Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
Lawrence Longo is definite about one factor: America wants an amazing nationwide pizza model.
Not only a chain that cranks out slices, however a reputation that stands for high quality, heritage and the sort of taste individuals will journey for. “Our objective is to be that premium slice store in America,” he tells Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef.
That mission is on the coronary heart of his work rising Prince St. Pizza from a single store right into a brand with locations across the country.
The story began on a block in New York Metropolis’s SoHo neighborhood, the place the unique Prince St. Pizza has been drawing crowds for years. Its pepperoni sq. slice is an icon: crispy-edged, overflowing with curl and dripping with taste.
Longo was a fan earlier than he was a associate. “I used to go in as a buyer,” he says. “I cherished the pizza; I cherished the vitality within the store. I might really feel how a lot it meant to individuals.”
Associated: He Went from Tech CEO to Dishwasher. Now, He’s Behind 320 Restaurants and $750 Million in Assets.
That connection changed into conversations. Longo bought to know the homeowners, studying not simply in regards to the recipes however in regards to the satisfaction and historical past behind them. “We began speaking about what it might be,” he remembers. “I informed them, ‘This is not only a slice store. This can be a model that might imply one thing in each metropolis.'”
Ultimately, that dialogue turned a partnership, grounded in a shared dedication to maintain the product and tradition intact. Now the enlargement is actual. This interview happened inside a brand new Prince St. Pizza in Las Vegas, simply steps from the Strip.
The group here’s a mixture of locals and guests, however the slice of their arms tastes similar to it might in SoHo. “That is the objective,” Longo says. “Irrespective of the place you’re, once you chew into it, it ought to really feel such as you’re in New York.”
The Las Vegas store is only one of a number of new areas, every chosen rigorously. “We do not simply go wherever,” he explains. “We search for cities the place Prince St. can slot in and nonetheless stand out. After which we construct the best crew to guard what makes it particular.”
For Longo, it’s not merely about rising greater. It’s about making a nationwide pizza model with out dropping the soul of the unique.
Associated: His Sushi Burger Got 50 Million Views — and Launched an Entire Business
The following nice American pizza model
Prince St. Pizza’s footprint is getting greater, and the momentum is actual. New areas are opening in markets like Miami and Dallas. Each matches the standard and tradition of the unique SoHo store. Celebrity customers have develop into a part of the story. Usher. Adam Sandler. Dave Portnoy. They don’t seem to be there for picture ops. They arrive in as a result of they just like the pizza.
“They struggle, they usually come again, they usually just like the model,” Longo says. Being in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago means crossing paths with individuals who stay for good meals, whether or not they’re well-known or not.
Progress additionally brings noise. “The larger you get, the extra haters you get,” Longo says. “You may’t take heed to the noise. You wish to take heed to all people, however you gotta simply hold your head down, fear about your self, do one of the best job you may and focus in your clients.”
That mindset is what permits Longo to maintain increasing with out dropping the flavour and tradition that made Prince St. Pizza a vacation spot within the first place.
Each new retailer is one other likelihood to show {that a} premium slice store can scale nationally with out dropping what made it particular.
“Each time you open a brand new restaurant, you study one thing new about your model,” Longo says, “and we’re solely getting higher.”
It is the identical objective he set from the beginning — to take Prince St. Pizza from a single store in New York to a real nationwide model. And for Longo, the recipe for getting there may be easy: shield the product, shield the tradition and hold serving slices value touring for.
Associated: This Restaurant CEO Created His Own National Holiday (and Turned It Into a Business Strategy)
About Restaurant Influencers
Restaurant Influencers is dropped at you by Toast, the highly effective restaurant point-of-sale and administration system that helps eating places enhance operations, enhance gross sales and create a greater visitor expertise.
Toast — Powering Profitable Eating places. Be taught extra about Toast.
