Bloomberg Businessweek September 16, 2019M
ichael Lastoria, chief executive officer of &Pizza, a
Washington, D.C.-based chain with 36 locations up
and down the East Coast, is tall, slim, and serene,
with a full beard and brown hair that falls past his shoulders.
When I meet him, on a warm spring day inside an &Pizza loca-
tion in Manhattan’s NoMad district, he’s wearing a black silk
shirt, a black cape, cropped black pants with long black socks,
and a pair of black Wu Wear Wallabee boots: what Jesus might
look like if he walked in a Yohji Yamamoto show.
Lastoria, 39, committed to an all-black wardrobe around
the time the first &Pizza store opened, seven years ago (the
name is pronounced “and pizza”—the ampersand chosen,
Lastoria says, to convey values of unity and inclusivity). The
uniforms at &Pizza stores are black, and black is the dress
code for corporate staffers, too, meaning anyone can jump
behind the counter. “It’s about making sure we’re not los-
ing that connection to employees in pizza shops,” he says.
Around us, the restaurant is mobbed by a Generation Z
crowd, hunched over pies topped with spicy chickpeas or aru-
gula while songs by Grimes and Drake boom over the sound
system. From time to time, a customer holds a phone aloft,
capturing the moment when they lift the lid of an eye-catch-
ing black-and-white rectangular pizza box to reveal their just-
baked, personalized creation.
The menu at &Pizza has eight options. There’s a classic
margherita pie, but the big draws are the offbeat flavor combi-
nations such as the Pineapple Jack, with pineapple, salami, pick-
led red onion, and barbecue sauce (against all odds, it’s tasty).
Most customers create their own, choosing from a stable of 48
ingredients, including mushroom truffle sauce, shrimp, ranch
dressing, and scrambled egg. The dough is stretched to form
a skateboard shape and run through a TurboChef conveyor
oven that cooks it in less than two minutes. The final prod-
uct tends to be light but filling, with a thin, crispy crust almost
like a flatbread: daintier than a dollar slice, but sturdier than
a Neapolitan pie. Pizzas cost $10 to $11 and feed one persongenerously. The restaurant also sells its own line of branded
iced teas and craft sodas, as well as cookies by Milk Bar, the New
York-based bakery known for nostalgia-sweetened treats such
as Cereal Milk™ soft-serve and confetti birthday cake.
Although &Pizza sits squarely in fast-casual territory— quality
food, made for you, with prices a level above fast food—the
brand has eschewed the category’s dominant aesthetic of
reclaimed wood, warm lighting, and earth tones, favoring a
younger, urban vibe. Shops are decorated in a bold, graphic
black-and-white motif, and the walls often feature work by
street artists admired by Lastoria. The shops tend to be open
late—in some cases, until 4 a.m.—and are known to churn out
pies right up to closing time.
&Pizza uses premium ingredients, but unlike many of its
peers, it doesn’t fixate on the details. If pressed, Lastoria will
share that the dough is made from five ingredients (flour,
water, yeast, salt, and sugar) and with no preservatives at
a production facility in D.C. The mozzarella comes from a
century- old cheesemaker in Wisconsin, the tomato sauce
from a family- owned operation in California. But Lastoria
doesn’t want to get precious with sourcing narratives. Milk
Bar founder Christina Tosi says this is one of the qualities that
drew her into a partnership with the brand. “They don’t TMI
you about the history of your pizza.”
What Lastoria does want to talk about to anyone who will
listen is his ambition to turn &Pizza into the most progressive
fast-food employer in the nation. That starts with pay: Store
employees, whom the company calls “tribe members,” are
among the best-paid fast-food workers in the nation. At &Pizza
the average hourly wage is $14, compared with $9.84 for the
industry, according to the market research firm TDn2K. The
company uses input from tribe members to inform everything
from store music choices to uniform fabrics to the decision to
pay extra for late-night shifts.
So far, Lastoria says, the approach is working. A recent
store opening in Washington drew 1,000 job applications, and
in a sector where job tenure is measured in months, &Pizza
estimates that around 100 of its 750 employees have gotten
the company’s ampersand logo as a tattoo.
Over the past two decades, the rise of the fast-casual mar-
ket, now worth about $40 billion annually, has proven that
American consumers are willing to pay more for food they
can feel virtuous about eating. But despite the progressive
rhetoric on such topics as animal welfare and personal health,
fast- casual leaders have been slow to speak up on the sub-
ject of labor. Twenty years after Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
began advertising humanely raised pork and local produce,
workers employed by quick-service restaurants are still among
the lowest-paid in the country. Industry groups such as the
National Restaurant Association and the American Pizza
Community actively lobby against increasing the federal min-
imum wage, which has been stalled at $7.25 for a decade. If
Lastoria has his way, &Pizza will do for the American fast-food
worker what Chipotle has done for its ingredients: persuadeFast-casual chain &Pizza
wants to become the most
progressive fast-food
employer in the U.S.
By Elizabeth Dunn
Photographs by
Cole Wilson
45Bloomberg Businessweek September16, 2019
ichaelLastoria,chiefexecutiveofficerof&Pizza,a
Washington,D.C.-basedchainwith 36 locationsup
anddowntheEastCoast,istall,slim,andserene,
witha fullbeardandbrownhairthatfallspasthisshoulders.
