On this mouth-watering episode of Pie 2 Pie, Alex chats with veteran pizza maker Mark Mebus, owner of the acclaimed 20th Street Pizza in Philadelphia. Drawing on his extensive experience in the NYC and Philly pizza scenes, Mark reflects on the rise and fall of his first pizzeria, Blackbird, imparting the hard lessons he learned about expanding and taking on too many things too quickly which took him away from the food. Now focused solely on perfecting his craft at one location, he shares his end...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 26
In this episode of Pie 2 Pie, meet Patrick Elston from Gus Franco's Pizza! Patrick shares his journey from pizza hobbyist to pizzeria owner. Inspired by his wife, Patrick went from perfecting pizzas at home on weekends to opening his own pizza shop named after his two kids. Patrick gives us an inside look at transforming an old dentist's office into the Gus Franco's brick-and-mortar location, doing much of the build-out himself with the help of friends and family. He offers tips for aspiring piz...
Oct 20, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 25
In this episode of Pie 2 Pie, learn how Mike Hauke of Tony Boloney's built his empire from the crust up. 🍕🎧 Mike joins us to discuss his journey from selling frozen food out of a house in Atlantic City to building the acclaimed Tony Boloney’s pizza empire. 🔥🍕 Mike started Tony Boloney’s in an empty block of AC with plans to sell food and goods to construction workers. But when those plans folded, he pivoted to slinging his amazing pizza creations! 🚧🍕 Through grit and learning to make most ...
Oct 13, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 24
Get ready to bake up some knowledge with our deep dish interview with Jim McHugh of McHugh’s Pizza on his 40 years of pizza shop stories. 🍕 Jim started slinging slices as a teenager when his mom got a job across from his high school. In this episode, we get into how Jimmy has kept his employees around (some for over 20 years) with only a 1% turnover rate. Jim also dishes out his experience on staying cash only to dodge credit card fees, dealing with hangry customers, how they crank out 40% of t...
Oct 06, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 23
In this round table discussion, pizza restaurant owners Alex Koons of Hot Tongue Pizza, Janet Kang of Pizza Baby LA, Paul Cody of Pie Trap Pizza, and Nick Camacho of Lucky Nick’s gather to talk about marketing strategies for their various pizza businesses. They share tips on collaborations, social media, paid advertising, and attracting customers. They also discuss the challenges of pricing and customer perceptions around artisanal pizza vs chain pizza. Alex Koons hosts an insightful roundtable ...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 22
In this episode of PIE 2 PIE Jeff Barris tells the tale of how he went from number crunching to kneading dough, and how he made the leap from finance to food when he acquired renowned LA pizzeria Hail Mary Pizza. Hear Jeff's journey from corporate suits to aprons, how he strategically searched for the perfect restaurant to purchase, the pros and cons of taking over an existing brand, what he's changed and what's stayed the same at Hail Mary, managing costs and sales during the recession, his vis...
Sep 22, 2023•44 min•Ep. 21
In this episode of PIE 2 PIE, Alex Koons sits down with Zach Fishman, co-owner of the acclaimed Prime Pizza restaurants in Los Angeles. Zach shares the origin story of Prime Pizza, from falling in love with NY pizza as a kid to opening their flagship Fairfax location in 2014. He provides an inside look at Prime's expansion to 7 shops, discussing everything from maintaining quality standards to hiring and training staff for new store openings. Zach also reveals his insights on LA's evolving pizza...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 20
Welcome back to another episode of Pie 2 Pie! Today, we're diving into the world of Gorilla Pies with Ben Osher located in the beautiful Valley Village, Los Angeles. Gorilla Pies isn't your average pizzeria, they've made waves on "best of" lists and even graced the evening news. Rumor has it, Ben might have had a secret life as a Russian spy, given his stint as the executive chef of Nobu in Moscow. But our conversation isn't just about espionage; it's a journey. In just two years, Ben went from ...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 19
In this episode of PIE 2 PIE, meet the incredible Chadwick Corcoran of Two Doughs in Agoura Hills. From dialing in their sourdough process with the precision of a scientist, to marketing tactics to grow your brand & catering biz, to finding forgiveness after getting their pizza oven trailer stolen. Chadwick is among the most knowledgeable bakers I’ve had the pleasure of talking to and just an all around good guy. I hope you enjoy this episode of Pie 2 Pie! https://twodoughs.com/ https://www....
Sep 01, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 18
In this episode, we had the incredible privilege of sitting down with Jason Winters of Speak Cheezy in Long Beach, CA. Join us as we delve into the inspiring transformation of Speak Cheezy from an incognito venture to a thriving catering dynasty. We unravel the story of how Jason went from having the dream of selling pizzas out of a van to catering events as big as Coachella and opening up his brick and mortar. From birthday parties to delivering to Joe Rogan’s DMT dealer, ”You never know where ...
Aug 25, 2023•58 min•Season 3Ep. 17
