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6/4/2007 | Testimonial: Ken Jarboe, Sparky’s Pizzeria,
Urbana
,
Ohio
Winner, Pizza Pizzazz Traditional Category
Prize: $5,000
Winning Pizza Pizzazz has definitely increased our business. Once word got out and news about it got in the paper, we had a huge rush. Business increased every night that we were open, and we probably sustained that growth for eight weeks after the contest.
We did some of our own PR after the contest; we contacted the
Springfield
newspaper, which brought us a lot of business. They wrote one article when we won, and then they came back again and did an interview, photos and a full-page article on the business itself.
The pizza we entered was the ATW Pizza, which means All the Works. It has everything on it except bacon and anchovies, and it’s our most expensive pizza.
Our old customers knew we had a good product, so they were happy to see us win. The new customers who’ve come in tell us they heard about us, ask what we recommend, they try (the ATW) and tell us it’s the best they’ve ever had and that they’ll definitely be back.
This was our third time competing in Pizza Pizzazz. The first time we finished seventh and then 28th the next time. When we came back this year, we were happy just to get to the top five. Now we want to come back next year to see if we can be the first back-to-back winner.
The ($5,000 first-place) prize was nice, really nice, but we actually haven’t used it yet. We bought a building beside us about two weeks after we won, so we’ll use it to help with that expansion. We’re dine-in and carryout only with 36 seats. … We’ll add 110 to 150 seats and have one of the largest dining areas in
Champagne
County
.
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