Pizzeria Review/ Giovannis Pizzeria Cotati

every once in a while I run into a pizzeria that is good, nice interior design, makes you actually think of Italy, lighting is good not too light not too dark

So I walk in about 8 on a Saturday night and the place is dead!!!! no one there except John and Frank both guys on ther computer and I come in and give em a hard time like I have known them for years (I thought they were going to kick me out) but they didn't and I chatted them up, nice guys

so I ordered a Pizza Medium pepperoni and Mushroom, then told them I was going over to the bar next door for a drink, went to pay and they said not worries pay when you get back

Had a couple drinks and went back for my pizza, another couple had come in (either family or just good customers) and they had there three young kids with them, cute kids and they were having fun----now you may be saying to yourself how boring, get to the point, what was the food like? and I would say shut up its my blog and I will get to the point when I want to any way it was really nice to see a couple of young guys running there pizzeria and interacting with the customers like they were family, this kind of information is really important if you want to find a great little place to enjoy a pie

there are quite a few pizzerias in the area: caprara's in Penngrove, Joe and Julie are great, unfortunately the pizza is average, although they have a new store its not that inviting and they always seem like they are in a rush, great people though Joe and Julie! a new place in Petaluma close by is Rafy's in the orchard supply, in order to have an ego you better be DAMN GOOD sorry Rafy your corn meal crust is less than average and no matter how much you skimp on your toppings your still closing in 6 months, nothing has made it in that spot and your place does on have what it takes

ok so back to Giovannis and yes now for the, my pizza was cooked great! the crust was tasty and had a nice fold to it when I ate it, the sauce flavor was also balanced well, too many places use a lot oregano and salt overpowering the other toppings. when I taste a pizza I am looking for a good crust that is crispy, stands well yet has a defined gum line and good rise (this comes from the proper hydration and that there is still life in the yeast when its put in the oven) they use whole milk mozz and ya knwo EVERYONE SHOULD but they don't so this was a big plus for me, the whole milk mozz has a clean buttery taste with a little hint of salt, then the pepperoni, it was really good, did not shrink up and produce a bunch of oil (like Marys does) so it is a good quality, and the mushrooms were chopped and they did not put too many mushrooms on teh pizza so as too make the pizza soggy.

I really liked the place, for all the reasons I mentioned I will be back again, good guys nice place and quality pizza, go take a taste for your self I know you will like it I definitely did

Giovannis Pizzeria
8270 Old Redwood Highway
Cotati, CA 94931-5243
(707) 664-8460

If you have a place you want me to check out let me know, if you do not read about it that means I thought is was CRAP!!!! :)

Chef Glenn

I love breakfast for dinner!!!!!

Don't you? I mean come on, your a little kid in your jammies, sitting in front of the TV watchin Gilligans Island, thinking about Ginge--------------- ok wait thats not the point I wanted to make

Your mom says its dinner time and you jump up and see pancakes and bacon on the table like it's FRICKIN CHRISTMAS!!!! are you kidding? breakfast for dinner!!!!

The idea here is to mix it up a little
change what you are doing and I am talking about your marketing, your in house marketing what are you doing to increase your sales when you have YOUR SALES sitting right in front of you?

here ya go

Make sure your wait staff has a special to offer the customers, your special should be written by the chef taking into consideration what the kitchen has to move and what has the best food cost for the restaurant.

the waitstaff should also be checking in with the table, how many times have you gone to a local restaurant and ordered a meal only to sit there and wait for another drink? how about some appetizers before your meal? oh ya and dessert, coffee, and when they ask for the check how about a little info card "so if you fill this out we will give you a free dinner on your birthday and 15% off your next meal ! see you soon

the way your waitstaff sells your menu can increase sales by 20% per ticket!!!!! think about it and at the same time they will increase their tips and the customers will be delighted with the service!

trust me when I tell you this works, just ask me I have a really cool story I will tell you

cheers

Chef Glenn

Holidays are for Foodies!!! oh ya and the kids

I really cant believe that the holidays are here? seems like yesterday teh kids were swimming in the pool and I was BBQing adn yelling DONT RUN IN THE HOUSE WITH WET FEET ya I love having my own blog because I can write anything I want haha ok down to business

So what's new on your menu? anything? if you have not added new items ye tthen you need to get on it

Even in worst of economic times teh holidays bring out customers! shoppers! and that equals better sales so teh question really is are you ready to offer your customers some new tasty menu items? you better be because the competition sure is.

I like to go to a heartier fare than usual, try using some cream based sauces, one of the best seller on my menu is the roasted Garlic Sauce, our Creamy Ceasar is a hit topped with Grilled Chicken, Roma Tomatoes and Red Onions. Billy Manzo out in Cransto Rhode Island makes a kick ass seafood pizza and depending on where you live make suer you are using local favorites to top your pizzas pastas and salads------ooooh did I say salads? so here's a great salad that will stand up to the colder weather days we are having. I start with crisp Romain lettuce chopped a layer fo croutons (we make our own) but use what you have in your place, add tomatoes and top with 6 oz of grilled Skirt Steak sliced thin. This is a hearty salad, the Steak is hot off the grill and goes well with the crisp cool lettuce, it satisfies without stuffing yoru customers and the food cost on this dish is about $1.80 it sells for $9.95 and is a great quick meal for busy shoppers.

