The Hot Slice
by Pizza Today
The Hot Slice brings you inspiring stories, strategies and lessons learned from successful pizzeria professionals and top experts. This podcast is hosted by the team at Pizza Today, the premier network for pizzeria professionals. We’re bringing our award-winning interviewing and 37 years as a trusted pizza restaurant partner to the airwaves with real, in-depth conversations with pizzeria owners, champion pizza makers, industry pros and others to help make your business better.
Episodes
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336. Pizza’s Biggest Ambassadors – Paulie Gee, Scott Wiener and Erin Ruszaj | Pizza Expo Columbus Special, Part 3
Send us Fan Mail Listen to Paulie Giannone (Gee), Paulie Gee’s in NYC and Erin Ruszaj and Scott Wiener of Slice Out Hunger Live From Pizza Expo Columbus on The Hot Slice Podcast With Pizza Today The Hot Slice continues our conversations from high atop the show floor at Pizza Expo Columbus, which...
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335. Location, Location, Location| Pizza Expo Columbus Special, Part 3
Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice continues our conversations from high atop the show floor at Pizza Expo Columbus that took place earlier this month in Ohio. Hear stories of the pizza people who make this industry flourish. This week, we look at two different types of concepts and location types...
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334. 3rd Generation & Upstart Pizzeria Perspectives | Pizza Expo Columbus Special, Part 2
Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice continues our conversations from high atop the show floor at Pizza Expo Columbus that took place earlier this month in Ohio. Hear stories of the pizza people who make this industry flourish. This week, we share two concepts, a continued generational pizzeria and a...
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333. Building Lasting Pizza Businesses | Pizza Expo Columbus Special, Part 1
Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice Podcast was live at Pizza Expo Columbus. We had an amazing time with the pizza community at the show. For the next few weeks of The Hot Slice Podcast, we will bring you conversations with pizza people from high above the show floor. Fresh off the stage of their...
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332. REPLAY: Confiscated Ingredients, Broken Ovens, One World Championship Pizza with Carmela Williams
Send us Fan Mail Listen to 2026 Crowned World Pizza Champion Carmela Williams of Antonio’s Italian Ristorante in Elkhart, Indiana, on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today How do you win a world pizza championship with a pie you’d never fully made before? On this episode of The Hot Slice,...
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331. Giving Pizza in Times of Crisis
Send us Fan Mail Listen to Brian Rock, Co-Founder and COO of Doughnate Pizza, on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today When a powerful derecho tore through northwest Indiana on Aug. 12 and knocked out power to more than 600,000 people, Brian Rock didn't wait for the lights to come back on. He…
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330. Columbus-style Pizza, Commissary Dough and Coming Full Circle
Send us Fan Mail Sexton’s Pizza started in a trailer the size of a closet on Florida’s Gulf Coast a decade ago. Now, after building a multi-unit operation in Columbus, Ohio, the pizzeria is returning to where it all began. In this episode, we sit down with co-founder Joey Sexton ahead of Pizza…
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329. Creating a Thoughtful Beverage Program Without a Liquor License
Send us Fan Mail Sarah and Daniel Correa never planned on becoming beverage innovators. But when opening a full bar wasn’t the right fit for their community, they got creative instead. In this episode, we sit down with the Correas, owners of Fired Pizza in Stockton, California. What started as a...
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328. The Pizza Team Takes Over: A Special Hot Slice Episode
Send us Fan Mail The whole gang is back! In this special Pizza Team edition of The Hot Slice, host Denise Greer, editor in chief of Pizza Today, sits down with Kate Lavin, Jeremy White and Josh Cowan for a lively, insider look at what's shaping the pizza business right now. From big news about...
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327. Ditching Bromate, Chasing Roman Pizza and Hiring for Heart
Send us Fan Mail New York lawmakers voted to ban potassium bromate, and Rob Cervoni has thoughts. As the self-described “no bleach, no bromate guy,” Cervoni has spent years encouraging fellow operators make the switch to unbromated flour. Now that it’s the law, he says it’s time to pivot, not...
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326. Pizza, Hotels and Disaster Recovery at Soprana Rooftop Cucina
Send us Fan Mail How do you keep serving your community when a hurricane devastates your town? In this episode of The Hot Slice podcast, we hear from Philip Bollhoeffer, vice president of food and beverage for Parks Hospitality Group. Bollhoeffer was the chef who opened the Soprana Rooftop Cucina...
