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When the Farrugio family opened up canal in Washington, D.C. in 2010, their goal was to make the best pizza in the world.
Giuseppe Farrugio, often known as Joe, immigrated to the United States in the Nineteen Seventies and has been working in the pizza industry since then. Having owned and worked at several Italian-American establishments, he saw il Canale as an opportunity to provide DC guests with a more authentic Neapolitan-style experience while also working with his son Alessandro. To listen For the review episode below to hear directly from Alessandro and Sydney and learn their recipe for success.
Secret sauce
The Farrugio family knew that sourcing high-quality ingredients was a key part of achieving their goal. Il Canale flour, tomato sauce and mozzarella are organic products imported directly from Italy.
In addition to good food, the restaurant offers a warm atmosphere and quick service, ensuring a high-quality dining experience. Even though we serve 1000’s of people each week, the Farrugio family and their staff personally greet and check in with guests throughout the meal. This is part of what makes the il Canale experience so unique for Yelp Elite and Community Manager Sydney G
“There is always someone in the family to greet you,” she said. “I’ve been to dinner, lunch, and happy hour, so I feel like I’ve had a really good experience with the different service options. They did a great job walking you through the menu.”
Managing a team of several hundred people is difficult. Co-owner and CEO Alessandro has achieved success by focusing on thorough training, thoughtful hiringand achieving work-life balance. He makes sure to not only support his employees with key resources while they’re up to date, but also to employ enough people to give himself and his team the day off they need to recharge.
“We just try [be] Family. We try to support. The biggest challenge is having such a large team and having each person follow your vision, follow your path, follow your requests. But that’s just it [about] providing tools, providing resources.”
Another strength of Alessandro as a business owner is that he is all the time willing to try recent things. When he noticed that some guests were looking not only for a pizzeria but for a full-service Italian restaurant, he added recent items to the menu, including gluten-free pastas and premium Italian wines. Thanks to this, the restaurant attracted a wider clientele, each locals and tourists.
“It’s nice to have a big table. A few guests are gluten-free, and maybe a few are not [some are] vegetarian or vegan and everyone looks through their menu and finds something they like,” he said.
Il Canale is also not afraid to look for recent ways connecting with customers. Sydney admires the restaurant’s willingness to use a variety of marketing tools, including Yelp products and resources, social media campaigns and conversations with as many guests as possible.
“One way to be successful is to constantly innovate and try new things,” Sydney said. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try something else because you never know what’s going to get someone.”
In addition to using paid features reminiscent of Yelp, connect to share custom posts and photos with your clients, uses Alessandro Yelp reviews to keep a pulse on your affairs. With the Yelp for Business app on his phone, he receives a stream of notifications that alert him to any issues and give him confidence when he receives positive feedback.
Reviews give the most accurate and up-to-date picture of a business, helping each owners and future customers make informed decisions. Even when you visit a restaurant like il Canale that has 1000’s of reviews, adding your voice to the conversation is a priceless way to contribute to the Yelp community.
“The situation has changed over the years,” Sydney said. “Businesses are evolving, menu items are changing, services are changing, especially how everything worked before the pandemic to now. So you really want to make sure you’re giving people the most up-to-date information based on your experience.”
While Alessandro enjoys looking at reviews of his restaurant, he also makes it a point to interact with guests during their meal to make sure they are satisfied with all the things.
On the customer side, Sydney recommends that guests talk in the restaurant so that staff can address concerns immediately. Mistakes are not unusual in the restaurant world, and providing ongoing feedback will be extremely rewarding for each the guest and the restaurant. For example, Sydney mentioned in her review that she received the incorrect dessert. Although she didn’t mention it to il Canale staff because it didn’t have a major impact on her experience, she regrets not having done so.
“They take service very seriously. I know they would fix it and make it right with us. In a way, I robbed them of that opportunity by not saying anything. People are people and there is nothing [are] there are many ways to bring this up without being rude and give them a chance to fix it so that everyone leaves with a positive experience.”
With a focus on high-quality food, service and marketing, il Canale took third place Yelp Top 100 lists from the last three years. Recently, the restaurant reached number 14 on the list The best pizzerias a list voted on by Yelp Elites. These accolades encourage Alessandro to consistently think about how he can improve his offerings.
“It sets the bar higher for us because we know we have to do better next year. Il Canale five years ago, six years ago, seven years ago is not today’s il Canale. We are constantly developing, constantly getting better, constantly raising our standards.”
In addition to investing in high-quality food and services, il Canale believes in:
- Staying on top customer trends and requests. Modifying your offerings based on your guests’ needs and desires is the key to growing your customer base.
- Contact with customers on the Internet. Whether you utilize specific marketing features like Yelp Connect or responding to reviewsThe Internet is a excellent place to find yours goal group and encourage return visits.
- Maintaining work-life balance. If you and your employees have enough free time to stay healthy and recharge, you’ll be able to do it avoid burnout and consistently achieve the highest level of service.
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