Send us a text This month Davide Lubrano has been named a Rising Star of the Pizza Industry. We sat down with Davide and Vince Gallagher, co-owners of the two-unit Pizzata Pizzeria in Philadelphia. We talk about Davide’s recognition and his recent pizza competition winning streak at Pizza Expo and in Italy. They also share the other benefits of competing. Pizzata is growing. They recently added a commissary. We talk logistics and equipment, as well as how it is helping the two Pizzata locations ...
Jul 10, 2025•40 min•Ep. 266
Send us a text This week, we catch up with the great Mike Bausch. He brings such knowledge, energy and leadership to the pizza community. Mike now has 12 restaurants in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, including Andolini’s Pizzeria and a newer fine dining spot, Prossimo Ristorante. He’s an Oklahoma’s Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year, No. 1 Amazon best-selling author, Tulsa’s Restauranteur of the Year and a two-time Guinness World Record holder. You can find him each month in the pages of Pizza T...
Jul 03, 2025•40 min•Ep. 265
Send us a text Muhammad Abdul-Hadi just finished a national book tour for his first release, We the Pizza. Since opening Down North Pizza in North Philadelphia in 2021, he has been on a whirlwind of success, from creating Down North Foundation, winning a James Beard Leadership Award and publishing his book. We chat with Muhammad about the book and how its stories and recipes that work to reduce recidivism rates. Down North Pizza was founded to offer killer pizza and employ formerly incarcerated ...
Jun 26, 2025•29 min•Ep. 264
Send us a text Jason Cipriani always dreamed of opening a pizzeria. Years into his career as a tech journalist, the rise of portable pizza ovens got him thinking more seriously about making the leap. After months of research, trials in the kitchen and purchasing equipment and supplies, Cipriani sold his first pizza this April. As he details in his new, weekly column at PizzaToday.com , Cipriani had to make dozens of decisions on the path from plan to pizzeria. Find out why he decided to pursue a...
Jun 19, 2025•28 min•Ep. 263
Send us a text Charles Canaankamp spent 34 working at a local pizzeria in Ohio. Two years ago, he decided it was time to open his own pizzeria with his children. Pronto Pizza & Coffee in Manfield, Ohio, was born of Charles’ love and passion for pizza. He shares what he has learned in the industry over the years that has been integral to his pizza startup. Charles’ goal was to build a business with his 3 daughters and one son. Learn more about how the family has divvyed the roles and responsi...
Jun 12, 2025•32 min•Ep. 262
Send us a text George Peyton and Casey Conner never could have imagined their first year of business at Good Pizza Company in Swannanoa, North Carolina would unfold as it did. The pizzeria opened on August 15 and a mere six weeks later, the town of Swannanoa would become one of the hardest hit natural disaster areas in the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Helene. The former pizzeria that the two spend months remodeling took on 10 inches of water forcing the team to pull out floors, walls a...
Jun 05, 2025•36 min•Ep. 261
Send us a text Isaiah Ruffin and Colleen Constant began their pizza business journey in a renovated school bus in Colorado, always envisioning a brick-and-mortar restaurant. After evaluating that Fort Collins, Colorado, wasn’t where they would open a brick and mortar, the couple began traveling to cities, researching areas in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Austin and others. Seattle stood out and after several visits, they took the leap. Within six months of moving to Seattle and doing popups, they ...
May 29, 2025•34 min•Ep. 260
Send us a text This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo 2025 . In this special edition of The Hot Slice Podcast, we talk to passionate franchisees and a dedicated pizza enthusiast. They are: Tyrell Reid and JR Lambert partners at Westshore Pizza in Brandon, Florida started out as employees of Westshore before becoming franchise owners. We talk Tampa’s competitive market, hurricane prep and response, and an eye towards tech solutions. Shean Taylor w...
May 22, 2025•13 min•Ep. 259
Send us a text This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo 2025 . This special edition of The Hot Slice Podcast with operators who bring excitement and passion to the pizza business with their pizza ownership journeys. They are: Jimmy Casapizzaiolo from Casa Pizza in Western Massachusetts shares his passion for tinkering with pizza dough and making multiple pizza styles. We also talk about his fascination for a Montanara pizza. Brian Nittayo, owner of...
May 15, 2025•15 min•Ep. 258
Send us a text This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo 2025 . This special edition of The Hot Slice Podcast with two operators who’s passion for the culinary experience surrounding a pizza business has catapulted their businesses to a well-defined dining experience. They are: Julia Duncan-Roitman owns Joy Hill Pizza Club in Denver, Colorado. We talk vision, revitalizing the space and creating the right vibe. Joy Hill serves sourdough Neapolitan-st...
