Thinking of opening up a small WFO pizza joint

[JoeyVelderrain]

So I have had a few pizza get togethers and everyone has loved my pies (my dessert pies did not receive a great welcome) and everyone says the same thing, "you ought to open up a restaurant" so I am seriously considering it.

I was thinking of a small place, maybe 4 or 5 tables, try to push the take out and delivery side of it. Use fresh, local ingredients from our local farmers' market.
Stick to a few toppings, fresh mozz stretched on site from curds, Caputo 00...
I plan on mixing and kneading the dough the night before and letting it proof overnight, open the restaurant at 10:30 am to 10:30 PM

Our town population is about 14,000 people. There is no competition for real pizza, all we have is Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Ceaser's, Johnny's and Fox pizza. The most popular is Johnny's, they do very well and have two restaurants in town. But it is just your typical American pizza.

I also have a lead on flavored olive oil and can get a personalized label so I would have some on the tables and also sell the bottles.

I have some questions and was hoping others here who have gone from hobbyist to professional pizza makers can answer them.

1. How much dough would be good to mix for an opening day?

2. What size dough mixer would be recommended? 30qt, 60qt?

3. What is a must have piece of equipment?

4. What is a good POS system?

5. Do I buy a fountain drink machine or just sell bottled drinks?

[Polo]

Joey,
I'm sure that there are some on this site that can reply to your question. If you don't get all the answers you need I would visit this site Pizza Making Forum - Index

There are a lot of knowledgeable folks there that can help you out.

[Tman1]

Actually, for those questions I was thinking this site would be more appropriate. Pizzamaking.com is a very good site, but I think it's more about pizza than the function of a store.

Now, for what it's worth, I would go with the fountain drink machine as it takes less space for the amount of drink you can sell.

[JoeyVelderrain]

Thanks guys, you both sent me to the same site so it should be where I need to be.
also makes sense with the fountain vs bottled.

Thanks!

[JAG]

Joey,

For pizza industry Q & A try this.

PMQ.com

[Tman1]

Actually my link is for PMQ, not pizzamaking.

Just curious, if you're only going for that low number of tables, why not just get a mobile trailer set-up and do farmers markets? Way more flexibility...

[JoeyVelderrain]

I looked into it, but in Louisiana if you're not vending hot dogs you need a commissary, so i am going to use the pizza shop as my commissary to my mobile unit. In return my mobile unit will be a great way to spread the word for the pizza shop.

any thoughts?

[flippinsweet]

I have a small italian / pizza joint in rural nebraska - town of 5000, and let me tell you - competition or no, select one thing and do it right - wood fire pizza and five tables - just be the best. And do not do delivery or take out. Just be high class, if the competition is fast food - be the opposite, follow a model of Pizzaria Bianco in Arizona. Simple local menu, amazing atmosphere, personal service. MHO. Cheers.

[JoeyVelderrain]

Originally Posted by flippinsweet

I have a small italian / pizza joint in rural nebraska - town of 5000, and let me tell you - competition or no, select one thing and do it right - wood fire pizza and five tables - just be the best. And do not do delivery or take out. Just be high class, if the competition is fast food - be the opposite, follow a model of Pizzaria Bianco in Arizona. Simple local menu, amazing atmosphere, personal service. MHO. Cheers.

You make alot of sense. Thx!

[Tenorio74]

My pizzeria is 4 months old, and growing in sales steadily. I agree with flippinsweet, do things right and people will come back. Start out small is also good, you'll grow with your learning curve.

For 5 tables you don't need a POS system, your max rush will be 5 tables. 20+ is a harder number to do by hand. Just get a cash register.

You need good food and good atmosphere... but most important - restaurant business is nickel and dime. Get your food cost done properly, and have some good charts in excel. Figure out the number of tables per day to break even, and always figure worst case scenarios.... Businesses don't always start out in the blue.

There's lots more I could say, but not much time. If you go for it, good luck!