- May 5, 2024
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Local pizza shops are getting a boost from a local tech start-up.
Francisco Taveras, owner of Fratelli’s Pizzeria, said he spent most of the time taking orders on the phone before meeting the Pizzamico team a year ago. In about two days, they set him up with an online ordering system, making his restaurant more competitive with large pizza franchises and shifting his focus back to customer service.
“I really like it,” Taveras said. “It helped me improve my phone time, and I can spend more time providing service to the tables.”
Port Orange resident Ryan Paiva, chief executive officer for Pizzamico, said he and Marc Vanja Mišanović, chief strategic officer, and Raymond Vandenberg, chief technology officer, decided to create the business last year when they realized students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University were not buying from local pizza shops.
Their solution was Pizzamico, the combination of “pizza” and “amico,” which means friend in Italian.
The team creates a custom website for the pizza businesses, complete with a customer loyalty program. The team, which includes brand managers Eli Sandman and Noble Masters, chief marketing officer Stephen Lawrence and chief financial officer Hala Paiva, then manages ordering so restaurant owners can focus on making the food.
Since creating the business, the team has worked with restaurants in Port Orange, but has expanded throughout Florida, parts of the southeast and New Jersey. Though pizza restaurants are their main focus, they’ve also ventured into helping local Chinese food restaurants.
Paiva said it’s a dream come true to work with his friends and experiencing rapid growth in his business. His co-founder, Lawrence, said it's exciting to know he's producing work he is proud of, and co-founder Vanja Mišanović, who originally lived in Europe, said it’s satisfying helping the community.
“We don’t just see them as clients,” he said. “They are family.”
