What’s the secret to launching a successful pizzeria with minimal resources and a tiny space?

In today’s episode, we’re chatting with Paul, the self-taught pizza master behind Pie Trap Pizza, a thriving pizzeria born from a backyard hobby. Located next to a brewery, Paul shares his journey of perseverance, innovation, and the power of great ingredients—all packed into a 400-square-foot space that’s making a big impact.

Highlights:

Sweet Rent Deals and Minimal Overhead: How a favorable rent agreement helped them weather financial dips.

Keeping It Simple: Why they initially only offered pizza and sodas—and how simplicity gave them control.

Small Menu, Big Flavor: Adding Detroit-style pizza, knots, wings, and a signature Calabrian Caesar salad to the menu.

The Build-Out Journey: From bare studs to a fully equipped kitchen, including stories about plumbing, electrical, and tenant improvement pitfalls.

The Power Puzzle: Managing electrical loads with a Pizza Master oven in a small space, including tales of a temperamental technician and complex wiring setups.

Learning from Others: Insights gained from attending the Pizza Expo and meeting legends in the pizza world.

Perfect Pizza Baking Temperatures: The significance of temperature adjustments in the cooking process, including starting with a lower heat to achieve a crispier, longer-lasting crust.

Dough Perfection: The critical role of dough fermentation in achieving the ideal pizza texture, with a special focus on 4-5 day fermentation to achieve the perfect balance of crispiness and flavor.

Check out Pie Trap Pizza here:

https://www.thepietrap.com/

https://www.instagram.com/pietrappizza/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/pietrappizza/

Thank you to our show sponsors:

Corto Olive Oil:

https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1808352&u=2800064&m=112748&urllink=&afftrack=

Ooni Pizza:

https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=77074&awinaffid=1800006&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ooni.com

Bacio Cheese:

https://www.baciocheese.com/?utm_source=Influencer&utm_medium=Podcast_Social_Web&utm_campaign=Whats_Good_Dough&utm_content=Bacio

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email me: eidref@whatsgooddough.comCamera and Audio Provided by Tristan Marr and Alexia Refil

Topics:

Commissary model

Commissary kitchen

Multi-unit pizza empire

Commissary-driven restaurants

Restaurant operations efficiency

Streamlining restaurant processes

Consistency in restaurant operations

Commissary kitchen setup

Centralized food production

Batch cooking for restaurants

Multi-location pizza business

Commercial food storage capacity

Walk-in refrigeration space

Scaling pizza restaurants

Food production efficiency

Commercial kitchen equipment

Restaurant commissary logistics

Pasteurization process for marinara

Shelf life of sauces

High-volume pizza production

Cloud kitchen model

Stadium food service logistics

Vinaigrette preparation in bulk

Quality control in pizza production

Cold storage management

Centralized sauce and dough production

Pizza dough and sauce consistency