Tag Archives: pizza

Economics of a Dollar Slice

This post could be a trendy infographic, but I’ll spare you the pain of Yet Another Infographic.

via flickr @jasonlam

7

 

The # of current locations each for the kings of NYC dollar slices.

In the past year, the 99-cent Fresh Pizza and 2 Bros. have doubled their operations. 99-cent Fresh Pizza has seven stores in Manhattan and is in negotiations to open an eighth, said owner Mohammad Abdul Hai, a Bangladeshi immigrant and former news stand operator.

Eli Halali, who owns 2 Bros. Pizza with his brother, said the operation has seven Manhattan shops, with an eighth expected to open in Brooklyn next month.

40

 

The estimated % cost of ingredients per dollar slice.

According to Tom Miner, a consulting principal at Technomic, a Chicago-based food services industry consulting firm, the wholesale food cost of a dollar slice of pizza is roughly 40 to 45 cents. That’s high. The average food cost for the pizza industry is more like 25% to 30% of the selling price, he said. Mr. Miner estimated that the cost of making a slice include about a nickel for the sauce and 10 to 12 cents for the dough. Cheese is the wild card—depending on the type and amount used—and is currently averaging 25 to 30 cents per slice.

5

 

The $ cost per slice of plain pizza at Di Fara, one of NY’s most acclaimed NYC pizza destinations. Contrast the $5 per slice to the $2.75 for two slices and a can of soda at dollar pizza stores.

The price of a slice increased to $5 on July 1, up from $4, the cost for the past year and a half. Just about everything else went up as well: Plain round pies are $25 and specialty square pies are $35.

450

 

The # of pizzas made in a day at a dollar pizza store.

He said that he made roughly 15 cents to 20 cents profit per slice and that it was not unusual for one 99¢ Fresh location to produce up to 450 pies a day. His pizza is so cheap some customers treat him like a wholesaler, ordering dozens of pies in the morning and selling the slices elsewhere — for $2 each.

Foursquare Hackathon

Badge Stickers

Just got back from a very fun Foursquare Hackathon. Contrary to some opinion, there was a lot of hacking done. 40 projects are on the wiki at the time of writing. Hail to the Mayor is particularly intriguing one since the idea is that when the mayor (or other specified person) checks in to a venue, their theme song would play.

2 Bros Pizza

Note: the piping hot 2 Bros Pizza was delicious (as is all free pizza). After 10 minutes, the pizza cooled down and was pretty stale/terrible.

This sign means good things are inside

There was nonstop networking/socializing, but this is a good, healthy thing for the NYC startup scene.

General Assembly hallway

One thing that I noticed was how most teams focused on the tech hacking (as they should at a hackathon). This typically resulted in awkward or less polished demos. The demos were limited to 60 seconds of presentation with immediate judge feedback afterwards. To me, this looked like teams were rewarded for slick UI while the backend (no matter how good or bad) didn’t count for as much.

Naveen speaking during the demo session

For those who couldn’t make it tonight, good news: Naveen mentioned he wants to expand 4sq hackathons internationally.

Bouchon & Pizza

I had a horrendous experience with Katz’s Deli today, so no pictures from there. The lack of service was so great that I simply left without trying anything.

Time Warner Center

I ended up at the Columbus Circle, simply because it was outside the subway exit on my way. You can see Bouchon Bakery’s seated section on the top right.

Ham & Cheese Baguette & Orange Juice

Bouchon Bakery would make a nice upscale snack place (a date or perhaps a quick business meeting?). By upscale, I mean you will be paying upscale prices. That said, the shopping complex is very nice.

The ham & cheese was alright, but it didn’t stand out at all. Bouchon Bakery had lots of sweet baked goods, which seem like they would be worth a try to share with a friend.

I will say the OJ was good, but that’s hardly the point here? I doubt anyone cares about the prepackaged goods versus the handmade food on site.

Famous Ray's Pizza - Chicken

Just so there’s more to this post than just Bouchon, here’s a picture of some NY pizza. There are Ray’s pizza locations all around NY, and they all claim to be THE Ray’s.

The pizza here was good, but I’d go with Grimaldi’s instead.

Pho & Pizza

This post has some Manhattan Chinatown stuff and food from under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Pho Bang

In the Chinatown district of Manhattan. They serve a variety of Vietnamese dishes, and a lot of the grilled meats over rice or vermicelli looked delicious.

#1 Extra Large

The Pho soup was decent. The meat inside was unadventurous with thinly-sliced beef, tripe, and tendons. In the Bay Area, you get a lot more exotic cuts of meat. I know it’s NY, but size-wise, this wasn’t much either. I still prefer Pho Tau Bay due to their quality, portions, and price – pretty unbeatable.

Banh Mi Saigon

The best banh mi in NY is supposed to be in a jewelry shop. I would guess that they make much more money from the bakery in the back than selling assorted jewelry.

#2 Spicy Chicken

Price-wise, a Banh Mi sandwich at ~$4 seems expensive to me. I’m used to $2, or in extreme cases $3, Banh Mi’s. But this is NY, and I’m willing to pay $4 for Banh Mi Saigon’s.

I’ve tried their #1 Pork and #2 Chicken, both of them spicy. They ask you if you want the sandwich regular or spicy. A single Banh Mi isn’t that filling, but the quality here is excellent and worth the trip to Chinatown.

Large Regular with Sausage and Mushrooms Close Up

This here is well-reviewed pizza. Many places claim Grimaldi’s has the best pizza in NY. It was definitely delicious, but I’m still trying to figure out what this NY pizza thing is about. CA pizza is edible, but Chicago pizza is where my money is at so far.

Large Regular with Sausage and Mushrooms

Would I go here again? Definitely.

They only sell pizza by the whole pie, and there are no preset combinations. At any typical pizza store, you’d find things like “Meat Lover’s” or “Hawaiian.” At Grimaldi’s, you pick Regular or White. The White is the Regular with no sauce and extra cheese. Then you pick as many individual toppings as you want to add. Like I said, there are no preset combo’s.