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325. Robots, Revenue and the Randazzo Award
Send us Fan Mail In just a few years, MOTO Pizza has gone from a two-person operation to the highest-grossing food operator at T-Mobile Park, home to the Seattle Mariners. Lee Kindell, co-founder of MOTO Pizza, is back on The Hot Slice podcast to share how MOTO Pizza went from a standalone house…
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324. Crushing the First 100 Days
Send us Fan Mail Mooney’s Pizza Tavern pulled in more than $1 million during its first 100 days in Long Beach, California, and owner Hal Mooney is sharing how he and his wife, Cindy, achieved this impressive feat. From a tailored menu and staff training to a bucket list beer program, Mooney is...
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323. Helping a Neighboring Pizzeria with Anthony Triolo, Chicago’s Triano's Pizza
Send us Fan Mail Anthony Triolo, second-generation owner of Triano's Pizza in Chicago's Garfield Ridge, joins The Hot Slice to talk community, consistency and what really makes Chicago thin crust great. In this episode, we cover: How Triano's organized a dine-and-donate just two days after a fire...
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322. Slow Food and Sustainability
Send us Fan Mail Listen to Gerardo Moceri Jr., co-owner of Gerardo’s Pizzeria in Sedona, Arizona, on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today. What does it look like when the second generation of a pizzeria learns about the Slow Food movement and brings sustainable practices back to the family...
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321. Great Pizza Isn’t Enough. Building a Business with Michael Androw
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Hot Slice Podcast, Michael Androw, owner of E&D Pizza Company, in Avon, Connecticut, gets honest about what it actually takes to open and survive in this industry. He shares the hard lessons that recipes and passion can't teach you, from the financial traps...
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320. Timber Pizza Co., Building the Biz from Food Trucks to 10 Locations
Send us Fan Mail Twelve years ago, two guys in a baby blue 1967 Chevy truck were blasting 90s hip-hop at a D.C. farmers market and slinging wood-fired pizza to anyone who'd listen. Today, that operation is closing in on 10 locations and building a national franchise. In this episode, we sit down...
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319. Improving the Employee Experience
Send us Fan Mail Like many family-owned businesses, Jasons NY Pizza had a moment of reflection during the COVID pandemic. If they wanted to continue to grow and expand, the leadership team would have to create more management positions and solidify a processes for employee pay structures and...
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318. Weight Loss Journey Sparks Top 50 Pizzerias with Arpan Patel, Lucky Dough Pizza, Pensacola, FL
Send us Fan Mail What does it take to go from a 120-pound weight loss journey to landing on the 50 Top Pizza list in your very first year of business? In this episode of The Hot Slice, hosts Kate Lavin and Denise Greer sit down with Arpan Patel, the owner behind Lucky Dough Pizza in Pensacola,...
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317. Confiscated Ingredients, Broken Ovens, One World Championship Pizza with Carmela Williams
Send us Fan Mail How do you win a world pizza championship with a pie you'd never fully made before? On this episode of The Hot Slice, presented by Pizza Today, we sit down with Carmela Williams of Antonio's Italian Ristorante in Elkhart, Indiana, fresh off her world champion title in the…
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316. Opening an Upscale Pizzeria in a Historic Building
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Hot Slice, we sit down with Mike Dew, the man behind one of the most intriguing pizza concepts in Northern Kentucky. Dew walks us through the realities of a longer-than-expected build-out, the quirks of a historic building and the creative ways he…
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315. Gen-Z Operator: How Joe Powers Took the Helm of an Award-Winning Pizzeria at Age 22
Send us Fan Mail What happens when a 19-year-old tastes life-changing pizza at a Buffalo Bills game? For Joe Powers, it sparks an obsession that transforms a college freshman into the owner of Jay’s Artisan Pizza by age 22. In this episode of The Hot Slice podcast, Powers shares his remarkable...
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314. Grilled Pizza, Seasonal Menus & Profit Sharing
Send us Fan Mail On the latest episode of The Hot Slice podcast, we chat with Armando DiMeo, owner of Houston-based Coastline Pizzeria. In addition to 12-inch Neapolitan pies, Coastline specializes in grilled pizza. DiMeo explains that he “wanted to create another style of pizza that would … be…
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313. Dishing Dough Science with Pizza Chefs at National Restaurant Show
Send us Fan Mail Recorded live at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago, this episode of Pizza Today puts Editor in Chief Denise Greer in conversation with two pizzeria pros shaping how modern pizza operations run. Juan Robles, corporate chef for Triple Beam Pizza in Los Angeles, California,...