May 08, 2025•17 min•Ep. 257
Send us a text This week, we start our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo 2025 . We kick off this special edition of The Hot Slice Podcast with two operators who were inspiring speakers at this year’s show. They are: Eric Redfield, co-owner of Camporosso in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. We caught up with Eric a day before he gave a powerful keynote address on his Purpose-driven business that had the room in tears. Watch his entire keynote address. Camporosso was Pizza Today...
May 01, 2025•19 min•Ep. 256
Send us a text Alaska native Beau Schooler has been on the James Beard Foundation’s radar for years. This spring, Schooler is nominated for Best Chef in the Northwest and Pacific region, and he’s cooking at the James Beard Award after party on June 16 in Chicago. When he’s not rubbing elbows with a who’s who of the restaurant industry, Schooler is executive chef at Juneau, Alaska-based In Bocca Al Lupo, which serves Alaskan cuisine “through the lens of an Italian restaurant.” The dinner menu at ...
Apr 24, 2025•25 min•Ep. 255
Send us a text In June, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana turns 100. The iconic New Haven pizzeria continues the legacy of Frank Pepe, who opened New Haven-style "abeetz" restaurant on the now famous Wooster Street in New Haven, Connecticut in 1925. On this week’s episode, we chat with Kevin Gagliard, Vice President of Operations for Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. He shares how the family has maintained the culinary heritage and legacy of the century-old pizzeria, while strategically growing the b...
Apr 17, 2025•34 min•Ep. 254
Send us a text Mark & Kira Zabrowski left the teaching profession to pursue their passion for pizza. They had a vision to open a mom-and-pop pizza business. That vision has been realized in Much Ado About Pizza in Pleasanton, California. They found more success than what they had dreamed of. They are creating systems to fine-tune the pizza operation. But now Much Ado About Pizza has hit max capacity. They are at a crossroads of when and how to grow the business. We talk about the opportuniti...
Apr 10, 2025•37 min•Ep. 253
Send us a text Lynn’s Chicago Pizza began with Lynn Humphrey and Brandon Bruner, Sr. trying to solve a problem. They couldn’t get pizza delivered to their Southside Chicago neighborhood so Brandon, a trained chef, began experimenting with making a Chicago Deep Dish pizza. Soon, they started making pizza for friends and family. The two started selling pizza at a nearby bar and the virtual pizzeria was born doing popups. They ventured into a brick-and-mortar restaurant partnership but soon realize...
Apr 03, 2025•39 min•Ep. 252
Send us a text It’s Pizza Expo week! While we are meeting all of you in person in Las Vegas, we wanted to share a replay of a favorite episode. George Panagopoulos spent this week with us and even gave an amazing seminar on Innovative Pizzeria Technology. It’s easy to see why we tapped George to lead the seminar when you hear how he has modernized a 50-year old pizzeria. George Panagopoulos owns of Dedham House of Pizza, in Dedham, Massachusetts. This tech-savvy operator has taken over an over 5...
Mar 27, 2025•34 min•Ep. 251
Send us a text Pizza Expo starts soon. To get hyped up for the Las Vegas show, we’re chatting with Nick Bogacz, founder of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His deep-dive, four-hour workshop is part of the 2025 School of Pizzeria Management Workshops that will kick off Pizza Expo week on Sunday, long before the show floor opens Tuesday. His session, “You Opened Your First Pizzeria! Now What???” gives insights into labor costs, food costs and guerilla marketing. We cha...
Mar 20, 2025•37 min•Ep. 250
Send us a text Tori Tiso grew up in her father’s pizzeria, the famous Louie and Ernie's Pizza in Bronx, New York. She could have easily continued the pizza dynasty at Louie and Ernie’s. Instead, she decided to strike out on her own in Long Island straying from the standard New York slice the acclaimed Bronx spot was known for to open Tori T’s Pizzeria. On this week’s The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today, Josh and Denise have a great chat with Tori on her decision to go solo and what’s happened...
Mar 13, 2025•33 min•Ep. 249
Send us a text It is March, you know what that means… It is almost showtime. The team at Pizza Today gather to bring you the Pizza Expo Preview Show on The Hot Slice Podcast. We’re covering all the highlights of the pizza industry’s biggest event. In this episode, we’ll talk Show Overview, Keynote Addresses, Show Schedule, Education Sessions, Competitions, Networking Events and Announcements. In its 41st year, thousands of pizzeria professionals will gather at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s W...
Mar 06, 2025•32 min•Ep. 248
Send us a text Eleven B has been a pizza mainstay in the East Village for 18 years. But owner Vincent Sgarlato has been in the business since he was eight years old. Vincent reached out to us wanting to share his story with the pizza community. His early start began in his family’s pizzerias in Brooklyn. As the business grew, the family expanded into malls. Vincent shares how that time was pivotal for him to learn the business. Find out how that road led him to open his own pizzerias. We talk ab...
