Most owners grow their menus out of a fear that customers will leave if there isn’t enough to choose from.
In this episode of Shop Talk, Justin (Apollonias), Adrion (BLK Crust), and Alex (St. Francis Apizza) explain how they built their businesses doing the opposite. By trimming their menus, or keeping them small from the start, they’ve become some of the most profitable pizzerias (mobile or otherwise) in their markets.
View the full Shop Talk episode here 👇
Already want to cut your menu before we dive in? Check out Slice’s “Should I cut this item?” tool.
Items are added to a pizzeria menu for the wrong reasons.
Going from a bloated menu to a focused one is almost always the same: add things because they seem like good ideas, watch the waste pile up, watch the line slow down, and then finally cut the item.
I just made the decision I don’t want to make 14-inch pies anymore. Since, I’ve only had maybe one person ask.
On the flip side, some shops start small from day one. Pizza and two salads. This could be for a number of reasons, but one of the most commons ones is, selecting items the shop wants to be known for. Something you do better than anyone else.
My goal was to be known as the best pizza in the area. I wasn’t looking to be the best restaurant or have the most things.
A smaller menu means less waste, and a better operation
Alex, Justin, and Adrion all same thing about the immediate benefits of a smaller menus: waste elimination. The impact goes further.
Prep becomes predictable. Staff can be trained to perfect a handful of items. Ordering is easier. The walk-in is cleaner. Your best items get even better because your team makes them all day, every day.
According to Adrion, “If you’re the best at three things, that’s better than being okay at 30 things.”
Discounting undermines your menu
None of these three owners discount their menus. Not seasonally, not on slow days, not on third-party platforms. When your menu is tight and your product is perfect, you’re not competing on price. You’re competing on being the best version of one thing. Discounting sends the opposite signal.
I want to be known as the best pizza and the best service. Those are the two things. I’m happy to let anything else go.
At a glance: Apollonias and being open 25 hours a week
| SERVICE HOURS/WEEK 25 12–2:30 + 5–8, 5 days | PREP HOURS/WEEK 25 1:1 ratio. Predictable labor. | LINE BEFORE OPENING? Yes. Almost every service. |
When you’re not managing 40 items across a full kitchen, you can compress your hours to windows where demand is highest, and staff them properly without waste.
COVID gave a lot of pizza shops an opportunity to run the way they want to run for the first time in a long time. 20 years ago, if you said your hours were 4 to 8, people would say you wouldn’t survive.
Trimming your menu is easier than you think
The fear of cutting is almost always bigger than the reality.
The question to ask for every item: does it sell every day, does it share ingredients with other items, does it slow my line, and would customers actually miss it? If the answer to most of those is no, it’s gone.
Slice’s “Should I cut this item?” tool
Run any item on your menu through this 30-second framework.
With a tighter menu, you need a better ordering system
Slice helps independent pizzerias build direct customer relationships, take back margin from third-party platforms, and grow sales without growing complexity.