Melinda Carbajal, Managing Member and CEO of Simply Pizza, a unique woodfired, mobile, and hybrid restaurant business, is bringing her knowledge and experience to Pizza Expo. As a new Pizza Expo speaker, we wanted to learn more about Melinda and get a little sneak peek into her sessions at Pizza Expo. Her Pizza Expo sessions include: S30 Writing Your Food Truck Business Plan, S09 Growing Through Catering and S35 Strategically Giving to Grow Your Business.

Josh and Denise chat with Melinda the food truck business, getting innovative with the business model, catering, and mentoring in the pizza industry.

Her Pizza Expo speaker bio includes: With a background in government and education, Melinda has carved out a niche in the food industry, leveraging her extensive knowledge of systems, grants, and nonprofit management to drive her business forward in innovative ways.

As a dedicated mother of five, Melinda balances her entrepreneurial endeavors with an active role in her community. She serves on five nonprofit boards and holds an elected position in her city, reflecting her commitment to community engagement and service.

Melinda thrives on building programs, navigating complex systems, and making a positive impact. Her journey from the realms of government and education to the culinary world is a testament to her adaptability and passion for serving others."

Learn more about Simply Pizza at https://www.simplypizzatruck.com/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/simplypizzatruck/

Check out the full Pizza Expo education schedule at https://pizzaexpo.pizzatoday.com/education/education-schedule/

This week, we’re bringing you a fun episode with the Pizza Today Team giving our “Hot Takes” on pizza. And we didn’t even talk about pineapple on pizza. We dive into pizza styles. Whether toppings go over or under the cheese, chicken’s place, charring on pizza, olives, best cheese on pizza, childhood pizzas and more.

We’re also inviting you to send us your “Hot Takes”. We’re giving a fresh direction on the old-fashioned letters to the editor. We call it “Hot Take”. Do you have a “Hot Take” on a subject relevant to pizzeria operators and the pizza business? This is a space for you, the pizza professional, to share your passionate and succinct opinion with fellow pizzeria operators.

Hot Take is designed to allow you to share personal narratives and commentary, challenge industry norms, introduce big ideas or offer a new perspective. It’s an opportunity to focus on hot-button pizzeria topics, from operational concerns, trends, safety and community to workplace culture, technology and everything in between.

Our "Hot Take" section is a dynamic and interactive way for Pizza Today and our readers to capture the pulse of what’s on the minds of pizzeria operators with urgency and personality. Hot Takes are short writings in an informal style, usually written in first person.

If you have a Hot Take, we want to hear from you.

To submit a Hot Take:

Email Denise at dgreer@pizzatoday.com or Jeremy at jwhite@pizzatoday.com

Format:

Subject: HOT TAKE with Pizza Today – (Topic Discussed)

Headline (Limit 65 characters)

Your Hot Take should be between 300-800 words in paragraph format. Be sure your Hot Take is concise, informative and remains on the subject matter.

Your Name:

Pizzeria:

City and State:

<>

Email and Phone to verify identity and information.

This week, Elizabeth (Liz) Badami joins the podcast with Executive Editor Denise Greer and Senior Editor Kate Lavin. Liz has overcome trials and tragedy to reopen her pizzeria, Mary Jane’s Stone Baked Pizza in Chester, West Virginia in December 2024.

Liz and her husband Chris often told Liz’s mom Mary Jane that they would open a pizzeria and sell her signature treats. After Mary Jane was killed in a car crash in 2015, Chris started to make that idea a reality. The Badamis incrementally started acquiring everything they would need and opened the pizzeria in 2017. Liz began learning the pizza business and handled the ops side while Chris tackled the pizza.

In 2018, Chris suffered a fatal heart attack. Liz was left to either close the pizzeria or figure out how to manage the entire business on her own with two children. She leaned into learning pizza making and continued on.

Maneuvering through the COVID-19 Pandemic became another hurdle. Then she lost her location when the landlord sold the building. But Liz wasn’t giving up. She knew she wanted to reopen. But this time, she wanted to own the building.

Listen to Liz share her powerful story of perseverance and grit to reopen in a new town.

Read a great local newspaper article on Liz: https://www.reviewonline.com/news/local-news/2024/12/pizzeria-owner-makes-comeback-in-chester/

Learn more about Mary Jane’s Stone Baked Pizza at https://www.maryjanesstonebakedpizzeria.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mary_janes_stonebaked_pizzeria/