The Secret Sauce of This Pizza Spot’s Success

When the Farrugio family opened il Canale in Washington, D.C. in 2010, their goal was to make the easiest pizza on the planet.

Giuseppe Farrugio, who’s generally called Joe, immigrated to the US throughout the Seventies and has been working throughout the pizza enterprise ever since. Having owned and labored at a variety of Italian-American spots, he observed il Canale as his different to supply a further real, Neapolitan-style experience to D.C. diners whereas working alongside his son, Alessandro. Take heed to the Behind the Review episode below to take heed to immediately from Alessandro and Sydney and research their recipe for success.

The Secret Sauce

The Farrugio family knew a key part of attaining their goal was sourcing top quality components. Il Canale’s flour, tomato sauce, and mozzarella are all pure and imported immediately from Italy.

Previous good meals, the restaurant offers a warmth ambiance and quick service, making for a high-quality consuming experience. No matter serving 1000’s of people each week, the Farrugio family and their employees be sure to personally greet and look at in on their diners all by way of the meal. That is part of what makes the il Canale experience so specific for Yelp Elite and Group Supervisor Sydney G.

“There’s on a regular basis a member of the family to greet you,” she acknowledged. “I’ve been for dinner, lunch, and joyful hour, so I actually really feel like I’ve gotten a extraordinarily good experience all through the board of the completely completely different service decisions. They do an superior job of strolling you through the menu.”

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Managing a gaggle of a complete bunch of employees just isn’t easy. Co-owner and customary supervisor Alessandro has found success by specializing in thorough teaching, thoughtful hiring, and attaining work-life steadiness. He makes optimistic to not solely assist his employees with key sources whereas they’re on the clock however along with lease ample people to offer every himself and his group the day without work they need to recharge.

“We merely try and [be] a family. We try and be supportive. Crucial downside is having such an enormous group and having every single specific individual observe your imaginative and prescient, observe your path, observe the requests that you simply simply make. Nonetheless it’s merely [about] providing the devices, providing the sources.”

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One different one amongst Alessandro’s strengths as a enterprise proprietor is that he’s on a regular basis eager to try new points. When he seen some diners weren’t merely in the hunt for a pizza place nonetheless for a full-service Italian restaurant, he added new objects, along with gluten-free pastas and premium Italian wines, to the menu. This has allowed the restaurant to attract a wider clientele that options locals and vacationers alike.

“It’s good when you might have a large desk. Just some guests are gluten free, only a few guests shouldn’t, maybe [some are] vegetarian or vegan, and all folks appears on their menu and they also uncover one factor that they like,” he acknowledged.

Il Canale will also be not afraid to hunt out new strategies of connecting with customers. Sydney admires the restaurant’s eagerness to utilize a variety of promoting devices, along with Yelp merchandise and sources, social media campaigns, and conversations with as many guests as they are going to.

“One in every of many strategies you retain worthwhile is to easily not at all stop innovating and trying new points,” Sydney acknowledged. “If it could not work, that doesn’t indicate that you simply simply shouldn’t try one factor else, because you not at all know what’s going to achieve any individual.”

Along with using paid choices like Yelp Connect to share personalized posts and pictures alongside along with his prospects, Alessandro makes use of Yelp reviews to take care of a pulse on his enterprise. With the Yelp for Enterprise app on his cellphone, he receives a stream of notifications that alert him to any factors and gives him a confidence improve when he’ll get constructive strategies.

Critiques paint most likely essentially the most right and current picture of a enterprise, serving to every householders and future prospects make educated choices. Even everytime you’re visiting a restaurant like il Canale, which has 1000’s of critiques, together with your voice to the dialog is a treasured approach to contribute to the Yelp group.

“Points change over time,” Sydney acknowledged. “Firms evolve, menu objects change, service turns over, notably how points work pre-pandemic to now. So that you truly want to simply keep in mind to’re giving people most likely essentially the most up-to-date information based totally in your experience.”

Although Alessandro enjoys getting a top level view of his restaurant’s effectivity by the use of critiques, he moreover makes an effort to look at in with diners all through their experience to make sure each factor is to their liking.

For the patron’s half, Sydney recommends diners converse up whereas they’re throughout the restaurant so employees can cope with factors immediately. Mix-ups shouldn’t uncommon throughout the restaurant world, and providing in-the-moment strategies can be extraordinarily rewarding for every the diner and the restaurant. For example, Sydney talked about in her analysis that she obtained the mistaken dessert. Whereas she didn’t carry this as a lot as il Canale employees on account of it didn’t have an enormous impact on her experience, she wants she had.

“They take service so severely. I do know they could have rectified it and made it correct with us. I type of robbed them of that likelihood by not saying one factor. Individuals are human and there [are] a great deal of strategies to hold it up with out being rude and gives them the possibility to restore it so that everybody walks away having a constructive experience.”

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By specializing in top quality meals, service, and promoting, il Canale has earned a spot on three Yelp Top 100 lists over the past three years. Most recently, the restaurant achieved #14 on the Top Pizza Spots guidelines, which is voted on by Yelp Elites. These accolades encourage Alessandro to take care of occupied with how he can elevate his decisions.

“It models our bar bigger on account of everyone knows the next 12 months we’ve to do one factor greater. Il Canale 5 years prior to now, six years prior to now, seven years prior to now isn’t the il Canale proper this second. We’re continuously evolving, continuously getting greater, continuously rising our necessities.”

Together with investing in top quality meals and restore, il Canale believes in:

• Staying on prime of customer trends and requests. Modifying your decisions based totally on guests’ desires and desires is significant to rising your purchaser base.
• Partaking with prospects on-line. Whether or not or not you might be using specific promoting choices like Yelp Be a part of or responding to reviews, the online is an efficient place to hunt out your target audience and encourage repeat visits.
• Sustaining a work-life steadiness. For those who and your employees have ample day without work to stay healthful and recharge, you probably can avoid burnout and acquire top-tier service recurrently.

Subscribe to Behind the Review for further from new enterprise householders and reviewers every Thursday. On the market on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pandora and Soundcloud.