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A pizza success story - Spin Pizza opens new Kansas City location as concept heats up in metro area |
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| Wednesday, 04 March 2009 00:00 | |||
 In economic times where businesses are closing left and right, Spin Neapolitan Pizza just might be bucking the trend. Already with three stores, including two that opened in the past year, Spin has opened another location in a new shopping center at 50th and Main. “This particular area is an area where we’ve had customers come to our other restaurants,” co-owner Ed Brownell said. “This particular location became available when they tore down the old building. The economy is not going to be bad forever. You have to take advantage of opportunities while you can.” Spin has gained popularity with its restaurants in Overland Park, Lee’s Summit and Olathe. Brownell and fellow co-owner Gail Lozoff said their strategy is to offer their food fast, but in a casual and current atmosphere. Brownell said one of the most difficult parts of opening new restaurants is maintaining continuity between locations. “That’s obviously the challenge of any multi-unit restaurant,” Brownell said. “The more stores you have, the harder it is to maintain the quality. But our management team has been with us over two years. We put them through a pretty aggressive kitchen training. They’re in the kitchen for the first two and a half months.” “Also there’s a cultural piece because of that,” Lozoff said. “Because we’re a startup company, you create a culture you can expand on from restaurant to restaurant. A lot bigger chains lose that personality. We created a culture based on accountability and discipline, and also having fun, that ensures the best for the customers.”  The new location is within walking distance of the Country Club Plaza, University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library. The owners said they are relying on the recognition of area residents to help Spin thrive.“The further south you go, the more customers we have,” Brownell said. “But we do have customers down from the Plaza. We have a brand recognition down here.” Spin’s more gourmet pizzas set it apart from other pizza restaurants. The menu’s pizzas include Italian sausage with caramelized onions; roasted chicken, goat cheese, caramelized onions and crimini mushrooms; and an Italian sausage and pesto with crushed glazed pecans. The most popular pizza on the menu is pepperoni, Brownell said. “Many people like the traditional, but we hope we do it better,” he said. Spin’s salads also are core menu items. There are six salads with the most popular being the 8 Color, which features romaine, red cabbage, red butter lettuce, roasted grape tomatoes, radishes, celery, green onion, gorgonzola, toasted pine nuts, and a choice of a red wine vinaigrette or cucumber buttermilk dressing. One thing visitors to the new location will find different from the other three locations is the extensive collection of wine. Each bottle is priced at $18, which Lozoff said goes along with their value-minded approach. “These wines would be priced at $30 to $35 at other restaurants,” Lozoff said. “We want people to enjoy wine and pizza. That’s what drives us.” Frequent diners can join the Spin Club, which offers special seasonal deals, and for every $150 customers spend they earn Spin Bucks, good for a free pizza or $10 off their meal. With owning four restaurants, Brownell and Lozoff said they have plenty on their plates. Brownell is involved with dough preparation to perfect the formula, and Lozoff is involved with wine selection. At the end of the day, the owners said there are stresses but Spin’s success is worth it. “It’s still a lot of fun,” Lozoff said. “Particularly so when you open a place and people are really talking about it. It really goes back to you why you are doing that.”
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