Operations
Punxsy Pizza breaks the mold with unmatched dedication, upscale ingredients
Scott Anthony started Punxsy Pizza in 2014 after running a mid-level regional franchise for nearly 20 years. Starting with a new name, number and his own operations, Anthony has built a competitive pizzeria that's deeply ingrained in the community.
November 1, 2023 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
Being a small-town pizzeria amongst more than a dozen others means you must stand out against the competition. For Scott Anthony, owner of Punxsy Pizza in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, that means using top-notch ingredients and tight operations. Anthony, a member of the World Pizza Champions, uses the tagline "Think About Pizza," and he does — working more than 65 hours a week in his own restaurant — Anthony eats, sleeps and breathes pizza.
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Scott Anthony launched Punxsy Pizza after 20 years in the business running a mid-level franchise store. Photo: Punxsy Pizza |
He started in the pizza business after a friend asked him for help. Recovering from back surgery, he didn't think he'd be physically able to run his janitorial service anymore, so he joined his friend, who owned a mid-level regional franchise.
Anthony saw some issues with the pizzeria, namely the need to clean it up, fix some cash-flow discrepancies and handle some staffing issues. The brand needed consistency, and it wasn't very busy, so he had lots of time to sit and think of ways to increase business. It needed someone to make sure things got done right and on time.
"I just applied a few business principles to it and it started to turn around," Anthony said. Within six months, he'd bought the franchise from his friends in 1994.
Launching Punxsy Pizza
In Feb. 2014, he decided to go out on his own, break away from the franchise and Punxsy Pizza was born.
"I had learned so much in the pizza industry in the years prior from '94 to '14," Anthony said, "that I really wanted to be able to do my own thing and expand my own concept with what I wanted in my own pizzeria."
Punxsy has all-new recipes, Anthony upgraded ingredients and was able to keep the customers he'd had before the switch. "When I changed ingredients, I made sure they were premium ingredients but not too far off from what we had before. I didn't want to have people completely start over," he said.
Rebranding was a huge task with a new phone number and a new look, name and feel. Anthony didn't realize what a good job he'd done of branding the franchise, so rebranding took a lot of effort.
"To this day I still have people coming in here thinking it's the former restaurant that it was," Anthony said. "It just really takes a lot to ingrain all these things in people. The pizzas were named differently, so there was a lot of work to do with that."
In the years that followed, Anthony expanded the restaurant. He rented the space next to Punxsy and knocked out a wall, effectively increasing the size of the dining room. He added beer and wine and took what he'd learned on trips to Italy and at conventions to pair beer and wine with pizza.
Just this past year, Anthony updated his lobby and exterior, and it wasn't a small job. He effectively ripped out his lobby and started from scratch and also added a full bar that seats six.
Two new breweries and a cider place have opened in town, and Punxsy Pizza has only local beer on tap. "It's always been our commitment to be part of the community and support the community and do local things," Anthony added.
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Photo: Punxsy Pizza |
On the menu
Aside from pepperoni and cheese, the Chicken Rancher is popular and is topped with chicken in a buttermilk ranch sauce, bacon and tomatoes.
The White pizza is made with a homemade garlic sauce, tomatoes and pizza cheese. The sauce is his grandmother's recipe, and they'd eat it at Sunday supper at her house.
The Pierogi is also a top seller, and it's comprised of buttery mashed potatoes, onions and cheddar cheese.
"This is a region where you have a lot of ethnicities and a strong Catholic following," Anthony said, "and there's a lot of times they can't eat meat. The Pierogi has always been on the menu and has always been a strong seller, too."
Anthony added that Punxsy Pizza was the first independent restaurant in town with online ordering, digital menus with prices. Having the pictures in front of customers gives them a visual of the pizzas and increases ordering.
The brand uses conveyor ovens to help with volume. Although there are 13 pizzerias in Punxsutawney, "we have to be the most popular place in town," Anthony said. "It's a lot of competition."
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Photo: Punxsy Pizza |
In the community
Punxsy Pizza's biggest activity of the year is its Pizza and Prevention fundraiser. Anthony began the event after 9/11 in support of local firefighters. The team makes and markets a pie called the "Chief," a rectangular 12-inch by 24-inch pizza and it's sold to customers at a discount. Punxsy Pizza donates $5 from each Chief sold to the fire company during the month of October.
"Something like 9/11 really makes you stop and think and appreciate what the volunteer firefighters do, and for no pay," Anthony said. "We started that back then, and it's turned into one of the biggest fundraisers for the fire company. Over the past 22 years, we've raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for them."
Local firefighters work in the kitchen, deliver the pizzas in their emergency vehicles and check smoke detectors while they're visiting customers' homes.
To set themselves apart, the brand's unique selling point is "Think About Pizza" and that's what they do — they think about the ingredients that they use and buy local when possible. When buying local, Anthony said 68% of the money stays within the community. Punxsy Pizza has ingrained itself in the community through its events like Make-A-Wish and by offering donations to auctions and other events. They even work at school concession stands.
"That's why we're called Punxsy Pizza — we're really a part of the community," Anthony said. "We are Punxsutawney. We represent that."
Anthony is also a speaker at pizza conventions and is known in the industry as a marketing expert.
When asked what advice he would give to another pizzeria about marketing, he said everything you do is a marketing opportunity.
"Whether it's how you act in your store or what you send out in the mail or in the newspaper or however you choose to do it, it needs to represent exactly what customers are going to get," Anthony said. "It needs to represent what your unique selling position is, what your mission is and what your brand is. It's got to be one of those things that what you see is what you get."
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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