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312. Gabriel Baldinucci of Baldinucci Pizza Romana on Roman-Style Pizza, Culinary Travel to Italy
Send us Fan Mail Gabriel Baldinucci, along with Salvatore and Patricia are second-generation owners at Baldinucci Pizza Romana in Austin, Texas, Gabriel’s family has built one of the most talked-about fast premium dining concepts in the country, anchored by Roman-style pizza that Austin foodies…
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311. Pizza Passion with Purpose | Special Pizza Expo Series
Send us Fan Mail This week, The Hot Slice Podcast continues its Special Pizza Expo Series exploring how pizza stretches beyond the pizzeria. First up, we chat with Chef Dr. Junnie Lai, MBA, PhD (Natural Medicine), founder of Global Cuisine Consulting. Chef Junnie Lai is an internationally...
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310. Slices of Maryland: Brick Ovens and Brews
Send us Fan Mail In this episode taped live during Pizza Expo, we explore the Maryland pizza scene – plus some of its craft brews. First, we sit down with Brett and Bailey Robison of Maryland-based Mosaic Pizza and Silver Branch Brewing Co. to answer a question for the ages: What is the best…
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309. Introducing Your Audience to New Pizza Styles
Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode of The Hot Slice podcast, we speak with Mario LaPosta and Dario Paone about what it’s like to introduce your pizzeria’s customers to pizza styles they might not have tasted before. Mario LaPosta learned the craft of wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas in Italy...
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308. Secrets to Midwest Pizzeria Profitability
Send us Fan Mail When it comes to meeting customers where they are at, this episode of The Hot Slice podcast has it all. And, we’re doing it from the show floor of Pizza Expo 2026 in Las Vegas. Pizza Expo speaker Dana Hokin of Robert’s Pizza & Dough Co. shares how the pizzeria leverages its...
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307. Catering to Customers | Special Pizza Expo Series
Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Hot Slice, we hear from Eric Sublett, co-owner of Firehouse Pizza in Kentucky. After his first pizzeria was damaged by a tornado, Eric and his wife used the opportunity to redefine their mission. They put their ideas into action at the Morgantown location…
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306. Succeeding with a Mobile Pizza Business | Special Pizza Expo Series
Send us Fan Mail This week, The Hot Slice Podcast continues its Special Pizza Expo Series exploring what it takes to succeed with a mobile pizzeria. In the Pizza Today Village studio, Senior Editor Kate Lavin talks with two experienced mobile operators. They break down the daily realities, tough...
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305. 50 years of Goat Hill Pizza | Special Pizza Expo Series
Send us Fan Mail This week, we continue to bring you interviews from The Hot Slice Podcast Studio in the Pizza Today Village at Pizza Expo. Senior Editor Kate Lavin had an engaging conversation with Philip De Andrade, founder of San Francisco-based Goat Hill Pizza that recently celebrated its…
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304. Wylie Dufresne -- Creative Crust: Guide Your Menu With Curiosity | Special Pizza Expo Series
Send us Fan Mail We are just back from Pizza Expo, where the staff of Pizza Today welcomed the industry for the inaugural Pizza Today Village. We recorded episodes of The Hot Slice live on the show floor and will be rolling them out over the next several weeks. Our first guest? None other than...
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303. REPLAY: Chicago Thin Pizza: An Underdog No More
Send us Fan Mail Happy Pizza Expo Week! We hope you are enjoying the best week in PIZZA happening at the Las Vegas Convention Center. While we are focused on connecting in person, and doing MORE podcast episodes from the show floor, we want to share one of our favorite episodes this year. Listen…
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302. Returning Home with a New Concept
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today, we sit down with Odie O'Connor to explore the dynamic challenges of operating two distinct concepts 1,000 miles apart: Boxcar Pizza in Portland, OR, and Odie's Pizza Company in San Diego, CA. Odie’s holds a special place...
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301. Becoming a “Bucket List” Pizzeria with Bird Pizzeria’s Nkem & Kerrel Thompson
Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder what it really takes to run a booming pizzeria without losing your mind?! Grab a slice and pull up a chair! This week on The Hot Slice with Pizza Today, we’re joined by Nkem and Kerrel Thompson, the visionary couple behind Bird Pizzeria in Charlotte, NC. Nkem and…
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300. Celebrating 300 Episodes with Anthony Mangieri
Send us Fan Mail To celebrate the milestone of 300 episodes of The Hot Slice podcast, we’re chatting with a true pioneer of the U.S. pizza industry: Anthony Mangieri of Una Pizza Napoletana. For nearly 40 years, Mangieri has been obsessively chasing the perfect pizza, but his journey hasn’t been…
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299. Pizza Expo Insiders’ Scoop from the Pizza Team
Send us Fan Mail Get ready for the world's largest pizza show! In this special insider episode, the Pizza Today team pulls back the curtain on International Pizza Expo 2026 in Las Vegas, March 24–26. Hear directly from Jeremy White, Brand Director of Emerald Food Group, along with editors Denise...
