September 3, 2025

Burnt out? Can’t get a vacation to save your life? If your pizzeria can’t run without you there every single day, what happens if you get seriously injured or ill? Fortunately, replacing yourself—and getting back some much-needed personal time—might be easier than you realize. It’s a matter of training, empowering and trusting your managers and team members so that business keeps humming along. This panel takes a look at how you can start running your company as an owner rather than an owner/operator.

Freezing and shipping your pizzas nationwide doesn’t just translate to incremental revenue. It can transform your independent pizzeria into a name brand around the country. Featuring single-unit and small multi-unit operators who have taken the plunge, our panelists will show you how they address the logistical, financial and operational challenges involved, including choosing the right pizza style, freezing techniques to preserve flavor and texture, packaging and working with co-packers and shipping partners.

You want to scale your business, but you don’t want to be responsible for every single store. You know franchising is complicated, and frankly, you don’t know where to start. This session features franchisors with decades of experience as well as relative newcomers who can share the challenges they’re going through right now. Learn about franchise disclosure documents and franchise agreements, site selection, build-outs, franchisee recruitment and more.