Pizza, Pizza

One of the funniest jokes my dad tells is about the guy who goes into a pizza parlor to pick up his pie and the owner asks, “Do you want it cut in six or eight pieces?” The customer says “Better make it six pieces. I could never eat eight.”

When I first heard my dad tell this joke, I remember not getting it. After he told it many, many, many times over, I finally laughed, because I got it. I’ve never looked at a perfectly sliced pizza since then and not thought of my father, and how much he loved to tell that joke. And how every time he told it, he pre-laughed. You know what I meant by that.

Within a five-mile radius of where we live, there are at least a half dozen places to get pizza pie, and we have ordered from all of them many times. Despite being married to one of the greatest pizza makers I have ever met, we still order out, pick up or have pizza delivered at least once a week.

Competition between pizza places is fierce, with their daily specials akin to a welterweight battle:

“Choose two or more mediums and get free tots”

“Try our new cool ranch Papadias”

“Three course pizza meal now in a Festive box. Order today”

Yet, while the pepperoni and competition flies all around them, our locally owned pizza place, that has been in business since the early 1990s, still creates one of the best pies in our little town. They don’t have a website, haven’t posted on their Facebook page since 2021 and dang sure don’t deliver. Yet, they survive and even thrive in the competitive pizza arena that exists today.

What is their secret sauce? Consistency. While their prices have changed, their commitment to their customers and the qual

ity of their product hasn’t. Their décor hasn’t changed with the times, nor has the flavor. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that the owner/operators are actually Italian. Stir all of this together and you have a business that doesn’t have to rely on gimmicks, deals and promises of brownie bites to keep their doors open.

The best way to beat your competitors is to act like you don’t have them. Be true to what you do, give your guests a great experience, welcome them when they walk in the door and give them abundant reasons to come back. And thank them. Always thank them.