Operations

New York Pizza sets up shop in Boston with long NYC roots

New York Pizza has three locations in Boston. With a bevy of flavor combinations and tastes, the pizzeria serves something for everyone.

Photos: New York Pizza

October 17, 2024 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

New York Pizza can't be found in New York — but it can be found in Boston. It has its roots in NYC however, when Billy Axiotis and Jimmy Axiotis's grandparents started a pizzeria with their father and uncle in the late 1980s.

In 1993, Billy Axiotis said his grandmother passed away and his father and uncle took over the operations. Fast forward to today, and the next generation took over in 2022. Axiotis and his brother, Jimmy, now operate three units in Boston, with the third open this year.

Photo: New York Pizza

On the menu

The pizza is decidedly New York in style. Axiotis said it's not too thick or thin, but does have a "bigger crust," he said.

"Our whole thing is big slices with crazy combinations," Axiotis said. He said 57% of sales is pizza based, with sandwiches, salads, fried chicken and other fried foods and pastas rounding out the menu.

"I think going back to our roots where our grandparents started, they had an even bigger menu, and I think over the years we've cut it down," Axiotis said. "I guess there's a want and a need for it and people are asking for certain things, so we kept the fried foods, the salads, and a lot of it pairs well with each other."

The first two locations are situated next to universities and schools, and the idea was a quick bite for students with pizza by the slice. The pizzerias have minimum seating and are designed for pizza slices and sandwiches on the go.

Top sellers on the menu include a buffalo chicken, a chicken Parmesan and Margherita pizzas. A cheeseburger and fries pizza, with their namesake toppings headlining the pie, is a top favorite as well.

"Everything is made in house," Axiotis said. "Every morning, we make the dough (and) we make the sauce. We use a Grande cheese which is a little bit better quality cheese."

Each location has a prep team who readies the items for the restaurants every day.

Pizzas are baked in stone deck ovens. Prepping the ovens in the morning is imperative to the pizzerias' successes. The team usually lets the ovens heat up for an hour and a half before service until they hit 600 degrees. Then they turn it down to 575 degrees — the ovens' sweet spot,

It takes three to four months for a pizzaiolo to get good at the ovens.

Keeping consistency has been a challenge for New York Pizza in the past, but the prep teams have been training to keep menu items consistent between all three locations.

The Axiotises took a manager and trained him to be a regional manager, and he helps control consistency now as well.

Operations

New York Pizza has its own delivery drivers, and it offers third-party delivery as well. The brand also sports a catering team. Delivery brings in 18% to 22% of business, so its lucrative for the brothers to have their own drivers.

"It looks much better when a person from the actual store is delivering versus a third-party driver just dropping off your food," Axiotis said. "I think there're more of a connection there. That's what we've seen from the first two locations."

Axiotis said the slices and the operations of New York Pizza sets it apart from competition in Boston.

"I think the way we do the pizza and the way we present the slices is definitely different than most places," Axiotis said. "A lot of people want to jump in, grab a slice and get out."

When customers come into the store, they see the slices with a bevy of combinations and flavors, and it can be hard to choose a favorite.

Staffing was difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic, though Axiotis said New York Pizza has got a good team now. Axiotis said he and his brother have grown up in the business alongside long-term employees, fostering good relationships.

"We've been through all of it from A to Z and I think being in the kitchens and being in the restaurants (has made a difference)," Axiotis said. Some team members have been with the company for 15 years, and there's family vibe.

Many long-term employees have been made managers and team leaders.

The increases of prices of produce and other good from distributors has been a challenge as well.

"The costs of goods have definitely gone through the roof," Axiotis said, "where we can't keep up with increasing our prices. It would be too much."

The brand uses a modern POS system when takes orders at the counter and relays it to employees in the kitchen.

They also use a label machine that keeps orders organized, and drivers use hand-helds during deliveries.

"We offer online ordering. It goes straight to our kitchen," Axiotis said, "which reduces the time our counter person has to take an order. … We're pretty caught up with the technology that there is to offer out there for a pizza place."

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

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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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