Operations
There's nothing to hide at this North Carolina pizzeria
This pizzeria has no freezers or walls, and everything is made in-house. See how Aliño Pizzeria is thriving with a simple concept that still wows.
April 1, 2022 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
Aliño Pizzeria has the kind of backbone other pizzerias seek: with a focus on fresh ingredients and customer service, it's become a regional favorite in North Carolina.
The three-unit company started about nine years ago in an old textile factory bought by owner Michal Bay, whose main gig was actually commercial real estate. As a native of Turkey, Bay had to Google the kinds of foods Americans like to eat, and, as you would imagine, burgers, pizza and tacos came out tops.
Since he'd lived in Italy, he thought a pizzeria would be perfect for the mixed-use building.
He offered the idea to 11 different friends — and all 11 shot him down. His idea was to help his friends open the pizzeria and not charge them rent until they made money. After Bay got the restaurant up and running himself, seven of those 11 are now working for the company.
The restaurant was a hit from its inception. Before it opened, Aliño Pizzeria gave away pizzas to fire and police department staff, teachers, healthcare workers, etc. as it tried out recipes rather than waste the food. Soon, word of mouth got out, and people began coming into the restaurant to try Aliño's pizzas.
"I really put my heart and soul in it," Bay said in a phone interview. He traveled all over Europe, some 29 cities, trying what people said was the best pizza in, say, Paris, Venice, Copenhagen or Amsterdam. He studied pizza making in Naples.
The result? Three units: one in Mooresville, North Carolina, one in Concord, North Carolina and a third in Atlanta. He also owns an upscale burger restaurant. All are independently owned by Bay.
How did he know he was ready to open a second store? Customer demand.
"We are serving almost 28,000 people a month," Bay said. "The market, or the customers, pushes you to open. Even if you don't want to open it, you will open it."
Even now, he still gets inquiries about opening in other locations, but he prefers to stick to his guns.
"For us, the most important thing is quality," Bay said. "I prefer to lose all my business instead of losing my quality even 5%."
He said he gets customers who drive two hours to eat a pizza and take a few home. There's no delivery, as it changed the outcome of the wood-fired pizza.
Opening in successful retail centers is a win-win for landlords who appreciate the foot traffic from solid restaurant concepts, and that's the idea behind Aliño's three counter-service concepts.
On the Menu
The menu is simple. Just nine pizzas, three salads and a few desserts.
"If it's not simple, you cannot keep fresh ingredients, and the life in the kitchen will be difficult if it's a big menu," Bay said. "You cannot serve good food if you have four pages of menu instead of a half-page menu. You're making your people's lives easy in the kitchen and you're making your customers' lives even easier. It's easier to choose. You want a pizza, you go to (Aliño's). You want pasta? (We) don't have it. You want a calzone? We don't have it."
Aliño's is the true definition of a pizzeria. Everything is made fresh, with imported flour and Buffalo mozzarella sliced weekly in-house.
"Nothing is prepared before," Bay said. "We don't have freezers in the pizzeria."
And everything is visible from the dining room with an open kitchen floor plan, allowing even the dishwasher to be viewed by customers. There's nothing to hide, Bay said.
"I like to have no walls because if you're a good restaurant, why would you have walls?" he said. "If I was going to hide something, why would I be in that business?"
Pizza is a crowded field, and Bay said the fact the concept is simple and there are no gimmicks set it apart from its competition. Also, the quality of food at a good price makes it a standout, Bay said.
Even the pandemic didn't slow down the pizzerias, when business spiked by four times. Aliño's still succeeded, even without delivery. Instead, he offered two pizzas only — a pepperoni and a Margherita — for $10, pick-up only.
"Everybody was coming and getting pizza from us and going," Bay said. "The kitchen's life became easy because four people were only making Margherita, four people were only making pepperoni, and customers were coming in, paying $10 and going."
Even without a delivery program, business continues.
"Pizza is fun," Bay said. "You meet a lot of nice, interesting people, and it's great to see people say 'excellent, as usual. Great pizza. The best!' These are great words to hear. It just makes you happy."
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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