Unique Business Models

Woodfired Container Kitchens

Melinda Carbajal bought a woodfired pizza truck, that is a shipping container kitchen on the back of a flatbed. She fell in love with catering artisan-quality pies for weddings and music festivals. Then Covid shuttered public gatherings. Once local microbreweries reopened, they needed on-site food to satisfy liquor laws and asked Melinda to leave her truck parked next door.

Rather than buying completely outfitted trucks, Melinda brainstormed creating standalone container kitchens which could occupy adjacent parking lots without requiring “permanent construction” permits. As her artisan pizza grew in popularity, Melinda even secured a “container kitchen” location within the Denver Zoo. To keep her dough and sauce ultra-consistent across multiple locations, Melinda launched a commissary to hand-roll their artisan doughballs, make fresh sauce, and hand-slice pepperoni.

Because of limited onsite storage, each container location is resupplied daily. To keep woodfired oven temperatures consistent, an area is dedicated to dry-aging hardwood to optimal moisture content and a log-splitter custom-sizes fuel to desired specifications. Getting locally permitted is Melinda’s biggest challenge since “container kitchens” defy current commercial codes.

However, Melinda prevails by emphasizing that shipping containers, like pizza trailers, are by definition both temporary and mobile! Bravo!!

Melinda Carbajal, Owner
Simply Pizza
Centennial, CO

Setting Quality Expectations

Getting new team members to buy into a quality-driven restaurant culture isn’t easy. That is why at award-winning Andy’s Pizza in Washington, DC, all new hires start their very first day by tasting the restaurant’s ultrapremium tomatoes, olive oil, mozzarella, and aged Parmigiano Reggiano for themselves. Tasting these key ingredients before learning anything else is so eye-opening that new cashiers and veteran cooks internalize from Day One why Andy’s pays more for superior ingredients and why their menu prices are equally premium! “Talk is cheap, but taste doesn’t lie!”

Andy Brown, Owner
Andy’s Pizza
Washington DC

Surprise and Delight

At Fine Folk Pizza, Brie and Mike DeNunzio focus their team on surprising and delighting customers. Team members pen surprise thank you messages on the underside of box lids. Often, young customers are given dough spinning lessons while waiting for their parents’ order. Recently, the team further elevated the youngsters’ experience by awarding “graduates” with “Master Dough Acrobat” certificates and encouraging parents to capture the moment on their cell phones!

Brie and Mike DeNunzio, Owners
Fine Folk Pizza
Ft. Meyers, FL