LEAMINGTON, Ontario, May 12 /CNW/ — Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, this month celebrates its 25th anniversary in Canada and Mike Schlater, who opened the first Domino’s Pizza store outside the United States on May 12, 1983, is celebrating his homecoming after recently being named president of the Master Franchise.
    Today, Domino’s Pizza stores throughout Canada will be donating $2.50 per order to local charities in celebration of the 25th anniversary.    Founded in 1960 in the U.S. college town of Ypsilanti, Michigan, Domino’s Pizza grew slowly but steadily throughout the United States in its first 20 years, but it was a pioneering young entrepreneur who saw the potential to deliver pizza to hungry customers in Canada. Mike Schlater, originally from Ohio, opened his first store in Winnipeg, thus turning Domino’s Pizza into an
international enterprise, which today has more than 8,600 stores in more than 55 countries.

    In 2008, Domino’s Pizza of Canada Ltd. is a system comprised of 140 individual franchise owners, who operate a combined 280 stores. Domino’s Pizza has a presence in every province, and two of the three territories. The northern-most store in the Western Hemisphere is in Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories. Delivery personnel there can often be seen making deliveries via snowmobile when the weather dictates. The store that lays claim to being the “most remote” Domino’s Pizza store in Canada is in Whitehorse, Yukon.

    Schlater, who operated stores in Canada for several years before becoming a multi-store franchisee with stores across the U.S., recently returned to Canada after being named President of Domino’s Pizza Canada Ltd., which is now based in Leamington, Ontario.
    “I feel like I’ve come full circle,” said Schlater. “It’s hard to believe that 25 years ago, I was just opening that first store in Winnipeg and now, I’ve got the pleasure of leading this great company into the next quarter century. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but the strength of our system is in our business model and in our franchisees. I see great things in store for us.”

    Schlater noted that Domino’s Pizza is looking to build momentum by opening at least 75 stores within the next five years, with the goal of having at least 350 Domino’s Pizza stores operating by the end of 2013, the year in which Domino’s Pizza of Canada will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Popularity: 5% [?]

By Georgia Gonder
News Tribune

Are you up for a pizza challenge? The Pizza Haus on East McCarty Street in Jefferson City features a promotion for the most daring of eaters.

For $30, any brave patron of the restaurant can purchase “The Haus,” an 18×18-inch pizza and a drink. If the eater can finish off the entire pizza within one hour, their meal is on the haus. And they’ll be the first to be immortalized on the Pizza Haus Hall of Fame, complete with a photo.

As an extra incentive, a winner takes a pot of money, to which each entrant contributes $5.

But there’s several catches. First, pizzas must have three meats of the eater’s choosing. Second, if eaters get sick, they are disqualified and must clean up their own mess. And third, a failed attempt will also get your mug on the pizza joint’s “Wall of Shame,” which currently features 25 losing eaters.

Restaurant owner Jason VanLoo bought the business 13 months ago. VanLoo said he and a friend thought of the promotion while sitting in a booth at the restaurant before VanLoo had even purchased it. “We were just sitting there,” VanLoo said. “We just wanted to know, ‘What can we do to get people in here?’”

VanLoo said all of the attempts so far have been from men, both young and old.

“I’d love to see a girl do it,” VanLoo said.

VanLoo said a number of people have asked about the competition. Others, he said, come by and purchase the pizza, which is an item on the regular menu, and test the waters before trying to eat the whole thing as part of the competition. Some of those are scared off on their first try.

“We’ve gotten to the point where everyone’s scared of it,” VanLoo said. “It’s a lot of food.”

The competition started out strong when VanLoo first began it just over a year ago, but VanLoo said participation has dwindled. VanLoo attributes this to the size of the pizza, which is nearly the size of the restaurant’s tables.

Those who have the opportunity to watch someone endeavor the challenge enjoy the entertainment almost as much as VanLoo and his employees do.

“Everyone kind of gawks just to see,” VanLoo said.

Often other diners in the restaurant will give competitors a pep-talk beforehand, or will offer support during the test. The eaters usually have something to say, too.

“A lot of what I hear is ‘Oh, when I was younger I could have done it. Ten years ago this would have been easy,’” VanLoo said.

So far no one has made the “Wall of Fame” and actually finished the pizza. The closest attempt was by a local fire fighter who ate the entire pizza except for four pieces, a tiny portion compared to how much he was able to finish.

“I really think it might take a professional eater to do it,” VanLoo said.

VanLoo has yet to try the challenge himself, but said that if he were to try, he would order a pizza with pepperoni, Canadian bacon and sausage. He said that competition is “all mental” and that he is excited to see someone do it - just not himself.

