46Bloomberg Businessweek September 16, 2019customers to pay a little more for
food that supports their values.A
few weeks later, in Washington,
Lastoria is eager to show off
&Pizza’s newest digs: a rect-
angular kiosk, fashioned in black-
and- white acrylic, in the middle of
Union Station’s subterranean food
court. The space inside is configured
as tightly as a ship’s galley, with prep
areas, two production lines, and four
ovens. Employees dredge patties of
pizza dough through semolina flour,
preparing for the lunch rush. Lastoria points out the ovens,
which call to mind amped-up versions of the toasters found
in college cafeterias.
The prestige fast-casual pizza oven is either a gas- powered
Wood Stone—gleaming, mammoths with flames licking the
back, used by industry heavyweights Mod Super Fast Pizza LLC
and Blaze Pizza LLC—or a wood-fired brick Marra Forni, the
domed apparatus resembling an oversize football helmet seen
at Whole Foods Markets across the country. These help market
the artisan pizza image but require a restaurant space equipped
with costly venting to expel the smoke and odors created by
cooking at high temperature. TurboChef ’s models don’t run
as hot, but they’re small, cheap, electric, and most critically,
self-venting, meaning they fil-
ter their own air emissions, so
&Pizza can set up shop where
most others can’t.
Even these tie back to
&Pizza’s central mission. As
a company that aimed to do
better by its employees, fran-
chising was off the table as a
means of growth; while it’s
the fastest route to expan-
sion, it would require ceding
control of such things as pay
and hiring practices. Lastoria
knew he’d need to stretch whatever capital he raised to fund
as many locations as possible. Building a business model
around investing in labor also meant the company would
need to minimize the cost of rent.
Lastoria says all he needs is electricity, water, and
300 square feet to open a shop. He’s adamant that the impact
on the finished product of a Wood Stone or Marra Forni vs. his
conveyor ovens is minimal. “My chef friends love these things,”
he says. (Among the pizzaiolos I spoke to, the consensus view
was that a fancy oven can improve a pizza’s texture, but not
the flavor. &Pizza’s ovens cook at 600F, producing crust that’s
a little denser and tighter than one firing at upwards of 800F.)
&Pizza has always favored real estate that’s small and
cheap, but lately the company has economized even furtherwith modular, free-stand-
ing “cubes,” like the one
in Union Station. A cube
costs half as much to build as a conventional
store and can be broken down and reassem-
bled in a matter of days, so the company can
respond nimbly to changes in foot traffic pat-
terns or co-tenants. The first cube opened in
February in an alcove formerly occupied by
vending machines inside the Rayburn House
Office Building—where members of Congress
keep their offices—as a result of overwhelm-
ing demand from congressional staffers.
Each &Pizza store has its own name, and
this one was dubbed the Influence. It was the first location
where the starting salary for all employees was $15 per hour.L
astoria grew up in Fillmore, N.Y., a small town in the
state’s western reaches where economic opportunity
has receded along with manufacturing. At 22 he moved
to New York City and started a digital media company called
Innovation Ads Inc.; four years later he sold it to a private
equity firm. By the age of 26 he had more money than he imag-
ined he’d earn in a lifetime. Soon after, he started an advertis-
ing agency, Jwalk, but he couldn’t shake a sense of emptiness.
He thought about the depressed incomes in places such as
Fillmore and decided that his next business would do some-
thing to improve the plight of low-wage workers.
The hospitality industry, which employs 10% of the U.S.
workforce and provides some of its lowest-paying jobs, was
a natural target. Why pizza? “It’s universal, it’s global, it’s a
staple,” Lastoria says. “As someone who isn’t a chef, it was
approachable.” Pizza was also overdue for a fast- casual reboot.
In 2012, when &Pizza’s first location opened in Washington,
Chipotle and Qdoba had put a premium spin on Mexican fast
food, and Five Guys and Shake Shack had enlivened the burger
category. Panera and Firehouse Subs sold sandwiches a cut
above what Subway had offered for decades.
But pizza, now a $45 billion category with steady growth,
remained sclerotic, stubbornly dominated for decades by
Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Papa John’s. Domino’s
made waves by harnessing technology to fuel sales growth and
lifting its share price from under $5 at the end of 2008 to more
than $200 today. But the pizza itself has remained essentially
the same: sweet sauce, chewy crust, tired toppings. It didn’t
take a culinary genius to see ways of improving on the status
quo. Premium pizza could command premium prices—and
pay premium wages.
