Send us a text This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we hear Shelby Hall’s story. She owns Fox’s Pizza Den Cheat Lake in Morgantown, West Virginia and starting working at Fox’s Pizza Den as a teenager. While in college, she leaped into management. After graduation, she was presented with a franchise opportunity that she passed on. She waited for the right opportunity where the finances and location aligned. Shelby talks about the moving parts of business ownership and mentorships that helped her l...
May 16, 2024•32 min•Ep. 205
Send us a text This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo . Denise interviews four pizzeria operators who are defining their pizza businesses in their own ways. Jason Dascoli , Rock City Pies and Ice, Bloomfield, Colorado, checks back in to give us an update on his pizzeria. He talks about his personal and business growth, being guided by mentors, improving his systems and changing up his marketing tactics. Learn more about Rock City Pies and Ice at ...
May 09, 2024•25 min•Ep. 204
Send us a text This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo. Denise interviews three operators with pizzerias doing business in California. Check out these Golden State pizza pros: Zak Fishman from Prime Pizza. The pizza company has seven locations in Los Angeles, California. Zak shares how much the LA pizza scene has grown, details Prime’s authentic New York style pizza, why pizza, and growing from one to seven units in 10 years. Learn more about Prim...
May 02, 2024•19 min•Ep. 203
Send us a text This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo . Denise interviews operators who are building their businesses and expanding their reach in the pizza industry. They are: Sofia Arango founded of Atlanta Pizza Truck a catering company in May 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. She has also created a thriving pizza industry community, Latinos En Pizza. She shares how she started both ventures and her vision of sharing stories of Latinos in the pizza in...
Apr 25, 2024•40 min
Send us a text This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo . Denise interviews experience multi-unit pizzeria operators: Zach Toth and Chris Brown of Blacksburg, Virginia-based Benny’s Pizza with 32 locations and Jonathan Schroeter from Il Primo Pizza & Wings with seven locations in Southwest Floriday Benny’s is home of the 28” Virginia Slice. Since the first location opened in Blacksburg, VA, in 2011, the pizza company has grown to 32 locations i...
Apr 18, 2024•40 min•Ep. 201
Send us a text The Hot Slice with Pizza Today marks its 200 th episode with a special episode. Listen as we look back some of our favorite episodes, talk about how the podcast has evolved and what to expect moving forward. Who is your wish list guest that you would like for us to have on the show? Let us know. If you would like to be a guest on The Hot Slice Podcast, reach out to Executive Editor Denise Greer dgreer@pizzatoday.com . Now let’s explore some of the episodes, Josh, Denise and Jeremy...
Apr 11, 2024•40 min•Ep. 200
Send us a text This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo. Denise spends some time with women who are in the mobile pizzeria business to get their perspective on business, mobile clientele, the pizza industry and Pizza Expo. Gina and Betsy Wolfe own the upstart Wolfe It Down Pizza in Princeton, Iowa. Gina is retiring this month, so the couple’s new pizza mobile unit will debut at an event in May. We learn all about how this mobile unit is getting off...
Apr 04, 2024•17 min•Ep. 199
Send us a text Belfast, Ireland Pizza Scene began with John Arena We’re back from Pizza Expo in Las Vegas with story after story from pizzeria operators. For the next several episodes of The Hot Slice, we will take you back to the Pizza Today booth to listen to interviews with pizzeria operators from around the country and the world. We kick off the first episode with a unique tie-in to Pizza Expo’s Opening Keynote Speaker John Arena. Denise sat down with Ciaran Kelly, owner of Pizza Guyz in Bel...
Mar 28, 2024•19 min•Ep. 197
Send us a text Happy Pizza Expo Week — the best week of the year!!! We hope you are having an amazing show experience and if you’re not at Pizza Expo, you can stay connected with show updates at https://pizzatoday.com/topics/industry-news/pizza-expo-2024-all-news-from-the-worlds-largest-pizza-show/ . While we’re in Las Vegas together, we’re sharing a favorite episode. Enjoy this Replay of Dough Talk with Peter Reinhart. Peter Reinhart is an instructor at Johnson & Wales University, founder o...
Mar 21, 2024•29 min•Ep. 197
Send us a text This week, we talk with co-executive chefs and partners Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow at San Francisco-based Flour + Water to get the skinny on the direction their taking their highly successful pizza concept. Check out more details provided by Flour + Water: Thomas McNaughton , Co-Executive Chef & Founding Partner, Flour + Water Hospitality Group (Flour + Water, Flour +Water Pizzeria, Penny Roma, Flour + Water Pasta Shop) Thomas McNaughton, founding partner, co-chef and ...
