Small businesses, and restaurants in particular, have had a rough couple of months. And many, are using this time to get creative and find ways to expand their businesses in different ways.
Pizzeria Caldera owner Chris Hansen has been using the downtime and resources available for small businesses to come up with a new plan on ways to find alternative revenue streams. The idea of selling frozen pizzas, which are now available both locally and online at Pizzeria Caldera, first came to him when a customer who celebrated a birthday at his restaurant in Jackson Hole asked for him to send pizzas a few years back. Since then, the idea has been brewing and has recently been added to the businesses’s offerings.
“When we got that request, we figured it out and shipped them off,” said Hansen. “We have been doing a little bit of that for friends and family and started thinking it could be a real business. It wasn’t until now, during the shutdown in particular, that we need to figure out something else to survive.”
He applied for and and got a small business grant which he used to fund the extra equipment needed for more mass-production. To make the pizzas travel friendly, they par-bake them just enough so they hold their shape and look good. They are then cooled and flash frozen, loaded onto cardboard, shrink wrapped and labeled to be either and sold locally or shipped.
Pizzeria Calder is currently offering the nine pizzas they make on the menu, as a frozen pies. The frozen pizzas are sold in packs of three or four and be delivered locally or nationwide.
“The goal when we opened was to bring a little slice of Italy to Jackson Hole,” said Hansen. “Now as we start to go national, we want to promote Jackson Hole as a brand.”
He plans to do that by using more local ingredients, and adding options that use bison, elk and other local toppings. The frozen pies, he said, have turned out to very closely represent the pizzas they people already serve. All you have to do is throw them in a hot oven for five minutes or less.
While hot pizzas are still always an option, locals can get free delivery on frozen pies on Fridays. They are discounted by 15 percent from the regular menu. Head over to Dishing’s Instagram for a chance to win a free pack of pies!
