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Brick Oven Pizza from NY Brick Oven Company
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When you are starting a pizza place there are many things you need to know but this basic list will get you in the ball park to start off on the right foot. A firm idea of where you are heading can make all the difference between success and failure. When you open your doors your customer should know what you are providing and get a clear idea of your brand.
1. What kind of pizza are you going to make? Sounds too obvious but many people jump in without a clear idea of the the type of pizza they are going sell. What do I mean by this? Is it NY Style? Deep dish? Square? Brick Oven? Gourmet? Thin crust? Thick Crust? How about what size? Individual small pies or large family style? How many ounce dough balls will you be using? Some people may argue that this can figured out as you go or once you start but first impressions are long lasting and you only get one chance to make that first impression. The main reason to know your type of pie and
how to make pizza is that it will determine most of your design and equipment choices and layout for production. Example-a fast casual pizza place where the customers walk up to counter and choose their toppings and then watch the individual size pizza hand assembled and placed in a
revolving brick oven will have a different type of pie than a mom and pop place making a typical 16" Ny Stayle pie cooked in a regular deck oven.
2. What is your concept? Your dough and the size of your pies will have a great impact on the next critical factor and should be in alignment with your concept. The type of restaurant you envision will determine the size requirements of your restaurant and its physical layout. Example-a typical slice place with a small seating area and counter space for about 15 customers will require a much smaller space than a full service gourmet pizza place with table service, a full menu and bar.
3. Where are going to put your concept? Concept design will also be a determining factor in choosing location. If your doing a small takeout and delivery place you may not need a prime location in high dollar strip mall or stand alone building but you may want to be located near that college campus with thousands of dorms or apartments near by. Also if your doing a fast casual concept you will need to have a high volume area with lots of foot traffic and a workers with a need for fast service.
4. Do you know how to layout the space? Seems simple but bad flow lines from order to service and delivery or dine in can make your place a production nightmare. If your in doubt consult an expert or minimally study the successful places in your area or concepts you like that are successful and you think would work with your demographic.
5. Are you really capitalized to make a successful go of it? Did you take into consideration the basics of rent, insurance, labor, promotion. marketing, equipment, inventory, attorneys, signage, contractors, city/town fees, permits, training...
6.Equipment? Do you know what type you need for your concept? For instance, what type and how big of a mixer do you need? What type of oven and how much space does it require-will it be part of the concept design or hidden? How big of a walk in box do you need? How many tables and chairs? What about flatware?
7. Do you buy new or used equipment? Is it better to lease? The main consideration here is initial outlay and cash flow versus the tax savings and continued cost of lease on a monthly basis.
8. Personnel? Do you have the people in place for your opening? Do you need to train them? Are the main chef? Is there a management team in place? Book keeping? Cleaning? Maintenance?
9. Promotion Plan? How are you going to get your place known? Who will you invite to your opening? What local groups and activities will you support? Are you affiliated with the local school, church, sports team?
10. Marketing? This is different from promotion. Promotion is making things known-publicity, talking, signs, shirts, hats and events. Marketing is bringing it to the market-selling it. Handouts, flyers, door hangers, menus, inserts, val-pak, local newspaper, tv(expensive) radio and any other place you think your customers are. You have to offer them your product and tell them what it is, where they can get it and how much it costs. This is an expense and it is part of doing business unless you are in the home run of all locations with enough customers flooding in.
All the above are valid concerns and should be evaluated before you commit to any location. Future articles will take each up in more detail and mention a few others like social media, pizza contests, donations and policies. Good luck and happy pizza!
by Marc Cosentino Co-founder of Goodfella's Brick Oven Pizza
With an ever increasing demand for craft beer and neighborhood breweries comes an increased demand for an easy way to provide comparable quality food selections in a comfortable atmosphere. Enter the New York Brick Oven Companies Inferno Series Model 85. This oven provides a small foot print with a very high production rate for personal sized Neapolitan and gourmet brick oven pizza. In researching the amount of space available to existing bars and restaurants it was found that the average operator had less than 150 square feet to add a food prep and production area to his existing bar or pub. Such a small area dedicated to food prep and production did not lend itself to many if any gourmet food items that could be produced to order in any volume-that was until the New York Brick Oven Company came along. Utilizing a small dough table/refrigerator for prep and toppings and the inferno series oven any operator can now gain an entirely new income stream while keeping his customers in the seats instead of having them to find food at other locations. Not only that, but the wood and gas combination brick oven is capable of producing a world class gourmet pizza that anybody in the pizza industry would be proud of. The high temp oven is also a favorite of the Fast Casual Pizza Crowd for good reason. This small oven is comfortably rated for 60 small pies an hour with larger models being able to bake hundreds of pies in hour. For those of you that are not in the Industry you may want to compare this 90 second pizza to your average pizza oven that bakes about 4-5 pies in 15 minutes. You can see that this is truly high production. The real selling point of these ovens though is the quality of the brick oven pizza they produce with least amount labor and skill required to operate them. As an operator this the area that can make or break you. Now take this oven and add the Pizza School of New York and you get a homerun, out of the park solution to providing your customers with a great pizza while keeping the initial investment down and the satisfaction rate up. The New York Brick Oven Company has been helping pizza men for years and they have World Champion Pizza men on their team waiting to assist you so call now and make your operation more of a success. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjlWtFZt4kE