Feb 27, 2025•34 min•Ep. 247
Send us a text Melinda Carbajal, Managing Member and CEO of Simply Pizza, a unique woodfired, mobile, and hybrid restaurant business, is bringing her knowledge and experience to Pizza Expo. As a new Pizza Expo speaker, we wanted to learn more about Melinda and get a little sneak peek into her sessions at Pizza Expo. Her Pizza Expo sessions include: S30 Writing Your Food Truck Business Plan, S09 Growing Through Catering and S35 Strategically Giving to Grow Your Business. Josh and Denise chat with...
Feb 19, 2025•34 min•Ep. 246
Send us a text 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 giving a fresh direction on the old-fashioned letters to the editor. We call it “Hot Take”. Do you have a “...
Feb 13, 2025•31 min•Ep. 245
Send us a text This week, Elizabeth (Liz) Badami joins the podcast with Executive Editor Denise Greer and Senior Editor Kate Lavin. Liz has overcome trials and tragedy to reopen her pizzeria, Mary Jane’s Stone Baked Pizza in Chester, West Virginia in December 2024. Liz and her husband Chris often told Liz’s mom Mary Jane that they would open a pizzeria and sell her signature treats. After Mary Jane was killed in a car crash in 2015, Chris started to make that idea a reality. The Badamis incremen...
Feb 06, 2025•36 min•Ep. 244
Send us a text Don’t miss this back-and-forth conversation with a mentor and mentee in the pizza business. This week we chat with Pete Raskovic, owner of Bentley’s Log Cabin Pub and Grill in Hollandale, Wisconsin and his mentor, the pizza icon and visionary John Arena, who owns Metro Pizza in Las Vegas. Pete reached out to us wanting to share just how much John Arena helped him as he developed his pizza and pizza concept. Pete’s background is in IndyCar mechanic. He grew up in New York and wante...
Jan 30, 2025•39 min•Ep. 243
Send us a text This week, Denise and Josh sit down with Joe Argento, co-owner of Mama’s Meatballs & Pizzeria in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Joe grew up in the pizza business and began working at his grandmother’s shop at age 8. Joe went on to own his own pizzeria, but was ready to switch directions. His wife, Katherine, wanted to be in the food truck business, but Joe still wanted a storefront of some kind. As luck would have it, an existing restaurant/food truck became available in Pennsauken. ...
Jan 23, 2025•30 min•Ep. 242
Send us a text This week, we chat with Chef Daniel Holzman, who owns Danny Boy’s Famous Original, a two-location operation in Los Angeles, California. We spoke with Daniel a few days before the catastrophic wildfires broke out in LA. So, our conversation with Daniel focused on his career, the growth of Danny Boy’s and what he has learned in the restaurant business. Danny Boy’s locations are currently safe. We would like to recognize Danny Boy’s, who has quickly provided sanctuary for those affec...
Jan 16, 2025•39 min•Ep. 241
Send us a text Old Scratch Pizza in Dayton, Ohio, had a huge year in 2024. The Dayton pizza company opened its fourth location in a revitalized fire station. And in November, the pizzeria took home three Pizza Today PIE Awards : Pizzeria of the Year – Midwest Region, Most Interesting Menu and Most Unique Pizzeria Location. We sat down with owner and founder Eric Soller and Executive Chef Josh Swinford to find out more about the red-hot pizza company. We talk about the pizzeria’s employee-centric...
Jan 09, 2025•28 min•Ep. 240
Send us a text Happy New Year, pizza fam! The Pizza Today Team of Jeremy White, Denise Greer and Josh Keown kick the year off with conversation. We talk 2025 goals, dream podcast guests, reminisce a little, share restaurant stories and changes the industry has experienced. We want to know who your dream guest would be? Tell us on social or reach out to Denise at dgreer@pizzatoday.com . If you would like to be a guest on The Hot Slice Podcast, e-mail Denise and let her know a little about your st...
Jan 02, 2025•39 min•Ep. 239
Send us a text As we wrap up 2024, The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today has featured some incredible guests from top pizza makers and pizzeria owners as well as the pizza industry’s thought leaders. The most popular episode of 2024 features Audrey Kelly. She co-owns of Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage in Boulder, Colorado. She is a World Pizza Champion, frequent speaker at International Pizza Expo and contributing writer for Pizza Today. Audrey is also an Ambassador for Women in Pizza. Let’s revisit...
Dec 26, 2024•29 min•Ep. 238
Send us a text The International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo 2025 is set to be the biggest and best pizza competition. Executive Editor Denise Greer went one-on-one with Jeremy Galvin, who along with Michael LaMarca oversee the competitions. Jeremy shares how the competition is changing in 2025 and steps the Master Pizza team is taking to improve the competitions and enhance the experience for competitors. We talk rules, expectations, adjusting to an increased number of competitors and tips. M...
Dec 19, 2024•29 min•Ep. 237
