Operations

How to open a pizza shop in 6 easy steps

Opening a pizza shop will have its ups and downs. Consider these six tips before you get started.

Photo: Andriy Blokhin - stock.adobe.com

May 30, 2024 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

So you want to know how to open a pizza shop. Whether you've got a concept in mind, have put a down payment on a space or have already started the process of moving in, opening your own pizza shop will be exhilarating and frustrating at the same time. Consider these six tips for starting your own pizza shop.

1. Write a business plan before opening your pizza shop

Before you begin, you'll need to write a pizza shop business plan. Your business plan will be used to help secure a loan with a bank or to present to investors, one of the most important aspects of opening a pizza shop.

Business plans are professional road maps to your concept. They'll explain to your lender or investor how you plan to launch and run your business. It needs to be comprehensive enough to cover your intentions but easy to read and understand.

Include a mission statement that is a description of your restaurant's concept and purpose. Give an outline of the pizzeria's idea and how you propose to make your concept work. You'll need an overview of expected expenses and an ROI of how much your pizzeria is expected to make.

In your business plan, also include your service type (i.e. will you be a quick-service slice shop or a full-service pizzeria), proposed size and seating capacity, operating hours, planned seating, lighting and other fixtures and unique selling points that will set your pizzeria apart from the competition.

You'll also need a sample menu. By now, you've probably started tinkering with dough, sauce, cheese and ingredients. Give your business plan readers a good idea of what types of pizza you plan to offer and what makes your pizzeria stand out.

An organizational chart for your team will also be a help to investors and banks. It shows you've thought out how your pizzeria will run and will give them an idea of the structure of your staff. Include management as well.

Finally, put together a marketing plan. How do you plan to market your pizzeria in your community? Social media, potential paid advertising and grassroots marketing like door hangers, passing out menus and taking samples to businesses are all starting points.

2. Identify your location

When discussing how to open a pizza shop, of course your location is going to be one of the biggest factors that play into your decision. Performing a location analysis should be your first line of action.

You should be taking stock of your competition. With more than 75,000 pizzerias open in the U.S. at any one time, there are bound to be one or 10 in your immediate area. If you've got a location in mind, you should make sure that there aren't many other shops within your area that are like your proposed concept.

Visibility also should be a factor when opening a pizza shop. Have you done a demographics study? Does your potential location have drive-by appeal or is it in a walking district? Can you support both lunch and dinner dayparts?

What about sourcing ingredients? Where will you be able to get product? Is there a local farmer's market nearby where you can get fresh, local ingredients? Are you in a small town that is inaccessible to trucks delivering product?

Take a look at the potential for growth. If you're already planning a second or third shop, is there enough distance between locations to accommodate more than one?

Finally, take into consideration your proposed pizza shop's demographics. Who is dining out in your area, and who will make up your customers? You should take into consideration age and income level as you're writing your business plan. Marketing to the right demographic will be imperative to your success.

3. Opening a pizza shop requires the right equipment

One of your biggest expenses will be equipment. Perhaps your biggest purchase when opening a pizza shop will be your pizza ovens. You could be considering purchasing used equipment from a closed pizza shop, or interested in a bright, shiny wood-fired oven that will take center stage in a pizzeria.

You'll need to make sure used pizza ovens are clean and in good working order. You'll also need to choose what type of ovens you want to use. Deck ovens are popular, but require training and skill to maneuver hot spots. Conveyors are used for ease and consistency. Brick or coal pizza ovens can require following local ordinances, so that's a consideration as well.

Will you use a divider or sheeter or will your staff cut and form the dough by hand? Dividers and sheeters make life a little easier for your staff and creates consistency with your dough; but, some pizza shop owners prefer to handle dough by hand, which takes some skill.

Your walk-in refrigerator is needed to hold excess dough and ingredients, and you'll need pizza boxes for carryout or delivery. Don't use Styrofoam boxes — they don't hold leftover pizza well and don't fit the circumference of the pizzas.