No matter what you do for the Holidays be ready for Black Friday the day after thanksgiving, have those slice and soda combos ready for quick sales and market to yoru customer group and suggest that they let you fix dinner on such a busy day and lets face it no one is going to be eating TURKEY!

Happy Holidays, and I hope that you all have somthing to be thankful for, I have my kids! family and friends,

Chef Glenn

Thank you Veterans and active duty soldiers

I just wanted to take a moment and say thanks to all our military personal, you know who they are, they sit in the recruiting office every day, they take care of our coastal waterways, they live right next door to you and me.

Its not just the men and women that are on the front lines fighting for the freedom we enjoy, and helping others to fight for their freedom, its ALL the military personal.

I am the proud son of a United States Marine, pops lost his legs at the Chosin Reservoir battle, and went on to marry my mom, raise four great kids, and become a grandpa to nine grandchildren, we lost pop to cancer last year, and I will never forget all the great things we did together.

The Military shaped my fathers life, he was a fiercely proud Marine and loved his country.

Take the time to thank your neighbor, dad, brother or the Veteran standing outside the grocery store next time you see them, they appreciate knowing we care.

I know this has nothing to do with food today, it is much much more improtant than that

Cheers

Chef Glenn

Buying or Selling your Restaurant ?

Times are tough that is for sure, here in Northern California it is a challenging time for all Restaurant owners and when push comes to shove or your just plain out of cash what do you do sell your place?

Or maybe you are looking for a new career, you love food and MAN can you grill a burger!! at least your friends think so right? and it just so happens that their is a burger stand right down the road for sale, boy its your lucky day huh!!!!!!

And yes I love a little Sarcasm but really you have no idea how many times I have heard similar comments so give me a little room to explain



Selling or Buying a Restaurant? I do not have all the answers but I can definitely give you some advice on how to get through it so here we go, does this sound familiar

"I am going to tough it out, it will change next week I am sure of it"

OK who just said that? YOUR DEAD! its not going to change next week unless you just sent out 30,000 mailers and slashed your prices by half! of course then you don't have the staff to keep up anymore because you kept it "thin to win"

Put your ego away, this is business, the economy is not your fault it just is what it is so in times like these you need to be proactive in creating options for yourself. If you are thinking about selling your restaurant or buying a restaurant then here is the first step:

1. Contact a local BUSINESS broker, WAIT, NO contact a local RESTAURANT BROKER ya that's it ! because you need a professional that understands the restaurant business climate in your area.

2. List your business right now, even if you are considering selling you can do it in a confidential way, you can keep operating while getting offers on your place, new buyers should want to see a place that is up and running because it gives them the information to either make minor changes or make major changes if needed, this also gives you the option to implement some guerrilla marketing techniques that can drive customers to you with very little cost "I have a great bunch of ideas with procedures that I am happy to share with you" as long as your restaurant is not in one of my restaurants demographic" LOL

If you are listing with a Broker to sell make sure they have ALL the facts about your place, do not hold anything back of course list all the positives but do not forget the negatives complete honesty is a must, because if the buyer is informed and smart about their decision making process they will probably seek a third party opinion! and that's where I come in, a consultant Can make or break a deal, but the fact is that consultants make their money regardless of the sale so they should be completely unbiased and deliver the facts to the potential buyer or seller and this is a good thing!

There is a lot of money out there, and everyone loves a great restaurant, I have spoken to people that have checks in hand ready to buy a restaurant and have no clue as to what they are doing. I have helped people walk away from places where the seller was not being forthright with the real information, and I have worked with buyers to see the potential in places that were losing money and still bought them because they understood "with help" that they had a great investment ahead of them.

Either way, Buying or Selling seek professional help from a Restaurant Broker, and ask that broker if they work with any consultants, then you have a team of people that know the business, can help you steer clear of the bad deals and put you into a place that will be fun to own.

When I consult with a client I use my knowledge of over 20 years in the Restaurant business in order to give them valuable information, I have opened and closed restaurants, and I know what it takes to make it out there, so hang in there and remember if you need help ask a professional there are many great people out there that love this business and would be happy to lend a hand.

Email me any questions you have regarding this post and I will recommend some resources for you to consider.

Now go get in the kitchen and make some great dishes! cooking always makes me happy

Cheers

Chef Glenn

Sooooo is business slow for you too?

That's an understatement in this economy, everyone is struggling with slow sales rising labor cost "because as soon as you send them home you will be slammed" :) so what do you do to make it though these times? that's the million dollar question and I am going to help you answer it right now!

have you checked your food cost lately? spoilage? phone bill? garbage bill? cable? lease cost? guess what!!!! your throwing away money right now!!!!!!

