162. Growing from a Ghost Kitchen

This week on The Hot Slice Podcast, our guest is Anthony Petralia. We last caught up with Anthony over a year ago to talk ghost kitchens for a Pizza Today Magazine article Going Ghost: A Look at Ghost Kitchen Operations and Setup (https://pizzatoday.com/topics/finance-growth/a-look-at-ghost-kitchen-operations-and-setup/ ). His dad Don reached out to us to share that Anthony has grown his ghost kitchen into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, Tralia, in Sarasota, Florida.Getting there has taken persistence and strategic expansion. Anthony, like many executive chefs, was furloughed during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic birthed a new class of business owners, already battle tested.As the ghost kitchen operation grew, Anthony looked for ways to expand into more. His current ghost kitchen location in Your Culinary Place, a shared commercial commissary kitchen (https://yourculinaryplace.com/ ), allowed him to gradually expand into a 20-seat restaurant in its facility. Anthony shares how the ghost op helped him transition into a full-service pizzeria.With an extensive culinary background, Anthony likes the challenge of offering multiple styles. Find out his approach to doing an artisan pizza and a Detroit-style pizza without overwhelming the kitchen operations.Now that Anthony has streamlined the business for dine-in and carryout, He’s focused on the pizzeria and even what’s next. Listen as Anthony shares his pizzeria story.Show Notes:Learn more about Tralia at https://www.traliasrq.com/Follow Tralia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/traliasrq/