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How Mici’s automated pizza press technology is the key to the growing brand’s expansion

The automated pizza press makes it easy to train all employees and ensure consistency across stores at the seven-unit chain

Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor

January 28, 2022

After Denver-based Mici Handcrafted Italian sold its first franchise deal in November with plans to open 30 more stores over the next 7-8 years, the fast-casual pizza and pasta chain began to look toward the future of expansion through franchising.

One of the biggest concerns Mici CEO Elliot Schiffer had was maintaining food quality as the company grows. Enter, the automated pizza press: Mici patented the device in 2019 and it began rolling out to stores in 2021, with the goal of making pizzas uniform and easy to create for any of Mici’s employees, without needing to have a specialized pizza chef. It’s just one way that automation and AI are taking off and making a difference in kitchens.

The pizza press can perfectly flatten the dough into a circle, stretch it, and make a raised crust around the edges: no dough-tossing required.

“You have the grizzled veteran pizza-maker in the kitchen and no one would want to get near the station because it was just so difficult to learn,” Mici founder Jeff Miceli said. “It’s a tough, physically demanding process […] It would drive me crazy to have to teach even kitchen veterans with experience how to put the crust on a piece of dough, and it would take two months to get them good at that. That’s where the idea of the pizza press was born.”

Now, even Mici’s delivery drivers think they have a pretty good idea how to successfully make a pizza.

“The pizza press plus the conveyor belt oven and the fact that we've put all those pieces together, not only is the training easier, but our throughput is doubled,” Micelli said.

About the Author

Joanna Fantozzi

Joanna Fantozzi

Senior Editor

Joanna Fantozzi is a Senior Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. She has more than seven years of experience writing about the restaurant and hospitality industry. Her editorial coverage ranges from profiles of independent restaurants around the country to breaking news and insights into some of the biggest brands in food and beverage, including Starbucks, Domino’s, and Papa John’s.

Joanna holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and creative writing from The College of New Jersey and a master’s degree in arts and culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Prior to joining Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group in 2018, she was a freelance food, culture, and lifestyle writer, and has previously held editorial positions at Insider (formerly known as Business Insider) and The Daily Meal. Joanna’s work can also be found in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, The New York Daily News, and Parents Magazine.

Her areas of expertise include restaurant industry news, restaurant operator solutions and innovations, and political/cultural issues.

Joanna Fantozzi has been a moderator and event facilitator at both Informa’s MUFSO and Restaurants Rise industry events.

Joanna Fantozzi’s experience:

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (August 2021-present)

Associate Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (July 2019-August 2021)

Assistant Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (Oct. 2018-July 2019)

Freelance Food & Lifestyle Reporter (Feb. 2018-Oct. 2018)

Food & Lifestyle Reporter, Insider (June 2017-Feb. 2018)

News Editor, The Daily Meal (Jan. 2014- June 2017)

Staff Reporter, Straus News (Jan. 2013-Dec. 2013)

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