WhenI meethim,ona warmspringdayinsidean&Pizzaloca-
tioninManhattan’sNoMaddistrict,he’swearinga blacksilk
shirt,a blackcape,croppedblackpantswithlongblacksocks,
anda pairofblackWuWearWallabeeboots:whatJesusmight
looklikeif hewalkedina YohjiYamamotoshow.
Lastoria,39,committedtoanall-blackwardrobearound
thetimethefirst&Pizzastoreopened,sevenyearsago(the
nameispronounced“andpizza”—theampersandchosen,
Lastoriasays,toconveyvaluesofunityandinclusivity).The
uniformsat&Pizzastoresareblack,andblackisthedress
codeforcorporatestaffers,too,meaninganyonecanjump
behindthecounter.“It’saboutmakingsurewe’renotlos-
ingthatconnectiontoemployeesinpizzashops,”hesays.
Aroundus,therestaurantismobbed bya GenerationZ
crowd, hunched over pies topped with spicy chickpeas or aru-
gula while songs by Grimes and Drake boom over the sound
system. From time to time, a customer holds a phone aloft,
capturing the moment when they lift the lid of an eye-catch-
ing black-and-white rectangular pizza box to reveal their just-
baked, personalized creation.
The menu at &Pizza has eight options. There’s a classic
margherita pie, but the big draws are the offbeat flavor combi-
nations such as the Pineapple Jack, with pineapple, salami, pick-
led red onion, and barbecue sauce (against all odds, it’s tasty).
Most customers create their own, choosing from a stable of 48
ingredients, including mushroom truffle sauce, shrimp, ranch
dressing, and scrambled egg. The dough is stretched to form
a skateboard shape and run through a TurboChef conveyor
oven that cooks it in less than two minutes. The final prod-
uct tends to be light but filling, with a thin, crispy crust almost
like a flatbread: daintier than a dollar slice, but sturdier than
a Neapolitan pie. Pizzas cost $10 to $11 and feed one person
generously. The restaurant also sells its own line of branded
iced teas and craft sodas, as well as cookies by Milk Bar, the New
York-basedbakeryknownfornostalgia-sweetenedtreatssuch
asCerealMilk™soft-serveandconfettibirthdaycake.
Although&Pizzasitssquarelyinfast-casualterritory—quality
food, made for you, with prices a level above fast food—the
brand has eschewed the category’s dominant aesthetic of
reclaimed wood, warm lighting, and earth tones, favoring a
younger, urban vibe. Shops are decorated in a bold, graphic
black-and-whitemotif,andthewallsoftenfeatureworkby
streetartistsadmiredbyLastoria.Theshopstendtobeopen
late—insomecases,until 4 a.m.—and are known to churn out
pies right up to closing time.
&Pizza uses premium ingredients, but unlike many of its
peers, it doesn’t fixate on the details. If pressed, Lastoria will
share that the dough is made from five ingredients (flour,
water,yeast,salt,andsugar)andwithnopreservativesat
a productionfacilityinD.C.Themozzarellacomesfroma
century-oldcheesemakerinWisconsin,thetomatosauce
froma family-owned operation in California. But Lastoria
doesn’t want to get precious with sourcing narratives. Milk
Bar founder Christina Tosi says this is one of the qualities that
drew her into a partnership with the brand. “They don’t TMI
you about the history of your pizza.”
What Lastoria does want to talk about to anyone who will
listen is his ambition to turn &Pizza into the most progressive
fast-food employer in the nation. That starts with pay: Store
employees, whom the company calls “tribe members,” are
among the best-paid fast-food workers in the nation. At &Pizza
the average hourly wage is $14, compared with $9.84 for the
industry, according to the market research firm TDn2K. The
company uses input from tribe members to inform everything
from store music choices to uniform fabrics to the decision to
pay extra for late-night shifts.
So far, Lastoria says, the approach is working. A recent
store opening in Washington drew 1,000 job applications, and
in a sector where job tenure is measured in months, &Pizza
estimates that around 100 of its 750 employees have gotten
thecompany’sampersandlogoasa tattoo.
Overthepasttwodecades,theriseofthefast-casualmar-
ket,nowworthabout$40billion annually, has proven that
American consumers are willing to pay more for food they
canfeelvirtuousabouteating.Butdespitetheprogressive
rhetoriconsuchtopicsasanimalwelfareandpersonalhealth,
fast-casual leaders have been slow to speak up on the sub-
ject of labor. Twenty years after Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
beganadvertisinghumanelyraisedporkandlocalproduce,
workersemployedbyquick-servicerestaurantsarestillamong
thelowest-paid in the country. Industry groups such as the
National Restaurant Association and the American Pizza
Community actively lobby against increasing the federal min-
imum wage, which has been stalled at $7.25 for a decade. If
Lastoria has his way, &Pizza will do for the American fast-food
worker what Chipotle has done for its ingredients: persuadeFast-casual chain &Pizza
wants to become the most
progressive fast-food
employer in the U.S.
By Elizabeth Dunn
Photographs by
Cole Wilson
45