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298. The Olympics of Pizza With Justin Wadstein
Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what it takes to juggle a soccer ball while spinning a pizza dough? Or how nerve-wracking it is to toss a dough skin blindfolded while a panel of judges watches your every move? Welcome to “The Olympics of Pizza!” In this episode of The Hot Slice, we are joined by...
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297. The Art of Award-Winning Pizza with Ryan O'Hara
Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what it takes to turn a neighborhood pizza joint into a James Beard semifinalist in just one year? You’re about to find out. Ryan O'Hara, the new owner/chef of Pizza Grace, joins us on The Hot Slice podcast to spill the sauce on his wild journey. O’Hara went from…
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296. Lars Smith on Competing, Branding, and Pizza Excellence
Send us Fan Mail This week, we chat with champion pizza maker and industry leader Lars Smith. Lars co-owns State of Mind Pub and State of Mind Slice House in Palo Alto, California. Fresh off his recent trip to Italy, Lars competed at the Sigep World in Rimini. His finishes include 2nd place in...
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295. Rethinking Restaurant Culture & Operations With Marvin Kinney
Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode, we’re chatting with Marvin Kinney, the owner of R Town Pizza, who set out to bring Detroit-style pies to Reno in 2022. Kinney isn’t just thoughtful about making pizzas, he’s hoping to reform restaurant culture into a place of growth and mutual respect. We...
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294. Loyalty & Growth at Cosmo’s Pizza with Robert Marek
Send us Fan Mail This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, we chat with Robert Marek. He is Director of Business Development at Cosmo’s Pizza, a growing independent Colorado-based pizza brand with six locations and a commissary. He’s also coming to Pizza Expo in March to share his expertise in our...
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293. Pizza Talk with Scott Wiener
Send us Fan Mail This week, we catch up with Scott Wiener to chat all things pizza. Scott started Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City 17 years ago. And his pizza enthusiasm has only grown. As Josh says on the podcast, “no one knows probably more about the pizza business than Scott.” Scott has…
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292. Chicago Thin Pizza: An Underdog No More
Send us Fan Mail When most people think of Chicago pizza, they picture a deep-dish behemoth, a cheesy beast you need a fork and knife to conquer. But locals know the real MVP of the region is Chicago Thin – and it’s finally getting the love it deserves. We sat down with Tony Troiano of J.B....
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291. Happy New Year from Pizza Today
Send us Fan Mail Join us for this special New Year’s Day edition of The Hot Slice Podcast. The new year is full of new opportunities. The Pizza Today team gathers to commemorate the New Year with 2026 thoughts and reflections. We highlight goals we have to help the pizza community. Denise...
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290. REPLAY Slow Day Turnaround / AI Integration with George Gilliam
Send us Fan Mail Listen to George Gilliam, owner of Uncle G’s Pizza in Birmingham, Alabama on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today Merry Christmas from all of us at Pizza Today and Pizza Expo. This week on The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today, we are replaying one of the most popular episodes...
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289. How to Revitalize a Classic Brand Without Losing Its Soul
Send us Fan Mail From handing out menus before she could even reach the tables to taking the reins as owner of Pino’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in Farmville, Virginia, Marilena Lentini’s journey is inspiring at every turn. In this episode, we talk about the terrifying yet rewarding transition...
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288. Pizza Expo Columbus Sessions, Part 4: Unique is a Vibe
Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice Podcast is back with one last episode from the Pizza Today booth at Pizza Expo Columbus in October with in-person conversations with pizzeria operators. We’re continuing our Pizza Expo Columbus episodes. You’ll hear riveting stories of entrepreneurship, growth,...
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287. Pizza Expo Columbus Sessions, Part 3: Growth in the Pizza Business
Send us Fan Mail The Hot Slice Podcast is back at the Pizza Today booth at Pizza Expo Columbus in October with in-person conversations with pizzeria operators. We’re continuing our Pizza Expo Columbus episodes. You’ll hear riveting stories of entrepreneurship, growth, competition, struggles and...
About this show
The Hot Slice brings you inspiring stories, strategies and lessons learned from successful pizzeria professionals and top experts. This podcast is hosted by the team at Pizza Today, the premier network for pizzeria professionals. We’re bringing our award-winning interviewing and 37 years as a trusted pizza restaurant partner to the airwaves with real, in-depth conversations with pizzeria owners, champion pizza makers, industry pros and others to help make your business better.
Hosted by
Pizza Today