Williamsburg Pizza Union Avenue

How L’Industrie Keeps Customers Happy Despite Long Lines | Eater

"Opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2017 by Tuscany native Massimo Laveglia, with Nick Baglivo joining in 2018 as general manager and co-owner, the shop grew from the two of them and a dishwasher to about 80 staff as business exploded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting two expansions of the original location and the addition of a second shop in Manhattan’s West Village in 2023. On managing demand and lines they are blunt: Laveglia says, "As much as people think that we love it, we hate lines. We’re trying to be as fast as we can. The problem is the capacity we have in the oven: We can only make eight pies at a time." Baglivo adds, "We can’t even get another oven because we’re low on electricity. We try not to think about the line too much. We’re saying the quality of the pizza’s got to be good. Somebody’s going to wait 30 minutes, 40 minutes at most. Then we’ve got to make sure that they’re getting an acceptable piece of pizza." On front-of-house and ordering systems he explains, "We have a great staff, a very charismatic staff. We hand out menus, we go down the line, we answer questions, we interact with the customers. We have the stationary [point-of-sale] system and then we have two handheld POS systems, so when we have a moment and we’re stacked up on some pies, we’ll have two or three people taking orders at a time. But just because you take the order fast, doesn’t mean it gets made faster. We’re doing our best to make sure people aren’t complaining about the line because that’s a big, big issue for some people. Nobody ever complained when Juliana’s had a line, or Grimaldi’s had a line. They only complain about us because we’re young." On physical expansion and products Laveglia recounts, "The space next to the first pizzeria became available and our space was very tight, and the landlord [said,] 'If you want to take it, I’ll give you a better deal.' We knocked down the wall and we were able to do more pizza. We changed some equipment; we introduced gelato to the shop." Baglivo emphasizes reinvestment and consistency: "We’re just being consistent in reinvesting in the products and getting better and better. When the pandemic hit, we were able to be consistently available for people in the neighborhood. When we closed for renovations, people really missed us. When we reopened right around spring, everybody was really excited to come back and see the new space and how much bigger we’d gotten. We’ve really succeeded as far as keeping the quality at such a high demand." On outdoor seating and neighborhood impact Laveglia notes, "When we expanded in 2021, we had more space, but it wasn’t enough for all the customers. After COVID, we had to remove the patio structure. Now the patio is open from April to October. It’s good that we have extra space, but it didn’t really change the business." Baglivo adds, "It keeps the customers from loitering in front of the [neighborhood] residents’ apartments. When they don’t have a place to be, it’s a free-for-all and that creates more waste and more garbage. We’re able to contain it now to the front of the shop and be mindful and diligent. We try our best." On equipment upgrades he recalls, "When we first started working, we had very janky equipment. I remember on a Friday night, a stone broke and we chipped a piece of brick from the building to wedge the stone in there so we could get through the night. [When we expanded,] we reinvested in the shop and we [wound] up getting better ovens. We were doing our diligence looking for the best equipment and figuring out how to work with it." Finally, Laveglia describes fixing recurring operational snags: "In the beginning, it was a drama. It happened probably once a week. We had to change the website. When you go to the website now, before you place the order, the website asks you four or five times if you are in the right location. It doesn’t happen anymore." - Sam Nelson