Zach Toth and Chris Brown of Blacksburg, Virginia-based Benny’s Pizza and Jonathan Schroeter from Il Primo Pizza & Wings in Southwest Florida on The Hot Slice Podcast

This week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo. Denise interviews experience multi-unit pizzeria operators: Zach Toth and Chris Brown of Blacksburg, Virginia-based Benny’s Pizza with 32 locations and Jonathan Schroeter from Il Primo Pizza & Wings with seven locations in Southwest Florida.

Benny’s is home of the 28” Virginia Slice. Since the first location opened in Blacksburg, VA, in 2011, the pizza company has grown to 32 locations in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wyoming. Each Benny’s has a unique name. The original is Benny Marzano. We talk about growing the business and what Zach and Chris look for in a new location. We also talk pizza industry and Pizza Expo. Learn more about Benny’s at https://www.bennysva.com/our-story/.

Il Primo was founded by Paul Conti opened the first Il Primo in Arizona in 1983, growing to three locations. But when Conti relocated to Naples, Florida, he closed the Arizona stores and opened his concept in Southeast Florida in 1999. He grow Il Primo to six locations. Director of Operations Jonathan Schroeter continues that charge. Jonathan shares the growing pains of operating multiple restaurants during hurricanes. We talk about how the model has shift from large footprint dining to more carryout and delivery. We talk about Pizza Today’s visit to Il Primo in 2020 and Pizza Expo. Learn more about Il Primo at https://ilprimopizza.com/

Stay tuned as we continue our interviews from Pizza Expo 2024.

Check out more news from International Pizza Expo, including pizza competition results, show floor takeaways and happenings in our Pizza Expo News Hub.

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