Pizza Factory

Local Pizzeria Wins $15,000 For Their Community Service

October 31, 2023 By Dayton937

Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory, a beloved inner-city Dayton, OH pizzeria serving the local community for over 30 years, has been honored with a $15,000 national grand prize sponsorship in recognition of its outstanding contributions to the Dayton community. The award was granted as part of the 2nd Annual Great Pizza Give Back program sponsored by Hillshire Farm^® Brand. The program invites local neighborhood pizzerias to share their stories about their community involvement for a chance to win one of 11 sponsorships – one for $15,000 and ten for $2,000. This sponsorship funding enables pizzerias to continue impacting and improving their local communities.

“This year, the Great Pizza Give Back generated so many amazing entries that it was difficult to select the winners, but we landed on several excellent choices,” shared (Bruce Engelmann, Director of Foodservice Category Marketing, Hillshire Farm^® Brand). “Each entry featured an inspiring story of commitment for enriching their community and a passion for making a real difference.”

For more than three decades, Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory has been a steadfast supporter of their community, engaging in a wide range of philanthropic initiatives. These efforts include sponsoring little league and youth sports teams, offering half-price pizzas to local teachers, and regularly donating pizzas to Daybreak, a local shelter for runaways, Friends of Addicts, an organization for friends and family of recovering addicts, and locally organized efforts for violence prevention programs.

Their dedication to supporting first responders and fostering neighborhood connections through events and promotions like their “Family/Neighbor Pizza Night” has been unwavering for over three decades. (Buy one, get one for any 14″, or 16″ PIZZA
Mondays only. Carry out only.) In addition to their generous contributions, Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory has been a model of sustainability, having installed solar panels to meet part of their energy needs and volunteering to educate others on solar energy adoption.

Furthermore, the pizzeria’s commitment to education extends to local high school students, as they have been providing pizzas for after-school sales, enabling students to raise funds for their annual prom. Their involvement in neighborhood clean-ups and holiday spirit through pizza gift certificates for decorated homes during the festive season demonstrates their dedication to fostering community unity.

“We are incredibly excited to have won,” said Bill Daniels, Owner of Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory. “Our mission has always been to serve not only delicious pizza but also to make a positive impact on the neighborhoods we serve in Dayton. This recognition validates and further enables our ongoing commitment to community support.”

The $15,000 grand prize will be put to good use as Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory plans to continue and increase its current contributions. They have already used some of the sponsorship award to establish a “Doughlarship” program to provide scholarships at Sinclair Community College to local high school students, and they plan to expand their partnership with local food banks and churches to provide pizza and food for the homeless, and further enhance their support for the Daybreak runaway shelter. Daniels intends to collaborate with local neighborhood development agencies to further support efforts to get people together to work toward bettering their community.

In addition to Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory, there were 10 runner-up winners in the 2nd Annual Great Pizza Give Back program, each receiving $2,000 in recognition of their outstanding community service efforts.

To learn more about this year’s Great Pizza Give Back winners or to receive a notification once the 2024 program is open for entries, visit GreatPizzaGiveBack.com.

Dayton Pizza Factory

101 Wayne Ave,
Dayton, OH 45410-1405

937-224-4477

Hours:
Monday – Friday

10:00 AM – 2:30 PM

4:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Saturday & Sunday

4:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Dayton Pizza Factory To Compete in ORA Fundraiser

January 19, 2021 By Dayton Most Metro

The Ohio Restaurant Association Education Foundation announces the launching of statewide fundraising campaign to benefit Ohio Restaurant Employee Relief Fund

From Monday, January 25 to Sunday, January 31, the Ohio Restaurant Association Education Foundation (ORAEF) is collaborating with pizza operators and restauranteurs with generous hearts on a statewide fundraiser, called Pizza with a Purpose, to benefit the Ohio Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.

Participating pizza operators across the Buckeye state will donate $1.00 per pepperoni pizza sold to the Fund, which provides grants to restaurant, foodservice and hospitality employees financially impacted by the pandemic.

The number of pizzas sold will be tracked, the individual location that sells the most pizzas will be recognized as “Best Pepperoni Pizza” in Ohio and awarded the coveted “Golden Pizza” slice trophy.

Currently, more than 250 operators and restauranteurs with over 100 locations total have signed up to participate, including the following:

Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory

Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern

Wheat Penny Oven & Bar

Click here to view all participants.

“We’re incredibly honored and excited to be a part of this effort to raise awareness and funds for restaurant employees that are hurting during this difficult time. Getting pizza operators across the state to come together for a great cause is something that is the heart of every business owner that cares about their community and its people,” said Ryan Rose, president & CEO of Romeo’s Pizza Franchise, one of many participating operators. Rose is a member of the ORA & Education Foundation board of directors.