Mar 14, 2024•33 min•Ep. 196
Send us a text This week on The Hot Slice Podcast Jeremy sits down for a one-on-one interview with pizza legend John Arena. The co-founder of Metro Pizza in Las Vegas will deliver the opening day keynote address at the 40th Pizza Expo later this month. During the discussion, John touches on his feelings about tinkering with dough formulas and pushing the industry forward through trial and error. He teases his keynote ("from Me to We," he says) and even talks about his favorite style of pizza to ...
Mar 07, 2024•31 min•Ep. 195
Send us a text This week on The Hot Slice Podcast we are going behind the judges’ curtain at this year’s International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Jeremy and Denise get the inside scoop on IPC judging from longtime judges Hassi Sadri, Scott Wiener and Scott Anthony. The International Pizza Challenge has long been the premier pizza competition and it’s getting even better. IPC has always held high standards and code of ethics for judging. This year, judging has become even more tr...
Feb 29, 2024•46 min•Ep. 194
Send us a text The 40 th Pizza Expo is less than one month away. Jeremy, Josh and Denise dedicate this episode to all things Pizza Expo. From the show floor, competitions and demos to seminars and special events, there’s so much to look forward to this year. Pizza Expo 2024, commencing at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 19-21, is expected to be biggest and best Pizza Expo yet. Attendees and exhibitors can expect fanfare and celebration of our four decades. Listen as the team shares some h...
Feb 22, 2024•33 min•Ep. 193
Send us a text This week, we chat with Odie O’Connor, owner of Boxcar Pizza in Portland, Oregon. Boxcar is a vegan Detroit style pizza shop. His first venture into the pizza biz was a wood-fired pizza cart. On the show, we got the skinny on Odie’s next pizza project, a New York-style pizzeria in his hometown of San Diego, California, offering New York sourdough pies, as well as Sicilian and Grandma. That’s five styles. Odie has a passion for pizza dough and learning. We talk about the process an...
Feb 15, 2024•32 min•Ep. 192
Send us a text On this week’s Hot Slice podcast, Editor-in-Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer sit down with Scott Sandler. The Pizza Expo speaker formerly owned a pizzeria in St. Louis that drew acclaim for its vegan slices. After selling that business and taking some time off, Sandler is jumping back into the fray with plans to open a new sit-down pizzeria with a wood-burning oven. We catch up with Scott about selling a business, plans for the new pizzeria and why the new shop...
Feb 08, 2024•37 min•Ep. 191
Send us a text On this week’s Hot Slice podcast, Editor-in-Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer sit down with mobile operator and Pizza Expo speaker Siler Chapman. A long-time member of the World Pizza Champions, Chapman has most recently found success in the “food truck” realm. From weddings to corporate events, his catering gigs have taken his business to the next level. Chapman will lead a four-hour pre-show workshop on Monday, March 18 at Pizza Expo. “Launching and Thriving w...
Feb 01, 2024•35 min•Ep. 190
Send us a text This week, we catch up with Audrey Kelly, co-owner of Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage in Boulder, Colorado. Audrey 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. Since opening in October of 2015, the Pizza Garage has been featured in numerous publications and even on the Food Network. Find out what Audrey has been up to lately with the business. She details the ins and out...
Jan 25, 2024•29 min•Ep. 189
Send us a text Gabriella Ottaiano said receiving an 8.9 score from Dave Portnoy’s One Bite at Barstool was life-changing for Calabria Restaurant & Pizzeria in Livingston, New Jersey. It was just what the pizzeria needed in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Since the review, Calabria’s has seen remarkable growth, a streamline operation and a marketing focus capitalizing on the review. The pizza that received the score was the Calabria’s Crunchy Thin. After the review, people seeking the hig...
Jan 18, 2024•25 min•Ep. 188
Send us a text Listen to Sean Rowe, owner of St. Angelo’s Pizza in Atlanta, Georgia. Join this one-on-one conversation with Executive Editor Denise Greer and Sean Rowe, owner of St. Angelo’s Pizza in Atlanta, George. St Angelo’s is a pizza company with two locations with very high volume. Sean has a philosophy that he’s always only about 60% there which keeps him striving to improve his business. The company wasn’t always successful. Sean kept dialing in different areas. Hear how he fixed the pr...
Jan 11, 2024•33 min•Ep. 187
Send us a text Jeremy White and Denise Greer Welcome 2024 on The Hot Slice Podcast We usher in a new year with a session where we talk shop on a variety of topics ranging from the Pizza Industry Excellence Awards to Pizza Expo 2024 competitions and more. We capped off 2023 by announcing the PIE Awards winners on PizzaToday.com. Here we give a quick shout out to the winners in 24 categories as well as look ahead to the 40th Anniversary of Pizza Expo. First, the PIE Awards winners: 2023 PIE Awards...
