Nine months after opening their first brick and mortar restaurant in 2020, Danny Stoller and Marc Schechter, better known as the “Square Pie Guys,” were set to release their new spring menu. The following week, San Francisco went into shelter-in-place, and they had to adjust to the new reality.
Instawork’s General Manager of Hospitality, Christian Crynes, speaks with leaders across hospitality to learn how they’re approaching the road ahead. To read others in the series, visit these customer stories.
From Pop-up to pizza place
Marc and Danny both developed a passion for Detroit-style pizza separately, and were connected through a mutual friend. Danny developed his culinary chops through a more traditional route, going to culinary school and working in restaurants in Seattle. And when Marc got the pizza itch, he started doing stages for as many pizza restaurants as he could in San Francisco, including Casey’s Pizza, Delfina, and Del Popolo.
Initially, the Square Pie Guys brand was born as a pop-up Vinyl Wine Bar. From there they did a few different bar collaborations, considered spinning up a food truck and a permanent residency in a bar, but ultimately found the perfect space for their first brick and mortar restaurant.
Embracing technology
Investment in technology is something Square Pie Guys uses to improve many aspects of their business such as:
- Operational Rigor: They run 10+ different softwares to track inventory, cash flow, orders, etc.
- Management of Staff: Using a service like Instawork allows the team to plug staffing holes and help elevate their staff to higher skilled roles.
- Sustainability: By partnering with Dispatch Goods (an on-demand service for reusable delivery containers), they were able to reduce waste on orders.
Creative growth
Like many hospitality businesses during the COVID period, Square Pie Guys found some new ways to build their business beyond pizza delivery. In April, they launched a “ghost brand” of fried chicken sandwiches with international flare, where they gave 3% of all revenue to charity.
Additionally, they launched a par baked pizza line through a new food marketplace that was launched by their wholesale inventory service called Cut + Dry.
Pizza has turned out to be somewhat pandemic proof, given that it is a comfort food designed for delivery, but Danny and Marc invested heavily in their team over the last year and they are excited to continue to grow in 2021.
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