When
customers do not want pizza, they typically order a five-in-one Italian sub
priced at seven dollars. It consists of tavern ham, salami, capicola,
pepperoni, and provolone on a fresh baguette. It is topped with romaine, fresh
tomato, red onion, and banana peppers, Customers have an option to add garlic
or champagne vinaigrette.
I proceeded to ask Tony about his appetizers. He says, ”Garlic Knots are very popular. I've been making those for about eight years. It's made by taking our fresh dough and forming knots, letting it rise then bake it. After they are done, cooks sauce them in garlic butter, they cost five dollars for six, or eight dollars for twelve." He asked me if I'd like to try them, so I did. As I placed one in my mouth, the butter sunk into my tongue with the garlic giving it flavor. The knots were warm and toasty. I dipped a few in Tony's pizza sauce enhancing the flavor of the delicious dough. Aponte's Pizzeria uses five different types of cheese: feta, ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, and Romano. “I use anywhere from one-hundred and eighty to two-hundred pounds a week of cheese on a pizza, and that's just for mozzarella," Tony states. Can you imagine consuming that much cheese in one week? Photo pictured on left-hand side: Tony’s chef salad, includes romaine lettuce, tomato, artichoke, hardboiled egg, mozzarella cheese, jalapeno pepper (not pictured) topped with garlic vinaigrette. |
From
a business standpoint, I couldn't help but wonder how much of a profit Aponte's Pizzeria makes. Having a lot of experience and being able to have good judgment, Tony says
his pizzeria sells eighty percent of what is in his inventory. Tony explains, " If there
is a little bit left or it is close to time for me to toss it, I
check with my family to see if they want me to make a pizza to bring home that
night." In his book, Shepherd says, " Opening a business is about making a profit. Profit is not a four letter word, it is the only reason for being in a business" (161). Tony mentions, “I join about three events a year locally around Mason. The
Taste of Mason is one that my pizzeria joins every year. We typically sell
about one-hundred large pizzas, which are priced at thirteen seventy-five
a piece. I make a twenty percent profit off of that." This totals around
two-hundred and seventy-five dollars. Anyone can agree that some profit is better than none at all!
Most Americans today are big on wasting food. There are few people that stop to think about the world around them, the people who are starving or haven't eaten in days. Yet, the people who dine-in at Aponte's cherish the good food being cooked, Tony explains, "When I look around the dining room, if I had to guess I would say that five percent of food is being wasted. But mostly whatever is left on their plate, they box up and take home." When customers take it home it lets Tony know they enjoy his food and have a greater chance of coming back.
Tony designs his menu and makes his dishes the way he wants. Yet, everything is homemade. His style of pizza is known as Jersey or east coast. Tony is satisfied with his small family-run pizzeria and happy with the business he makes. Like Shepherd who owns multiple pizzerias says, "I do things the way that I want and I don’t care what anyone thinks. I do it my way. I choose to lead rather than follow. Everyone is usually certain that I will soon be going out of business because of the way that I do things. They have been telling me this for the seventeen years that I have been in business for myself. I still get the random email, phone call or letter from another local business owner expressing concern for the way that I operate my business and giving me some advice on how to keep my doors open. I don’t care what they think. I do it my way and it works." Tony has made some adjustments to the menu after eight years, bringing older items back and adding newer entrees such as Salmon Tapenade. It is important to lay down foundation's when owning a pizzeria or restaurant for that matter, "It is your identity, who you are. What you are. What it is that you will be trying to persuade your customers to love and follow" (Shepherd 226). Being able to have a foundation and its components are the key to success.
Photo pictured in upper right: Aponte’s famous Garlic Knots placed in a to-go box.
Most Americans today are big on wasting food. There are few people that stop to think about the world around them, the people who are starving or haven't eaten in days. Yet, the people who dine-in at Aponte's cherish the good food being cooked, Tony explains, "When I look around the dining room, if I had to guess I would say that five percent of food is being wasted. But mostly whatever is left on their plate, they box up and take home." When customers take it home it lets Tony know they enjoy his food and have a greater chance of coming back.
Tony designs his menu and makes his dishes the way he wants. Yet, everything is homemade. His style of pizza is known as Jersey or east coast. Tony is satisfied with his small family-run pizzeria and happy with the business he makes. Like Shepherd who owns multiple pizzerias says, "I do things the way that I want and I don’t care what anyone thinks. I do it my way. I choose to lead rather than follow. Everyone is usually certain that I will soon be going out of business because of the way that I do things. They have been telling me this for the seventeen years that I have been in business for myself. I still get the random email, phone call or letter from another local business owner expressing concern for the way that I operate my business and giving me some advice on how to keep my doors open. I don’t care what they think. I do it my way and it works." Tony has made some adjustments to the menu after eight years, bringing older items back and adding newer entrees such as Salmon Tapenade. It is important to lay down foundation's when owning a pizzeria or restaurant for that matter, "It is your identity, who you are. What you are. What it is that you will be trying to persuade your customers to love and follow" (Shepherd 226). Being able to have a foundation and its components are the key to success.
Photo pictured in upper right: Aponte’s famous Garlic Knots placed in a to-go box.
As Shepherd states," There is virtually no type of instruction for operating and marketing a pizzeria." Nearly a year ago, Tony Aponte was approximately a quarter of a million dollars in debt. With little hope, Restaurant Impossible came into Aponte's with a limited budget of ten-thousand dollars with only two days to make a significant change. A popular chef Robert Irvine helped Tony re-design his pizzeria forming a warmer welcome with more of a contemporary style. Irvine states, "There's just no taste to anything" (Russo). Tony was used to how everything was set-up and run. He was comfortable with it. He explains, "I knew I needed to do something to keep it alive, but I wasn't sure how to go about doing it." When I asked Tony if he liked the changes that were made such as the bar that was added in, Tony explains, "It took some time getting used too, but I think I've adjusted.". He sees a significant increase in the amount of customers coming through the door approximately by a ninety-five percent increase, including more catering sales. Tony says, "My pizzeria sales jumped up quite a bit - sixty percent at the end of June" (Russo). Tony also explains he doesn't spend as much time on focusing on his staff, but how he can improve his restaurant making things better for the pizzeria, himself, and his family. Being an entrepreneur, owning a small business in the middle of one of the best places to live in Ohio (Mason is ranked number seven) definitely isn't easy, Tony explains, "I haven't given up and I will continue to fight, this is probably one of the hardest careers someone could do during their lifetime, it takes a lot of dedication and quality time away from your family that you cannot get back." On the other hand, this type of industry has always been one known to fail no matter how much time is invested due to having cheaper prices that more people can afford. Shepherd points out, "In greater view of the restaurant industry, for whatever reason, pizzerias have always seemingly been the black sheep of the culinary and food service industry" (87). Like many other pizzerias across the nation, Aponte's has been one of many to fall into trouble overtime.
Photo on the left: A
doorway with a unique Aponte’s Pizzeria sign leading customers inside. They
also have an option to enjoy their meal outside.
Photo in the middle: A bar feature that was added in during the Restaurant Impossible renovation.
Photo on the right: A view of the patio facing the streets of Mason, including Aponte’s Pizzeria sign.
Photo in the middle: A bar feature that was added in during the Restaurant Impossible renovation.
Photo on the right: A view of the patio facing the streets of Mason, including Aponte’s Pizzeria sign.