Pizza King Podcast: Empowering Pizzeria Leadership

I sat down with Kevin Slaughter, owner of Mailwise Solutions, a direct mail and print company that has been serving pizzeria operators across the country for almost nineteen years. Kevin started at Mailwise in college driving a box truck for his father-in-law, worked his way through every department, went corporate for a while at Procter & Gamble and Kroger, then came back full-time in 2018 and bought the business in January 2024. We talked about what direct mail actually costs, why postage matters more than print, when to mail for the best results, and why the marketing plan behind the piece is...

Edge will bring their oven to you! Learn more at Edgeovens.com/Test-bake

Gary Wilson has been running Wilson's Pizza and Grill in Kansas City, Kansas since 1993, and what he's built there — through flyers, radio, Facebook Live, and now TikTok — is a real case study in what happens when you lead with community, show up every single day, and treat service as your real product.

Follow Wilson's Pizza & Grill on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/p/Wilsons-Pizza-Grill-100054288770819/

Check out their take & bake products

https://wilsonspizzaandgrill.net/

George roll...

Edge will bring their oven to you! Learn more at Edgeovens.com/Test-bake

Gary Wilson has been running Wilson's Pizza and Grill in Kansas City, Kansas since 1993, and what he's built there — through flyers, radio, Facebook Live, and now TikTok — is a real case study in what happens when you lead with community, show up every single day, and treat service as your real product.

Visit https://www.edgeovens.com/test-bake to schedule your demo 

I sat down with Odie O'Connor, co-founder of Boxcar Pizza in Portland and Odie's Pizza Co. in Oceanside, California. Odie shares how he went from making vegan pizzas in his backyard to running two sourdough pizza shops across two states — and the systems, partnerships, and mindset that made it possible. Whether you run one shop or are planning your second, this episode has something you can use today.

George rolls up in the EDGE test truck and invites you to step inside, where you’ll bake your own pizzas in our oven—using your dough...

I talked to Eddie Stalewski — @eddiespizza412 — about going from the Pizza Bible in 2013 to standing on the main stage at Pizza Expo as a World Pizza Champion, and every connection, competition, and late Saturday pizza session that happened in between. 

If you have ever questioned whether the craft you are putting into your work actually leads somewhere, this episode will answer that.

Join Pizza Pro Circle, the free community for Pizza King Podcast listeners. Take what you hear and turn it into action you can run in your shop. 

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Brandon Herriott is a pizza and Italian food specialist at Performance Food Group Roma in Pittsburgh, where his team sells over 30,000 cases a week to independent operators. In this episode, Brandon talks about what operators get wrong about technique vs. ingredients, how to get more from your food rep, the Detroit style pizza opportunity, where pizza trends are heading, and what separates great operators from good ones. If you buy food from a distributor, this conversation will change how you approach that relationship. Keywords: pizza distributor, food rep, PFG, pizza technique, pizza trends, i...

Your slow season isn't coming — it's already scheduled. The question is whether you're ready for it.

In this Takeout Tips episode, Tyrell Reed breaks down how to plan for seasonal slow periods at your pizza shop. He covers why your slowest time of year is also your most expensive, how to adjust your hours and team schedule around seasonal patterns, and what he's doing right now to keep cash flow moving at his Tampa location during the summer dip.

Tyrell also walks through his catering strategy, his community event approach, and the one financial habit th...

John Gristina grew up around pizza in the Bronx, fought it for years, lost a partnership, and walked away from the industry for 13 years. Then COVID hit. He started doing pop-ups. And the business that once burned him pulled him back in. 

Today John owns Pizza Fenice in Pelham, New York — Fenice meaning Phoenix in Italian. In this episode, he and Tyrell talk about the hard decision to walk away, the 13 years rebuilding his life, and what it finally took to go back. They get into his dough philosophy (your crust is the first and last thing any...

In this week's Take Out Tips, Tyrell Reed gives you one practical tip for your shop this week: build accountability without being the bad guy. Vague expectations produce inconsistent results. 

Your team is not the problem - unclear standards are. 

Tyrell breaks down how to set measurable standards your team agrees to, how to make results visible so the numbers do the enforcing, how to build a leadership pipeline so accountability does not rest on you alone, and how to address it when someone falls short without making it personal. 

One action step: pic...

https://blacksicilian.com/bio/sedrick-crawley

Chef Sedrick Crawley built something that does not look like anything else in the pizza space. Black Sicilian Pizza Company is a ghost kitchen in Maryland delivering 100 to 120 pies a day — minimum 3-day cold fermentation, luxury-brand-named pizzas (the Birkin, the Louie, the Chanel No. 5), and a brand identity rooted in hip hop culture and Black identity. Most days they sell out. That is on purpose. 

