Today we’d like to introduce you to Derrick Tung.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Derrick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
If you asked me at age 5 what I wanted to be, I would say one of three things… a garbage collector (because they were really buff), a doctor (well respected and my parents said it was a good choice), or a pizza maker (you get to eat all the pizza you could want!) Who knew that one of them would come true.
All my life I pursued a career in healthcare… went to medical school for two years before I left, became a healthcare administrator, then healthcare consultant. Life was comfy and good.
It was a pretty late night one night that I was helping my wife move out of a corporate office (she was preparing to start her own business) that we decided to skip making dinner and just go out to eat. It was late, we were tired, and making dinner just seemed like it would be a pain. We looked up a local spot that we hadn’t been to before and headed over.
It was an upscale little restaurant serving Neapolitan pizza… we sat down at a bar that wrapped around the oven and didn’t realize what a life-changing experience it would become. We ordered up two different pizzas and watched as the pizza maker stretched a dough ball into a perfectly round shape, topped it with care, slid it into a wood-burning oven, and within 5 minutes, placed a beautiful aromatic pizza in front of us to eat. In that moment, I realized that I wanted to learn how to make pizza like this…
The next few months, I spent hours upon hours researching… books at the library, recipes online, discussion forums on dough theories, videos on stretching techniques… there was so much knowledge to be learned! And eventually, I started putting that knowledge into skills practice… Every weekend, I made 3-10 pizzas for family, friends, and guests that would be willing to eat my creations out of our home oven.
A few months later, I felt that I was ready for the next step… having a woodfired oven where the temperature would be able to simulate the Neapolitan pizza style. I proposed the idea to my wife of building a woodfired oven in our backyard where we could better entertain guests! She was not a fan… so instead, I convinced her to allow me to build an oven on the back of a trailer and turn it into a small business instead! A few close friends and I raised some funds through Kickstarter, built the oven, and for a year brought the oven to local farmer’s markets and private events on weekends… all while doing my healthcare consulting job.
And as comfortable as my life was with a steady salary and semi-normal 7 AM to 5:30 PM hours, I began to realize that the highlight of each week was the weekend… not because I could sleep in an relax… (I actually had to wake up even earlier to prepare for the farmer’s markets) but because I had the chance to interact with repeat guests who would come back and order more of our pizzas! There was something wonderful about seeing guests come back each weekend to talk to us about life and enjoy our pizzas at the market. By the end of the year, I decided that this was something I would like to see if I could turn into a career…
I reached out to a few folks in the restaurant business to seek mentors, and eventually found a mentor who aligned with me… Paul Giannone (also known as Paulie Gee, of Brooklyn fame). We got to know each other through e-mails, phone calls, and visits, and shortly thereafter, decided that a business partnership would be beneficial for both of us. I began searching for the ideal restaurant space in Chicago to start building my dream of opening a wood-fired pizza restaurant, a process that took just over two years, and then another half a year to build before being able to open.
And today, we’ve been open for just over 1.5 years (2 years on July 9th, 2018). It’s been a whirlwind so far, and amazing getting to know our local Logan Square neighbors and guests, as well as though from around the world who’ve made the trip to visit us.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has been far from smooth.
First six months, we were losing money every day we were open. Being my first restaurant, I overstaffed, wasn’t willing to cut hours for folks (I wanted to give my staff full hours), and didn’t recognize when I had to let go of staff that were underperforming fast enough. On top of this, I was having arguments with investors and threats of being sued by them. And this was without me taking a salary yet.
The next six months, I changed staffing patterns, changed ingredient buying patterns, changed staff where necessary, began offering specials during slow days and began doing some takeout/delivery business which helped us reach breakeven. Still not able to take a salary yet.
The last six months, we’ve been starting to become profitable. I began asking our staff for money saving/revenue improving suggestions along with financials discussions, streamlined some processes and delivery services, and began looking at adding additional hours (weekend lunches) to help continue to grow our business… and I’ve finally started taking a salary ($100 a week) which will hopefully grow in the next few months.
Needless to say, the journey hasn’t been easy… and still isn’t easy. But it’s getting better.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Paulie Gee’s Logan Square is a full-service restaurant that specializes in a few different things.
1. Traditional and non-traditional woodfired pizzas that come out of our 900+ degree ovens in 60 seconds.
2. Detroit inspired pan pizzas that rotate monthly
3. Possibly the most affordable craft cocktails in Logan Square
4. Witty/creative names for our pizzas that are guaranteed to make you think and/or smile
5. A wide selection of vegan pizzas both wood-fired and Detroit inspired
6. A selection of gluten friendly Detroit inspired pan pizzas
We focus on providing an experience that everyone can enjoy (thus the expansive vegan/vegetarian/ominovorian/gluten free) where the focus is friends, family, and food!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think the City of Chicago is definitely a tough place to start a business. It feels like there are a lot of hoops to jump through for the variety of permits you need, and a lot of roadblocks that can pop up along the way. But there have been times when I happen to meet the right person who helps pave the way and make the path far easier explaining what needs to be done.
Having never started a business in another city, I’m not sure that I have a lot of comparison to be able to say if it’s more or less difficult elsewhere. But the key lesson is probably the same lesson we’ve learned all our lives – if you want it done and done right, you have to put forth the effort and do it yourself. No one else is going to care about your business as much as you do. You’ll have staff that may care for it almost as much (and I have some amazing staff), but ultimately it’s still on you.
Pricing:
- Our pizzas are priced anywhere from $10 to $23, depending on what toppings, style, etc.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2451 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago IL 60647
- Website: https://pauliegee.com/logan-square/
- Phone: 773-360-1072
- Email: info@pglogansquare.com
- Instagram: pauliegeeslogansquare
- Twitter: PaulieGeeLgnSqr
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/paulie-gees-logan-square-chicago
Image Credit:
Caviar, Tim McCoy Photos, Zach Brake Photos
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