Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer
The Chronicle caught up with the local pizzerias that Barstool Sports founder and social media personality Dave Portnoy rated last month. All but one of them said his viral reviews increased sales.
Crave Pizza at Mount Royal Plaza in Queensbury got a 7.7 rating, Portnoy’s highest local review and said a big boost.
Mr. Nelson talked to us when we phoned Crave. He said he follows Portnoy online.
“We’ve got a large increase of customers and a lot of people coming in saying I saw you on YouTube or Facebook. So it’s had a really positive effect,” Mr. Nelson said.
He termed the review “fair, and the video was actually really good…Really good quality, really wholesome, you know?”
Portnoy also raved about Crave’s new Jamaican cuisine, which has also had a positive effect, said Mr. Nelson, who said he’s from Jamaica himself.
“The Jamaican food was already crazy, but since then a lot of people have come in asking about the Jamaican food, to the point where we’re thinking of maybe doing it one more day, because we normally just do it one day a week,” he said.
In Fort Edward, Stumpy’s Pizzeria owner Amy Stumvoll said that since Portnoy’s rating of 7.6, “our numbers are up. We’ve been busier.
“We’re not really staffed for it, but we’ve been busier. So it’s all around a good thing. It’s been a pretty positive impact. We’ve got a lot of new people in.”
She said, “We’ve got a lot of people in the area that didn’t know we were here — that seems to be a problem for us.”
Like all of the other pizzeria employees The Chronicle talked to, she said that Portnoy’s visit was a surprise.
“They called and ordered a large cheese under a fake name, and then just showed up and said they were picking up a large cheese,” Ms. Stumvoll said.
“It actually took me a second to realize it was him, because you don’t expect him to be standing there.”
“For us, he was not super talkative. He came at a busy time, though — we were in the middle of lunch. So it was a little hectic in here.”
Ms. Stumvoll said, “I watch some of his videos. I’m not like super into it, but I do watch them, so I know who he is, what he does, and the impact it can have on your business. So I was, like, super nervous, because you just feel like this could really make or break you.”
As to Portnoy’s rating, “I obviously wanted to be higher — I think everybody wants to be higher, but I think he had some really nice comments. So I thought it was a good review. I was pleased with it.”
Pizza Jerks owner Iggy Rovetto said Portnoy’s 7.4 rating at his Glens Falls location led to a 10-20% uptick in sales for a week or two.
Mr. Rovetto said he just missed meeting Portnoy in person. “My employees were like ‘oh my God, Dave’s here.’ I was like ‘I’m on my way.’ But he was already gone by the time I got there.” He said his employees said Portnoy was “really cool.”
Of Portnoy’s rating, Mr. Rovetto said “I’ll take it. That’s a good score. I was happy with it. I was wishing it was a little bit higher. Our rating on his app from customers was 7.9, so I was hoping to be a little closer to that.
“He kept saying it was hot hot hot hot, and of course it was hot, because he must have just got it right out of the oven. He probably burned his mouth. Then he goes, great pizza, really good pizza. It was short and sweet, but we were happy with it.”
Mr. Rovetto said, “I was hoping that he’d go to my Lake George shop, because we have different ovens,” Mr. Rovetto. “In Glens Falls it’s conveyor so the pizza comes out a little different. Still great, just a different flavor because of the bake.
“For some reason he didn’t stop at the Lake George shop. Maybe someday he will.”
Mr. Rovetto explained, “The pizza in Lake George is in a brick lined oven. So it’s a hearth bake pizza, and it comes out crispier. I know he likes a crispy pizza.”
Employee Haylee Mello made the pizza that Portnoy rated. “She was really nervous because she knew the power behind this guy and how it could go either way,” Mr. Rovetto said. “But I want to give her a shout out for sure. She made a great pie, and he was happy with it. So I’m proud of her and happy for her.”
Mr. Rovetto is “not a huge follower” of Portnoy. “Then again I’m not a huge techie person and social media and all that. It’s not on my radar. I know he was very influential, or can be.”
Mr. Rovetto’s daughter and son-in-law own Crave Pizza.
“They got a higher score than we did, so I’m proud of them,” he said. “They’ve been getting their ass kicked, maybe 50% up. It’s like doubled in sales, almost.
“It’s great, but it could be a blessing and a curse at the same time, especially for them, because they weren’t quite used to that kind of volume. And they’re not staffed for it. We’re set up to handle the volume more so than they were.”
But Mr. Rovetto said, “At the end of the day it’s a blessing, because hopefully he attracts new customers and then we get repeat business out of it.”
Rocco Mastrantoni, owner of Capri Pizzeria in Lake George, said he didn’t know who Portnoy was before he reviewed his pizza.
“I’m an old bull, I don’t know much.” he said. “He ordered a pizza, and then he just waited, and then when he got the pizza all of a sudden he goes outside and the cameras come up and lights go on. Then I knew something was up.”
Mr. Mastrantoni said he thinks Portnoy’s rating of 7.1 was “low.”
“I think it probably needed to be a little higher,” he said. “Because what he said was, he wanted a large plain. He didn’t say that he wanted it well done, but he said that he likes well done pizza afterwards. You’d think he would have told me ahead of time, you know?”
But he said it helped his business.
“Yeah, we have people coming in because of him,” he said. “The first few days after, there were a couple hundred, probably.”
Portnoy’s 7.2 review of Giuseppe’s Pizza in Lake George didn’t boost sales, said a manager who prefers to go by Chris A.
“We’re basically at capacity every night,” he said. “We have had a couple of people mention seeing the video, but I don’t think it increased sales at all. We’re always busy….
“I think the rating is his personal choice. He likes that kind of a different style pizza than we do. So whatever his rating is, is fair on his scale.”
“I think the video was fun,” and that Portnoy was “exactly how you see on camera…It was very fast. It was only like 10 minutes. We got to chat with him a little bit. It was fun to see him do his thing on the street for Lake George.”
As for following Portnoy, he said “I have seen what he does, but I don’t seek it out.”
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