“I’m not crazy enough to try it,” VanLoo laughed.

The most recent attempt at the competition was April 19, when Mike Lewis finished just over half of the enormous pie.

“I was a little disappointed - I thought I could get a little farther,” Lewis said.

This venture was Lewis’s second time to try the feat. The first time he got further, leaving just two rows of pizza left.

“I think it’s pretty much impossible.”

After finishing as much as he could, Lewis could only describe how he felt as “Miserable. Just miserable. Really full.”

Customers are welcome to try the challenge any day Pizza Haus is open — no appointment necessary.

Popularity: 21% [?]

 Now when you enter the Win a Pizza from The Bay Net and Papa Johns trivia challenge contest, you have a choice!

That’s right. Consider a heart-shaped pizza and ad some pizzazz to your pizza favorites. The heart-shaped pizzas are made to order, only come in large and with any toppings you desire.

How about a tasty Mother’s Day gift? Call ahead and tell Papa Johns exactly what you need on your heart-shaped gift.

Popularity: 2% [?]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - YUM! Brands Inc’s Pizza Hut said on Friday it is responding to consumer demand for healthier food options by rolling out a new pizza made with all-natural ingredients.

The move comes as Yum is expanding menus at its domestic Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants to better compete with rival fast-food companies.

Consumers are increasingly clamoring for healthier fast-food menu options and are often willing to pay a premium for meals with natural or organic ingredients.

While the overall industry has had mixed results with healthy or low-calorie fare, Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill has grown swiftly on sales of burritos stuffed with naturally raised meats.

The new pizza, called The Natural, has a multigrain crust sweetened with honey, a red sauce made with organic tomatoes and is topped all-natural cheese. Available toppings include all-natural chicken sausage and roasted red peppers.

Kelly Buckley, Pizza Hut’s chief food innovation officer, said the natural and organic pizza market is virtually untapped.

“It’s a big opportunity for us,” she said.

The pizzas, which are already being sold in Seattle, Denver and Dallas, will be available nationwide next year, spokesman Chris Fuller said.

A medium Natural pizza with one topping sells for around $11, about $1 more than the average medium, one-topping pizza, Fuller said.

Popularity: 5% [?]

 Pioneer of Online Ordering Continues to Use Technology to Lead in Convenience InnovationLOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 7, 2008–Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) - who in 2001 was the nation’s first pizza company to offer online ordering, at www.papajohns.com - has surpassed $1 billion in online sales, the company announced today.“This is a significant milestone for Papa John’s, as we pride ourselves in being at the forefront of using technology to make it convenient for our customers to order,” said Nigel Travis, Papa John’s president and chief executive officer. “Our customers are technologically savvy and always looking for the easiest ordering option, as evidenced by this landmark $1 billion sales number.”

Papa John’s online sales have grown exponentially since 2001, with online sales on average growing more than 50% each year and nearly reaching $400 million in 2007 alone. Today, more than 20% of all Papa John’s sales come online or via text, and the company believes sales via online, text and other alternative access channels could one day surpass traditional telephone orders.

“It took us seven years to reach our first billion in online sales, and at our current pace and growth rate it will take us less than three years to hit our next billion,” noted Jim Ensign, Papa John’s vice president, marketing communications.

Since online ordering first launched seven years ago, Papa John’s has invested more than $15 million in its online ordering technology, with upgrades and innovations including:

• Plan ahead ordering, allowing customers to place orders up to 21 days in advance
• 24/7 online ordering, letting customers log on outside of business hours to place their orders
• “Repeat Last Order” function, replicating a customer’s most recent order with just one click
• “Favorites Wizard,” allowing customers to save their most frequent menu combinations
• Spanish language ordering

And in November 2007, Papa John’s took the convenience of online ordering one step further when it became the first national pizza company to offer SMS/text ordering for customers throughout the U.S. Customers who have set up their favorite orders at papajohns.com can text their orders to 4PAPA in just a couple of easy clicks.

“We were the first to launch online ordering nationally, the first to launch text ordering nationally, and we will continue to look for ways to make it easier to order our product wherever and whenever our customers want,” commented Glenn West, senior vice president, information services and eCommerce.

The biggest days for online pizza orders? February’s “Big Game,” Halloween, and the day before Thanksgiving.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world’s third largest pizza company. For eight years running, consumers have rated Papa John’s No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John’s also ranks first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John’s at www.papajohns.com.

