Jonny thought he was headed for a JD/MBA and a career in tech. Instead, a chance encounter with the founder of 7th Street Burger pulled him into the restaurant world. He hustled through cashier shifts, shadowed build-outs, and cycled through ice cream shops like Cafe Panna and il laboratorio del gelato before landing in the pizza game.In June 2024, at just 24 years old, he opened Jonny’s Pizza on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side. The buildout cost $250–300K, with a $16.5K/month lease, and the early days were brutal: weekend-only hours, overstaffing, and even a Saturday night where his only pizza maker no-showed, forcing Jonny to jump on the oven himself until 3:30 a.m.A year later, the shop is cranking out 250 pies on Saturdays, averaging $11–12 tickets and 800–900 customers a night. Jonny has built a training system that turns zero-experience hires into pizza makers using an Instagram video playbook, kept the menu tight and nostalgic, and leaned into NYC culture with run-club collabs, slice deals, and even Persian-inspired ice cream sandwiches.We cover:How Jonny pivoted from JD/MBA plans to restaurant entrepreneurshipLessons learned working at 7th Street Burger, Cafe Panna, and other shopsOpening costs and real numbers behind a $16.5K/month LES leaseSurviving key-person risk when the only pizza maker no-showedBuilding an Instagram-based training archive to onboard new staffWhy he only hires young, zero-experience pizza makersGrowing from weekend-only to 7 days a week, 800–900 tickets on SaturdaysDriving weekday demand with $8.50 slice-and-drink deals, small pies, and specialsThe balance between scaling vs. perfecting one store like Katz’s DeliBrand building through collabs, run clubs, and community—not corporate hypeIf you’re curious about what it really takes to open a New York City restaurant, this episode is packed with tactical lessons on staffing, training, buildout costs, customer demand, and building a brand in one of the most competitive food markets in the world.Resources & Links Jonny’s Pizza Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonnyspizzanyc/Website: https://jonnyspizzanyc.com/Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for retail stores. Opening Soon Links & Resources→ Signs and furniture for retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

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