We recently connected with Greg Garbaloff and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I started working in the food industry as a teenager. I chose food as my career after watching my father work 25 years in the steel factory industry, and ended up with nothing. My passion for food comes from the enthusiasm of enlightening peoples days with just a simple meal. Great food can change someone’s day and that’s why I enjoy what I do.

Greg, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

After working in Pizza for 20 years, I decided that working for corporate chains wasn’t my thing. so I decided to open my own. it wasn’t easy considering it was during the most challenging times ever, in March 2020 right as the pandemic began, I started my adventure as a New small business owner! little did I know the forecast of the journey of struggles ahead. I kept positive, always pushed forward and worked outside the box as much as possible. So with that being said we started our pickle pizza! Considering we didn’t know how much it was going to blow up! The wave of social media was unbelievable! I could never imagine the amount of people that love pickles on pizza! After various post on Facebook and Instagram, the pickle pizza has been viewed by more than 30,000 people! Our pickle pizza has made such a statement locally that the competitors have even tried to come out with their own version of a pickle pizza to compete with ours. Our passion to serve a superior product, whether it’s pizza, wings, subs or salads, is far greater than anyone else that I’ve seen in 24 years in Pizza! we use only the best quality meats and freshest produce in all of our products. We make our dough fresh every day! our sauce is our own personal recipe you can’t find anywhere else.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In August 2019 I made my routine trip to the bank like normal. I noticed there was a new teller that day, but everyone else in the bank knew who I was and greeted me with friendly hellos. as I gave the teller the deposits from the local pizza shop I was the general manager at, I asked her if she was enjoying her day. She said she was learning and it was difficult. I told her to hang in there it would be all right. She handed me the deposit slips and I went on my way. now generally speaking unless you’re the owner, you don’t get the deposit slip with the balance on it. well clearly this slip had the balance on it and I noticed it was a substantial amount of money and it peaked my curiosity. How much had I made this company over the last eight years? How come I didn’t take or make the decision to open my own? some frustration set in but the idea was now brought to light! On this day I chose to start educating myself on the process of starting a small business! Many trips to the library with internet searches ahead. The idea of G-licious Pizza began!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We started our social media with the hopes of reaching people from other cities or even locally in our city. Sharing our product with great descriptions was a free way of advertising to get our name out there.There’s a lot of factors that come in account when starting social media. we focused on taking great product pictures, and sharing them amongst local groups to get our followers and our frenzy of our page to grow! One thing that works great for us, is the city we’re in is very involved in voicing their opinion on local restaurants. That can also backfire if you don’t have the process or don’t have the understanding of the business down. Always watch what you post and always keep your comments positive! You never want a negative screenshot to ruin your momentum. Supporting the community and local nonprofits is a great way to showcase your business on social media with a positive image. Positive is Priceless!

Contact Info:

• Phone Number: 814-434-7991
• Website: https://www.gliciouspizza.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glicious__pizza?igsh=bnB5dDdiYzFhYWly&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063354031350&mibextid=JRoKGi

Image Credits
Greg garbaloff