CONTACT: Papa John’s International, Inc.
Christopher J. Sternberg, 502-261-4934
Sr. Vice President, Corporate Communications

SOURCE: Papa John’s International, Inc.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Clayton, California: May 5, 2008   Al Fresco Imports, providers of outdoor lifestyle products, announces expansion of their product distribution through Williams-Sonoma, Inc., the retail and catalog home products provider who this week begin nationwide sales of the Beehive oven, a portable hand-made terracotta wood-fired oven designed for home and garden use.

Hand-made in Portugal, by third-generation artisans, the Beehive wood-fired oven is a stand-alone, portable wood-fired oven that enables families, chefs and ‘foodies’ to enjoy the pleasure of wood-fired cooking in their own back yard, without expensive installation.  Pizzas take only two minutes, and breads, meats, vegetables etc. cook to succulent perfection in the insulated terracotta oven.

“Word-of-mouth from customers, and greater consumer uptake of the Beehive Ovens has lead to it being noticed by top-notch retailers, such as Williams-Sonoma, who approached us interested in distributing the Beehive Oven,” said Fiona Hughes, president of Al Fresco Imports.  “And their exacting requirements for only the highest quality product serve to further enhance our credibility.”

Williams-Sonoma is the latest retailer to carry the Beehive Oven product in catalogs and online, and joins existing resellers, SurLaTable, Spanish Table, Custom Fireplace Patio & BBQ, Cooks Pots & Tabletops, and FirePlaceLogs.com, among others.

Additionally, Al Fresco Imports announces its distributor in Canada,Provenance Showroom of Alberta, who are set up to meet the increasing demand by Canadian wood-fired oven enthusiasts for a cost effective oven for home/garden use.

“For home-chefs who have been seeking a family-sized wood-fired oven for their own backyards, the Beehive is the perfect solution: affordable, and ready to roll in and use, since the Beehive Oven doesn’t need to be installed,” commented Canadian distributor, Jill Marsh, of Provenance Showroom of Black Diamond, Alberta.  Jill Marsh will facilitate customers in purchasing, shipping and installing their portable wood-fired ovens to Canada. Contact Provenance either by phone at (403) 933-8862, or email Jill at provenance@telus.net

About Al Fresco Imports

Al Fresco Imports, headquartered in Clayton, California, is a provider of outdoor lifestyle products, and the sole US importer for the “Beehive

Oven” the portable terracotta wood-fired oven.   The

company also produces a range of wood-fired oven tools, artisan-made cookware and European linens for

the outdoor entertaining market.   For more

information contact 1-866-305-2675 or at www.alfrescoimports.com

Popularity: 25% [?]

THE days of big slices coming off pizza prices are gone as fast-food chains absorb rising input costs.

But the pizza companies have other ways to hit your wallet and waistline this year.

Australian fast-food chains including Domino’s Pizza and Eagle Boys are promoting quality, menu variety and value-for-money offerings to tempt customers as family budgets tighten.

They’re being held back from savage pizza price discounting wars because they’re negotiating a massive rise in prices of key ingredients including wheat – its price has more than doubled in a year – and cheese and meat for toppings.

Food industry experts say that because Australia’s economy needs to slow to avert inflationary pressures, this probably will mean slowing growth for the fast-food chains.

But they should weather the storm OK because consumers might opt for fast food instead of trips to more expensive restaurants.

The challenge is to keep traffic high using value-based promotions, luring customers with menu variety and pushing more profitable menu items such as desserts.

Brisbane-based Domino’s put strategies in place late last year to protect its profits from a rise in local commodity prices.

It’s lifting its proportion of franchises, expanding online ordering and has split its menu.

It offers standard, cheaper pizzas and has a more expensive range with extra and higher quality toppings.

It also has introduced desserts.

“We knew last year commodity prices were going to be strong,” Domino’s chief executive Don Meij says.

“People thought we’d just lift our prices. Instead we decided to offer better quality.

“You can still buy a standard pizza for the same price or you can pay more for better quality.”

Eagle Boys, also Brisbane-based, is highlighting the size and quality of its pizzas. It said it constantly was investigating new menu items to complement its traditional offerings.

The new products had all launched with great success, providing a wider variety of options for customers.

Focus groups had confirmed that, although product innovation in pizzas was important, “quality holds far greater importance and is definitely more top of mind for consumers”.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Sam Costello knew the pizza he made at Gracie See’s Pizzeria in Inkster was the best around, and now, he can prove it.

Costello, who along with his father, Tom, traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the International Pizza Expo last week, took away top honors for the North American continent, finishing second only to the country of Italy for the international portion of the showdown.
Gracie’s owners hope that the new designation will bring pizza lovers into the Michigan Avenue location.

“We’re proud of the award, there’s no doubt about it,” said Sam Costello from his restaurant last week.

