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Fox's Pizza Den celebrates 30 years in downtown Punxsutawney |
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Local Content -
Local News
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Written by Matthew Steffy
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Thursday, 02 April 2009 |
Some of the employees at Fox's Pizza Den in Punxsy are (from left) Bob Long, Aaron Young, Lauren Dale and owner/operator Scott Anthony. (Photo by Matthew Steffy/The Punxsutawney Spirit)
PUNXSUTAWNEY — The average life of a pizzeria is five years. The majority fail within the first two. Considering that, its remarkable that Fox's Pizza Den in Punxsy will celebrate its 30th anniversary Saturday.
Fox's opened in Punxsutawney in 1979, eight years after the chain was born.
Franchise owner Jim Fox — who opened his first pizzeria in Pitcairn — personally trained the first employees.
Current owner/operator Scott Anthony, who purchased Fox's in 1994, attributes the success of his restaurant to quality ingredients, attention to hospitality and small-town support.
"Fox's supplies very high quality ingredients," said Anthony, who has items delivered from the national commissary based in Murrysville. "Our sauce is an award-winning sauce. It's made from fresh packed tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil and real pecorino romano."
The sauce has won international gold medals in Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Rome, Lisbon and Brussels.
"Also, the cheese in 100 percent real cheese," Anthony said. "By FDA guidelines, pizza cheese is almost anything you put on pizza that melts."
Anthony's belief that a restaurant is part of what he calls the "hospitality industry" has also led to success.
"Owning a restaurant is a lot more than just making food," he said. "It's the hospitality industry. You have to interact with people. That's one of the big things that I take out of this."
The employees at Fox's Pizza Den have also bought into the idea of hospitality and quality.
Says Anthony, "It's a starter job, an entry level job, but our employee turnover ratio is three time less than the national average. We try to make them a part of the company. We explain and empower to motivate them to do more. That makes the business more profitable and gives us more profits to share with them. We have a bonus system set up."
"Fox's has been a very good place to work throughout the past few years," employee Bob Long said. "I enjoy the variety of my job: Being out on the road delivering, and being inside working in the kitchen. I enjoy working with Scott and the rest of the employees."
Despite the responsibility of owning and running a restaurant, Anthony has been able to contribute to several local organizations, including Make-A-Wish, the Punxsutawney Fire Department — notably through Fox's annual Pizza & Prevention effort — and SPLASH.
"Being in business means serving the public," he said. "Part of that is giving back. It's still part of the hospitality industry. It's your relationship with other people that accounts for success as a business. We like to be part of the community."
Anthony noted that if the restaurant did not make a good product, people would not buy it, even if some of the money was going toward fund-raising.
Through his endeavors, Anthony has gained national attention. He is a member of the Pizza Expo family of tradeshow speakers, and he frequently contributes to Pizza Today magazine. He has also been featured in PMQ Pizza Magazine and has recently spoken as far away as Las Vegas.
Despite the attention, Anthony has no interest in branching out from the Punxsutawney area.
"I like the small-town feel, the morals and values," he said. "As a pizzeria, your customer base usually comes from within one to three miles. So whether it's Punxsy or Pittsburgh, you market locally."
Anthony has plans to further develop Fox's Pizza Den, such as establishing online ordering within the year, and he's taking bids for a new interior design, saying that he wants to give the residents a nice, comfortable place to dine.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 April 2009 )
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