Lets start with your fixed cost! Rent the quickest way to improve your cash flow is ask your landlord for a temporary reduction in your rent, be prepared to address this with factual information that is direct and to the point, in other words SALES RECEIPTS, sales have slowed for most everyone but I can guarantee you that your landlord will NOT come to you and say "hey how bout I reduce your rent?" go to them and ask for a 6 month reduction, start at 20% and negotiate from there, most landlords will work with you as they certainly do not want to lose tenants and try to fill space in this economy.

Food Cost: in Pizza you should be running about a 22-25 % food cost depending on your menu, KNOW YOUR FOOD COST is is vital to your existence, and make sure your measuring out all your products that go on your pizzas, this will create a consistent product that your customers will love and assure that you have your monthly expenditures in check

Labor Cost: this is a big one because you do not want to be understaffed and you certainly do not want to have people standing around doing nothing right? so check your order flow and make sure you are optimizing your opening time and closing time, check your hourly sales and adjust accordingly.

you might be saying "how do I do these things? opening times against hourly sales and such? you should have a Point Of Sale System in your store, if you are still using a cash register for sales then it will be a lot of work to get this information, that is why every consulting gig I do and the restaurants I open have POS systems in them, it keeps all of your sales information at your fingertips and allows you to know exactly what your costs are related to your cash flow, I cannot stress this enough, call me if you need a referral on a great POS system I do not get paid to refer customers to Revention POS but it is the BEST system on the market!

call your phone company, call your cable company call all your vendors and ask them to lower your prices at least for six months, saving money NOW will help you weather the sluggish cycle we are in, and if you need help evaluating your business to see if it is even viable then do not hesitate to call me 707-774-1668 I can look at it for you FREE, no charge for an evaluation, the more restaurants that keep there doors open and thrive the better for ALL of us so if you need help then just ask!

good luck and I will post more on how to beat the recession and create sales out of $100.00 and a little foot work!

Cheers, Chef Glenn

Down and Out in Ann Arbor

As a rule I usually will not paste and cut a new blog, however today is different, this email came to me and thousands of other subscribers of Pizza Today Magazine. As a owner of Pizza Restaurants this is a timely message, I know Jeremy from working with him at the Pizza expo, his staff at Pizza Today are wonderful, please take a moment to read this, and please know that Fregene's Pizza is committed to quality service and products with every pizza that our customers order!

June 2, 2009

Pizza Today Magazine http://www.pizzatoday.com/


All restaurants are facing a public indictment - yours included this past spring wasn't an overly joyous time for Domino's Pizza. In April, an employee at a franchised store in Conover, North Carolina, used a video camera to document her co-worker in the act of violating numerous food safety measures. The pizza maker - actually, he was constructing sandwiches at the time - made hundreds of thousands of stomachs turn in the video that quickly went viral on YouTube.It was a nightmare for the delivery giant, which already was struggling with lackluster sales in its U.S. stores. Thanks to the action of two wayward individuals, a brand that has built a reputation over half a century was quickly and severely damaged. That's the power of the Internet. That's the power sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube wield.Though it's now June, I am writing this column in April. Domino's is getting mixed reviews for its response to the crisis, and rightfully so. While I sympathize with the position in which Domino's found itself after the video got traction, I can't understand why it took the company so long to go into crisis-response mode. We now live in an age where information hits the masses instantaneously - but Domino's didn't have any meaningful response to the video until two days after it was first posted on YouTube. In the meantime, the problem only worsened as more people viewed the video and blogged about it online.Perhaps the Domino's braintrust hoped the video would go unnoticed if they didn't draw attention to it. Perhaps, being a giant, the company simply moves slowly by virtue of the amount of red tape it has to cut to get anything accomplished. I don't know. But I do know this: for consumers, the video was the ultimate scarecrow. "How often does that happen in other Domino's stores?" Americans logically wondered. But the video didn't just taint the Michigan-based franchise - it tainted all restaurants, in my opinion. If this can happen in a Domino's store in North Carolina, is it out of the question that it can also happen in an independent pizzeria in Des Moines or a seafood restaurant in Portland?It's no secret that things like this occur from time to time in professional kitchens. Though the food service industry does its best to hide such cases, I've worked in enough restaurants and have watched enough hidden-camera television shows to know that the public can't always trust those who handle its food.Thankfully, acts of this nature are few and far between. The overwhelming majority of food service workers are honest, safety-conscious people who realize their actions can affect the health of others. But the hoards that viewed the embarrassing Domino's video can't be faulted for wondering how prevalent these acts are within the food service industry. Right or wrong, all restaurants are facing a public indictment over this - yours included. You can't be in your restaurant at all times, but you are responsible for what happens in it, even while you're away. If you've not already taken steps to ensure something like this doesn't happen to you, do so now, before it's too late.

Best,
Jeremy White, editor-in-chief Pizza Today Magazine