“We’ve been doing this for many, many years – we use all fresh ingredients, and that sets us apart from other pizzas you would get at other places,” he added.

The pizzeria opened in Inkster about three years ago, but has been a fixture in Detroit since it first opened in 1968. Like the Detroit location, the Inkster eatery boasts a healthy dose of Italian authenticity, from the posters of Italian-American actors and celebrities like Al Pacino and Frank Sinatra, to the kitschy T-shirts that read, “I Whacked the Godfather” that are on display, or for sale.

The atmosphere and the history are part of what led the pizzeria to victory last week in Las Vegas, Sam Costello said.

“We put a lot of work into what we do,” he said.

This year, 70 pizzerias took part in the competition. The businesses were broken down by group – Gracie’s took the first-place sport for the Mid-Americas classification. On the second day of the competition, the winners of each sub-group went head-to-head by making a meat lover’s special. An Italian pie came out on top, but Sam Costello said that not surprising.

Costello took home a $2,500 prize, but the win isn’t necessarily about the money, he said.

“Every business that has done well in this competition has seen a boom in their business,” he said. “This is more about the exposure than it is about the prize.”

There will be quite a bit of exposure. In several months, the competition will be highlighted on the Food Network, which means the business will receive a plug in thousands of local households that subscribe to basic cable.

Costello hopes the exposure will bring new customers to both locations, though he said business is moving along nicely in both Detroit and Inkster.

“In Inkster, we do mostly carry-out business instead of sit-down business, and it’s pretty much the opposite in Detroit,” he said.

John Ambiuzzino, a longtime customer, said he often stops at Gracie’s for the pizza.

“It’s the best around,” he said. “I can see why they won the award.”

Though the award is a shot in the arm for the business, Costello said his immediate plans for the Inkster business is to keep doing what they’ve been at for more than 40 years – making pizza that is cooked with the not-so-secret ingredient of Italian pride.

“The best thing about our pizza is that we enjoy making it,” Costello said.

Popularity: 5% [?]

For $7, students will be able to stuff themselves full of pizza from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday during the second-annual pizza-tasting competition put on by the student group Pizza Mania.

Pizza Mania was started by four business students last year, said junior Elisabeth Millar, Pizza Mania’s marketing manager. The competition will feature pizzas from 12 area pizzerias that students will be able to taste and vote on.

“The 12 pizzerias have donated over 300 pizzas and 1,000 breadsticks,” Millar said.

The proceeds from the competition will go toward the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which helps veterans and families with injured military personnel, she said.

The event raised $3,000 last year, Millar said. Proceeds went to the Salvation Army and a Kelley School of Business staff member who had more than $100,000 to pay in hospital bills for her infant daughter, according to an April 16, 2007, Indiana Daily Student article about the event.

The pizzerias will have booths set up around Dunn Meadow, and three live bands will be featured this year, Millar said. A raffle will also provide an opportunity for students to win items from local businesses. After they get their fill, students will be able to choose the pizzerias with the “best cheese,” “best specialty” and “best pepperoni,” among other categories, Millar said.

Students also have the opportunity to purchase a ticket for a lower price before the event, Millar said. Tickets can be purchased for $5 today at a Pizza Mania booth set up in front of Ballantine Hall.

Popularity: 2% [?]

PITTSBURGH, April 15  /PRNewswire/ — Vocelli Pizza announces the opening of a new store in Lorton, Virginia.  The Grand Opening will be held on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 4:00 PM.  To celebrate the event, Vocelli Pizza is giving away a Grande Pepperoni pizza to the first 100 customers at the store along with certificates for “Pizza for a Year.”  Each of the first 100 will receive one free pizza per month for the next twelve months.

The newest Vocelli Pizza store is located in the Shops of Lorton Valley in the Cross Point community, 8921 Ox Road.  Vocelli Pizza offers convenient home delivery and take-out service seven days a week.

“We have  been well received in Virginia,” said Jim Powers, Vocelli Pizza’s Director of Marketing.  “We have  expanded to over 40 stores in the market because there’s a strong demand for a quality pizza, an expanded menu, and authentic Italian quality that’s delivered.”  In addition to traditional pizzas, Vocelli Pizza offers gourmet pizzas, gourmet panini, insalatas, stromboli, breadsticks, bruschetta, wings and even cannolis for dessert.

Vocelli Pizza is a growing national chain with 140 east coast stores; 33 in Virginia. Franchisees are attracted by quality products and low start-up costs.

Vocelli Pizza is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA and has been in operation since 1988.  The company offers area development packages to qualified franchisees.

Popularity: 3% [?]