Operations

Uncle Joe’s Famous Pizzeria growing through acquisitions

Uncle Joe's Famous Pizzeria was purchased by Scott and Tana Gerber in 2023. The brand is growing by acquiring pizzerias whose owners are looking to retire or transition out of their successful businesses.

Photo: Uncle Joe's Famous Pizzeria

April 18, 2024 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

Giuseppe "Joe" Sciara, founder of Uncle Joe's Famous Pizzeria, passed through Ellis Island in New York with less than 10 cents to his name. The year was 1958, and Sciara didn't speak English. His adventure into New York, however, would make him a legend in Long Island, where he learned the art of pizza making under the tutelage of skilled pizzaiolos.

In 1968, he launched his own pizzeria in Bay Shore, Long Island, becoming a neighborhood staple. Over the next 30 years, he'd open more pizzerias across Long Island, close some locations and eventually built a flagship pizzeria in the Hamptons.

Today, that flagship brand still stands in Hampton Bays, New York, under the helm of Scott and Tana Gerber, who stumbled into the restaurant in June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gerbers bought the Hamptons location in June 2023.

"Myself and my wife have always been in the business of looking at storied brands and things that we feel we can expand into a larger audience, a larger consumer base," Scott said in a video interview. "Having now been locals of the Hamptons and having seen the product at Uncle Joe's and all these things firsthand, we said 'wow.' The world needs to know about this man, an immigrant from Sicily who built the American dream in a larger way."

Tana said she and Scott have four children, and Uncle Joe's was a kid-friendly restaurant where her kids would eat well in a casual atmosphere. "Uncle Joe" himself greeted the family upon their first visit.

Scott said he and Tana initially recognized the potential to grow throughout Long Island and perhaps beyond. "Our goal is to frankly give that same experience that's been around for over 50 years in a much larger way," he said, adding "and while at the same time not becoming some soulless corporate or soulless franchisor, rather to have that homestyle, family cooked business that we can expand."

The Gerbers have a portfolio of hospitality brands with nearly 40 locations ranging from sushi restaurants to coffee establishments, so they have a long history of management and operations in the industry.

Photo: Uncle Joe's Famous Pizzeria

The expansion plan

Now, the pair is expanding their business by acquiring pizzerias around the Hamptons and in New York whose owners are retiring or simply getting out of the business.

"As a result, we are working with those pizzaiolos and owners to acquire their units and then transform them into Uncle Joe's in the coming years," Scott added.

Uncle Joe's has acquired Wading River Pizza, Fusilli and Papa Nick's Pizzeria in the last few months. There are a handful more restaurants to join the brand that have not yet been announced. Maintaining the family feel of the restaurants is paramount but so, too, is aligning the brand with Uncle Joe's focus on quality.

"That is our play, really to maintain the family friendly, family style culture of pizzerias and the quality of a true corner pizzeria — not a franchised pizzeria, but a true pizzaiolo-led franchise with the idea of being able to acquire individuals across New York in the coming years is how we look at our growth plan," Scott said. "It's not building new venues; it's preserving your local slice shop and bringing the Uncle Joe's brand to your community."

Though the Gerbers have taken a franchised approach, they have no designs to franchise in the next 24 to 36 months. Their backgrounds, however, take company-owned stores to lead to franchising or licensing.

Photo: Uncle Joe's Famous Pizzeria

On the menu

Pizza accounts for 50% of sales at Uncle Joe's. The top seller is the original Guiseppe Cheese pizza that made Sciara a legend in the Hamptons. Other favorites include the Hamptons White, which features olive oil and roasted garlic, ricotta cheese, spinach, crushed red pepper and Pecorino-Romano, and the Hot Honey Prosciutto.

"It's a New York street slice meets a Long Island panko," Scott said. Tana added the crust is crispy.

The brand sells Italian favorites that are also popular, including a Penne alla Vodka, Chicken Parmesan and sweet Doughknots. Though they could have gotten rid of the more difficult plated dinners like the Parmesan dishes, "we look at this in two typologies," Scott added. "Breaking down Uncle Joe's Famous Pizzeria is two brands: brand No. 1 is … your typical slice shop, takeout and delivery location. The second is Uncle Joe's Pizza and Parlour. That is going to be more of your combination of takeout and delivery plus a sit-down location. Those locations will only be roughly 10 to 20 miles apart from one another because we believe that there is still value in the old traditional red-sauce joint in New York City and New York state."

Everything is made from scratch at each restaurant, including the dough, using proprietary recipes from Sciara dating back decades.

"I don't believe in canned anything, so let's make everything fresh," Tana said, "and we're keeping the Guiseppe tradition alive."

Pizzas bake in deck ovens the traditional way. Though they're not moving to conveyors, the Gerbers are using existing technology to help their kitchen efficiencies.

To maintain consistency, the Gerbers are considering a commissary in the future with the restaurants being five to 10 miles apart.

So what separates Uncle Joe's from the competition? First, says Scott, is the heart of the brand. In today's pizza landscape, there are three distinct types of companies — franchisors, regional players and multi-unit independents. Uncle Joe's will stay firmly in the latter two categories. Second, there's the fact that Uncle Joe's doesn't utilize machinery to make the pizzas but does utilize best-of-breed technology.

"It's a great story meets a great operation," Scott said. "There are very few people that are building today off of the original recipes of people who have come from far away to bring their culture to us."

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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