Pomodori's pizza plan on schedule

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:05:13 -0400

C6
MARY-ELLEN SAUNDERS
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

ROTHESAY - Plans are on schedule to have a Pomodori flagship store open in the Saint John area by mid- to late summer, owner Stephen Goddard says.

Goddard said the three owners of Pomodori have been selling shares in the company to local investors in order to raise between $250,000 and $500,000 to build a flagship store. That store would be used to garner the interest of potential entrepreneurs looking to buy a franchise for the Rothesay-born pizza shop.

"We had such strong support in the community for the business, we asked our same customers if they would be interested in helping us grow," Goddard said.

"There is risk in supporting a small business like ours or anyone else's but we are confident. We've got a good management team and if we are successful, it seems only right that we can offer the upside to the people who supported us."

Pomodori opened in 2008 in Rothesay with a goal of creating the best-tasting pizza. Goddard said to make the perfect pizza the owners chose a traditional Italian thin-crust baked in a wood-fired oven.

He said the ingredients are bought as locally as possible and everything, from the dough to the sauce, is made with original recipes, in-house. Last year, the concept paid off when Pomodori's pizza took eighth spot in the World Pizza Championship in Italy.

Pomodori is now aiming to turn its valley location into a franchise with a goal of opening 100 branches across North America and its owners dream of someday seeing 1,000 of their restaurants operating successfully.

The first step, Goddard said, is building a flagship location that will give potential franchisees an example of what they would get if they opened their own Pomodori.

"We have made a lot of tweaks with the concept, including the menu and the way we think the restaurant should be laid out," he said.

"There are little things we would like to change with the atmosphere and the environment that we serve the pizza. While we are very pleased with the store in Rothesay, we need to open up a flagship store that incorporates all those changes and everything we have learned in the last two and a half years."

Getting the capital to build the flagship store has not been easy. Goddard said banks do not like to invest in small businesses, especially when they are restaurants.

He said he decided that appealing to local investors could be the key to building his business and the store is already halfway to its minimum goal.

Goddard said he would like to find his first franchise operator in Atlantic Canada by the end of this year.

Food: Rothesay's Pomodori trying to transform into continental franchise C1 QUENTIN CASEY FOR THE TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 14:21:23 -0300

HALIFAX - The corporate banking world is a long way from the kitchen of Pomodori, a Rothesay pizzeria. But co-owner Stephen Goddard says he's just as happy kneading dough and spreading sauce as he was working on large corporate acquisitions in the investment banking sector.

"Food and cooking were my passions long before banking," says the quick-talking entrepreneur.

Opened in 2008, Pomodori is what Goddard calls a "fast-casual" eatery. The restaurant aims to mix the health benefits of homemade cooking with the speed of fast food. Pomodori's main offerings are traditional Italian thin-crust, wood-fired pizzas. Everything is made in-house, from the dough to the sauce and it's done quickly: available within five to 10 minutes of ordering.

And last year, Pomodori's pizza took eighth spot in the World Pizza Championship in Italy.

"The best tasting pizza in the world is in Italy. But if you're not going to get there anytime soon, you can get probably the second best-tasting pizza in the world by coming to Rothesay," Goddard says. "There is some outside validation to our claims. It's not just us saying we make a great product."

Now Goddard and his two business partners are trying to transform their single Rothesay location into a North American franchise - with a goal of opening 1,000 locations.

Goddard was in Halifax this past week to attend the Invest Atlantic conference, a gathering of investors and entrepreneurs. His mission: find investors willing to put up the $500,000 needed to launch the Pomodori franchise dream.

"Access to capital in this region is challenging ... but there is a very robust group of angel investors who will invest in businesses," he said during an interview after moderating a panel on raising capital in the region.

"One of the challenges for any entrepreneur, ourselves included, is trying to meet those investors and angels. That's the main reason we came here: to let people know we're ready and that we have a great product and concept."

Goddard is hoping to convince investors that his eat-in/takeout pizzeria is a winning franchise idea as diners increasingly look for healthier food options.

Pizza in Italy, he argues, was the original fast food: healthy, quick and cheap. The North American version of pizza shares most of those characteristics - except the healthy part, he says.

"We're sort of targeting the fast-food guys. Restaurants have to start serving the needs of Canadians and those needs include providing a healthier alternative that is still convenient," he said.

