More pizza advise please!

[bigjay]

Hi everyone,

I posted a thread last month about starting up a mobile wood burning pizza oven business and had a great response on here and would appreciate some more advise.

I have now decided to have the oven built into a catering van so everything is contained within the van (I have finally seen sense!) and I am currently saving hard to purchase a van.

I am now looking into other avenues as to where to sell the pizzas. I have always said that I intend to sell at markets/carboots, events and private functions but I am now thinking about evening trading and would like to know what you think about my idea.

I was thinking about the idea of having some menus prepared and delivering them around my local area and having my van sited somewhere on an evening to prepare the pizzas and to sell from. I would hire somebody to provide a delivery service for me so in reality it would be just like a standard pizza takeaway show apart from the fact that I am mobile and would be using a wood burning oven.

I have thought about approaching a local shopping parade as they have lots of parking, a pub and a blockbusters open on an evening but no takeaways and it is slap bang next to a busy sainsburys. Obviously I will have a food and hygiene certificate and all the relevant licences etc but do you think it's possible to do something like this or am i getting too far ahead of myself? I don't obviously have to be setup on this particular car park but it would be ideal as I would have a base and also passing trade.

Any thoughts?

cheers Jay

 

[easiprint]

Sounds good. If you deliver and your prices are right you should do well.

Not quite the same, but we had a kebab van set up in a layby near our workshop a few months ago. He did a similar thing, but with kebabs and burgers. He was central to several villages and leafleted them all offering delivery. He done very well until the council came and moved him on as he did not have the proper permission to trade from the layby. Just make sure you get permission!!

 

[rizbit]

i know maybe have a door to dooor service. advertise your service as the freshest pizzas on the planet delivered straight to your door.

what you do then is when some one orders a pizza you drive to their door and then make the pizza rigth in front of them, giving them the opportunity to choose maybe even add their own toppings before baking it for them. sure it would take time driving around but it would then be a UNIQUE service, otherwise its like pizza hut express but not as good.

 

[rizbit]

where are based anyway?

 

[bigjay]

Thanks for the replies. I am based in leeds, West Yorkshire. The home delivery option is a possibility as the oven will be mounted permenantly in place. My only concern with this is the time scale of driving around place to place versus being in a fixed position but also offering a delivery service. I would be able to undercut pizza takeaways price wise and I would be offering pizzas cooked in a wood burning oven but I do agree it would be a great usp to park up outside somebodies house and make the pizza there and then!

 

[MH1]

Only a personal opinion with no facts to back it up, but I would look to local villages and set up a regular pizza round, some villages one evening, more the next evening and so on. Most decent size villages have no fast food option these days, so they offer a good potential market.

Word will soon go around, maybe do a really good opening offer, such as a half price pizza in the first week to encourage people to try you out. This method would still leave you free to do markets, fairs etc in the daytime.

Glad you saw sense on the oven location, outdoor preperation in the UK would never have worked in the long run.

what you do then is when some one orders a pizza you drive to their door and then make the pizza rigth in front of them, giving them the opportunity to choose maybe even add their own toppings before baking it for them. sure it would take time driving around but it would then be a UNIQUE service, otherwise its like pizza hut express but not as good.

Such as service as this might work in central London, but your pizzas would also be by far the most expensive on the market, you would be lucky to manage more than 10 sales per evening.

 

[stevon]

Thanks for the replies. I am based in leeds, West Yorkshire. The home delivery option is a possibility as the oven will be mounted permenantly in place. My only concern with this is the time scale of driving around place to place versus being in a fixed position but also offering a delivery service. I would be able to undercut pizza takeaways price wise and I would be offering pizzas cooked in a wood burning oven but I do agree it would be a great usp to park up outside somebodies house and make the pizza there and then!

Think it's a nice thought, but it's not feasable. Hire a driver, £30 a night + £1 delivery charge and he'll make a good £40-50 including tips even on the quiet nights. I know one takeaway that used to have SIX drivers on a Saturday night and they all did 25+ deliveries a night. Obviously that's a successful local takeaway though.

Like I told you this morning mate - get the flyers out and the orders will come flying in. Pick where you're locating the van VERY carefully and go with it. The money is in deliveries.

 

[speedy_s]

Selling outside nightclubs would be a very good idea. People would love it as your rarely get edible food at around 3am. Also you can charge a massive premium!

 

[bigjay]

Thanks for the comments guys, all appreciated.

Is there anything to say that I couldn't have my van sited on my driveway on an evening and do deliveries from there? I live on a small street in a village just outside Leeds so ideally placed really.

The only issues I could really see is the added traffic with a delivery driver back and forth but I live at the beginning of the street so that shouldnt be an issue.

Any thoughts?

 

Caravan club camp sites would be a good idea. They are often some way away from food and although everyone has the means to cook their own not many choose to if you offer pizza on site. (I hope you carry good salds with you as well)

 

[bigjay]

Good idea. It's all going to be about finding places that have limited takeaway options but that will be the beauty of being mobile. I will be looking to provide more food options on an evening such as fresh chips and potato wedges, garlic breads, lasagna, salads and deserts.

 

[rizbit]

get a driver, pay min wages or maybe someone you know who would be willing to help you out. that way you stay in one location. The driver would be on bike so be able to avoid traffic and get to places fast.

 

[OscarM]

Brilliant plan. I am unfortunately (for me) addicted to pizza so this post drew me right in.
The last time I saw one of these pizza vans was in the south of France. Very popular too.
As everyone has said, location location location. I wish you were in Clerkenwell - London. I reckon lunchtimes around busy city people would be great. I bet the wait is shorter than sitting down at pizza express, and I'd expect cheaper as well. You may need to test out some locations or you could strike gold on the first try.
Everyone in my office goes out to buy lunch every day. If tasty thin crust take-away pizzas around the corner were an option, no doubt it would be a popular one.

I'd hold off on the delivery thing. I think you'll need word to spread a lot first. Having a successful lunch rush doesn't guarantee delivery orders as those clients may well live far away from their work places.

Do hand out flyers with your pizza. Make sure you advertise your services for events. Exclusive pizza van for an outdoor party would be brilliant. I once went to an amazing party that had 5 or 6 stalls of yummy food. Loved it.
Good luck!

 

[accountancyextra]

Good idea. It's all going to be about finding places that have limited takeaway options but that will be the beauty of being mobile. I will be looking to provide more food options on an evening such as fresh chips and potato wedges, garlic breads, lasagna, salads and deserts.

let me know where abouts in leeds you end up. I'm not far from leeds and if i ever fancy a pizza

 

[RLD Plastering and Tiling Services]

I was going to suggest footie matches but Unfortunately not having a decent footie team up your way you wouldn't get much passing trade hehe. What about out of town shopping centres as most are open until 8 or 9pm and then move onto an area with a few pubs in the vicinity and no food outlets, alot depends on how many hrs you want to spend working but the pizza idea is a great one as round us the only option is usually a burger van and that's it.

Thanks Jason

 

[bigjay]

I will be putting in as many hours as possible when I start and then it will be trial and error to see where the most profit is made and concentrate on that.

Im half way there on saying the money to get it all up and running so i can almost taste those pizza's!

 

[jhunter]

Hi,

I have just stumbled upon this thread while doing some research into a Pizza delivery business. Just wondering now 2 years on how you got on with this....

 

[RBS]

mobile wood burning pizza oven built into a catering van

Emm...woodfire in a van? :| Sounds a bit crazy. What would old bil say when they pull you over :|

 

[Eliza_J]

I've been looking into this idea as well and there are some great wood-firing pizza vans around the place -especially France! Jalopy Pizza looks delicious in the UK!