What happens when a 41-year-old pizza shop suddenly goes viral and its tiny kitchen can barely keep up?
In this episode, Eidref sits down with Gerry Buontempo of Frank’s Pizza & Pasta in Baltimore to talk about the family business, upgrading their pizza, handling explosive growth, and keeping the old-school feel that made the shop special.
Highlights:
00:52 – Taking Over a Family Pizzeria During COVID
01:51 – The Bell Curve of a Multi-Generational Business
03:02 – Losing Their Pizza Guy & Stepping Into the Role
03:52 – Learning Baker’s Percentages & Rebuilding the Dough
05:41 – Best Product + Best Known = An Unstoppable Force
06:52 – When Growth Outpaced 40-Year-Old Equipment
07:24 – Finally Getting the Lease & Planning a Massive Kitchen Upgrade
08:02 – How Operators Can Create a New Growth Curve
09:46 – Doing 150 Pizzas an Hour With a Tiny Kitchen
10:46 – The Choreography Behind a High-Volume Pizzeria
11:25 – Four-to-Five-Day Dough Fermentation
12:06 – Keeping the Sauce Simple
13:05 – Why Pizza Expo Changed Everything
14:32 – The Unspoken Brotherhood of Pizza Competitions
16:32 – Pizza Karma & Helping Other Competitors
17:06 – Their Award-Winning Margherita
18:08 – Working With Six-Day-Old Dough
19:13 – Why There’s No Such Thing as the “Best” Dough
20:20 – How Pizza Became a Turning Point in Life
22:49 – Carrying on a Family Legacy Through Pizza
24:56 – What Actually Defines Success?
25:33 – Turning Instagram Followers Into Real Sales
26:34 – Recognizing the Signs That You’re on the Right Path
28:06 – Why You Need to Take Inventory of Your Progress
28:53 – Fresh Mozzarella & Respecting the Craft
29:28 – How Small Improvements Compound Over Time
30:25 – The Instagram Strategy: Be the Best Known
31:20 – The Science Behind a Consistent Crispy Bake
32:21 – Water, Time & Temperature: The Pizza “Dance”
34:40 – Why the Micro Details Matter
36:40 – Where Most Pizza Makers Cut Corners
37:09 – The Operators Who Obsess Over Standards
38:27 – “Inspect What You Expect”
39:12 – “What You Permit Is What You Promote”
40:26 – Why You Have to Be Obsessed With What You Do
41:01 – Finding the Work That Gives You More Than Money
43:15 – What’s Good Dough?
44:13 – Feeding People, Making Connections & Building Community
Follow them:
https://frankspizzaandpasta.com/
https://www.facebook.com/frankspizzaandpasta
Frank's Pizza & Pasta (@frankspizzaandpasta) • Instagram profile
Thank you to our show sponsors:
Bacio Cheese: https://bit.ly/3FmQ3up
Corto: https://bit.ly/457DNII
DM @whatsgooddough https://www.instagram.com/whatsgooddough/
email me: claire@whatsgooddough.com
Topics:
Frank’s Pizza and Pasta, Frank’s Pizza Baltimore, Jerry Von Tempo, Baltimore pizza, Baltimore pizzeria, old school pizzeria, family owned pizza shop, multi generational restaurant, 41 year old pizzeria, pizza business growth, pizza shop viral review, Dave Portnoy pizza review, pizza restaurant success, pizza Expo, pizza dough, bakers percentages, pizza kitchen bottleneck, restaurant equipment upgrade, pizzeria kitchen renovation, high volume pizza shop, cheese pizza, Bacio mozzarella, buffalo mozzarella, pizza business social media, Instagram restaurant marketing, pizza marketing strategy, family restaurant business, pizza entrepreneur, pizza industry, restaurant growth, pizza podcast, What’s Good Dough podcast, Eidref podcast, Baltimore food scene, independent pizzeria, restaurant community, pizza business strategy
