🎙️ From Corporate Marketing to Pizza Empire: Eric Soller's Old Scratch Pizza Journey

In this inspiring episode, Eric Soller, founder of Old Scratch Pizza, shares his transformation from ITW corporate marketing director to successful restaurateur building a multi-location pizza empire in Ohio. After spending over a decade in food service equipment marketing, Eric took the entrepreneurial leap at age 44 to create something uniquely his own: "Midwestern-ly Neapolitan" pizza served in a beer hall atmosphere. Through candid discussions about raising capital, building systems, and the challenges of restaurant operations, Eric demonstrates how combining culinary expertise, business acumen, and unwavering confidence can create a thriving hospitality business that serves both community and profit.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Transitioning from secure corporate career to restaurant entrepreneurship at 44

• Creating "Midwestern-ly Neapolitan" pizza: traditional Italian techniques with Midwest sensibilities

• Raising capital through network: 5 pitches, 5 yes responses from local investors

• Building community through large communal tables and family-friendly atmosphere

• "Cones for a Cause" program: $300,000+ donated to charity through free ice cream donations

• Operating without freezers or microwaves: everything made from scratch daily

• Scaling from one to four locations with systematic approach to operations

• Using sophisticated demographic data (Experian Mosaic) for targeted marketing

• Training 16-year-olds to master Neapolitan pizza techniques in three weeks

• Planning Columbus expansion and additional growth for 2026

🌟 Eric's Key Influences:

• Antico Pizza (Atlanta): Inspired the wood-fired oven, communal table beer hall concept

• ITW Corporate Experience: Applied world-class manufacturing principles to restaurant operations

• Wife's Support: Provided encouragement during entrepreneurial transition and ongoing operations

• Restaurant Peer Groups: Customer advisory boards and industry networks for problem-solving

• AI/ChatGPT: Uses as brainstorming partner and operational streamlining tool

• Hospitality Books: "Unreasonable Hospitality" by Lou Gardenia, "Setting the Table" by Danny Meyer

• Local Network: Strong Dayton professional relationships enabled successful capital raising

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about building authentic hospitality experiences, the importance of systematic operations, and how entrepreneurial confidence can overcome the complexities of restaurant ownership.

🔗 Connect with Eric Soller:

• Website: oldscratchpizza.com

• Instagram: @oldscratchpizza

• Location: Multiple Dayton, Ohio area locations with Columbus expansion coming 2026

• Address: 1100 Oakwood Avenue, Oakwood, Ohio 45419

📄 Transcript Available: Restaurant Growth Strategy: Old Scratch Pizza & Eric Soller's Path from One Location to Multi-Market Expansion

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