"I think we could grow Pomodori to easily be a 100-store chain in Canada, but I think there's a real opportunity for us to go state-side. What's the goal? I don't know, but you always have those dreams when you're driving down the highway thinking about what could be.

"A thousand (stores) could be (feasible). I'd like to see that."

The first step, Goddard says, is to open a second location - a "flagship store" that would show potential franchisees what the chain would look like.

Before entering the entrepreneurship game, Goddard was an investment banker with the Royal Bank of Canada and Barclays Capital, working in Toronto, New York and Tokyo.

Born in London, Ont., he eventually landed back in New Brunswick (his parents' home province), where he had attended the University of New Brunswick years before.

And though the financial stakes have changed, Goddard says the entrepreneurial world differs little from his previous corporate life.

"In many ways it's not a whole lot different. Just chop a whole bunch of zeros off the numbers," he said. "Sometimes I think it's actually more work to ask someone for $500,000 than it is to ask someone for $500 million."

Goddard, who also runs Ballast Capital - a consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs develop their business plans for banks and investors - says he's optimistic investors will warm to his franchising pitch. "We're getting bites here and there, so hopefully something comes of it," he said,

For now, he's content to spend part of his time in the Pomodori kitchen, cooking Italian pies.

"That's my favourite part. I love cooking those pizzas and talking to the customers."

At Pomodori’s the owners believe in fresh, local

Fri, 28 May 2010 14:50:07 -0300

Pomodori opened in the summer of 2008, at 83 Hampton Rd. in the plaza next to Rothesay High, and quickly developed a reputation for delicious healthy pizza. Healthy pizza?

Co-owned by Janice MacPherson, Keith Dunphy and Stephen Goddard, all Valley residents, Pomodori definitely has a fresh, local, healthy attitude.

"Keith grew up on a farm," explains MacPherson (who is also his wife). "His dad was a dairy farmer. They always had large gardens where they grew most of their vegetables every year. His mom would make tomato juice from their tomatoes and they stocked up on their own food for the winter."

MacPherson, who develops all the gelato recipes, grew up in Saint John and is a self-taught cook. Her nine years in Nelson, B.C., defined her food love.

"We spent a lot of time among the orchards and vineyards in the Okanagan, and grew to appreciate how wonderful local food is fresh from the farm. When we had children that made me more aware of the food we eat and I much prefer to spend the time making meals and snacks knowing every ingredient rather than buying prepackaged goods."

Goddard developed his love of food from travelling to places such as Italy, France and Germany, where "fresh and local" results in not only great tasting food but also healthier choices.

The centrepiece of Pomodori is its impressive wood-fired pizza oven. The restaurant features 13 different pizzas on its regular menu, plus there’s always a special feature pizzas, and you can build your own. These are thin crust, not the typically heavy Maritime pizzas. For lunch I enjoyed my favourite pizza: local pepperoni, kalamata olives and mushrooms. They use fresh mozzarella: just a few pieces melted on the pizza, not coating the entire surface.

I also tried their spinach salad, with dried figs, goat cheese and sugared pecans, tossed in sherry vinaigrette. It was one of the best salads I've ever had. I had a glass of Pinot Grigio and a red Mezzamondo Negroamaro with my pizza. Wine is served like in small cantinas in Italy, in little straight glasses.

Pomodori didn’t have salad when they first opened. "We introduced salads this year in response to feedback from many of our loyal customers," explains MacPherson. They offer Caesar salad too.
I finished with lactose-free coconut gelato and espresso. This lunch cost $32.50, but I took home half the pizza. I got a discount, as they offer a frequent buyer program.

I've heard few complaints about Pomodori, but some wish it were decorated like an Italian restaurant. The open, cafeteria style was intentional. The owners want to get home to their families, not work late nights.

People with dietary concerns love the place. "We always have at least one dairy free gelato in our display case," MacPherson says. "We have customers that bring in their own cheese and some have brought in their own gluten-free dough. They can adjust our toppings to suit their health requirements. We have been approved by Simply For Life with our organic whole wheat dough too."

Healthy pizza is definitely not an oxymoron, not at Pomodori.

P.S. The Caramelized Onion with blue cheese and toasted walnut is the feature pizza until June 5th!

Craig Pinhey is a writer and Sommelier. You can read more at frogspad.ca or follow him on twitter (frogspadca)