Paulie Gee thought his job would be making pizza. Then he realized the business needed his attention somewhere else.

I sat down with Paulie on the Pizza Expo floor in Columbus to talk about leaving corporate work, building belief through action, and helping other operators succeed.

He explains why he stepped off the make line, what comes with giving operators autonomy, and the fresh mozzarella advice Chris Bianco shared with him before he opened.

Your Takeout Tip: give one recurring job a clear owner. Train the person, give them practice, and explain the result, the decisions they can make, when to call you, and when you will check back in.

Choose one person, one responsibility, and one check-in this week.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Finding work you love
01:35 Meet Paulie Gee in Columbus
02:59 Leaving corporate work
05:08 Belief and commitment
09:12 Advice from Chris Bianco
13:44 Responsibility and operator autonomy
18:16 Why Paulie's role changed
19:56 Hats, tracksuits, and personality
26:09 Pizza, community, and conversation
33:08 Takeout Tip: give one job a clear owner

GUEST
Paulie Gee
Paulie Gee's Slice Shop:
https://pauliegee.com/restaurant/paulie-gees-slice-shop/

PIZZA KING WEEKLY
Get lessons from my shop, podcast takeaways, and tools you can use with your team:
https://pizzakingpodcast.com/

EPISODE SPONSORS
This episode includes paid sponsor segments from EDGE Pizza Ovens and Mailwise Solutions. Thanks also to Virnika AI for supporting the show.

EDGE Pizza Ovens:
https://www.edgeovens.com/

Mailwise Solutions:
https://mailwisesolutions.com/

Virnika AI:
https://virnika.ai/

Host: Tyrell Reed
Show: Pizza King Podcast
Recorded on the Pizza Expo floor in Columbus.

#pauliegee #pizza #pizzabusiness #franchise #slicehouse #pizzakingpodcast

Do you know what your best-selling pizza costs to make? Keisha Miller joins me to talk about cheese portions, supplier relationships, and the operating details that affect your pizzeria.

Keisha now works with Perfect Crust after about 16 years with Performance Food Group. Her experience with independent operators leads to practical conversations about food cost, team training, delivery, and customer expectations.

In this episode:
• Why your team needs a clear cheese portion.
• How scales or portion cups can support training.
• Questions to ask your food rep about cost tools and other resources.
• Why supplier comparisons need matching products and quantities.
• How to compare your pizza after time in the box.
• A packaging change I made when we took over our store.
• Delivery handling and the impression your customer receives.
• Third-party costs and your own online ordering experience.

Try one check this week. Have your manager review the cheese portion on your best-selling pizza. Ask the team to demonstrate the standard.

GUEST RESOURCES
Perfect Crust: https://perfectcrust.com/
Request samples: https://perfectcrust.com/request-form/
Incredible Bags: https://incrediblebags.com/

OPERATOR RESOURCES
Free Pizzeria Operators Playbook: https://pizzakingpodcast.com/playbook-1
Pizza Pro Circle: https://pizzakingpodcast.com/community
Show and weekly resources: https://pizzakingpodcast.com/

Subscribe for practical conversations about pizzeria operations, leadership, and team development.

September sales at Westshore Pizza Valrico reached $36,557, up 108.5% from last year. I walk through the changes behind our September results.

We cover rewards signups, $7-a-day Facebook ads, direct mail, box toppers, QR stickers, catering, and the work our team has done inside the shop.

Rewards customers made 330 transactions and generated about $10,316 in September revenue. Direct online sales rose 62.4% from last September.

The comparison needs context. Last September included closures and inconsistent hours. Sales also fell 13.3% from August. This is a store update, and the sales figures do not measure profit.

The newest change was personal. I introduced myself in our customer emails, shared my role in the shop, and invited replies. Customers responded with both encouragement and a chance to fix an order.

Your Takeout Tip: send one personal email this week. Introduce yourself, share one useful detail, and invite a reply. Decide who will respond before you send.

