Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanks for your kind words. Its good to know that us independent guys have a market in Raleigh. I have visited 3 times already, and it seems like a great place. I'll bring good food and good service, but no attitude! Trust me, the attitude gets to most North Easterners too.
Thanks for your kind words. Its good to know that us independent guys have a market in Raleigh. I have visited 3 times already, and it seems like a great place. I'll bring good food and good service, but no attitude! Trust me, the attitude gets to most North Easterners too.
Sounds good and good luck.
Btw, being from CT, any chance you might bring a New Haven style apizza offering too?
This place has been in the Cary area over 15 years. My wife and her family are from Long Island and this is the only pizza place she will eat from, period. Bringing a taste of New York to North Carolina As far as pizza goes, you will find Westenr Wake has more transplants from the north (though more from Mass than NY lately) and therfore likes NY style more than most places in Raleigh proper.
My personal inclination is to go with independents for pizza, but I have to admit that 9 times out of 10 I end up at a chain place, largely due to the convenience factors of online ordering and knowing what I'm going to get with their product. I've tried a couple of the independent places near me (Durham, not Raleigh, so not exactly your target market) and the product has been inconsistent, mediocre, or about $3/pie more expensive. So just a friendly reminder to baby your customers and really pay attention to consistent quality and customer service. Hard to do and also keep the price down, but there's definitely a market here!
It's odd now that I think of it but if the family is looking to have pizza, we usually go w/a chain. If it's me looking on my own (lunchtime) or with the guys, it's usually a local chain.
Dont know if it's because of Lunch vs Dinner or the fact that going with the guys we're paying for ourselves and order by the slice, but you can take that into consideration if it's helpful.
To answer your basic question: Yes, there is a well established base of customers who appreciate good pizza from indy joints. That being said, as you well know everybody and their brother claims to be an expert on what qualifies as being "good" pizza.
Based on my experiece here over the past five years, the indy pizza places that I have witnessed succeed have the following in common:
1) They make a quality product
2) They are in a good location
3) Offer a competetive price with good customer service
Whether you sell NYC style pizza, upstate NY, Chicago, California style, whatever, I think as quality pizza in a good location can do well.
Please don't fall into the trap of wallpapering your joint with NY Yankee posters and signed photos of Tony Saprano. If you sell NY style pizza, people will know this by how good your product is. You don't need to convince them with NY flare.
Me? I like Bella Italia in North Raleigh off Durant near Falls of Neuse Road. Is it perfect? No, but I find it to be pretty darn good and enjoy their pie. I'm willing to appreciate that others may favor other local joints.
my brother in-law took me here......all the way from Winston-Salem. He said it was the best pizza he ate in NC (we're from NJ.....and we have pizza places that kick NYC's a**)...
Bella's was very good... And in addition, the NY/NJ pizza hype is wayyyyyy overstated...
That being said..... I have yet to find a place who can make a pie like Federicci's in Freehold, NJ
Good to know. I consider this a marketing question. It lets me know what people like/don't like. I don't want to limit myself to just one type of pizza. Thanks for the comments.
I haven't eaten one of those chain pizza's since Vincent's opened the "little restaurant" over on Capitol Blvd....93' or 94' my guess? I enjoy trying new independent pizza places on a good recommendation just as I like checking out a new barbecue joint.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
