PizzaCon arrives this month — and it’s sure to thrill!
It’s November, which means PizzaCon is finally here! The one-day event is November 7 at the historic Fillmore venue in Philadelphia. We’ll have the City of Brotherly Love rocking with unbridled pizza enthusiasm as some of the industry’s top suppliers provide educational activation stations designed to help your pizza business thrive.
Beyond sampling some hot new products, PizzaCon also will offer a curated speaker lineup that will make your trip into Philly worthwhile. Here’s a quick peek at the educational opportunities that will be taking place upstairs on the Foundry level during the event.
There will be 5 sessions total led by a bevy of speakers, many of whom own and operate successful restaurants in the Northeast!
Marketing in Today’s Environment (Michael Androw, 11 a.m. – Noon) — Today’s restaurant landscape requires a more targeted marketing approach. Canvasing a neighborhood with door hangars, while occasionally still effective in certain markets, just doesn’t work like it used to. Costs are up and marketing budgets are being squeezed, so it’s important to allocate your precious resources carefully. In this seminar you’ll learn how to identify your specific customer and how to get in front of them and get their attention.
Growing Revenue Through Catering (Tony Cerimele, 1 p.m. – 1:55 p.m.) — In this session you’ll learn about ways to add a catering component to your business. Whether you’re looking to grow via corporate lunches, weddings or other large-scale events, building a plan to increase off-premise sales can take your pizza business to new heights.
Dough Styles (Gregorio Fierro, 2 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.)— A great pizza is dependent on a great dough. It’s the base on which everything is built. And while you can produce a variety of different pizza styles from just one dough formula, when you really immerse yourself in exploring and mastering different styles of dough, that’s when your final product takes flight and has that ‘wow’ factor you’re looking for.
Panel: Building Your Playbook (Jason Gore, Bret Lunsford, Ted Zizlsperger, 3 – 3:55 p.m.) — Whether starting or taking over a business, having a clear plan and operational playbook is essential to your success. The operations team at Sally’s Apizza, with over 60 years of combined experience from brands like Shake Shack, Disney, Buffalo Wild Wings, Outback Steakhouse, and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, has developed a playbook that ensures unforgettable hospitality, legendary food, brand consistency and profitability. Through a strong yet adaptable company culture, intentional decision making and investing in people, you can build a road map to success for your business.
Menu Development (Melissa Rickman, Eric Von Hansen, Jeff Smokevitch and Siler Chapman, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.) — You’re guaranteed to enjoy this entertaining and educational session as members of the vaunted World Pizza Champions take the stage to talk about menu development, some of their favorite and most successful recipes and answer your questions about menu development, food costs, building a new menu item, etc.