Download the free Pizzeria Operators Playbook:
https://pizzakingpodcast.com/playbook-1

Want help putting these routines into practice? Ask about the Leadership Accelerator:
tyrell@pizzakingpodcast.com

Explore the show and operator resources:
https://pizzakingpodcast.com/

CHAPTERS
00:00 Opening hook
00:10 EDGE Pizza Ovens pre-roll
01:22 Show intro
01:36 September update and the phone outage
02:25 Sales results and last year's comparison
05:13 Year-to-date growth and third-party sales
07:49 Direct online sales and rewards results
10:03 Facebook ads and the free pizza signup offer
11:47 Mailwise Solutions mid-roll
12:26 Direct mail and our 14-route plan
16:01 Using AI to review your marketing
18:01 Box toppers, QR codes, and team incentives
19:45 Catering with ezCater
20:16 Menu changes, training, and consistent service
21:43 Personal emails that brought customer replies
25:26 Takeout Tip: send a personal introduction
26:45 Free Playbook and Leadership Accelerator
27:47 Sponsors and our AI phone update
29:10 Columbus, booth 647

Thanks to our show partners:
EDGE Pizza Ovens: https://www.edgeovens.com/
Mailwise Solutions: https://mailwisesolutions.com/
Virnika AI: https://virnika.ai/

#PizzaKingPodcast #PizzeriaOwners #PizzaMarketing

Someone told me EDGE is the oven for people who cannot make real pizza.

I ran deck ovens for nearly 23 years. Today, my shop bakes every pizza in an EDGE conveyor oven. I understand both sides of this argument.

This episode is not about telling every operator to buy the same oven. This is about choosing equipment based on your pizza, your people, your volume, and what Friday night really looks like in your shop.

I break down:

• Why the largest pizza chains chose conveyor ovens
• The difference between a deck oven and a conveyor oven
• How a conveyor changed our training and labor needs
• How we handled an 88-pizza order while regular orders stayed open
• Why faster remakes matter to the guest experience
• When a deck oven is still the right choice
• The questions every operator should ask before buying an oven
• How your cook time can help you quote better pickup times

EDGE Pizza Ovens sponsors the Pizza King Podcast. I bought and used my EDGE oven before the sponsorship began. Every opinion in this episode comes from my experience inside my own pizzeria.

TAKEOUT TIP

Time five carryout orders on a busy night.

Write down:

• When the ticket prints
• When the pizza leaves the oven
• When the guest picks up the order

The gap between the last two times is the part you need to fix.

Schedule an EDGE test bake:
https://edgeovens.com/test-bake

Get the Pizzeria Operator’s Playbook:
https://pizzakingpodcast.com/playbook-1

Join Pizza Pro Circle:
https://pizzakingpodcast.com/community

Get one useful idea for your shop every week:
https://pizzakingpodcast.com

Support the Pizza King Podcast:
https://pizzakingpodcast.com/support-the-show

SPONSOR OFFERS

Mailwise Solutions
Mention the Pizza King Podcast and save $150 on direct-mail services.
https://mailwisesolutions.com/

Virnika AI
Mention the Pizza King Podcast and save $500 on your first year of Agent Penny.
https://virnika.ai/penny/

If this episode helped you, subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with another pizzeria operator.

#conveyorovenvsdeckoven #bestpizzaovenforapizzeria #commercialpizzaovencomparison #conveyorpizzaoven #deckpizzaoven #edgepizzaoven #pizzashopoperations #pizzerialaborcosts #pizzaoventraining #pizzeriaconsistency #pizzaproductioncapacity #newyorkstylepizzaoven

In this episode of the Pizza King Podcast, I sit down with Ilir Sela, founder and CEO of Slice, the platform built to help independent pizzerias compete with the big chains. We talk about how Slice grew from a simple online ordering system into a network of 15,000 shops across all 50 states, offering tools for marketing, POS, supplies, and more.

Ilir shares why focusing on your existing customers is more powerful than chasing new ones, how technology and scale can increase profits, and what’s next for independent operators who want to grow. If you own a pizzeria or are planning to open one, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

👉 Subscribe to the channel for more real conversations with pizza leaders.

#pizza #pizzabusiness #pizzeria #successfulpizzabusiness #howtoopenapizzashop #leadership #smallbusiness