Editor's Note: The planned opening of Pizza Studio was moved to Friday due to the weather.
Pizza Studio will offer free pizza at its grand opening at 3201 St. Paul Street tomorrow after hosting free previews for different student groups this week.
Co-owner Ron Biskin voiced his excitement about the store opening in Baltimore.
“There’s a particular excitement about Baltimore and DC because [co-founder Samit Varma and I] used to live here,” Biskin said. “I think these are terrific markets. I’ve had experience bringing other restaurants to these markets, and it’s probably some of the better restaurant towns and markets in the country.”
Pizza Studio will give free pizza Friday to customers who enter and sign-up for the loyalty program. As part of the loyalty program, customers will receive a free pizza after spending $100 at Pizza Studio. Also, for every $20 a loyalty customer spends, a meal will be donated to Feeding America, a national organization aimed at fighting hunger.
“We’re also aligning with several charities that day, and we encourage people to donate what they feel comfortable doing, and Pizza Studio will match the donations as well,” Biskin said. “In each market, we will align with certain charities.”
Also, on its opening day, the first 100 people who come into the store are eligible to win certain prizes including the chance to win a free pizza each week for one year.
“We really encourage people to stop by and try the pizzas,” Biskin said.
On Monday and Tuesday the store held mock service nights for private groups which served as practice for the employees. Biskin said that the chain, which currently has 25 stores across the U.S., will continue to grow over the next several years.
“We’re doing company-owned and operated restaurants in the Baltimore-Washington area, in the Minneapolis area and in the L.A. area,” Biskin said.
Either Biskin or Varma visits each location before opening, and all the stores follow various company procedures.
“In each location we do a couple things. We do the free pizza day where probably we want people to try the product because once you try it, we think you’ll get hooked and want to come back. So we do that with the free pizza day the first day,” Biskin said. “Then we follow that up with fundraisers for various groups and teams and institutions in the community. In this particular situation we certainly want to align ourselves with many of the groups at Johns Hopkins.”
Biskin shared his top reasons why members of the Hopkins community should come to Pizza Studio. He first referred to the store’s Yelp reviews.
“We’re the highest rated on Yelp of all the fast-casual pizza concepts in the country,” Biskin said.
He also referred to the restaurant’s friendly staff and the value of an 11-inch pizza for $7.99. He said that because of the company’s philanthropic activity, customers can help the community just by eating at Pizza Studio.
Many students who attended mock service nights said Pizza Studio offered friendly service and a variety of options.
“I thought the cashier was going to give me a high five, ” freshman Ely Manstein said. “The choice of different flavors for crusts was unmatched.”
“The pizza was even better than the service, which was also exceptional,” freshman Anthony Karahalios said. “The sauces were so good. There were so many different kinds. I was almost overwhelmed, but it was a good overwhelmed.”
Freshman Alessandra Golden said she is glad to see another restaurant opening near campus.
“I’m really excited about this new pizza place. I love how close it is to campus. It’s a really cool spot. The staff gave me a really good impression with their enthusiasm for the food service,” Golden said. “It offers students an alternative to the current restaurants or dining halls on and around campus. I could see myself going there often.”
