Passariello's Redefines Fast Casual Dining

New Jersey Pizzeria Blends Innovative Order Process,

Range of Quality Products to Create Entrepreneurial Success Story

Continuing Expansion Likely

HADDONFIELD, NJ, April 16, 2018 – The future of Fast Casual dining may be found in an entrepreneurial  pizza shop in South Jersey.

Passariellio’s Pizzeria, which just opened its third restaurant in Haddonfield, offers demonstrably more, higher-quality products than its competitors and stitches them together with a unique order process that puts the customer first.  Add the fact that Passariello’s is run by an immigrant family raised in Italy and you have a true American success story.

Pasquale Passariello, oldest of four brothers and CEO, had his first “aha” moment working for another NJ pizzeria in a food court.  He saw that “one member of a family would buy pizza from him while other family members would buy salads, coffee and desserts at other restaurants in the food court.”  With that vision in mind, he opened the first Passariello’s in Moorestown, NJ in 1996, making it a “mini- food court” with a broad selection of traditional Italian offerings.  That vision extended to a second store in Voorhees, NJ and now to Haddonfield, which offers 22 kinds of pizza (changing daily), Italian entrees, paninis, hoagies, sandwiches, made-to-order salads (40 toppings/9 dressings), gourmet desserts and coffees.

A Challenge Creates Opportunity

While Passariello’s product variety was a great draw, it also created problems.  Family members would find themselves at different stations to get their food and drinks and asked to pay as they ordered.  It was not uncommon for the adult in a party to shout across the room that he or she would pay for the orders, and then tell an attendant “I got a slice over there and a salad over there” while ordering a cheesesteak.  Confusion occasionally reigned.

In response, Pasquale worked tirelessly with a major POS (point of sale) firm to refine a multiple station electronic item tracking system and central cashier.  This idea is now the Passariello Guest Check Card, and Pasquale explains how it works: “Each family member receives a card that he or she can take to any food station.  The card has an electronic stripe which is activated with a guest check number when the guest arrives, then coded after the customer places their order.  After the meal, the person paying can collect the coded cards and make one payment at the register or have separate checks.”  To Pasquale’s knowledge, this system is used in the U.S. by very few operators.  Because there is no wait-staff, there is no tipping.  Needless to say, customers love it.

Strict Quality Controls

“At the end of the day, our customers want great food at good prices,” Pasquale says.  “That’s why we are obsessive about quality.  We want to control as much of our process as possible.”  That’s apparent.  Passariello cuts its own mozzarella (“white gold”) on a machine that translates 55 pounds into eight loaves in a minute.  They make their own pizza dough (180 pounds in eight minutes, then 40 hours fermentation) and bake their own bread.  They are also developing their own brand of flour with Molino Dallagiovanna of Italy, “all natural washed wheat.”

A Really “Fast” Fast Casual

Store design plays a big role in Passariello’s re-definition of “Fast Casual.”  It’s open and airy, enabling customers to interact and engage with the staff while instantly selecting their pizzas, salads and entrees.  “It’s like a “Pizza Colosseum,” Pasquale says, “everything is on display.”  That includes preparation of the pizza, which takes a maximum eight minutes from order taking to in the customer’s hands.  “Don’t believe anyone who says they can do it in five minutes,” Pasquale says, “that’s only oven time.”  The new Haddonfield restaurant is on track to its goal of selling 2,500 – 3,000 pizzas a week.

Speed extends to Passariello’s investment in pick-up, delivery and catering services.  Each pizzeria has a call center that employs four operators to take delivery and pick-up orders and catering requests from thousands of customers weekly.  Each pizzeria employs 25-30 drivers that deliver orders.  The Moorsetown and Voorhees restaurants already combined for 1,500 orders per week, and that is now augmented by almost 1,000 weekly orders from the Haddonfield branch.

People as “Assets, Not Expenses”

This core value of the Passariello family is borne out by very low staff turnover and many employees who have been with the company more than 15 years.  “We provide cross-training and growth opportunities,” Pasquale notes.  He also credits two firms with an integral role in his family’s success.  King-Casey of Westport, CT, a premier restaurant design and branding firm, “brought the brand and my vision to life.  Their design strategy resulted in exposed brick walls in the dining area, communal tables for 10 and making the cashier station into a multi-use coffee/dessert/gelato/cashier operation.  Not only was that good for sales, it cut costs.”

Theodore Barber & Company is a leading food service planning, design & procurement services firm based in Clearwater, FL.  “Ted Barber, president of the firm, has been with us from the beginning,” Pasquale notes.  “He helps with everything from our corporate structure to figuring what equipment to buy and from which supplier.  We are extremely close.  He taught me how to keep my head up and look around to see if we were meeting my vision, instead of getting tied up in minor details.”

A Telling Story & The Future

Roughly two weeks before the Haddonfield opening, Pasquale noticed a group of high school students walking by the restaurant.  Impulsively, he invited them in for free pizza and soda, asking only that they tell their friends.  They did.  By the end of week one, he was serving 250 students per day and the number only grew in week two.  Why did he do it?  “That’s who we are,” Pasquale says.  “We take care of our customers of all ages, and I’m sure their parents will notice.”

Based on the growing volume of business, they have.

And the future?  “We have a strategic plan and real estate selection and financial models,” Pasquale says.  “Growth is paramount but only if it makes sense.  Dollars are not always the prime determinant factor.”

For further information, contact John Bliss at 845/561-1618 or john@blissintegrated.com