Down

The businessman expects to add 30 to 50 workers eventually.
& lt;a href=mailto:shilling@vindy.com & gt;By DON SHILLING & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
MCDONALD -- Jim Ianazone hopes to expand his pizza business across the nation.
Despite having 31 pizza shops that bear his name, Ianazone expects the growth to come from something new -- frozen pizza.
Ianazone, owner of 20-year-old Ianazone's Homemade Pizza, has been selling frozen pizza to retailers for two years but he thinks the business is just about to take off.
He is waiting for approval to place pizzas in Kmart Supercenters, and he is beginning talks with Sam's Club officials.
So far, the boxed pies are being sold in the frozen food cases of 26 grocery or convenience stores in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
Anthony Santisi was the first grocer to carry the pizza. The co-owner of area Santisi's IGA stores said he agreed to stock the pizza because of Ianazone's name recognition and because he liked it.
"For a frozen pizza, it tastes tremendous," he said.
Production
So far, Ianazone, his family and just a couple others are making between 800 and 1,000 frozen pizzas a week in a building across from his McDonald shop.
Within a year, he expects to be selling between 5,000 and 10,000 frozen pizzas a week. To do that much business, he said he will need a new building and between 30 and 50 employees.
The frozen pizzas are made by hand and baked in standard ovens just like the pies at the pizza shops. He uses the same recipes as the fresh pizzas, except measurements of a few ingredients are adjusted.
He has no plans to change the process as the business grows.
"I'd rather hire more people and get the homemade taste than get automated and have machines do everything," he said.
Included is a low-calorie and low-carbohydrate pizza that uses wheat flour, less dough and no sugar.
Sparking an idea
Ianazone said his move into frozen pizza came after reading an article that described how DiGiorno pizza had built nearly $500 million in annual sales. Supermarket insiders credit DiGiorno with sparking demand for frozen pizza after it was introduced by Kraft Foods in 1995.
Sales of frozen pizzas grew from $1.7 billion in 1995 to $3.7 billion last year, said Packaged Facts, a market research firm.
"Why not get a piece of the action?" Ianazone said.
He said he expects frozen pizzas someday to provide more revenue for his company than the pizza shops.
Previously, he relied on license agreements to expand the business. The only shops he owns are in Austintown and McDonald, where he began operations in 1984 with $1,500 in savings and a $5,000 loan from his father.
The other shops are operated under license agreements with other people. These agreements are similar to franchise agreements, although they provide the operators with more flexibility in menus and other items.
The 32nd Ianazone's is to open in late summer in Canton. This will be the second shop in the Canton area. There also is an Ianazone's in Columbus and two in Cleveland.
New direction
Ianazone, 41, said he isn't pushing license agreements anymore, although he will consider others if an opportunity arises. He now prefers expanding through frozen pizza because he can control the quality better and it offers a better opportunity to expand nationally.
He said the addition of new employees in the past couple years also allows him to devote more time to the frozen pizza business. Claudia Constanza operates the pizza shop operations while he is away, and Colleen Sudol manages the frozen pizza operation.
Ianazone said he was a little nervous at first during meetings with store owners but now is confident in his presentation. He said he never has been turned down by any store owner who has agreed to meet with him and taste the pizza.
"We're selling a pizza that's better and a little cheaper because we have lower overhead," he said.
& lt;a href=mailto:shilling@vindy.com & gt;shilling@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;