Vancouver – Whether you are currently creating a business plan or will in the near future, here are three ways to sharpen that plan and increase your chances of securing investment. Modern Restaurant Management reports. | READ MORE

Social media is the key to marketing a successful business.

Hosting a special event is an opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind customer experience that, when done successfully, will increase your customer base, deepen customer loyalty, build relationships, strengthen partnerships with other businesses in your community, and increase profits.

Your pizzeria’s website creates an instant picture that tells the story of your business. Or at least it ought to. If you take advantage of the Internet’s power to reach a pile of people in a matter of seconds, then you are one step closer to having a very successful pizzeria business. Business owners I know in various fields all have websites. I don’t think the question anymore is “Do you have a website?” Rather it’s, “What’s your URL?” Clients view websites as a basic requirement for any business.

Marketing pro Kamron Karington provides a great example of a press release you can tailor to fit your pizzeria and send to your local newspapers and publications. The message here: make sure it's newsworthy and write it like a story.

Bruce Irving, founder of SmartPizzaMarketing.com and host of the weekly Smart Pizza Marketing podcast, is keen on Instagram as a marketing tool.

Edmonton – You may want to tweak your marketing message to your most loyal customers. A recent University of Alberta study found the reactions of very loyal customers to pushy messages such as Save Money and Buy Now! were overwhelmingly negative. Folio reports. | READ MORE

Entrepreneurs typically have great marketing instincts that allow them to identify a business opportunity, launch it and grow it.

People are constantly moving in and out of your neighbourhood, and I am pretty sure you already know that moving is one of the most stressful moments in a person’s life. During moving time, the majority of people will call for a pizza as they don’t have the time, the energy or the resources to cook. Since these new neighbours will now soon be looking for their new favourite pizza place, they may just give you a call for a pizza.

Email has been around a long time. I always think way back to the days of AOL and getting so excited to hear the old “You’ve got mail” notification.

Good customer service is more than having a great attitude: it's about meeting and exceeding the customer's expectations, customer service expert Shep Hyken writes.

Vancouver – New software from pizza and delivery point-of-sale developer SpeedLine Solutions is designed to help restaurant chains save time and improve brand consistency by letting chains manage a master menu with local variations across multiple units and regions.

HD View Technologies has launched a proprietary point-of-sale (POS) software designed for franchises and multi-location restaurants and will work with U.S. brand Pizzafire to install the new system.

Ironwood Gourmet has added to its line of renewable, environmentally friendly kitchen products a 14 x 14 inch pizza peel made of acacia wood.

Moneris Solutions Corporation has introduced a range of iPad Point-of-Sale (POS) Solutions to help retail and restaurant businesses operate more efficiently.

EquipmentWallet has launched a new website designed to connect small businesses seeking equipment financing and leasing with equipment finance companies that suit their needs.

More and more restaurants are looking to increase sales using outside delivery services, but with that opportunity may come concerns about tampering, food safety and maintaining product quality.

Taste for Luxury Rare and Precious Foods has a delicate cheese called Dolce Nuvola made with full-fat, pasteurized milk.

Barrie, Ont., entrepreneur Shelby Taylor has developed a chickpea-based pasta that ticks the boxes of several special diets.

Canadian operators can now upgrade their AMI jukeboxes by adding a music video kit to connect their NGX digital jukebox models to nearby televisions.

If you're looking to jazz up your charcuterie board, Piller’s has a new line of cured meats.

Mobile app and platform ClickDishes works with local restaurants to give customers in-app ordering, streamlining to-go ordering, dine-in eating and payment services.

We forget sometimes that pizza is fun. It’s a sentiment not lost on Chip Foster, the Canadian fashion designer known for his premium jeans beloved by the likes of Robin Wright, Sarah Jessica Parker and Beyonce.

Pizza lovers are dining al fresco in rural Manitoba and it all began with a wood-fired oven named Hildegard.

Pizza King of Kamloops, B.C., has been doing its best to boost the morale of citizens displaced by recent wildfires in surrounding areas.

Leamington, Ont. – Dominos Pizza of Canada chief executive Mike Schlater and his wife Lilibeth picked up the tab for the London Health Sciences Centre’s new brain surgery robot, forking over a $500,000 donation Tuesday. The Windsor Star reports. | READ MORE

Los Angeles – Eric Vose launched Vivace Pizzeria from his Los Angeles food truck about a month ago to feed his obsession with leopard-spotted wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas. The Los Angeles Times reports. | READ MORE

The most successful small businesses share an important quality: they make themselves part of their communities. Entrepreneur magazine lists getting involved among its top 25 common characteristics of successful businesses and Forbes says those who succeed long term are often motivated not by profit but by being able to work where they live.

Regina – Among three different sets of owners, west Regina pizzeria Juliana Pizza has always had a Peter. Today, it’s Peter Yannitsos, who bought Juliana Pizza with his cousin-in-law Paul Howie back in September 2006. The Regina Leader-Post reports. | READ MORE

When you talk to Carlo Raillo get ready to listen because you will learn.

