Executive summary

Concept

Every city needs great pizza. At Nonna’s Pizza, we combine delicious and fresh ingredients with traditional Detroit style pizza, delivered to customers hot in Savannah’s Eastside neighborhood. Owner Rita Grecco and her husband Cenzo are excited to bring delicious and crispy Detroit pizza to Savannah’s food scene and introduce a new style of pizza to the community. We want to recreate delicious Detroit pizza and generational Italian flavors for the people of Savannah and we just know they will love it. 

Mission statement

Nonna’s Pizza’s mission is to create delicious, fresh, and authentic Detroit style pizza in Savannah’s Eastside neighborhood. Detroit pizza is thick but light, crispy but tender, with tangy sauce delivered on top of the cheese. Additionally, we want to bring interesting flavor combinations that align with current trends and food interests. The pizzeria’s values are consistency, quality, and innovation. 

Menu

Nonna’s will feature staples such as classic cheese, pepperoni, and Italian sausage but also incorporate new ideas such as Cacio e Pepe flavored pizza, loaded baked potato, French onion, Nashville hot chicken, and pastrami and pickle. These new and innovative flavors will be limited edition, and be invited back by popular demand. Family-sized pies, takeout, and delivery will let families enjoy authentic Detroit style pizza in the comfort of their homes. 

Market

Eastside, Savannah, is a growing urban center that retains the beauty of historic Savannah while catering to new and expanding tastes and new residents. Situated just East of the beautiful and historic Forsyth Park, Eastside captures the feeling of classic Savannah with walkable neighborhoods and a bustling arts and gallery district. Savannah is home to just under 150,000 residents, and Eastside in particular offers lots of opportunities for new business ventures.

Financing

The pizzeria’s founders will invest in the restaurant’s success, but they will also have to seek SBA loans, outside investments, and business lines of credit to bring this vision to life.

Company overview

Restaurant concept

Nonna’s is a casual Detroit style pizzeria concept that focuses on classic as well as innovative ingredients. The menu builds from the Detroit style pizza baking methods and flavor profiles that have captured the hearts of pizza lovers across the country. Our head pizza chef will develop monthly special menus as well to experiment with new flavor combinations. The menu will also feature select appetizers and cannolis. 

Nonna’s will make classic pizzeria dining for foodies as well as middle-income eaters. Nonna’s pizzeria values taste and authenticity, creating what pizza lovers love, with an eye for the future. 

Detroit style pizza is incredibly popular in many parts of the country, but it has not found footing or opportunity in Savannah until now. There is opportunity there because unlike deep dish or Neapolitan style pizza, Detroit pizza is in a class of its own. Similar to Sicilian pizza, it features a thicker dough, but it is light, and fried on the bottom of the pan with oil creating a fluffy and crunchy taste experience. 

Restaurant service model

Like a classic pizzeria, Nonna’s will provide hot and ready takeout pizzas as well as a casual dine-in experience complete with red checkered tablecloths and pitchers of soda and beer. The pizzeria will be a place to relax, share a pie, and celebrate small milestones with family and friends, like winning a soccer game. Servers will work together and share tips to provide guests with a collective, casual, and communal dining experience.

Sample menu

Classic Detroit pizza in classic flavors

• Mushroom
• Pepperoni
• Cheese
• Sausage

Innovative permanent and monthly flavor specials

• Pastrami and pickle
• Cacio e Pepe
• Nashville hot chicken
• Buffalo
• Big Mac
• French Onion
• Loaded baked potato

Appetizers

• Garlic knots
• Homemade mozzarella half moons
• Cheesy bread
• Meatballs

Homemade cannolis

• Classic
• Pistacchio
• Chocolate chip
• Chocolate
• Salted caramel

Design and layout

Nonna’s Pizzeria will have large booths, cozy tables, and standing room for takeout. The dining room will be cozy, tightly-packed, and warm. The patio outside will provide a pleasant al fresco experience when the weather permits. The walls will be decorated with newspaper clippings and Italian-American cultural artifacts.

The staff will wear Nonna’s Pizzeria aprons over casual clothing, black pants, and slip-resistant shoes. The kitchen staff will wear white tee shirts and black pants, and also slip-resistant shoes.

The kitchen will be open to the restaurant to allow for quick delivery of takeout orders and provide the sounds and smells of a pizzeria. 

Management team

Owners — Rita and Cenzo Grecco are Sicilian-Americans from Detroit who fell in love in Rita’s parents pizza shop. After selling her parent’s pizzeria and helping them retire, Rita is excited to open a new pizza shop with her husband, but in the warmer weather and new environment of Savannah, Georgia. Responsibilities include financing, administration, hiring, and marketing as well as front of the house (FoH) and back of the house (BoH) assistance.

Executive pizza chef — Dom Grecco was a pizza chef at Rita’s parents pizzeria for the last five years and learned all the tricks of the trade from Rita’s parents. Responsibilities include recipe research and development, control over the seasonal menu, shopping, and hiring kitchen staff.

Pizza cooks — Responsibilities include cooking delicious pizzas to order and restocking ingredients and managing the walk-in fridge and freezer. They will report to Dom.