A POS system will be the backbone of your restaurant. They're highly intelligent machines now that do more than just control tickets. They can manage inventory and your staff's schedules and more.

Finally, consider the small goods you'll need — the pizza screens and pans, pizza cutters, dough trays and more. You'll need to buy more than you probably think.

4. Hire a staff when opening a pizza shop

Labor is most likely going to be your biggest cost. You don't want to understaff your restaurant, but on the flip side you don't want extra people standing around doing nothing.

You'll first need to take into consideration how active you plan to be in your own pizzeria. Will you build pizzas on the makeline yourself? Man the ovens? If not, you're going to need to hire pizzaiolos who know how to make a great pizza. This is a skill that can be taught, but if you can't do the training yourself, you're also going to need to hire a consultant who can come into your pizza shop and train your pizzaiolos on the makeline and the ovens.

If the concept is full service, servers will be needed. You'll need to figure out how many you'll likely need and then hire and train them. Depending on how much marketing you do before you open, you could be slammed on your first day, so you'll need all hands on deck for your opening date. Obviously, Friday and Saturday nights will be your biggest selling days, so you'll likely need more staff on those days.

Will the concept offer delivery, and do you plan to use in-house drivers or third-party delivery? Often, delivery drivers are the customers' only experience with the restaurant itself outside of ordering their pizza, so friendly, courteous drivers with a positive image will set the tone for your pizza shop.

If a concept is counter service, you'll need to hire line workers and cashiers. The same technique applies to frontline workers as your drivers. You want smiling, friendly faces working the line.

Finally, will you hire a manager, or will you be the manager yourself? You'll need to undertake tasks like hiring, training, scheduling, ordering product, customer relations, staff management and more if you plan to manage your restaurant yourself. Hiring a manager takes special care, however, to find the right person who can do all these tasks and more.

5. Create a menu before opening a pizza shop

The biggest identifier for your restaurant will be your style of pizza. Will you serve more than one style of pizza, like thin crust, hand-tossed, Sicilian, Grandma, Neapolitan or other styles? That will often determine what type of ovens you will need to purchase.

Your appetizer menu doesn't have to be long, but a couple of add-on items that can boost check averages are always a good idea. Dough knots (easily made with your pizza dough and brushed with garlic butter), cheesy bread served with marinara sauce and wings are great starters. If you're serving wings, you can even use your pizza oven to bake them instead of a costly fryer.

If you plan to menu extras like salads and sandwiches, make sure they're not afterthoughts. Sure, pizza will be a pizzeria's top seller, but not everyone wants to order it. If you offer salads and sandwiches, they should be well thought out and executed.

Beverages are also a consideration. Bottled beverages can be sold for ease, but fountain sodas are also popular. Some pizzerias even partner with local brands to offer regional specialty drinks.

Finally, will you sell desserts? Fresh-baked cookies and brownies are easy, but zeppole and tiramisu take that dessert menu up a notch, especially if you're able to make them in house.

6. Secure funding

One of the biggest challenges to opening a pizza shop is securing a loan. The Small Business Administration will want a business plan and calculated startup costs to apply for a loan. These offer competitive interest rates and easy-to-follow terms.

Traditional bank loans have fixed interest rates and repayment plans and are a good option for long-term support. Business credit cards these days often have high interest rates, but also often earn points for the user. Consider using them for day-to-day expenses.

Finally, crowdfunding has become a popular way to open a business. Kickstarter is one of the biggest crowdfunding options for new businesses to get off the ground.

Final thoughts

Once funding is obtained, it's time to get down to business. Opening a pizza shop requires a business license, state tax registration, insurance and permits, so those will be the next steps.

Making sure a pizzeria concept stands out in a crowded restaurant field is paramount to success. A marketing plan will help launch a concept off the ground, gain traction in the industry and help a pizzeria ultimately succeed.

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.

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