Associating Food with Family in Cortlandt Manor

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. This series is as much about supporting companies as it is about celebrating the places and faces that make our community special.

Our spotlight today is on Brendan Gelardi.

Business: Gelardi’s Pizza
Owners: Brendan Gelardi
Website: www.gelardispizza.com
Address: 2093 East Main Street, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567

How did you come up with the name?
I wanted something that was my own and reflected both my family and my Italan heritage.

Why choose that location? Why start a business in this town?
I choose Cortlandt Manor because it was a town filled with families. I have always associated food with family. Our goal is to be the pizzeria in Cortlandt Manor where people go as a family and we can get to know there family as they get to know ours.

Briefly, what business are you in?
Pizzeria and catering

What’s the most difficult moment or challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?
Biggest challenges for me is getting the word to the community about the pizzeria. As a first time owner I had never before dealt with marketing and there has been a huge learning curve. I struggled to find cost effective ways of promoting the business.

Were there any challenges that made you second guess your decision to be an entrepreneur?
Nothing made me second guess being an entrepreneur. There were bumps in the road and situations I had not prepared for, however nothing I couldn’t handle. It has been a lifelong dream to own my own pizzeria and nothing could change that.

What’s been your favorite moment or proudest achievement since opening?
My favorite moments have been when someone tells me they really enjoyed the food. Nothing gives me a better feeling then when a customer compliments my pizza and appreciates the amount of work I put into it.

What’s the most innovative idea your employees or customers have had that you put into practice?
Best idea from staff came from my manager. He suggested competitions for prep tasks in the kitchen. We started by racing to see who could prepare a batch of pizza sauce faster. The idea being that adding competition makes daily tasks more exciting and builds camaraderie with staff. We record times and it has become a regular activity with making pizzas, folding pizza boxes and just about anything else that can be timed.

How do you deal with difficult customers?
Dealing with difficult customers is part of the business. I deal with them by “killing them with kindness”. The more difficult they are the more I smile. Sometimes people may be frustrated by something else and take it out on us. We simply smile and provide the same service we always do. I have learned that getting upset only escalates the situation. However in the three months we have been open there have been almost no difficult customers.

How does your business give back or get involved in the community?
We aim to get more involved with the community as our reputation builds. We have done a pizza party for a camp and tried to get involved with several others. We spoke with some school officials and hope to get to know them better and become more involved. My goal is to be a community pizzeria where families gather and enjoy.

The plan behind this series at Patch is to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

This is as much about supporting local businesses as it is about celebrating the places and faces that make our community special.

Here’s a simple form where local business owners can answer a few quick questions to be part of this ongoing feature.