“We are so thankful for all of the pizza operators participating to help raise funds for those in need,” said John Barker, ORA president & CEO. “The need is severe. During the pandemic, we’ve conducted polls about the health of restaurants across the state to assess the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on the industry. Recent poll numbers reveal that at current capacity, 74% of Ohio restaurant operators believe they will be forced to close within one year and 82% of respondents did not break even in 2020. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics just released numbers that the restaurant industry lost 372,000 jobs nationwide in the month of December alone and is down 2.4 million jobs since March 2020.”

Even with the vaccine distribution in the early stages, Ohio’s 585,000 restaurant and foodservice employees are still struggling to find work due to many furloughs and are in financial distress.

“Since its launch in April 2020, the Relief Fund has awarded more than 1,300 grants to use for housing, living and medical expenses, and fundraised over $400,000 for employees in need,” said Patty Halper, Executive Director of the ORA Education Foundation. “Pizza with a Purpose is one of the many ways the ORAEF and generous operators are supporting them and we look forward to the promotion later this month.”

Pizza enthusiasts can learn more here and contribute to the cause through participating in Pizza with a Purpose or by donating directly to the fund at OhioRestaurantsRelief.org.

Monday Pizza Lovers Deals in Dayton

August 29, 2016 By Lisa Grigsby

Pizza is a $30 billion industry in the United States and while Chicago and New York may get a lot of buzz for their pizza, Dayton is right up there for pizza lovers.

Smart Asset compared 137 U.S. cities and determined the top 25 cities for pizza lovers by looking at “factors which would matter most to a true pizza-lover,” according to its website. Dayton ranked 7th in their most recent rankings. Those factors included the cost of living, the number of pizza places per 10,000 residents, the average Yelp score for pizza places, and the percentage of pizza places on Yelp with a rating higher than 4.4.

Approximately three billion pizzas are sold in the United States every year, plus an additional one billion frozen pizzas. Pepperoni is the most popular topping in the United States, found on 1/3 of pizzas. The average American eats 23 pounds of pizza each year.

For Dayton pizza lovers Monday is bargain night -check out these 5 great pizza deals offered every Monday night in the Miami Valley:


	1/2 off pizza Get half off any large deep dish or tavern cut pizza every Monday, dine in only. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Monday August 29, 2016 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
	1/2 price pizza Half price all Large & Extra-Large pizzas all day every Monday. You can’t beat that! South Park Tavern Monday August 29, 2016 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
	Pizza BOGO Deal Buy one, get one FREE any 12, 14, or 16 Pizza Carry out only. Pizza Factory Monday August 29, 2016 4:00 PM – 11:00 PM
	All You Can Eat Pizza Buffet Just $6.99 for adults and $1.99 for children 10 and younger gets you all the pizza, salad, and bread & pretzel bites you can eat. Beavercreek Pizza Dive Monday August 29, 2016 4:30 PM – 08:00 PM
	25% off pizza Our Legendary Pizza’s are 25% OFF every Monday starting at 5pm! Dine in only! Oregon Express Monday August 29, 2016 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM

South Park Tavern – An Entrepreneur Success Story

September 1, 2010 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Previously, I wrote an article about starting a business with little capital and smart business plan. Here is a great case study:

Bill Daniels has been in the pizza business for a number of years. He has a degree from Wright State University and the business savvy and technical knowledge of the food (pizza) industry. This is a great combination for an entrepreneur.

After starting the successful Pizza Factory years earlier, Bill acquired a building a few blocks away on Wayne Avenue in the South Park neighborhood and began to lease the space on the top floor to tenants. Then slowly he built the success of South Park Tavern. At first, he found Shane, who is a sharp bar manager who had experience in the industry. He gambled on Shane and Shane gambled on him. He opened only on weekends and served no food. The neighbors were thrilled to have a place and so they supported the tavern. Service was terrible and there was no food. But each weekend, the place got better. Bill invested everything earned from those early days back into the business. He began to offer pizza by transporting it from the Pizza Factory store down the street. He extended the hours each time business picked up. The neighbors relentlessly promoted the tavern. If there was a special event, Shane would open the tavern.

Next, the great marketing promotion and understanding of the customer took off. Shane opened through the week. They had open mic nights to bring in bands. They had half price pizza nights on Monday. Bill built a patio outside and remodeled the tavern, installing 12 micro brew taps in the process. Instead of offering the same beers and pizza that most other chains offer, the South Park Tavern offered exotic seasonal beers with unique and flavorful pizzas.

The South Park tavern offers only beer and wine. By not offering hard liquor the establishment identifies itself as family friendly tavern. Many would be tempted to increase revenue by offering hard liquor, but Bill and Shane understood the importance of their market positioning.

So, Bill used a formula that involved several trends in the industry.

Popularity of micro brew beers
Different pizzas
A hang out for the people of the neighborhood
Bands and music
No hard liquor

As a result, the South Park Tavern has become a popular and successful business. It did not start with a million dollars of capital. The business stretched the capital and grew in small increments. The business tried to differentiate itself and it created loyal customers. Bill and Shane are not done. They plan to carefully expand the business further.

There are some lessons for entrepreneurs in the growth of the South Park Tavern…