How to Start a Pizza-By-The-Slice Restaurant

Part 1 - How to start a Pizza-By-The-Slice Restaurant business - Background

A pizza-by-the-slice business will either exclusively sell slices or make slices their primary menu item. Pizza-by-the-slice works for a variety of kinds of pizzas, but owners will generally make their restaurant themed to narrow down their target market. For example, they may serve only New York-style pizza or gluten-free pizza.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start a Pizza By The Slice business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a pizza-by-the-slice restaurant?

The costs to open a pizza-by-the-slice business will be heavily dependent on the rent or mortgage rates of where a business owner opens. The most competitive markets may require hundreds of thousands of dollars, while a smaller venture may only cost $10,000 or less. Owners need to take into account the cost of equipment, ingredients, staff salaries, and administrative supplies. They’ll also need excellent commercial insurance and workers’ compensation coverage.

What are the ongoing expenses for a pizza-by-the-slice restaurant?

Owners need to take into account the cost of ingredients, rent/mortgage, equipment maintenance, staff salaries, and insurance.

Who is the target market?

People who are looking for something fast and delicious — whether it’s a snack or a full meal. This could be professionals on a 30-minute lunch break or a group of kids craving pizza after school. While owners are more likely to attract those from a lower- or middle-class background, a pizza shop with a good reputation can attract anyone who enjoys a quality piece of pizza.

How does a pizza-by-the-slice restaurant make money?

Pizza-by-the-slice restaurants make money by selling individual slices of pizza to customers. This allows customers to mix and match types of pizza, and get the perfect amount they desire. These businesses may also sell whole pizzas, sandwiches, salads, or other quickly prepared food items. 

How much can you charge customers?

People will pay up to $5 – 6 for a single slice of cheese pizza (depending on the size and the location of the pizzeria.) The general rule is to charge about three times the cost of the raw ingredients. Most pizza owners will run different combination specials to bring up the average size of the check. For example, running a promotion for a small discount on pizza/soda or pizza/salad. Check on similar rates around you to determine how much to charge.

How much profit can a pizza-by-the-slice restaurant make?

Profits can be substantial for the right pizza business. A single lunch rush can bring in $600 or more, which adds up quickly. If the cost of operations is firmly set at $500 a day, then owners would need to sell an average of 150 slices a day at $6 to make about $150,000 a year in profit.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Owners may want to consider adding additional items to their menu, such as desserts or gourmet salads. You can also consider offering breakfast pizzas to catch the morning crowd or opening a food truck where you can serve your lunches to people in different parts of town.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a pizza-by-the-slice restaurant?

The majority of the day is typically taken up by operational duties. Ingredient inventory, customer service, stocking, marketing, and managing will be just a few of the primary duties of the owner. While owners may want to hire managers to take care of the general day-to-day functions, they should be overseeing general operations to ensure the business is meeting its long-term goals.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful pizza-by-the-slice restaurant?

Owners should have some experience in the restaurant industry to get started. It’s easy to purchase a pizza-by-the-slice store and then hire staff to take care of the specifics, but there’s a danger that the business will become invisible or generic in a sea of competition. Owners should have a set goals about how they’re going to be different than their direct competitors and who they can best serve through their business model.

What is the growth potential for a pizza-by-the-slice restaurant?

Practically everyone loves pizza, which is definitely a good start. Plus, there’s usually a need for places that offer convenient lunches and dinners with practically zero wait time. Even areas with well-known pizza shops can be substantially threatened by a shop with quality ingredients, friendly staff, and fast service.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a pizza-by-the-slice restaurant?

Owners should look for needs that aren’t already being serviced in their neighborhood before doing anything else. This may mean coming up with entirely different business idea (e.g., offering gluten-free crust, etc.) or improving upon ideas that have already proven successful. For example, if there’s already a successful business that sells Sicilian style pizza in the area that’s doing spectacularly well, an owner could open a similar business to catch the overflow (and potentially become the favored pizza joint.)

There needs to be a very clear business model once an owner knows what they want to accomplish. Owners should also beware of the logistics of their ideas. Deep-dish slices may sound great, but they may not taste great if they sit around for longer than a few minutes. Owners should work on streamlining the customer experience so everyone can get their slices quickly and without hassle. Number systems often work the best, with employees using an ordered system to keep track of what needs to be done and who still needs to be served.

Or owners can also look to serve a different type of need in the area. If people are becoming more health-conscious, owners can consider offering organic options or low-calorie cooking methods. The best thing a pizza owner can do is focus on getting the best possible ingredients for the lowest possible price. It’s extremely easy to cut corners (no pun intended) in the pizza business, but doing so will backfire in the form of bad reviews or underwhelmed patrons.

Owners should also invest in their employees. The better your staff members can handle lunch-time rushes, customer complaints, and anomalies, the more likely it is the restaurant will begin growing right from the very start.

How and when to build a team

Pizza-by-the-slice owners need to build their team immediately. Managers should ideally have direct experience with pizzerias and team members should have previously worked in some type of customer service role. The chefs should be excellent at following directions, but also capable of bringing their own ideas to the table based on customer feedback and their own knowledge of how the industry is changing.

Part 2 - Is a Pizza-By-The-Slice Restaurant business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your Pizza-By-The-Slice Restaurant business in 90 days