From Civil Engineer to Pizza Empire: Matt Stanfield's Seven-Location Journey at Mattenga's

🎙️ From Engineering Careers to Pizza Empire: Matt Stanfield's Bold Journey Building Mattenga's PizzeriaIn this inspiring episode, Matt Stanfield, co-founder of Mattenga's Pizzeria, shares his remarkable journey from civil engineering to building a seven-location pizza empire across San Antonio. Through candid stories about buying a failing restaurant with fraudulent financials, living seven days a week in the business for two years, surviving employee sabotage attempts, and choosing boldness as his 2026 mantra, Matt reveals how an engineer's systems mindset—combined with Texas hospitality and obsessive quality standards—transformed multiple struggling locations into Pizza Today's 2024 Pizzeria of the Year and Pi Award winner for best social media use.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Career pivot from New Mexico mining engineer to Texas pizza entrepreneur with 18-month-old twinsDiscovering fraudulent financials: cash register scheme and homeless employee living in restaurantFirst two years grinding seven days weekly to reach positive cashflow in August 2016Michael Shepard's "Growing Pizza" book: following directions when overwhelmed by inexperienceSystematizing training through YouTube videos: pizza stretching tutorial became top-five rankedSecond location strategy: 800-square-foot $1,700/month space versus $520,000 buildout riskOpening three locations in four weeks: cultural disaster requiring two-year recoveryDave Portnoy's 7.1 rating and closing underperforming stores increased sales 20%Third-party delivery economics: 30% restaurant fees plus customer markups create 50% price inflationHired-not-owned insurance skyrocketed from $10,000 to $80,000 annually post-COVID🌟 Matt's Key Mentors:Michael Shepard (Author): "Growing Pizza" book provided foundational systems when Matt had zero restaurant experience Chamber of Commerce Restaurant Manager: Taught hiring, menu pricing, and operational standards during critical early months Shirts Health Inspector (Lions Club): Provided guidance on food safety compliance instead of citations Matt's Wife Enga: Obsessive personality created training videos at 5 AM and manages award-winning social media Domino's Betrayal Experience: Former employees' sabotage attempt fueled competitive fire to outlast competitors👉 Don't miss this conversation about engineering mindset applied to hospitality, outlasting vindictive competition, and why 2026 is Matt's year of boldness.🔗 Connect with Matt Stanfield:Website: Mattenga's.com Instagram: @Mattenga'spizzeria Podcast: Making Dough Show (hosted by Enga Stanfield) 📄 Transcript Available: From Civil Engineer to Pizza Empire: Matt Stanfield's Seven-Location Journey at Mattenga's📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com