Thunder Bay, Ont. – The owners of a new restaurant on the south side of Thunder Bay, Ont. are hoping their business could be part of an entertainment revival in the area. CBC News reports. | READ MORE

New York – Scott Wiener loves pizza so much he gave up having a regular job to found a tour of pie hotspots in New York. He's so obsessed with it that he has collected over 1,300 pizza boxes from around the U.S. The Independent reports. | READ MORE

When in Rome, you do as the Romans do. For Roberto (Rob) Federici, owner of Ciao Roma in Woodbridge, Ont., that means sampling fresh, delicious pizza made in hole-in-the-wall pizzerias in the land of his heritage.

As a-ha moments go, the one that conceived Junior’s Handmade Sourdough Pizza in Bowmanville, Ont., was a quiet but significant one. It came when, after years of working in the restaurant industry, Jade Chaput and husband Victor Hanc Jr. planned to get into the pizza business.

Today's marketing wisdom from Hilary Drago, marketing manager at Pizzeria Libretto in Toronto.

Earlier this year, I flew to Las Vegas to judge the pizza culinary competitions for the International Pizza Challenge. Many people think judging a pizza competition is the best job in the world; however, it’s not all glamour and glitter.

If you have been in business for a while you will likely have heard compliments about some of the food items you serve. For those in the pizza business, these compliments might revolve around the various sauces and other ingredients that go into the perfect pizza. Have you considered selling your pizzeria's sauce?

Chef Stefano Manfredi shares recipes and details of his new guide to pizza making, which suggests there's been both a movement back to pizza's origins, before industrial flour milling, and an interest in using modern stone milling, machinery and oven technologies. Good Food reports. | READ MORE

Korea – Probiotics found in Swiss cheeses such as Emmental and Gruyère could help reduce inflammation and subsequently boost immunity, recent studies suggest. The Independent reports. | READ MORE

This pizza recipe from the Culinary Institute of America features shellfish, lemon and a rich, creamy sauce reminiscent of New England clam chowder. It appeared in The Chronicle-Herald. | READ MORE

Italian-Australian chef Stefano Manfredi provides a recipe for a classic parmigiana in the shape of a Roman pizza. The Guardian reports. | READ MORE

Phoenix, AZ – Chef Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, Ariz., has just published his first cookbook – Bianco: Pizza, Pasta, and Other Food I Like – in which the renowned pizzaiolo discusses how to make his famous pizza dough. Food & Wine reports. | READ MORE

Rome – In a move aimed at protecting Italian farmers, all packets of pasta and rice sold in Italy will have to include labels of origin showing where the produce was grown, the Italian government has ruled. Canadian exporters and farmers fear the move will depress prices in Canada, the world's largest durum exporter. Reuters reports. | READ MORE

Simcoe, Ont. – With summer in full swing, Canadian Pizza asked pizza makers to describe their favourite summer pizza and what they like to wash it down with.

Calgary – Dry-aged beef is a growing trend in Calgary, but you may want to rely on experienced butchers if you'd like a taste, a Calgary food columnist says. CBC reports. | READ MORE

San Francisco, CA – These 17 bright and beautiful pizza recipes from food blog Brit + Co are al fresco-approved, seasonal and ready to be plopped onto your plate. | READ MORE

Minneapolis, MN – Spending among U.S. teens is down 2.4 per cent compared to this time last year, as parents are contributing less of that amount this year, says a survey conducted by research firm Piper Jaffray. The good news for restaurants is they are spending more on eating out than on clothing. CNBC reports. | READ MORE

Toronto – This short film about pizza was created by videographer Chris Monette to promote Pizza Cultura, an upcoming book produced by the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario to celebrate the beloved dish.

Windsor, Ont. – A cannabis lounge in downtown Windsor, Ont., will hold its an event in October and November to highlight local pizza and crown three community pizzerias the favourites as voted on by customers. Blackburn News reports. | READ MORE

London, UK – In November, the European Pizza and Pasta Show will bring together brand, food and beverage producers, as well as chefs and master pizzaioli from United Kingdom, Europe and elsewhere. GetWestLondon.com reports. | READ MORE

East Yorkshire, U.K. – Rebels’ Smokehouse, a diner and takeaway spot in East Yorkshire in the U.K. has created a Yorkshire pudding pizza it sells for £15.95. The Independent reports. | READ MORE

Chicago – Starters, small plates and sides are growing in popularity as eating habits shift to include more snacking and sharing, according to research from Technomic.

Mississauga, Ont. – Why come out to the Canadian Pizza Show on Oct. 16? Here are 10 reasons.

Chicago – As diners continue to search for savings, discounted meals, coupons and other specials are likely to drive restaurant traffic, says a new report from research firm Technomic.

VANCOUVER -- Lobby groups for the meat and dairy sectors are up in arms over indications that Canada's next food guide could discourage the consumption of beef, butter and cheese.

Chicago – Gen-Xers can now take centre stage as an important customer base for restaurants, according to a study by international information company the NPD Group.

Kingston, Ont. – A group made up of the personal chefs to world leaders and royalty is touring Canada to meet socially, discover trends, discuss food-related issues and promote healthy eating. The Kingston Whig-Standard reports. | READ MORE

Multan, Pakistan – Pakistan's first robot waitresses are serving up smiles for customers at a pizzeria in the ancient city of Multan. The restaurant's owner built the prototypes himself. Phys.org reports. | READ MORE