Of course, many shops and lives in the restaurant business have undoubtedly been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But in difficult times, if we do not give up, opportunities and hopes will not disappear completely. Such as the story of 'Phongsawat Petchjamnong', a former young tour guide who was affected by COVID. So he dusted off his pizza-making skills and opened 'A-Tee Giant Pizza', a fresh-dough pizza oven, the only one in Khok Si Village, Khun Thong Subdistrict, Bua Yai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. He also created a variety of strange Isan-style pizza toppings, which has become a rising star pizza shop with many people contacting him to buy a franchise.
Former tour guide beats Covid by dusting off 'pizza skills'
“Before turning myself into a tour guide, I used to work at a pizza restaurant in a hotel in Pattaya. I worked as a tour guide for 6-7 years. But when COVID came last year, everything went to zero. I still remember that on March 17 of last year, there was no work. When the last group was sent off, there were no tourists.
So I opened a restaurant in Bangkok, selling made-to-order food, jim jum, and noodles. But after about 6-7 months, the COVID situation made it impossible to continue. I had no money, so I decided to close the restaurant and return to my hometown in Korat to settle down. At that time, I thought to myself that the investment I made in renting the restaurant and buying plywood to decorate the restaurant, when the restaurant had to close down and the wood was immediately scrap. I thought about what I would do next. I had some pizza-making skills, and when I was a tour guide, I traveled to many countries, including Russia, England, and Italy, and I even went to study pizza-making there.
So I decided to try opening a pizza shop. And from the lessons I learned from my mistakes when I opened the shop, I thought that if I was going to invest in opening a shop this time, I would rather make it a food truck. Because if we want to move and park anywhere, we can do so. And luckily, I had previously graduated in engineering. So I designed a special pizza oven that can use both gas and charcoal systems. It is made of aluminum to make it lightweight because it has to be transported with a food truck. But it is also specially designed to distribute heat well.
In fact, Mr. Phongtawat planned to park this pizza truck and sell at a popular tourist attraction like Asiatique. But when the food truck was finished, the second wave of COVID-19 hit again. So the young man decided to settle down and open a shop in his hometown. Since there are almost no original pizza shops in Nakhon Ratchasima Province that use fresh dough and charcoal ovens, Ah Tee's giant pizza shop has received a lot of attention from the people of Ya Mo in that area.
Satisfying the locals' tastes, creating unique Isan-style pizzas
When it first opened, Ah Tee Giant Pizza had a selling point as a food truck with a specially designed charcoal-fired pizza oven. The pizza dough was freshly mixed in-house, which was a unique recipe that combined Italian and Russian styles. At first, there were more than ten standard pizza toppings that many people were familiar with, such as Hawaiian, ham and cheese, bacon and cheese, seafood, baked spinach and cheese, black olive bacon, tuna deluxe, salmon deluxe, margarita pizza, etc. In addition to the locals, there were also foreigners living in the area who gave a very good response and support.
“Another selling point of our shop is that we have a variety of pizza sizes, starting from 12 – 14 – 18 – 21 – 24 – 26 to 30 inches, which is probably the largest pizza in Thailand at the moment. Large pizzas are popular among groups of customers, such as ordering them for birthday parties or parties. We also offer free delivery within a 5-kilometer radius. The idea of creating pizzas with unusual toppings started when someone was selling red ant eggs one day, so I bought some. I tried making them and they popped in my mouth when I ate them and they were really delicious, so I put them on the menu.”
Red ant egg pizza is a new and creative innovation that incorporates local ingredients and also showcases the unique identity of being an Isan person. It was quickly accepted by the people of Bua Yai District and nearby areas in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. News of it spread by word of mouth, causing people to make a great effort to come and try it.
And when the strange pizza toppings like red ant eggs were the first to launch, many other strange pizzas followed, such as durian, 'Ding Phasutha' or fried frog, pupa, coconut beetle, deluxe snakehead fish, '4G' or 4 types of insects including crickets, gison, gina, and jipoom, 'Three Single Men' (coconut beetles, pupa, and bamboo worms), black pepper frog eggs, and finally the latest pizza toppings, cannabis and bacon cannabis, which use only legal cannabis.
The difference is the selling point…if you want to go, you have to go all the way.
