Operations
Any way you slice it: How a small-town pizzeria became a big-time hit
Driven by a passion for quality and a commitment to its community, The Slice has transformed from a small-town pizzeria into a thriving multi-location success story by making its dough, sauces and pasta in-house, cultivating a family-like atmosphere and prioritizing excellent customer service.
September 19, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
One-hour waits. Lines out the door. And takeout orders by the hundreds.
Such is the life of a busy pizzeria not in a metropolitan area but in small town Simpsonville, South Carolina. It's a good problem to have, and The Slice manages to succeed with two restaurants.
The story starts shortly after Operating Owner Mike Baldassarra's mother passed away. The family found a pizzeria that was closed on Sundays and Mondays, and they rented it out. It had been owned by an older couple who admitted they were tired. Two months later, Baldassarra made the couple an offer. It was March 2021, the crux of the pandemic.
Baldassarra had foodservice experience, having worked at an Olive Garden for 10 years and operated a five-star restaurant in Florida for a time. He sold cars for a while before returning to the restaurant industry.
Jay Bandy, the brand's business manager, has been in the restaurant industry since 1986, working for McDonald's Corp. for nine years and Blimpie's Subs and Salads.
They opened their first pizzeria in March 2021 but didn't open a second until Oct. 2024. A third unit should be opened by the end of the year.
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Photo: The Slice |
On the menu
"Our pizza blows everything away," Baldassarra said in a phone interview, adding that it accounts for roughly 60 percent of sales. Pasta also accounts for a good portion of sales — 15% to 20% — not surprising given the fact that they don't use dry pasta and instead make it by hand. Dough is made in house as are all the sauces.
"It makes a big difference when everything is made in-house," Bandy added. "That's our point of differentiation, at least with some of the Greenville market. We spend a little bit of extra money on ingredients that go into the sauces to make them distinct from the competitors in the market."
Making items from scratch, Baldassarra said, guests can really taste the difference.
"It allows us to carve out our niche," he said.
Top sellers on the pizza menu include cheese pizza, the grandma pie and a meatball and ricotta pizza. The buffalo chicken and chicken bacon ranch are also favorites. The New York-style pizzas are baked in electric ovens in eight minutes. Originally, the pizzeria they took over was a New York-style pizzeria, "and we don' t use their recipes, but we sell the same style pizza," Bandy said.
To ensure consistency across the brand as it grows, Baldassarra said it's imperative that those pizza recipes be followed. Baldassarra and Bandy go between the restaurants every day.
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The Slice |
Operations
Bandy said they've identified two more spots on the radar for new sites. They're undergoing due diligence on those sites right now, bringing the total to four potential sites next year.
So, what sets The Slice apart from competition? Bandy said it's the quality of the products and not cutting corners. With a lot of regulars, it's important to learn their names. Bringing a family feeling to the restaurants is done with proper training and service.
The Slice is also active with the school system and local non-profit organizations as well.
"Literally every week we've got something going on with someone in the community," Bandy added.
Baldassarra said the company doesn't have too much turnover when it comes to staffing. Bandy said the brand has continually improved its recruitment and retention processes.
"The challenge for us is as the business gets busier — and the Simpsonville location gets busier with a capital B — is finding people who can handle the volume," Bandy said.
Customer service is also important to The Slice, where managers visit every table to talk to customers. There are usually a couple of hosts on duty, so guests are greeted immediately when they walk in. Bussers and runners give support to the servers so they're not doing everything. It's a much smaller, complex service model — one in which the servers can really focus on the guests.
"We treat everybody like family in here," Baldassarra said. "We treat people like we want to be treated and how we were raised. For instance, Baldassarra and Bandy recently held a party for the staff members returning to college for the semester. Obviously, they hope those employees will return in the summer or after they graduate.
"We're not worried about replacing them," Bandy added. "We're looking at sending them off the right way."
Technology, like Restaurant365 for accounting and back office, a recruitment and retention program and a reputation management company, helps keep operations tight.
"We have very sophisticated websites," Band said. "We use Popmenu. Integrated with this is ordering and our social media."
Having operated a successful pizzeria for many years, Bandy said he recommends understanding the complexity of the business and having a solid business plan.
"The tech stack in today's world is very important, and if you go in with the wrong tools, the wrong point of sales system, a website that's not integrated, if you don't have an operating system with food safety and inventory systems and a good recipe book as well as a training system from the get-go — those are some of the things I hope people back," Bandy said.
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
