Welcome to PMQ Canada!

We’re very excited to be a part of the Canadian pizza market and to be sharing new ways to sell more pizza from real life pizza operators just like you. I hope you’ll enjoy our premier issue. It’s filled with articles and expert advice on relevant issues the pizza industry faces each day. There’s a heavy emphasis on marketing, which we feel is a very important part of growing your business. Our goal at PMQ is to find creative and productive ways to increase your business.

Here’s a look at what we’ve got in store for you in this issue:

Thanks for the Advice

We couldn’t have pulled this issue off without the help of a special group of people: the PMQ Canada Editorial Board. I’d like to thank each one of you for agreeing to assist us. It’s people like you that make this industry profitable. Please read about them on page 10.

Escalating Dairy Prices

As I’m sure you know, cheese prices in Canada are staggering, especially with the 11.7 percent price increase set forth by the Canadian Dairy Commission in December. We’re working with pizza operators, the Canadian Restaurant Association and the Consumer’s Association of Canada to see if there is any way to give pizza operators some relief. See the full details on page 24.

Against the Odds

The owners of Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria (the cover story this issue) worked in the chains for years before deciding to venture out on their own. They thought they could do the same thing on their own. After a few years the volume selling wasn’t working. Check out how they reinvented their business through a name change and some very direct marketing. See page 52.

Gluten-Free Pizza

Roberto Vergalito, owner of Roberto’s Pizza, has a unique menu offering—gluten-free pizza. It’s for people with a condition known as Celiac Disease where a person cannot process gluten. This disease affects one in 200 people. See how offering special diet menu items can increase your customer base. See page 30.

Canadian Pizza Team

With the launch of PMQ Canada, we want to start recruiting for the Canadian Pizza Team. Canadian pizza operators and employees are invited to come compete in the culinary portion of the World Pizza Championship in Salsomaggiore, Italy, March 14-16. The highest placing Canadian contestant in the culinary competition (explained on page 32) will be installed as an official member of the Canadian Pizza Team and earn an expenses-paid trip to New York City to compete against the best pizza makers in the world. The acrobatic portion of the Canadian Pizza Team has tentatively scheduled trials in June in Montreal. We’ll let you know more as details come our way.