Chef Sed came to pizza through Pizza University after 20 years in fine dining. He trained with Leo Spizzirri, John Arena, and Tony Gemignani. He got the...

The flour debate is here. New York just moved on potassium bromate. California already did it. And if you run a pizzeria, it's coming for you whether you're in those states or not.

On this Takeout Tips Thursday solo episode, Tyrell Reed breaks down the bleached and bromated flour conversation from an operator's perspective. No science degree required. Just real talk about what this means inside your kitchen, your dough, your food cost, and your brand.

Tyrell shares what he learned running 700+ bags of Caputo unbleached flour three years ago, why cost and consistency stopped...

Giovanni Labbate from Tievoli Pizza Bar joins the Pizza King Podcast to talk about building a premium pizza brand, growing from food truck operations into a successful restaurant, competing on major pizza stages, and refusing to race to the bottom on price.

In this episode, Giovanni shares lessons from growing up in the pizza business, working in corporate restaurant operations, opening Tievoli, using competitions to improve the menu, and building around quality, systems, service, and consistency.

We also talk about food truck pricing, catering, customer education, social media, viral reviews, clean kitchens, team training, and...

In this Takeout Tip episode of the Pizza King Podcast, Tyrell Reed gives a quick store update from Westshore Valrico as April wraps up. 

Sales were up in January, February, and March, but the bigger lesson is where that growth came from. A lot of the increase came from third-party sales, which can be some of the most expensive sales a pizza shop gets. 

Tyrell talks through the need to grow first-party sales, rewards members, email, text, local store marketing, postcards, box toppers, QR codes, and direct customer relationships. 

He als...

Chef Vincent Tropepe joins the Pizza King Podcast for a conversation every pizzeria owner, restaurant operator, and kitchen leader should hear. 

Chef Vincent has opened 95 restaurants, worked in serious New York kitchens, written multiple books, and now leads the Hospitality Mental Wellness Initiative USA. In this episode, we talk about what real hospitality looks like, why focus matters in the kitchen, how leaders set the tone during a shift, and why mental wellness in the hospitality industry can no longer be ignored. 

This conversation goes beyond pizza. We talk about kitchen pressure, burnout, addiction, suicide aw...

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In this episode, I break down what we’re doing right now to market the store better and drive real results. 

We finally moved past the early setup stage and started building a real marketing system for April. I walk through how we’re using rewards, direct mail, box toppers, Facebook ads, and follow-up offers to bring in new customers and turn them into repeat customers. 

I also share the real numbers from our first test. We spent $105 on Faceboo...

Neel Vaidya from Troy’s Italian Kitchen joined me for a conversation packed with real lessons for pizza operators. We talked about smart pop-up strategy, local partnerships, vegan positioning, Pizza Expo, leadership, customer service, and how he uses AI and simple video content to grow without losing the human side of the business. This one is practical, personal, and full of ideas you can apply in your shop right away. 

Neel Vaidya is the owner of Troy’s Italian Kitchen in Arlington, Virginia. If you enjoyed this conversation, go follow Troy’s Italian Kitchen and connect with Neel on...

This week on the Pizza King Podcast, I’m bringing you a different kind of Takeout Tips episode.

Instead of one topic, I’m sharing a few quick conversations I recorded live from the Pizza Expo floor at the Perfect Crust booth. These are short interviews, but there’s a lot in them if you run a pizza shop, lead a team, or care about the craft.

You’ll hear from Tara Hattan of Andolini’s Pizza, world pizza champion and one of the most recognizable names in pizza acrobatics, Tony Scardino from Professor Pizza in Chicago...

What happens when an old-school pizza guy sits down and tells the truth?

In this episode of the Pizza King Podcast, I talk with Vito DeCandia of Angel City Pizza about what has changed in pizza, what still matters, and why so many operators get distracted by trends, lists, hype, and social media noise.

We get into old school vs new school pizza, what keeps customers coming back, why some shops should stop trying to be everything to everyone, and how to stay true to your product while still adapting to the market around you...

I turned down a 40-pizza order, and I want to tell you why.

On the surface, it sounded like easy business. Big order. Multiple pizzas. More revenue. But once I heard the full details, I knew it was not the right fit for our operation. This was not about being too busy or not wanting the sale. It was about protecting the flow of the shop, the team, and the kind of business we are trying to build.

In this Takeout Tip episode, I break down the decision, the thought process behind it, and the...

In this episode of the Pizza King Podcast, I talk with Frank Zocco from Dough Daddy Cooks and Slice Mob about pizza, community, and supporting local shops the right way. We get into positive reviews, ingredient quality, what real pizza people look for, and practical advice for anyone thinking about opening a pizzeria. Good conversation. Real lessons. A strong one for pizza owners, operators, and managers. 

