Pizzerias can benefit from updating menus, logos and décor

Even a timeless classic needs an update once in a while. From legacy brands that have been around for decades to newer concepts trying to keep up with changing consumer tastes, pizzerias can benefit from refreshing their brands. A refresh could include designing a new logo, removing slow sellers from the menu, modernizing the dining room and other updates.

When Hannah O’Hara and Dean Rein purchased Lisa’s Pizza in Milwaukee in January of this year, they wanted to make some changes, but not alienate longtime customers. “We wanted to make it our own, but stay true to its history,” O’Hara says. “We did not change too much too fast. People get really upset really easily.”

Before becoming pizzeria owners, Rein worked as an industrial engineer and O’Hara specialized in quality assurance. Her area of expertise is root cause analysis and corrective actions, which means figuring out what is causing something to happen and how to fix it. “We came into it with the mindset of wanting to continuously improve, which is big in the manufacturing space,” O’Hara says.

The new owners closed the pizzeria for eight days for an intensive cleaning, then reopened with a streamlined menu. Gone was the fish fry, a menu item that saw about one order per month. Unpopular pizza toppings such as ground beef and shrimp were replaced with trendy offerings such as hot honey. Also new were vegetarian-friendly items such as pesto, and a gluten-free cauliflower crust.

The dishes that stayed on the menu were standardized and the recipes uploaded onto a Google Drive. The previous owners had not written down the recipes and relied on their memory of handfuls of ingredients. Documenting recipes make it easy for kitchen crews to access the information, and help the Lisa’s Pizza brand maintain product consistency.

The new owners also added accessible seating by getting a city permit and adding outdoor tables. New exterior paint also increased the curb appeal, as did new bright red signage. The restaurant did not have a logo before, so the team developed a whimsical logo featuring Lisa, the pizzeria’s mysterious namesake. “Some people think the logo is too sexy,” O’Hara says. “But I don’t mind.”

Lisa’s Pizza now has a social media presence, which helps the brand engage with the community and compete with chains and other operators in the area. “A lot of people have been grateful for us buying the place,” O’Hara says. “They thought Lisa’s Pizza would come to an end, or someone would buy it and completely trash it. We kept it alive and gave the brand a refresh.”

Research first

For pizzeria owners doing a brand refresh, one challenge is to figure out which logo, décor and menu items to keep, and which to change. One way to do this is by asking customers how they perceive the brand, because their answers sometimes don’t match what the pizzeria owner might think.

“We’re very focused on the research and sociological effects of branding and how people interact with a brand,” says Jon Hartman, creative director at Wunder Werkz, a Denver, Colorado and Reykjavik, Iceland-based branding company that worked on a brand refresh for Mici Italian, a family-owned chain in Denver.

The first step in the brand refresh was to conduct research. Wunder Werkz interviewed Mici customers on what they valued in the brand. They found that people valued their experience in the restaurants more than the visuals of the brand.

“The minute you create a restaurant, you create something that exists in the public,” Hartman says. “Other people feel ownership of their experience within the restaurant. People take their kids there, they went on first dates there, they have memories.”

Mici Italian was also working on franchising the concept, so Wunder Werkz came up with a new logo that works well in different aspect ratios. That way, the logo remains consistent in different sized signage at stores that are freestanding, inline and other types of real estate.

Wunder Werkz also updated the interiors of Mici Italian restaurants, including the red and green palette, lighting, wood and higher end materials. “It was important to have something solidified and professional as they went more into franchise mode,” Hartman says. “It was widely positively received. The future franchisees understood there is a strong brand story to tell.”

Hartman says it’s important to avoid preconceived notions of what a brand should look like, or to simply redesign stores to look sleek and modern. “The secret to success is to come in with an open mind,” he says. “Process where you can go as opposed to saying we need to do this specific thing.”

Refresh versus rebrand

A brand refresh is different from a rebrand. There have been some high-profile rebranding efforts by large chains announcing menu overhauls, new logos and other major changes. Rebranding is more robust than a brand refresh.

“If it’s a rebranding, we are starting over again, and everything is up for grabs,” says Danny Bendas, managing partner with Synergy Restaurant Consultants in Newport Beach, California. “A refresh can include trying to promote different sales channels, change in dining layout, change in marketing, update the décor.”

Bendas notes that some restaurant companies have refreshed their brands recently to reflect their move to more takeout and delivery, while others have focused more on a return to basics, going back to being the pizzeria they once were. While customer feedback is important, the operator must also make sure the new components are easy to execute. If the refresh includes new menu items, these must be dishes that the kitchen staff can prepare with their current equipment and staff levels. Don’t add catering or a full beverage menu, Bendas says, without considering back of house.

“Bring your brand up to today’s standards without harming what people know you as,” Bendas says. “Don’t lose sight of who you are, and what got you to the party.”

NORA CALEY is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.