News

First-ever New York Pizza Show set for Nov. 1-3

Three-thousand attendees expected at the Big Apple's first pizza-only tradeshow.

September 30, 2004

A pizza show in New York? Fuggedaboutit. It's a natural.

At least that's what most would assume. But by all accounts, America's pizza Mecca has never hosted a tradeshow dedicated solely to pizza.

That will change when the New York Pizza Show comes to Manhattan's Jacob Javits Center Nov. 1-3.

"New York is steeped in pizza heritage, plus half of the pizzerias in the country are within 700 miles of there," said Steve Green, show organizer and founding publisher of PMQ Magazine, the show's sponsor. "New York City is a museum of pizza history and innovation, so what better place to have a show?"

Green said the show's expected 3,000 attendees can look forward to a wide array of business and educational opportunities, as well as time for venturing out into Big Apple. In addition to the show's kick-off cocktail reception, tours to some of the city's legendary pizzerias are offered on each of three nights.

Green also expects at least 200 exhibiting companies will line the aisles.

"I know that as a former pizza guy, when I go to a new city, I like to go look at pizza stores," said Green, a former Domino's Pizza franchisee. "We don't have any slot machines to pull there, but we have plenty of pizzerias to look at. We wanted to leave time for people to be able to see the sites."

Belated coming out party

The NYPS marks a time of subtle celebration for host PMQ. Green said that since he started the magazine in Oxford, Miss., seven years ago, he wanted to have a tradeshow at which he could do business with his advertisers and meet his readers face to face.

PMQ did that on a smaller scale in the past when it exhibited at Pizza Expos held in Las Vegas, Chicago and Atlantic City, N.J. However, organizers of those shows banned personnel from competitive publications such as PMQ and PizzaMarketplace.com from exhibiting at or attending those events.

"We knew we needed to start our own show to have a legal place to meet in the marketplace," said Green. "After seven years, it was time to go to the next level. ... We knew it would be expensive to go New York, but it's the big time, and that's the place we wanted to be."

Green's betting that's where attendees want to be, too. The three-day show (including three days of seminars and two days of open exhibits) begins with four pre-event Pizza University workshops. The slate of paid, half-day sessions includes:

* "Big Dave's FoodCost Pro Menu Pricing Workshop," led by pizza industry consultant "Big Dave" Ostrander ($300)
* "The Black Book Workshop," led by market consultant Kamron Karington ($347)
* "Catering Workshops for Pizzerias." led by catering expert Michael Attias ($300)
* "Everything You MUST Know to Make Great Dough," led by dough expert Tom Lehmann ($300)

Each highly focused seminar lasts several hours and includes time for questions and answers with each expert.

On Nov. 2, attendees can select from nine shorter seminars (price included with standard registration fee) including:

* "Hiring Top Performers for Your Pizzeria," led by human resources specialist Carol Hacker
* "Engineering the Pizza Menu," led by consultant Gregg Rapp
* "Now That's Pizza Service that Sells!" led by consultant and author T.J. Schier
* "Reaching Maximum Profitability in Your Pizza Operation," led by Michael Sassano and Michael Roberts, both of the Horne Group
* "Street Fighter Neighborhood Marketing," led by consultants and authors Jeff and Mark Slutsky
* "Big Dave Unleashed!" led by consultant "Big Dave" Ostrander
* "New-Found Pizzeria Profits: How to Tap into Catering," led by consultant Michael Attias
* "Tricks, Tips and Traps for Pizzeria Owners -- How to Leverage the Billion-Dollar Insurance Industry to YOUR Benefit," led by insurance expert P.J. Giannini
* "Avoiding the 10 Critical Errors Beverage Operators Make," led by beverage management expert Robert Plotkin.

On Nov. 3, five seminars are offered, including:

* "Conquer the Competition," led by marketing consultant Kamron Karington
* Smart Purchasing for Pizzeria Operators," led by marketing and distribution expert Ed Zimmerman
* "The Emerging Artisan Pizza Renaissance," led by author and culinary instructor Peter Reinhart
* How to Keep the People who Keep You in Business," led by human resources specialist Carol Hacker
* How to Make the Best Take and Bake Pizza," led by dough expert Tom Lehmann.

PMQ readers will recognize many of those names as contributors to the magazine and featured guests in pmq.com's online chats, said Rick Hynum, publicity coordinator for the show. Show organizers envision the collection of those experts in one place will become a sort of "PMQ Live."

"This is a chance for readers and operators to get face-to-face instruction from these guys," said Hynum. "After each seminar, the speakers will go down to the Think Tank area where attendees can meet with Big Dave or Kamron Karington or Tom Lehmann. That's a personal approach you don't find in most tradeshows."

Think Tank sessions run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily.

Pizza battles

The NYPS will feature two pizza-centered competitions: acrobatic trials for the U.S. Pizza Team; and the inaugural America's Plate.

On Nov. 2, contestants will battle for three "acrobatic" spots on the U.S. Pizza Team, including fastest pizza maker, largest dough stretch and freestyle pizza competition. All three finalists will win expenses-paid trips to Salsamaggiori, Italy, where they will compete in the world championships next March.

The Nov. 3 America's Plate competition centers more on dough than show. Here, pizzaioli from Italy, New Zealand, Australia and the United States will vie for the title of world's best gourmet pizza. The winner receives an America's Plate trophy.

For those interested in learning more about the finalists' creative, Green said America's Plate entrants will conduct 40-minute workshops on how to make their pizzas.

Edible history

Want to get a closer look at some of New York's most famous pizzerias? Sign up for all three Slice of History tours, which take place each evening of the show. On the list of saucy stops are John's on Bleecker Street (Nov. 1), Lombardi's (Nov. 2) and Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano (Nov. 3). If you've never had pizza from an 800-degree coal-fired oven, you don't want to miss out on the experience.

At each legendary shop, you'll have the chance to meet the owners and see how they make their revered pies.

Registration is $25 per person, which includes bus service to and from each pizzeria.

For attendees who want to venture beyond these three, free maps marked with other pizza landmarks will be available.

The pizzeria tours, Green said, will make the NYPS truly one of a kind.

"We really wanted it to be unique, and the tours are a big part of that," said. "I've been to a lot of shows, and I finally got to create the kind of pizza show I always wanted to go to."

Admission to the New York Pizza Show is $50 in advance, $75 onsite. For more registration information, visit newyorkpizzashow.com.