PHD - The New Edgy Brand from Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut has launched a new brand called PHD to take pizza delivery to the next level. And Pizza Hut Oman has earned the distinction of being the first in the Gulf to launch the PHD outlet, at Salalah.

PHD are the pizza delivery experts - Place your order any way you want: come to the store, or phone them. Simple Uncomplicated menu, Uber fast ovens, Hot deliveries. Take the hassle and stress out of ordering. Everyday Great Value at Everyday Affordable prices.

Just waiting for it to come to the UK too. aren’t you??

How Fresh Thinking on Pizza Led to a Taste of Success for Indian Businessman Ashit Patel

Andy Garcia, the Cuban-born American actor, probably has no idea that his last name is often on the lips of Mumbai's pizza lovers - all because it caught the fancy of the founder and former proprietor of Garcia's Famous Pizza, Ashit Patel, when he was watching Brian de Palma's The Untouchables.......(read the rest of this article from the Hindustan Times)



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Well There's a Surprise! Police Say Pizza Joint Robbery Was an Inside Job

A ten-day investigation into a robbery at the Glass- Glassboro boro PizzaHut led to the arrest of a manager and an employee. The Glassboro Police Department was dispatched to a robbery at the Pizza Hut restaurant in the Double Tree Shopping Plaza on N. Delsea Drive on June 14, at about 11:30 p.m.

Upon arrival, officers were advised that a male individual, wearing a black hood and a mask covering his face, walked into the store, displayed a weapon and demanded money from the registers and safe.

After receiving the money, he fled the restaurant in an unknown direction with an unspecified amount of money. After ten days of investigation, on June 24, Investigator Mike Powell and the Glass-boro Police Department developed information that led to the arrest of two of the store employees.

Josue Torres, 18, of Glass-boro and Alexsandra Chap-pine, 23, of Sicklerville allegedly had conspired together to commit a robbery on their store. Torres acted as the robber and after the crime was committed, returned to the store and acted as a victim. Police were able to recover the weapon used in the robbery.

Torres was charged with first degree robbery, theft, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. Chappine, a manager at the store, was charged with conspiracy to commit a robbery, conspiracy to commit a theft and theft.

Both were committed to Gloucester County Jail with no bail. The following day, Superior Court Judge Christine Allen-Jackson set bail at $150,000 no bond for both Torres and Chappine

Is This The End of Free Pizza Delivery

Stacy Zournas can guarantee you'll get the freshest pizza in Lone Tree if you order it from her shop, but if you want it delivered, she also can guarantee you'll pay a fee.

Following the lead of the three big pizza makers - Pizza Hut, Domino's and Papa John's - smaller restaurants like Luca's Jersey Pizza Pasta are charging their patrons to bring a hot meal to their doorstep because gas prices and food costs are skyrocketing.

"We didn't want to do it but we had to because costs are going up left and right," Zournas said about the $2 delivery fee Lucas Jersey Pizza Pasta now charges.

The average cost of a delivery fee is about $1 per order for places like Pizza Hut.

Zournas, who up until four months ago only charged $1 per delivery, held off on raising the fee as long as she could, but nearly every commodity that comes to her store has a fuel surcharge topped on their order.

"We had to up it because we're receiving fuel charges from all of our vendors," she said. "I just wonder if we charge $2 now, what's it going to be next year? Where does it stop?"

Roma Food Products, Zournas's base distributor charges her $10 for their deliveries. The wine distributors charge $5 every time they come, and the people who bring carbon to run the soda and beer machines charge $4.50.

On top of vendor charges, Zournas said her ingredients are costing more, too.

Where she normally paid $12 for a bag of semolina, she now pays $23. She spends roughly $500 monthly on cheese. The cost of cheese has doubled in the last year, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

"The higher costs all link back to gas prices," she said.
So along with a higher delivery fee at Luca's comes increased prices.

Last Monday, the cost of Luca's 18-inch Meat Lover pizza jumped 10 percent to $19.99.

"We've been open for three-and-a-half years and never raised the price of our pizza," she said.

"My people are telling me I need to raise everything by at least 15 percent but I won't do that to my customers at this point. Customers are holding their dollars closer to them right now because everyone seems to have less money," she said. "But if I don't raise prices a bit I'm out of business."

