13-Year-Old Andy Mosolino Brings 'Take-n-Bake' Pizza to Southampton
Andy Mosolino, a 13 year-old pizza purveyor and savvy entrepreneur, is bringing the West Coast sensation of “take-n-bake” pizza to Southampton.
Take-n-bake pizzas are prepped by pizzerias, but sold to customers uncooked so they can be cooked at home. The concept allows families to have hot pizza at their convenience, like frozen pizzas, but without sacrificing taste. Andy’s pizzas are unique in that they are half-baked, made to be grabbed on-the-go and oven-heated at home.
At age 11, Andy took the initiative to stake out suppliers, design a label and solicit customers for his business. Andy had his pizza business up and running immediately, operating out of his father—a well-known culinary instructor and television host—Michael Mosolino’s beloved Southampton shop, The Deli Counter and earning $1 per pie sold. Now 13, the precocious youth cranks out around 500 pies weekly, feeding Long Islanders from Bellport to Montauk.
Andy’s pies have proven to be wildly popular among local residents, catering companies and wineries. Martha Clara Vineyards, Peter Ambrose Events Catering and Sir Ivan (Wilzig) are among the many local businesses that order these take-n-bake delights.
The teen entrepreneur is confident that his fledgling business will continue to grow because, as his public relations team (yup, he’s got one!) explains: Americans currently consume an average of 100 acres of pizza daily, or 350 slices per second, and they don’t appear to be slowing down. The $40 billion industry enjoyed a steady increase of 1.16 percent in overall restaurant sales for 2013, and he believes the country is trending toward eating in.
You can catch Andy serving up his tasty pies and rubbing elbows with celebrity chefs double and triple his age at the 2014 Dan’s Taste of Summer event being held July 11 and 12.