The staff at Cincinnati-based Dewey’s Pizza wear t-shirts that say, “taking pizza to the next level.” The 25-year-old, 25-unit chain does that by prioritizing its culture and its quality. In 2018, for instance, the company embarked on a “purpose and values journey,” bringing in 30 team members from the c-suite to hourly employees to understand how the company could define its purpose and values.
“What we came up with was something that drew us all closer together and helped us understand why we make the decisions we make. If you can go back to your values and purpose and line those up with the decisions you’re making, it really helps. I feel like it’s a strength of ours,” CEO Chuck Lipp said during a recent interview. Lipp, who has been with Dewey’s since 2003 and CEO since 2019, added that this focus on culture has always been important, but has become much more intentional since the pandemic.
“We changed how we looked at finding great people. It became more difficult selecting and finding people, so we changed our interview process,” he said.
That included a menu test to provide an extra step – a small barrier of entry if you will. It may seem counterintuitive amid a historic labor shortage, but for Dewey’s, it was a way to ensure the right people were hired to heighten its culture.
“I think our recruiting, hiring, and training and development process in the industry, not only pizza, but the industry, are second to none. We recruit, hire and train people who fit our culture. We don’t short cut our training. If you’re going to come in, you’re going to know how to do the job. To have a great atmosphere in our restaurants, we have to have hospitality at every touch,” Lipp said.
Of course, the food has to get customers in the door in the first place, and Lipp said this is Dewey’s other differentiator in a crowded pizza segment. With seasonal pizzas like the Smashing Pumpkin and specialty pizzas like the Porky Fig, Lipp said the company’s focus on quality is its north star.
“We would rather ask consumers to pay more to get the same quality than diminish our quality. We’re not going to come off of quality to increase our margins,” he said, noting that Dewey’s is known for its calzones, salads and bar offerings just as much as it is its pizzas. That said, the menu is intentionally simple.
“We keep it simple so we can focus on our service and products. We’re not going to throw mud against the wall and do something that’s halfcocked. If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right and stay focused,” Lipp said.
Staying focused has become a bigger challenge the past few years through Covid, inflation, labor shortages, and several other challenges, but Dewey’s has done its best to be agile and has made some changes to its business model to better position itself in a new normal. The company started leaning into third-party delivery in early 2020 – fortuitous timing – and also had plans to launch curbside at that time.
“We had an advantage of having 40% in pickup orders. We never did delivery in the history of our concept, but we were tilting that way a little bit. We knew if we were going to do it, we were going to do it right. It changed a lot quicker than we would expected, but I think we’ve become more malleable and adaptable as things keep evolving,” Lipp said.
In addition to developing a more robust off-premises business, Dewey’s has also adjusted some of its operational practices to maximize productivity during its peak hours; for instance, shifting some prep work to its two commissaries. Dewey’s has also engaged in some technology to help organize orders through more channels. And, the company is now looking at new real estate formats, including carry-out only.
“As we get back to growth, we’re looking at what makes sense. With Covid mostly behind us, we learned a lot of lessons and with (carryout-only locations), we think we can get more pizza to more communities. The economics are a little better,” Lipp said.
In its 25 years, Dewey’s has closed just one location – in 2020. Everything else has remained slow and steady, but the company is ready to grow and is considering several markets outside of its existing markets that include Cincinnati, Cleveland/Akron, Columbus, Dayton, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
“We don’t have a long-term growth number,” Lipp said. “Our goal is always focused on making sure we’re doing it right and we’re in the communities we want to be in and serving a great product.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
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