Pizza servers and cashiers — Responsibilities include bringing the pizza to the tables, handling takeout orders, and refilling drinks as well as serving desserts and running the cash register. They will report to Rita and Cenzo.

Industry analysis

Located in Eastside, Savannah, Nonna’s Pizzeria will attract casual diners, tourists, and residents of Georgia on weekend trips to the beautiful city. Because Detroit pizza is rare to Savannah as well as to the southern United States, Rita and Cenzo hope that this will become a “have to stop” destination for those traveling around the southeast United States. 

Target market

The population of Savannah is varied, with working class, middle class, upper middle class, and extremely wealthy families of generational wealth. The city has local higher education such as Savannah School of Art and Savannah State College. The population has varied tastes and while Savannah is considered a quintessential “Old South” city it has kept up with many national and international trends due to its reliance on tourism and visitors from around the world.

Additionally, Savannah has become a popular bachelor and bachelorette destination as well as where many people choose to get married, providing an opportunity for Nonna’s to provide delicious food to patrons after a wild night out. Nonna’s Pizzeria aims to serve customers who want a neighborhood pizzeria that offers delicious Detroit style pizza and busy local working families who crave convenience. 

Market positioning

There are a few pizzeria’s in Savannah Georgia but none serving Detroit style, and many of them are part of a larger restaurant that serves other Italian food. Nonna’s Pizzeria will be casual, accessible, and authentic, providing a new kind of pizza that the patrons of Savannah haven’t tried yet.  

In addition to serving pizza, Nonna’s will serve cannoli's for takeout and dine-in which are perfect for celebrations and birthday parties. Guests can place large orders ahead of time and provide something new and different to their next party or cookout. Additionally, Nonna’s will partner with local delivery mobile applications to ensure their food is available through delivery or pickup and accessible to everyone in Savannah. 

Location analysis

Savannah is a well-known, beautiful, and historic southern city. With traditional buildings and beautiful architecture, Savannah is also considered a foodie heaven, with delicious restaurants that represent deep south cuisine as well as newer favorites.

Savannah is home to 148,000 residents, many of whom work in the city or neighboring areas. There is a healthy mix of apartments and single-family homes in the area.

Savannah is beautiful and walkable, and the location of Nonna’s is accessible to foot traffic. There is ample street parking in the area. Additionally, Eastside Savannah is walking distance to some of Savannah’s biggest tourist attractions and walking tours.

Competitive analysis

Marketing plan

Pizzeria culture is all about community, and Nonna’s Pizzeria will work to build a community of guests through customer loyalty and personable, friendly service.

Customer database

When guests order ahead at Nonna’s, we will collect their email addresses and ask if they would like to sign up for marketing emails. Customers will also be able to sign up for promotional emails on our website and social media pages. Emails will be used to advertise seasonal pizzas, limited-time deals, and holiday events.

A separate database of customers who place orders for takeout or delivery will allow us to send promotional emails to advertise the availability and pricing of monthly Detroit pizzas.

Loyalty program

Each dollar spent at Nonna’s Pizzeria, including online orders, will be converted into a point for our loyalty system. Customers will be able to exchange every 100 points they accrue for pizzas and free appetizers. The loyalty system will be attached to a customer’s email address. That will allow us to collect emails for our marketing databases.

Community and charity involvement

At Nonna’s Pizzeria, we are committed to the community. That’s why we will partner with Hunger Free Savannah, which is a community-based coalition of food and community service providers. Hunger Free Savannah works to raise awareness of food insecurity in Savannah and rural Georgia. They also sponsor programs that increase reliable access to nutritious, culturally appropriate food choices.

The owner and executive chef will work in partnership with Hunger Free Savannah to donate any food that we can’t use to avoid food waste. We will also coordinate to organize educational programs that increase food literacy and access for those facing food insecurity in Savannah and coastal Georgia.

Public relations

Savannah has a robust economic development plan, and the city hosts a website, visitsavannah.com, that features local restaurants and events in the historic and beautiful neighborhoods. Additionally, Savannah has several food festivals throughout the year. Nonna’s Pizzeria plans to be featured on the tourism website as well as participate in all food festivals to garner attention. 

Advertising and social media

Nonna’s Pizzeria is a pizza shop of the 21st century. While our priority is building a local community of pizza lovers, we will also use social media to advertise and generate interest in the pizzeria. Our restaurant space will be dark and cozy with a family and community feel. Our Instagram and Facebook pages will be filled with curated photos of monthly pizzas and fresh cannolis to amass a local and worldwide following and generate new customers.

Additionally, we will rely on local word-of-mouth marketing and consistent foot traffic in Savannah. Our service will be uniquely personable and the staff will be trained to create community rather than just making sales in order to attract and retain a regular customer base. Our customers will be encouraged to grow the community by sharing their experiences on Yelp, Google, and Instagram.

Operations plan

Staffing and training

There are several critical roles to fill at Nonna’s Pizzeria; pizza cooks and pizza servers. The owners estimate needing at least 5 pizza cooks in addition to Dom and at least 10 pizza servers.