Connect with Frank Zocco online:
Follow Frank for pizza reviews, recipes, Slice Mob gatherings, and community updates. 

Website: https://www.doughdaddycooks.com
Instagram: htt...

In this solo episode, I break down a simple truth a lot of operators miss. Social media is not your marketing plan. It is a platform. The real plan is how you drive traffic, get people to try your shop, capture them into your loyalty system, and bring them back again and again.

I also share where we are in week 13 at the store, why now is the right time for us to market harder, and what we are actually focused on. That includes growing our rewards list, using email and text the right way, tightening up...

In this episode of the Pizza King Podcast, I’m recapping my trip to Pizza Expo in Las Vegas and sharing what really stood out to me. 

Yes, there was plenty of new equipment, pizza tech, AI, and tools worth checking out. I talk about what caught my attention with Thrive POS, Wook AI, Pizza Cloud, and more. But the biggest takeaway had nothing to do with booths or product demos. 

The real value of Pizza Expo was the people. The conversations. The handshakes. The relationships. That’s what sticks with you. That’s what pushes t...

I just got back from Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, and before I do a full recap on next week’s feature episode, I wanted to share one quick takeaway that stood out to me right away. Relationships still matter.

In this short Takeout Tip episode, I talk about what I saw and felt on the show floor. The pizza business is still built on people. Real relationships, generosity, and showing up for others still open doors. I share a few thoughts on the people who helped make this trip possible, from Westshore Franchising covering the travel to...

In this episode of the Pizza King Podcast, I sit down with Jake Johnson of Patriot Wood Fired Pizza in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Jake shares how he went from working in kitchens to launching a wood fired pizza food truck, building a loyal following, and turning that momentum into a successful brick and mortar pizzeria.

We talk about what it really takes to start and grow an independent pizza business, from learning one of the toughest pizza styles to master, to building a brand in a small town, to creating systems that help you survive the pressure...

In this episode, I break down what I’m seeing inside the store right now as we move from growth mode into adjustment mode. Sales are up, momentum is real, and we’ve made solid progress from Period 1 to Period 3. But better sales do not always mean a healthier business. That is the real conversation here. 

I talk through the questions I’m asking as an operator right now. Where is the growth really coming from? Which days are carrying the week? How much of that top-line growth is tied to third-party delivery, and what does that mean fo...

In this episode of the Pizza King Podcast, Tyrell Reed sits down with Mike Pitera of Pizza a Modo Mio in Charleston, South Carolina for a real conversation about what it takes to grow a modern pizzeria. Mike breaks down how he went from washing dishes in New York pizzerias, to corporate sales leadership, to building a pizza business that now offers seven styles of pizza across multiple locations. 

They talk about simplifying operations, training a team to handle multiple pizza styles, using one master dough to create consistency, and balancing craftsmanship with smart business systems. Mike a...

In this Takeout Tip episode, Tyrell Reed breaks down a hard truth that every pizzeria owner, partner, and investor needs to hear. Respect from your team does not come from ownership. It comes from leadership. If you think putting money into the business should automatically earn loyalty, trust, or influence, this episode will challenge that fast. Tyrell shares why staff respond to consistency, humility, support, and real value, not titles, ego, or ownership percentages. This is a strong message for pizza shop owners, restaurant operators, and leaders who want to build trust, lead better, and create a stronger team...

In this episode of the Pizza King Podcast, Tyrell Reed sits down with Adam Marks, known online as I Am Pizza Adam, for a conversation about pizza from a different angle. Adam is not building a pizzeria, chasing a pop-up model, or trying to turn pizza into a full-time business. He is a true pizza enthusiast, someone who makes pizza because he loves the craft, loves the process, and loves sharing the experience with others. 

That is what makes this episode valuable for pizzeria owners and operators. When someone makes pizza for the love of it, you g...

If your store runs smooth when you’re there, then falls apart when you leave, this episode is for you. 

In this Takeout Tip, Tyrell Reed breaks down a simple truth. The dinner rush is not the problem. Your lack of readiness is. When the team gets slammed and starts scrambling for sauce, boxes, printer paper, backups, or a stocked line, the rush exposes every missed step from earlier in the day. That chaos turns into slower ticket times, mistakes, refunds, comps, team tension, and that dreaded 911 call that pulls you back into the shop. 

You’...

In this episode of The Pizza King Podcast, Tyrell Reed sits down with Rob Te Braake of Insight Matters, a fractional CFO and accounting firm, for a practical conversation on the numbers that keep a pizzeria alive.

Rob breaks down why most owners get in trouble, not because they work hard, but because they stay too optimistic and avoid the weekly discipline of forecasting and review. You will learn what to track (gross profit, net profit, and cash flow), why revenue can be a vanity metric, and how to spot money leaks like overstaffing, unused tools, payment...