Jan 04, 2024•21 min•Ep. 186
Send us a text Happy New Year! While we take a little break, we’re replaying one of our favorite episodes of the year. Mya Anitai, Franny’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, Highlands, New Jersey, on The Hot Slice Podcast Our guest this week is Mya Anitai. She owns Franny’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, Highlands, New Jersey. She took over a longstanding pizzeria Francesco’s Italian Restaurant in May 2019 and rebranding the business into Franny’s in February 2020. Mya discussed the rebranding with us in a...
Dec 28, 2023•30 min•Ep. 185
Send us a text IPC Coordinators Michael LaMarca, Jeremy Galvin with Master Pizza on The Hot Slice Podcast Pizza Expo 2024 in Las Vegas in March is our 40 th Anniversary. There are some huge updates to the International Pizza Challenge, so we have brought Michael LaMarca and Jeremy Galvin on the show to give us the skinny. Michael, Jeremy and their team at Master Pizza and beyond make IPC a success each year coordinating the largest pizza-making competition in the U.S. What is International Pizza...
Dec 21, 2023•41 min•Ep. 184
Send us a text This week, we continue our conversation with Peter Reinhart about everything bread and pizza dough. Peter Reinhart is an instructor at Johnson & Wales University, founder of the Pizza Quest video and blog site, American baker, educator and author of numerous books, including “Bread Upon the Waters: A Pilgrimage Toward Self Discovery and Spiritual Truth”; “Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers” and “American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza." Most notabl...
Dec 14, 2023•22 min•Ep. 183
Send us a text This week, we talk everything bread and pizza dough with Peter Reinhart. Peter Reinhart is an instructor at Johnson & Wales University, founder of the Pizza Quest video and blog site, American baker, educator and author of numerous books, including “Bread Upon the Waters: A Pilgrimage Toward Self Discovery and Spiritual Truth”; “Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers” and “American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza." Most notably, four of his books have b...
Dec 07, 2023•29 min•Ep. 182
Send us a text This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we’re exploring the story of a 50 th anniversary and a love story and growth and change at Perry’s Pizza in Huntington Beach, California. We chat with owners Jess and Dawn Bingaman, and Lynette Swanson. Perry’s Pizza started long before Jess and Dawn came in the picture. The original Perry’s opened in 1973. Jess was a manager at Perry’s in the 80s where he met and married Dawn, who was a frequent customer. In 1996, the owner was ready to sell an...
Nov 30, 2023•35 min•Ep. 181
Send us a text On The Hot Slice podcast this week is veteran pizza maker/pizzeria owner Joe Carlucci. Joe owns Valentina’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Madison, Alabama. He followed up first-place win in the Traditional Division at last year’s International Pizza Expo with a Non-Traditional victory this year. He went on to win and be named Pizza Maker of the Year. This is the first time in challenge history that a competitor has won categories back-to-back and nabbed the Pizza Maker of the Year ti...
Nov 23, 2023•30 min•Ep. 180
Send us a text Pizza Expo 2024 turns 40 and we’re going all out. While we’re not disclosing what we have planned, we’re marking the occasion in a major way. This week, Jeremy and Josh talk Pizza Expo. Attendee registration opened last week. This also means competitors can register for the show and sign up for the International Pizza Challenge and World Pizza Games. For those not familiar with Pizza Expo, the show remains unchallenged as the industry’s leading event. Network with thousands of piz...
Nov 16, 2023•19 min•Ep. 179
Send us a text Pizza Expo 2024 turns 40 and we’re going all out. While we’re not disclosing what we have planned, we’re marking the occasion in a major way. This week, Denise and Jeremy talk Pizza Expo. Attendee registration opened this week. This also means competitors can register for the show and sign up for the International Pizza Challenge and World Pizza Games. For those not familiar with Pizza Expo, the show remains unchallenged as the industry’s leading event. Network with thousands of p...
Nov 09, 2023•33 min•Ep. 178
Send us a text This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we catch up with Scott Rivera, owner of Scottie’s Pizza Parlor in Portland, Oregon. We last visited Scottie’s in 2018 to profile the hot Portland pizzeria as an On the Road Feature. In the feature, he shares, “I think a lot of New Yorkers and people from the East Coast can relate to not finding good pizza when they move away,” Rivera says, adding that people question the water, the flour, etc. “So I decided to learn how to make pizza myself the ...
Nov 02, 2023•40 min•Ep. 177
Send us a text Jeremy and Josh read and respond to some recent emails sent to Pizza Today by readers. They talk pizza tech, desserts and business in this episode. But the real gold is near the end when the 2024 Pizza Expo Opening Day Keynote speaker is announced. It takes a legendary person to get the 40th Anniversary of Pizza Expo call, and we know you won't be disappointed. Be sure to watch this one all the way to the end to find out who it is! Show Notes: Pizza Expo 2024 will be our 40 th Ann...
Oct 26, 2023•22 min•Ep. 176
