Brothers Amir and Ali Arab have been within the pizza enterprise a very long time. Although they didn’t precisely enter the circle of pizzeria house owners by selection, they couldn’t think about some other profession nowadays.
When the Arabs graduated from faculty within the Nineteen Seventies, tensions between America and their native Iran had been excessive. As was discrimination. The Arab brothers had problem discovering gainful employment, and so they finally needed to go to work within the foodservice sector to make a residing. It wasn’t lengthy, nonetheless, earlier than Amir felt like he was able to open his personal store in Nashville. So, in 1983, Pizza Good was born on Granny White Pike. Then, in 1990, Amir opened a second location at twenty first Avenue South, close to Vanderbilt College. Whereas the unique Pizza Good retailer is now not in operation, a brand new parlor in close by Bellevue is open and homes a big laser-tag space above the pizzeria. It was fairly an funding for the Arab brothers.
“We simply opened the laser tag space, so it’s too early but to inform how effectively it’s going to do,” confides Amir. “However we predict it’s going to be busy and take off.” It higher. The development prices doubled due to a go to from the native Fireplace Marshal.
“It’s a 12,000 square-foot-building that we personal,” says Amir. “We lease out half of it, and the remainder is devoted to Pizza Good. The laser tag part is round 2,300 sq. toes. We had deliberate on it costing $120,000 for that initially, but it surely become a $240,000 funding as a result of we needed to set up a sprinkler system all through your complete constructing.”
For the reason that Bellevue store is in a neighborhood, Amir says it has been hit exhausting by the present recession. “It’s down about 20 p.c proper now,” he says. “This retailer (the Vanderbilt unit) is just down 5 p.c. (The recession) has hit us fairly unhealthy. However what we’ve accomplished to counter that’s to really enhance the standard as a substitute of take away from it. Instances like these, the very last thing you ever need to do is compromise your high quality.”
Sage recommendation certainly. And lest you suppose Pizza Good’s brief downturn dropped income into the gutter, suppose once more: the 2 shops mix for about $2 million in product sales.
Greater than the rest, the flagship retailer at twenty first Avenue South in Nashville has benefited from nice web site choice. Not solely is it throughout from Vanderbilt, but it surely additionally sits near a serious hospital and a stone’s throw away from many music business gamers.
“The music business is what put us on the map,” says Amir. “Lots of the Northerners concerned within the music business got here in right here after we fi rst opened as a result of we serve a New York-style pizza. That’s what they had been used to getting within the north and that’s what they needed.”
Earlier than opening, says Ali, the brothers “went to New York ourselves and ate lots of pizza by the slice and watched how individuals made it. We needed to style it and test it out.”
Pizza by the slice is an actual driver for Pizza Good, notably at lunch. “We do promote lots of complete pies, too,” says Amir, “however lots of people love slices for the comfort and worth. We put out lots of pizzas right here due to that. I solely have two ovens (on the Vandy operation), however I’m placing $1.4 million a yr out of those ovens.”
Lunch accounts for a whopping 45 p.c of gross sales on the Vanderbilt location. Due to that, the ticket common ($7) is considerably decrease than the Bellevue retailer ($15), which is fancier and does extra dinner enterprise.
“We get so packed in right here at lunch from Mondays by Fridays,” says Ali. Meals prices run about 33 p.c. Amir acknowledges that quantity isn’t ideally suited, however says there’s a motive for it.
“Sure, our meals prices are excessive, however our meals waste is low,” he explains. “It’s as a result of we purchase top quality components and we haven’t raised our costs for some time. We did elevate them about 5 p.c 18 months in the past, however then issues went loopy with the price of fl our and cheese and fuel, so the worth improve actually by no means caught as much as us.”
Whereas the costs of these gadgets have fallen again in line, the potential advantages of which have since been offset by the shrinking U.S. financial system. Amir has weathered a handful of recessions since opening Pizza Good, however says the present one will go down in historical past.
“That is the worst one,” he says. “The primary factor now we have been doing is simply going again to the fundamentals. Pizza remains to be one of the best place to your cash. We provide greater than low cost eats — we offer good meals at cheap costs.”
The Arabs have additionally turned to their distributors for help the place relevant. “One of many issues I’m doing is asking my suppliers for assist, stressing that now could be the time to assist us,” he says. “The financial system is absolutely hurting us, however with us, like I stated, it’s about getting again to the fundamentals: ensuring you might have a clear restaurant and supply good high quality and repair. It’s vital to do not forget that worth doesn’t essentially imply cheaper. That’s what’s going to assist us out.”
Jeremy White is editor-in-chief at Pizza Right now.