Tyrell Reed is back with a Takeout Tip and a real store update from the Pizza King turnaround. He shares why taking a break matters before burnout hits, then gets into the numbers, the moves, and what your shop can copy this week. 

You will hear the last three weekly results, including sales around $8.6K to $8.9K, and a strong week at about 12.9% profit. Tyrell breaks down what is driving the change, including daily deal emails, weekend SMS, and a loyalty program update built to reward repeat visits faster with simple cash rewards. 

He also ta...

You hire teenagers. You coach teenagers. You lead teenagers. So this episode matters.

I sit down with Coach Tony Le from egelloC (Eagle Lock), a former UC Berkeley admissions reader who has reviewed over 10,000 applications. 

tony-le-x-pizza-king-podcast He breaks down what actually moves the needle in college admissions, and what families waste time overthinking.

We get into the real pillars that drive outcomes, GPA versus course rigor, activities that show direction, and why the college essay is where strong students still lose. 

tony-le-x-pizza-king-podcast Then Tony gives a simple time management system that he...

If you run a pizzeria, you do not need more hype. You need better decisions, cleaner systems, and a team that can hold standards without you babysitting every shift.

In this episode, we break down the real moves that protect profit in a pizza shop. Sales channels, food cost, labor control, prep and portioning, speed of service, and the management habits that keep results consistent. You will hear practical ways to spot leaks fast, fix them with simple routines, and build a weekly process that keeps your numbers and your team on track.

You will...

Stacy Richter, CEO of Live Lingua, joins Tyrell Reed on The Pizza King Podcast to talk about the people skills that build a stronger pizzeria. Stacy started in a Pizza Hut kitchen, moved through front of house, and turned those restaurant lessons into a career across sales, marketing, and entrepreneurship. 

You will learn how to build trust fast with customers and with your team, how to sell without sounding pushy, and how to start better conversations even if you would rather stay in the kitchen. Stacy also breaks down what actually helps adults learn Spanish, and why l...

Chris Battiste from Mia Ava East Coast Pizza breaks down what it takes to run a fast New York style slice shop and still compete at a high level. We talk speed of service, premium ingredients, and how to build a product that stays consistent day after day.

You will hear how Chris uses pizza competitions to sharpen his craft, why he wants the score sheet and notes, and what “balance” really means when you judge sauce, cheese, and toppings. We also get practical on dough systems, hydration, fermentation, and adjusting for heat and humidity. Plus, customer educ...

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In this Takeout Tips episode of the Pizza King Podcast, Tyrell Reed breaks down GM planning and leadership routines during week four of the Valrico store takeover. This is the point where most turnarounds either gain traction or slide back into old habits. 

Tyrell shares his actual weekly P&L and walks through the numbers live. Not a dashboard. Not a summary. The real tool used every week with the GM. He answers the question most owners avoid asking out loud. Are we making money yet? 

You will learn how to...

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Detroit pizza in New York. Two locations. Big creativity with tight standards.

In this episode, Tyrell sits down with Tori Tiso to talk pizza leadership and real operations. You’ll hear how she builds new pies without losing consistency, why she simplified the menu to protect profit and labor, and how she trains people like a coach so the product stays right when the owner is not on the line.

If you run a pizzeria and you want cleaner systems, faster training, and better execution, this ep...

Third-party delivery can wreck a great pizza fast.

In this episode, I sit down with Eric Bam, VP of Sales and Marketing at Perfect Crust Pizza Liners, to talk about the real fix. Protect the product from oven to customer door. We break down why packaging and food protection matter more than most operators admit, because customers do not blame DoorDash.

Customers blame your brand.

We also get practical on pricing and margin protection. If better packaging costs more, build it into your Uber Eats and DoorDash prices. Stop absorbing the cost.

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In this Takeout Tips episode of the Pizza King Podcast, Tyrell Reed gives a real behind the scenes update from week two inside the shop, focused on one of the most overlooked drivers of profitability for pizzeria owners. Cash management.

This episode breaks down how tightening up cash handling, deposits, tip policies, and discounts creates clarity for your team and control for you as the owner. Tyrell walks through the exact steps taken to clean up cash procedures, eliminate confusion at the register, and set clear expectations for closers...

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In this episode of the Pizza King Podcast, Tyrell Reed sits down with Logan Whitehouse, co-founder of Virnika AI, to break down how AI phone automation is changing restaurant operations. 

The conversation stays focused on real operator problems. Missed calls. Labor pressure. Inconsistent upselling. Customer experience during peak hours. Logan explains how AI voice agents can take orders, answer menu questions, upsell consistently, and scale call volume without adding staff. All while keeping your existing phone number and POS setup intact. 

You will hear a clear brea...