Ever since co-founding &Pizza, Lastoria has devoted him-
self to advocating for legislation to raise the minimum wage,
speaking at rallies, and lending his name to such efforts as
Fight for $15, a group begun by fast-food workers, and Business
for a Fair Minimum Wage, a network of business owners and
executives. He’s twice appeared on the Senate floor in support
of raising the wage and helped lead a successful campaign for◀ The &Pizza process
is designed to take
little time and even
less space46
BloombergBusinessweek September16, 2019customerstopaya littlemorefor
foodthatsupportstheirvalues.fewweekslater,inWashington,
Lastoriaiseagertoshowoff
&Pizza’snewestdigs:a rect-
angularkiosk, fashionedin black-
and-whiteacrylic,inthemiddleof
UnionStation’s subterraneanfood
court.Thespaceinsideis configured
astightlyasa ship’sgalley,withprep
areas,twoproductionlines,andfour
ovens.Employeesdredgepattiesof
pizzadoughthroughsemolinaflour,
preparingforthelunchrush.Lastoriapointsouttheovens,
whichcalltomindamped-upversionsofthetoastersfound
incollegecafeterias.
Theprestigefast-casualpizzaovenis eithera gas-powered
WoodStone—gleaming,mammothswithflameslickingthe
back,usedbyindustryheavyweightsModSuperFastPizzaLLC
andBlazePizzaLLC—or a wood-fired brick Marra Forni, the
domed apparatus resembling an oversize football helmet seen
at Whole Foods Markets across the country. These help market
the artisan pizza image but require a restaurant space equipped
with costly venting to expel the smoke and odors created by
cooking at high temperature. TurboChef ’s models don’t run
as hot, but they’re small, cheap, electric, and most critically,
self-venting, meaning they fil-
ter their own air emissions, so
&Pizza can set up shop where
most others can’t.
Even these tie back to
&Pizza’s central mission. As
a company that aimed to do
better by its employees, fran-
chising was off the table as a
means of growth; while it’s
the fastest route to expan-
sion, it would require ceding
control of such things as pay
and hiring practices. Lastoria
knew he’d need to stretch whatever capital he raised to fund
as many locations as possible. Building a business model
around investing in labor also meant the company would
need to minimize the cost of rent.
Lastoria says all he needs is electricity, water, and
300 square feet to open a shop. He’s adamant that the impact
on the finished product of a Wood Stone or Marra Forni vs. his
conveyor ovens is minimal. “My chef friends love these things,”
he says. (Among the pizzaiolos I spoke to, the consensus view
was that a fancy oven can improve a pizza’s texture, but not
the flavor. &Pizza’s ovens cook at 600F, producing crust that’s
a little denser and tighter than one firing at upwards of 800F.)
&Pizza has always favored real estate that’s small and
cheap, but lately the company has economized even furtherwith modular, free-stand-
ing “cubes,” like the one
in Union Station. A cube
costshalfasmuchto build as a conventional
store and can be broken down and reassem-
bled in a matter of days, so the company can
respond nimbly to changes in foot traffic pat-
terns or co-tenants. The first cube opened in
February in an alcove formerly occupied by
vending machines inside the Rayburn House
Office Building—where members of Congress
keep their offices—as a result of overwhelm-
ing demand from congressional staffers.
Each &Pizza store has its own name, and
this one was dubbed the Influence. It was the first location
wherethestartingsalaryforallemployeeswas$15perhour.astoria grew up in Fillmore, N.Y., a small town in the
state’s western reaches where economic opportunity
has receded along with manufacturing. At 22 he moved
to New York City and started a digital media company called
Innovation Ads Inc.; four years later he sold it to a private
equity firm. By the age of 26 he had more money than he imag-
ined he’d earn in a lifetime. Soon after, he started an advertis-
ing agency, Jwalk, but he couldn’t shake a sense of emptiness.
He thought about the depressed incomes in places such as
Fillmore and decided that his next business would do some-
thing to improve the plight of low-wage workers.
The hospitality industry, which employs 10% of the U.S.
workforce and provides some of its lowest-paying jobs, was
a naturaltarget.Whypizza?“It’suniversal,it’sglobal,it’sa
staple,”Lastoriasays.“Assomeonewhoisn’ta chef,it was
approachable.”Pizzawasalsooverduefora fast-casual reboot.
In 2012, when &Pizza’s first location opened in Washington,
Chipotle and Qdoba had put a premium spin on Mexican fast
food, and Five Guys and Shake Shack had enlivened the burger
category.PaneraandFirehouseSubssoldsandwichesa cut
abovewhatSubwayhadofferedfordecades.
Butpizza,nowa $45billion category with steady growth,
remained sclerotic, stubbornly dominated for decades by
Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Papa John’s. Domino’s
made waves by harnessing technology to fuel sales growth and
lifting its share price from under $5 at the end of 2008 to more
than $200 today. But the pizza itself has remained essentially
the same: sweet sauce, chewy crust, tired toppings. It didn’t
take a culinary genius to see ways of improving on the status
quo. Premium pizza could command premium prices—and
pay premium wages.
Ever since co-founding &Pizza, Lastoria has devoted him-
self to advocating for legislation to raise the minimum wage,
speaking at rallies, and lending his name to such efforts as
Fight for $15, a group begun by fast-food workers, and Business
for a Fair Minimum Wage, a network of business owners and
executives. He’s twice appeared on the Senate floor in support
of raising the wage and helped lead a successful campaign for◀ The &Pizza process
is designed to take
little time and even
less space