Dough for pizza business keeps rising
Compiled by Cara Spoto, Stevens Point Journal Staff, February 15th, 2010, Original Link
For most guys in their 20s, pizza is a staple. For Stevens Point native Kevin Polito, it's a way of life.
Polito is the man behind Polito's Pizza. Frequented by bar-hopping college studentsand families alike, Polito opened the Main Street business two years ago. Today, the business has grown to include locations in Wausau and Oshkosh.
Just 27 years old, Polito decided the pizza business could be a career after working at a Domino's during college.
That's pretty much where I learned the business, and I really liked it," Polito said. "It's fun to make pizza. It's fast-paced."
It turns out the restaurant business also is in Polito's blood: His paternal grandparents owned restaurants in Chicago. The tomato sauce Polito uses for many of his pies is a family recipe.
Open seven days a week until 10 p.m. most nights and until 3 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the Stevens Point location employs 22 people, Polito said. The Oshkosh and Wausau locations each employ about 16 people.
Sitting in a booth at the Stevens Point location, Polito said business has been good. Both the Wausau and Oshkosh locations, in fact, opened within the last 15 months during the height of the global recession. Although he does stay up nights worrying about things, he credits a quality product and a stellar work force for his continued success.
QUESTION: How much has the recession affected (your business)? And how have you responded?
ANSWER: It really hasn't. Business has actually been up this year, and I think it's because people still like going out, and here, they can afford it. They can feed their whole family for, like, $20. I think that's helped.
Q: Is pizza recession-proof?
A: That's what I've heard. Hopefully.
Q: What kind of leadership skills and techniques have you had to draw on to get where you are today?
A: You have to set a good example and lead from the front. I never ask anyone to do anything here that I wouldn't do myself. I expect a lot from these guys and they give me a lot.
Q: What kinds of employees in today's work force are most likely to succeed?
A: Employees that want to learn. Employees that are go-getters.
Q: How do you define success?
A: Success is if the business keeps people happy, whether it's customers or employees. If they're happy and business is going well, then I feel like a success.
Q: What motivates you?
A: This business motivates me. I like seeing Polito shirts on people when I'm not at work. I like hearing people talk about it. The quality of our product motivates me.
Q: What's the best business advice you have ever received?
A: My dad always tells me, "You have to treat your employees well, no matter what." That's a big thing, because if they're not happy, the business isn't going to run right. Everyone here is having fun when they're at work. Everyone's happy. A lot of business owners don't treat their employees right. I've worked for guys that have created bad work environments.
Q: What is your greatest business accomplishment?
A: Building up the name of this place. If it wasn't for this place, we wouldn't have been able to open the other two locations.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: Hopefully, I will have a few more of (Polito's Pizza locations opened), and these ones will be doing even better.
Q: Do you ever feel like you got lucky in business?
A: Oh yeah. Every day. Businesses fail every day. I feel like I got really lucky.
Q: What keeps you up at night?
A: Everything. I always worry. I always do. I worry about what people think about the product. There are a lot of what-ifs that go through my head.