Training for staff will take place in the months leading up to the pizzeria’s opening. The owner and pizza chef will conduct interviews and hire the pizza cooks and pizza servers based on Nonna's values.

Recruitment

To recruit skilled pizza cooks and pizza servers, we will use Indeed.com, Ziprecruiter.com, and the local Savannah job posting opportunities. Our hiring process will be selective; we want every member of the team to have the right personality in the pizzeria

Interview questions

1. What’s your favorite kind of pizza?

2. What are your favorite pizza toppings?

3. What’s a unique pizza that you’ve tried?

4. What are cannolis made of?

5. How would your previous employer describe you?

6. Describe how you work as part of a team. What role are you comfortable in on the team?

7. What is one of your biggest accomplishments?

8. When are you available to work?

9. What challenged you the most in your last job?

10. How do you handle conflict with coworkers?

Job descriptions

Owners — Rita and Cenzo Grecco are Sicilian-Americans from Detroit who fell in love in Rita’s parents pizza shop. After selling her parent’s pizzeria and helping them retire, Rita is excited to open a new pizza shop with her husband, but in the warmer weather and new environment of Savannah, Georgia. Responsibilities include financing, administration, hiring, and marketing as well as front of the house (FoH) and back of the house (BoH) assistance.

Executive pizza chef — Dom Grecco was a pizza chef at Rita’s parents pizzeria for the last five years and learned all the tricks of the trade from Rita’s parents. Responsibilities include recipe research and development, control over the seasonal menu, shopping, and hiring kitchen staff.

Pizza cooks — Responsibilities include cooking delicious pizzas to order and restocking ingredients and managing the walk-in fridge and freezer. They will report to Dom. 

Pizza servers and cashiers — Responsibilities include bringing the pizza to the tables, handling takeout orders, and refilling drinks as well as serving desserts and running the cash register. They will report to Rita and Cenzo.

Dishwashers — Responsibilities include washing and preparing all cooking ware for use. 

The owners will run the pizzeria’s social media but welcome input and ideas from all pizza cooks and servers as to picture ideas and captions. 

Work health and safety standards

In order to make Nonna’s Pizzeria as safe a working environment as possible for everyone, we will implement the following health and safety procedures.

• Everyone will wear proper protective equipment and clothing when working in the kitchen. All staff are required to wear slip-resistant footwear. 

• To avoid injury on the job, all staff will be trained on how to move heavy objects and boxes and how to handle the extremely hot or cold temperatures of the restaurant.

• Management staff will work to create safe practices and procedures and remove potential hazards to employees and guests.

• All staff will work together to communicate about guests’ dietary restrictions and avoid cross-contamination of products. 

• Staff will not be expected to work when ill and management will help to get shifts covered and keep the restaurant running smoothly so that the pressure doesn’t fall on ill employees.

• Nonna’s Pizzeria will follow all local health guidelines and restrictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Staffing model

Nonna’s Pizzeria will operate an open-book management model where the pizzeria’s finances are shared with management staff and disseminated to all employees in the restaurant. We will hold quarterly staff meetings to share information about the business’s goals. The transparent model will foster goodwill with employees. All non-management employees will be hourly employees.

• Pizza cooks and servers will all make a base hourly rate of $12/hour and share tips. 

• The pizza chef will be paid $30 an hour.

• Dishwashers will be paid $15 an hour. 

• All employees will be eligible for raises with each satisfactory employee evaluation, conducted once per quarter.

Customer service policies and procedures

Three principles will guide guest service at Nonna’s Pizzeria:

1. Authenticity. All staff will be able to explain what Detroit style pizza is, how it is made, and what makes it different from other types of pizza to help educate and inform all guests. 

2. Quality. From house-made dough to quality toppings, a pizza is only as good as what you flavor it with. 

3. Friendliness. Nonna’s Pizzeria wants to be a neighborhood family-run establishment and will do so by treating all guests like family. This means being warm, welcoming, accommodating and kind. 

Suppliers

Nonna’s Pizzeria will work with several local suppliers and producers to source high quality produce and proteins. We will also work with local butcher shops and the farms that supply them. Dough starters will be ordered from Detroit. 

For pizzeria supplies, we will develop a relationship with the local restaurant supply company so that we have convenient access to the equipment and supplies that we need.

Financial analysis and growth plan

Owners Rita and Cenzo will each invest personal savings of $100,000, for a total of $200,000 in initial investment. They will also seek a 7(a) Small Business Association for $300,000 and outside investments of $500,000 from business owners and entrepreneurs in the Savannah area. Total startup funds equal $1,000,000. $300,000 will be retained for contingency funds and the remaining $700,000 will be used as startup funds.

Outside investors will be pitched a 15% return-on-investment, for a total of $75,000/annually, once the business becomes profitable. The owner and executive chef won’t take a salary until the pizzeria becomes profitable, at which point they will cap their personal salaries at $90,000/year.

Business lines of credit will be sought for some expenses, such as initial orders for equipment, supplies, and ingredients. They will refuse any lines of credit above 5% interest.