Location, Location
Sharing where our new pizzeria will be, and 3 nuggets of wisdom from a pizza legend/mentor
“Most newsletter suck. This one doesn’t” - an anonymous real reader of this newsletter
I'm the owner of the pizza restaurant Saint Francis Apizza in Cincinnati, OH. I write a newsletter most months to send out updates about the pizzeria, share my love of pizza and the travels I embark on to learn more about my favorite food, and the business behind it.
Announcing our new pizzeria’s location!
What a week.
Thank you to everyone who has wished us well on our new restaurant!
You may have already heard, but SFA 2.0 will be located at 3200 Madison Road, in Oakley. The space most recently was home to Red Feather, and before that, Boca, until the latter moved downtown.
Many industry friends have reached out to share that they worked at Boca in the early-mid 2000s. You can sense the history every where, from the open kitchen to the classic bar. Sitting here writing this in the main dining room, I’m enjoying the lovely natural light and the warm brick walls. It feels lived in and welcoming already.
Timely Advice From a Mt. Rushmore Pizza Maker
I’d fallen out of touch with an important mentor of mine, Brian Spangler. Brian is on my — and anyone who’s serious about pizza in America — Mt. Rushmore. He has helped countless people like me learn the ropes, and steered many of us away from catastrophe before we even knew it was around the bend. Brian and his wife Kim own Apizza Scholls in Portland, OR, where I mostly grew up. The opened in 2005 when I was fifteen and already pizza-obsessed. I had a front row view to this hyper-determined couple who built their dream pizzeria with minimal resources. Yes, I was very much in tune with that type of thing as a teenager…
Anyway, Brian called me out of the blue on Monday and we caught up for almost an hour. It was the most grounding conversation of my week, and couldn’t have come at a better time. As you can imagine, my head is spinning and my heart is all over the place as I navigate this new ‘normal’ of growth from one to two restaurants.
I wanted to share with you what Brian talked to me about, and also write it down for posterity. I know it will help me in a few months to come back and read this.
It all comes down to heart. This is easy to dismiss as cliche. But I agree with this sentiment about business (or any creative endeavor) more than any other, at least the kind of business that I want to lead and participate in, even as a customer. “Heart is the most important part of your menu.” People will not come, or come back, because it looks pretty or because you have the right wine list. They will come because they can smell authentic effort, or as Brian calls it, “toil.” To Brian, and to me, ‘toiling’ has a positive connotation. It means you’re doing what is required, and not taking shortcuts. “People can tell.” Of course, fifteen year old me was drawn to Brian and his pizzeria for exactly this quality. I could tell!
Marketing starts and ends with heart. Brian and Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco (also a pizza maker inarguably on Pizza Mt. Rushmore), talk about the early struggles most restaurants have, trying to get the word out, to coax people in the doors. We are approached by social media consults, third party apps, ad word sales people, and even old school print advertising companies. “All you can do is send a smoke signal,” Brian reminded me. “Not everyone will see it, but the ones who pick it up and understand what you’re doing, will.” What are they looking for when they come see for themselves? Evidence of heart, of caring, of intention, and confirmation that no shortcuts are being taken. When the marketing is based on genuine intentions enacted in the food and our relationships, enough business will come.
By any means necessary. Brian shared a story of him and Chris Bianco giving a talk to mostly new pizzeria operators at a pizza conference decades ago. During the Q&A Brian was repeatedly asked by the audience what oven to buy, what mixer is the right one, etc. Chris Bianco eventually interrupted to address the underlying concern in the audience. “Give me an Easy Bake Oven and I’ll make you a great pizza,” he said. The audience laughed. “No, I’m serious,” Chris insisted, and doubled down on his point. “Give me some sunlight and a magnifying glass, and I’ll make you a great pizza.” Chris is far from cocky despite being a pizza making expert. His point is that the only way to succeed is to take matters into your own hands, to eliminate dependence and excuses on things like equipment. It’s a waste of time to tell yourself ‘I could do that if only I had ________.’ As Brian said, “I built my own oven because I couldn’t afford to buy one. I was never going to let myself fail.”
As we wrapped up our conversation, Brian reminded me: “You’re always going to sleep well at night because you did what so many people are afraid to do. You took the leap. You jumped off the cliff. I’m proud to pass the torch to you, because you give a shit.”
I was overwhelmed with emotion hanging up the phone. I hadn’t even bothered to mention to Brian that I’d just signed a lease on a new space. There’d been more fundamental things to talk about. I needed a reminder of what matters most. I have heart. I have determination. There will be nothing more important on this journey.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for trusting us with your pizza needs!
There is no charge for this newsletter, but if you’re hungry, we’ll make you a pizza tonight, tomorrow, or any night…
- Alex Plattner, Saint Francis Apizza
saintfrancisapizza@gmail.com