“Our pizza shop has an average sales volume of about 100 trays per day, and in some periods, it’s very good, sales have shot up to about 200 trays per day. The average income per month is between 100,000 and 200,000 baht per month. I think that our constant creativity in creating new pizza toppings is a highlight that helps make the shop well-known and well-received. Luckily, I’m someone who likes to do everything to the fullest. I enjoy coming up with new pizza toppings all the time. We never stop making them, which is why our shop has a unique selling point that sets it apart from others.”
“In addition, using local ingredients such as red ant eggs, insect larvae, etc., other people might think it’s strange, but the local people in my area eat these things. I tried it myself until the taste was okay, then I was sure it was good and sold it . We have to dare to experiment and present new things, and this kind of novelty is a selling point that gets word-of-mouth feedback. In the past, people have driven hundreds of kilometers to eat here and have been invited to appear in the media. Various pages have shared our story, which helps advertise and publicize our shop very well.”
Announcing the birth of a rising star pizza franchise in the Northeast
Due to the good response, Pongtawat has been contacted by many people to buy the 'A-Tee Giant Pizza' franchise. This is a success that has come in a very short period of time after opening the shop for less than a year. He himself admits that it was an unexpected success.
“Right now, there are many people interested in buying the franchise, probably around 10-12. I am still accepting applications, but I think we want to accept only one in each province. Our franchise starts at around 40,099 baht and up. We will teach you how to make pizza, whether it is Italian or American style, including recipes and techniques. But that does not include the oven.
If you order an oven from overseas, you may have to pay 200,000-300,000 baht or more. But if you buy a special oven that we designed ourselves, the price will start from around 100,000 baht or more, depending on the size of the oven you want. Those who buy a franchise from us and use the brand name Atee Giant Pizza will have to buy dough, sauce, and cheese from us to control everything to the same standard. And we will also have a member care system where we can consult each other all the time. Or if there is a problem with the oven, you can notify us at any time.
For anyone interested in buying a franchise of Atee Pizza Giant Tray, you can contact us to discuss and inquire for more details via Facebook Page: Atee Pizza Giant Tray or Na Tee Fa Na Korat or call 062-373-7112.
Keep learning…never stop developing.
With life taking an unexpected turn due to COVID-19 and many others may be facing similar situations, as the owner of A-Tee Giant Pizza, who was able to successfully turn the crisis around and survive the storm, we asked him to share his lessons.
“I think that whether we are in Bangkok, in the countryside, or anywhere, if we are determined to earn a living and determined to learn, we can survive no matter where we are. For me, I like to learn new things. Whether it was when I used to work in a restaurant or as a tour guide, if I had free time, I would always find something to learn. I went to study how to make rubber pillows and mattresses, dried fruits, and solar panels. I can do all kinds of technical work.”
“Honestly, even though I can do many things, I don’t think I’m good at it. Because with the COVID crisis that happened, I almost couldn’t survive on my own. I’ve experienced everything, such as not having money to pay for cars, houses, and many other things. But I think that if we are determined, don’t give up, and keep learning new things, and always think of ways, like myself, I try to make a difference by inventing new pizza toppings. In the future, I still have ideas to develop this business further. For example, right now I’m trying to experiment with growing durian because our durian pizzas are selling very well, but durians are very expensive.
So if we can grow it ourselves, it will be economical and we can open a pizza shop in a durian orchard. I also want to make pizzas that are larger than 100 inches. I want to open a branch in Korat city using a newly designed oven, a charcoal oven with a conveyor system . We must not stop thinking about learning, developing, and finding opportunities all the time. I think that if everyone thinks like this, they should be able to survive the COVID crisis as well. And if we can do that, everyone should be stronger.”
TIPS FOR STARTING A BUSINESS UNDER COVID SITUATION
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Making a creative difference
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Never stop innovating and trying new things and dare to introduce something that has never been seen before in the market, such as a new pizza with unique toppings and the largest pizza in Thailand.
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Know the tastes of local people and do things that meet the needs and please customers, such as creating Isaan pizza.
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Know how to catch the trend, for example, when the cannabis trend was hot, they invented and created a cannabis pizza.
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Never give up or give up. Never stop learning, developing, and always looking for new opportunities.
