Typically, eating places go overboard in relation to menu planning. From a laundry record of drained appetizers to a plethora of pizza kinds and desserts contemporary from the freezer, some menus can stretch into a number of pages. However is it actually mandatory? And might a pizzeria subsist on only a handful of favorites? If Sparks, Nevadabased Pizza Plus is the instance by which operators ought to contemplate, then sure. Right here you’ll discover a record of tried and true pizza staples, ever-popular wings and a handful of appetizers designed to boost the general meal not simply to extend verify totals.
Owned by Dan Blake who initially partnered along with his then in-laws, the primary retailer opened in 1981. His in-laws had been on the lookout for an funding and Blake had expertise working at a Shakey’s Pizza franchise when he was a teen. “We type of jumped in probably not realizing what was happening,” Blake admits. It was a “very sluggish starting. It took a number of years to get going.
“One of many worst issues is that we had been underneath capitalized, so we actually had no promoting however word-of-mouth. That’s a really sluggish promoting. It takes time. It took us most likely three to fi ve years to construct up a robust core enterprise. We discounted issues we shouldn’t have discounted. It was only a studying expertise.”
Being a primarily family-run enterprise, Blake introduced on board Dennis Cain as director of operations within the firm’s infancy to strengthen its middle, and gross sales quickly began to rise. As we speak, the corporate sits at about $5 million with 4 shops within the Reno space.
Blake credit a few of his preliminary success to partnering and sponsoring native sports activities groups. “Then they’d are available in after the video games,” Blake says. “That was one among our constructing blocks.”
As the corporate’s enterprise started to select up, Blake and his workforce determined to take a tough take a look at Pizza Plus’ menu, including a set record of combos designed to feed crowds. For instance, probably the most common and the one Cain credit for a pointy rise in gross sales within the late Eighties and early Nineties is a big two-topping pizza, two and a half kilos of hen wings, steak-cut fries, carrots, celery and dip for less than $29.99 (the order feeds 4 to 6 individuals). Combos comprise about 65 p.c of gross sales and greater than 7,000 kilos of wings are offered within the 4 eating places each week.
“We actually mixed pizza and wings,” Blake says. “That’s our jingle ‘It’s Our Factor … Pizza & Wings!’ and we actually wished to model that. We actually wished individuals, once they consider pizza and wings, they consider Pizza Plus.”
Other than the combos, Pizza Plus gives a brief record of specialty pizzas ranging in worth from $12.99 for a 10-inch small to $24.99 for an 18-inch “mondo.”
Dough is made day by day at one retailer and shipped to the three different areas and the remainder of the prep, together with grating the cheese and making sauce, is completed in-house.
Beer and wine can be found and used to make up as a lot as eight to 9 p.c of gross sales; lately, nonetheless, thanks partially to the rise and success of sports activities bars, alcohol gross sales account for just one p.c of gross sales. “Over time, pizza parlors had been the locations to go after video games and sporting occasions,” Blake says. “I believe the nationwide consciousness of teams like M.A.D.D. (Moms Towards Drunk Driving) and the general public consciousness most likely (additionally) have one thing to do with it.”
Consequently, Pizza Plus targets youngsters’ sports activities groups, households and teams and leaves the foremost alcohol gross sales to the casinos and bars in and round Reno.
Pizza Plus added supply within the mid Eighties, which additionally helped to extend (and now contains roughly 25 p.c of) gross sales. “Slowly however absolutely we grew to the purpose the place we needed to open one other retailer,” Blake says, and in 1993 they opened the second Pizza Plus retailer. Since then, two extra shops have been added.
Not too long ago, the operators started to take a tougher take a look at how you can climate and conquer the slumping economic system. ”
On the finish of 2007, we started to see indicators of what was occurring that the bubble was about to burst,” Blake says. “Early within the 12 months we received hit with the wheat worth will increase we went from $10 a bag to $25 in a single day.”
They attended a seminar on recession-proofing a enterprise held on the Mall of America in Minneapolis. “Earlier than that, all I used to be listening to was hunker down, lower bills, simply attempt to experience out the storm,” Blake says. In the course of the seminar, he realized that it’s as much as operators to extend enterprise reasonably than merely counting on the established order.
“You must stand out (and) learn to be a zebra in a crowd of normal horses,” he says. “You’ve received to be the one which stands out. What do your prospects know you for? What are you well-known for?”
After the seminar, Blake got here to grasp that Pizza Plus didn’t precisely have a model, so that they created an icon of a pizza man and started utilizing it within the advertising and on their menus. Folks then started figuring out the icon with the corporate.
An additional new addition was the creation of a buyer loyalty program to encourage repeat enterprise. Clients have a card that’s swiped, they usually get e-mails and newsletters as soon as a month with particular gives. The VIP program “offers us a format to type of attain out,” Blake says.
The constructive outcomes of the branding and the addition of the loyalty program created an increase in gross sales final 12 months at the same time as Pizza Plus’s opponents have begun shuttering some doorways. “I prefer to suppose that’s definitely due to the efforts we put into the customer support a part of it and the advertising program,” Blake provides. “We’ve modified utterly what we had been doing.”
With 4 shops within the Reno space, is franchising within the firm’s future? Blake has thought-about it, however believes it’s a step he must study extra about earlier than taking the leap. “It could presumably be a good way to develop,” he says, “however on this economic system proper now we have to keep centered on revenue margin and ensuring when this factor turns round, we’re in place. I believe anyone left standing goes to be in a reasonably good place.” He cites at the least eight pizza outlets which have closed in his space lately as a part of the rationale for holding proper now.
As an alternative, the corporate took over the concession stand through the Pop Warner soccer season final 12 months on the Golden Eagle Regional Park, a a number of use sports activities park that brings in a couple of million guests a 12 months. The transfer correlates with Pizza Plus’ emphasis on working with groups.
“We all the time sponsor a variety of groups, however this 12 months we sponsored extra,” Blake says. “It’s group give-back and tie-in program. There’s been a variety of recognition and response.” ?
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is managing editor at Pizza As we speak.