So how is business since they began charging a delivery fee?

"Some people are complaining about it, but not many. Most understand that it's a luxury to have hot food delivered," she said.

"Mainly because customers now think it's a bargain to pay a few dollars than to spend their own gas money to go out to eat."

Pizza deliveries make up about 50 percent of the restaurant's business with drivers making about 400 deliveries a month. But hard times have caused the restaurant to drop the number of drivers from 10 to six.

The

Team Washington Rocks: Domino's Crowns World's Fastest Pizzamaker

Earlier today, amidst pounding thunder sticks and cheering spectators, Domino's Pizza named Silver Springs, Md. resident, Dennis Tran, the 2008 World's Fastest Pizza Maker.

Tran, an executive vice president of operations for Domino's Pizza franchise, Team Washington, made three large pizzas in an impressive 46.4 seconds.

That's making three pizzas in just over 15 seconds each! Tran won $5,000 in prize money, a trophy and the coveted title presented by Domino's Chairman and CEO David A. Brandon.

"Taking second place was not an option," said Tran. "This competition brings out my competitive nature. I brought speed and confidence to the table to defend my title. I came here to take first place, and I did."

Pizza-makers compete for world title

The finalists represented Domino's Pizza stores from around the world, as far away as India. They had to hand-stretch fresh dough, pizza sauce and top three large pizzas - one pepperoni, one mushroom and one cheese - as quickly as possible.

While speed was important, it was only part of the recipe. Quality was scrutinized as two judges highly qualified in Domino's standard pizza-making practices inspected the stretching of the dough, application of the sauce and portioning of toppings during the competition.

If the pizza was not perfect, it was returned to the competitor who remade the entire pizza, while still being timed.

Tran has been a Domino's team member for 18 years. A returning champion, Tran won the 2006 World's Fastest Pizza Maker title with a time of 55 seconds and the 2007 title with a time of 49.1 seconds. His 2008 time of 46.4 seconds sets a new world record for Domino's Pizza.

Domino's began the "World's Fastest Pizza Maker" competition in 1982 to honor pizza makers who best exemplify the company's philosophy of keeping efficiency in the store to allow sufficient time for safe, timely pizza delivery.

"Domino's Pizza is extremely proud to employ the fastest pizza makers in the world," said Brandon. "The World's Fastest Pizza Maker competition emphasizes our commitment to safely delivering piping hot, great-tasting pizzas to our customers' doors as quickly as possible."

Runners up included Pali Grewal from England, who took second place with a time of 47.9 seconds and Emmanuell Dicks from North Old Tow, Va., who took third place with a time of 49.1 seconds.

The "World's Fastest Pizza Maker" competition was held at the Towsley Auditorium on the campus of Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Mich


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Directors' Share Sale Drives Down Domino's Pizza Share Price

Domino's Pizza's shares hit a six-month low after property magnate Nigel Wray and chairman Stephen Hemsley sold nearly £20m of shares in the takeaway pizza delivery company.

Mr Wray, who bought into Domino's Pizza in 1997, sold 9.5m shares at 180p, cutting his stake in the company to 16.75pc. Mr Hemsley sold 1m shares, leaving him with a 3.74pc holding. In total they sold £18.9m of shares.

The shares slid 30 to 186p after the share disposals sparked fears that trading at Domino's might be suffering in the face of the consumer downturn.

A non-executive director at Domino's, Mr Wray also owns Saracens rugby club and is thought to be worth about £250m.

A spokesman for Domino's said Mr Wray had offloaded the stake to "diversify his portfolio", while Mr Hemsley was looking to free up cash to finance a property transaction.

She said trading at the company remained strong and denied the disposals were linked to any slowdown.

The Worlds First Pizza Delivery by Parachute

Wow! Our friends down the road at Domino's Pizza Widnes yesterday hosted the World's First Pizza Delivery by parachute.

To read more about this remarkable feat just click here

The Pizzas and Stuff blog is raising money for Special Olympics GB by bringing you the best pizza related stories from around the Web.

Please help us and make a donation by clicking on the widget on the top left or visiting http://www.justgiving.com/pizzasandstuff

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