear riveting stories of entrepreneurship, growth, competition, struggles and ever a lesser-known pizza style.  Let’s end the special sessions with pizza pros...

Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice Podcast is back at the Pizza Today booth at Pizza Expo Columbus in October with in-person conversations with pizzeria operators. We’re continuing our Pizza Expo Columbus episodes. You’ll hear riveting stories of entrepreneurship, growth, competition, struggles and ever a lesser-known pizza style.  Let’s continue the sessions with pizza pros who are growing in their o...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Thanksgiving! Today we’re replaying one of our favorite 2025 episodes of The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today. It features an inspiring conversation with Matthew and Hengam Stanfield, the engineering-minded power couple behind Mattenga’s Pizzeria. Fresh off their monumental achievement of being named Pizza Today’s 2025 Pizzeria of the Year, the Stanfields shared the strate...

Send us Fan Mail The fun continues this week, as we conduct quick interviews from the Pizza Today booth during the inaugural Pizza Expo Columbus. This episode of The Hot Slice features discussions with three mobile pizzeria operators at various stages of business development – starting with lessons from the first year in business through how to innovate during the 15th season of running a mobile p...

Send us Fan Mail We had a blast at Pizza Expo Columbus connecting with listeners and bringing them on the podcast. The Pizza Today crew hosted The Hot Slice Podcast from the Pizza Today booth at Pizza Expo Columbus in October with in-person conversations with pizzeria operators. For the next several episodes of the podcast, you’ll hear riveting stories of entrepreneurship, growth, competition, str...

Send us Fan Mail Join hosts Denise Greer and Kate Lavin as they sit down with Jen Strickland and Jeff Mettler from Home Slice Pizza to celebrate an incredible milestone—20 years of serving authentic New York-style pizza in Austin, Texas. In this episode, Jen shares the origin story of Home Slice, born from her love of New York pizza and frustration with Austin's lack of quality slices. She ta...

Send us Fan Mail October isn’t just National Pizza Month , it’s also National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Brewability is a pizzeria founded by Tiffany Fixter, a former special education teacher. We speak with Fixter and pizzeria marketer and manager Jess Runge about how they are serving up pizza and opportunities in their community of Englewood, Colorado. Brewability proudly employs 26...

Send us Fan Mail Before we jump into last-minute prep for Pizza Expo Columbus, happening this Sunday and Monday, we have HUGE news share! Jeremy has been appointed as Brand Director of International Pizza Expo , while Denise steps up as the new Editor-in-Chief of Pizza Today magazine. We talk promotions and what they mean for Pizza Today and Pizza Expo. Onto the show, we are days away from the ina...

Send us Fan Mail Tempe-based Spinato’s Pizzeria has embarked on an ownership structure that only 7,000 businesses around country and only one percent of Arizona companies offers, an Employee Ownership Stock Plan (ESOP). Since opening 51 years ago, Spinato’s has grown to six Phoenix-area locations with more than 420 employees. The pizza company is the Official Pizza of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix...

Send us Fan Mail When you are looking for an added revenue source, have you ever considered a state fair? This week’s guest, Nick Sanford went all in at the New York State Fair. Nick owns Toss & Fire with three locations and a fleet of food trucks around Syracuse, New York.  This is the third year Toss & Fire has had a presence at the New York State Fair, but this year, Sanford took over a...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we chat with a visionary young operator who bought her first Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza franchise as while she was still in high school. Lily worked at a local Papa Murphy’s before jumping at the opportunity to become a franchisee. Though savings and a loan from a family friend, Lily and her family made the purchase. Lily is the majority...

Send us Fan Mail Listen to Liane Varipapa Page, owner of Big Green Truck Pizza in Connecticut, on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today. Big Green Truck Pizza made history this month by serving more than 4,500 people at the 10th annual Apizza Feast in New Haven. The company’s lead dough maker prepared 750 dough balls ahead of the event, which served 10,000 slices and was recognized by Guinness Wo...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast , hosts Joelene and Joel Best shared an extraordinary discovery that has captivated their Hamburg, New York community and pizza lovers everywhere. What started as a routine renovation project at The Now Pizzeria transformed into an archaeological adventure when contractors uncovered a newspaper from 1881 hidden within the building's walls. T...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to transform a small pizzeria in Las Vegas' Chinatown into a nationally recognized restaurant? For Erica Bell, General Manager and Pizzaiola at ØØ Pie & Pub (Double Zero), the answer lies in obsessive attention to detail, authentic leadership, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. This week, we chat with Erica on the business.   In just two years o...

Send us Fan Mail From Engineering to Excellence: Inside Mattenga's Pizzeria's Rise to Pizza Today's 2025 Pizzeria of the Year The latest episode of The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today featured an inspiring conversation with Matthew and Hengam Stanfield, the engineering-minded power couple behind Mattenga's Pizzeria. Fresh off their monumental achievement of being named Pizza...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we’re bringing you a fun episode with the Pizza Today Team giving our “Hot Takes” on pizza. And we didn’t even talk about pineapple on pizza. We dive into pizza styles. Whether  toppings go over or under the cheese , chicken’s place, charring on pizza, olives, best cheese on pizza, childhood pizzas and more.   We’re also inviting you to send us your “Hot Takes”. We’re g...

Send us Fan Mail Pizza Expo and Pizza Today have done it again. We’re rolling into Columbus, Ohio, with a power-packed two days of connection with products, services and tech, gathering with pizzeria people, competing in world-class competitions and learning from more than 30 education seminars, demos and workshops. Just over 60 days aways from the Midwest show, we’re dedicating this episode to ta...

Send us Fan Mail This week is a very special episode of The Hot Slice podcast as we announce the premiere of the John Arena episode of The Secret Ingredient, a pizza documentary series that takes an in depth look at the pizzeria industry through the eyes of its world-class pizza makers. Tommy Schneider, owner of Tommy’s Pizzeria in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, took his love for the pizza community...

Send us Fan Mail Darius Aram pulled into Slice Street Pizza in Dripping Springs, Texas, to find that his hop was completely cut off due to unexpected construction. In the face of huge sales dip and little information on the construction project, he decided to handle the obstacle with humor and humility. Darius’ response to the closure helped mitigate some of the impact of a near shutdown. He had h...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today we have George Gilliam, owner of Uncle G’s Pizza in Birmingham, Alabama. George reached out to us to do a story on how he has doubled and tripled slow days at the restaurant. The conversion was so captivating that we wanted to share it on the podcast.  Gilliam set a strategy into motion to turn his slowest days into high-volume s...