Charlie Webb, Owner
Hudson & Packard, Poughkeepsie, NY
Instagram Handle: @hudsonandpackard
Charlie Webb, Owner of Hudson & Packard in Poughkeepsie, New York, has been named a Rising Star of the Pizza Industry 2023 by Pizza Today. Read a quick Q&A with Charlie.
How did your time at the Culinary Institute of America aid you starting your Detroit style pizzeria?
My time at the culinary helped lay the foundation of my culinary skillset. We learn about so many different cuisines while we’re there and you build this network of great chefs and friends you can always call upon. We try to get creative with our specials and the time I spent at the CIA definitely helped with that. They really push you to think about what your doing and to hold a high standard, and that’s also translated into my pizzeria as well. We try and prep as much in house as we possibly can.
What are the challenges you’ve addressed in your brick-and-mortar pizzeria that didn’t exist in the pop-up?
We opened the restaurant right in the middle of Covid and its been a learning experience every single day. At the popup you don’t own any of the equipment so when it breaks you just call someone to fix it and never have to think about it. Having the b&m everything is on you. You have to be so much more than the guy who makes great pizza. Right now, we’re trying to find a bigger space to grow into. We’ve grown so much in the last 3 years, we’re running out of room and unlike the popup we can’t just rent more space!
With a military background, what role has your service played in your operation and leadership of the business?
People will come in and tell me they could tell I’m a Veteran. We are clean, constantly sweeping and wiping down during service. My time in the Army has taught me attention to detail and i credit my service for instilling my ability to be calm and crack a smile when things are crazy on busy nights. I also understand that most of my employees didn’t come up in the military, so I try and remember that when mistakes are made. I don’t like to yell and think if you treat your staff with respect and show that you value them, it goes a lot further. I’m very thankful to have served and appreciate all that it taught me. It’s definitely helped in running the restaurant.
