Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast

Andre Alves de Moraes spent more than a decade planning how to bring the Paulistana pizza of his native São Paulo to Honolulu. The result is San Paolo Pizzeria, where long-fermented dough carries generous toppings, Brazilian calabresa meets creamy Catupiry and an all-you-can-eat service introduces diners to roughly 30 different flavors.

Alves de Moraes joins Brian Hernandez for Episode 65 of PEEL: A PMQ Pizza Podcast to explain what separates Paulistana pizza from more familiar American and Italian styles, why two Brazilian pizza chefs spent more than a year training his staff and what it takes to import premium ingredients into Hawaii. He also shares how adding breakfast helps an expensive Waikiki restaurant make better use of its kitchen without compromising the pizza program.

Meet the topping-heavy Brazilian pizza tradition making a new home in paradise, told by the entrepreneur determined to give it a place in America’s wider pizza conversation.

Before Rick Rosenfield co-founded California Pizza Kitchen, he was a federal prosecutor taking on mob bosses and organized crime figures. Then one blunt challenge helped push Rosenfield and fellow attorney Larry Flax out of the courtroom and into the restaurant business.

Rosenfield joins Brian Hernandez for Episode 64 of PEEL: A PMQ Pizza Podcast to share how two lawyers bet their homes on an untested idea, opened a 67-seat restaurant in a supposed restaurant graveyard and built CPK into an international brand. Along the way, BBQ Chicken Pizza defeated rabbit sausage by roughly 170 orders to zero.

Hear the stories behind *The California Pizza Kitchen Story: How Two Federal Prosecutors Changed the Way America Eats Pizza*—told by the man who lived them.

Third-party delivery has become a complicated part of running an independent pizzeria, but DoorDash says the marketplace is only one piece of the equation. In this episode of PEEL: A PMQ Pizza Podcast, Brian Hernandez sits down with Jeff Frost of DoorDash to talk about what happens after a customer finds your pizzeria through a third-party marketplace—and how operators can build a stronger direct relationship from there.

Frost, who started his career working in pizzerias before spending about a decade at DoorDash, explains the distinction between marketplace and first-party ordering, describing the marketplace as a “virtual main street” where hungry customers discover restaurants. The conversation covers websites, online ordering, branded apps, loyalty programs, customer data, marketing, review management and POS integration, along with how independent operators can access technology that helps them compete with much larger brands. Frost also explains why operators should look beyond a headline commission when evaluating ordering channels and why the goal of direct ordering is ultimately retention rather than acquisition.

Brian and Frost also tackle the practical side of building a strong online ordering experience, including the eternal question of website versus app, and how DoorDash Direct fits into the mix. It’s a candid conversation about what third-party delivery can do, where direct ordering fits, and how independent pizzerias can use technology without losing the local personality that made customers want to order from them in the first place.

Bill Zonios has built Glenside Pizza into a $2 million-plus independent operation without taking a single order through DoorDash, Grubhub or Uber Eats. In this episode of PEEL: A PMQ Pizza Podcast, Brian Hernandez sits down with Zonios to talk about why he has kept delivery in-house for 25 years and, more importantly, how he gives customers the convenience they expect from third-party apps without handing over the order or customer relationship.

Zonios explains how Glenside Pizza uses Toast, its own branded app and Shipday to provide online ordering, saved payments and delivery tracking with its own drivers. He also digs into customer data, email marketing, loyalty, SEO and why operators should treat their websites like a second storefront. With 50% to 60% of his customers ordering online, Zonios says today's pizzeria operator needs to understand the back end of the business instead of simply waiting for customers to show up.

But this conversation goes well beyond third-party delivery. Zonios talks about growing up in his family's pizza business, taking over Glenside Pizza from his father, his approach to leading employees and the period when he became so frustrated that he considered selling the restaurant. A trip to Dedham House of Pizza outside Boston helped change his outlook and taught him the value of getting outside his own four walls, asking other operators for help and continuing to learn no matter how long he's been in the business.

For operators already using third-party delivery, Zonios also offers a practical starting point: use those orders to build direct relationships. Menus, box toppers, QR codes, coupons and simple price comparisons can show customers exactly what they can save by ordering directly next time.

Francis Ford Coppola Winery is looking for its next great pizza-and-wine pairing—and Razza’s Dan Richer is one of the people you’ll have to impress. In this episode of PEEL: A PMQ Pizza Podcast, Brian Hernandez sits down with Richer to talk about the fifth annual Perfect Your Pizza competition, what he’ll be looking for as a returning judge and what it takes to make a pizza-and-wine pairing stand out. Professional pizza makers and home bakers can enter through Sept. 30 for a chance to win prizes, including a grand prize package valued at up to $10,000.

REGISTER HERE: https://www.francisfordcoppolawinery.com/perfect-your-pizza/

But we’re not getting Dan Richer on PEEL and only talking about a competition. The six-time James Beard Award nominee and chef and co-owner of Razza, named North America’s best pizzeria by 50 Top Pizza in 2024, goes deeper into the philosophy that has made him one of the country’s most respected pizzaioli. Richer talks ingredient quality, portion control, simplicity, consistency and why pizza makers should develop their own identity instead of chasing trends. He also digs into the challenge of building a great restaurant team, why your simplest pizza might be the most important one on the menu and how decades in the business have only made him more curious about what he still has left to learn. Think you’ve got a $10,000 pizza? Enter the Perfect Your Pizza competition—and listen in for some advice from one of the guys who’ll be judging it.