Sips & Pies: Year 1

Let's talk pizza. Well, actually, let's talk what the first year of Sips & Pies was like. It was a year that saw my idea – my dream – turn into a reality.

I've already written thousands of words for Pizza Today about the decisions we made, why we made them, and the overall process of getting to opening day.

If you're thinking about, or ever dreamed about, opening a food truck, I highly suggest you read through each topic, 16 in total, and if you still have questions, reach out to me. I love to talk pizza, food trucks and everything else related to that industry.

It's not supposed to be easy

Opening Sips & Pies is probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. But looking back on it, I'd do it all over again. I'd change some things, sure, but only because I learned a lot.

Our first day of business was April 17, 2025, I'll never forget it. We were busier than I ever imagined, our ticket times were far longer than any of us wanted, and the first couple of pizzas we put in the oven ripped. But we recovered.

I just re-read my Lessons Learned article on Pizza Today, and I still feel all of it. I'm grateful I had an outlet to document what I was thinking and feeling during the process, and how I felt after the excitement of finally opening went away.

So what happened after opening day?

I touched on it some in that same article, but the rest of the season was full of ups and downs. In total, we set up for eight services, including one catering event. Our goal for the year, and what we had on the calendar, was 12 total services.

A couple of those missed dates were due to an injury (I partially tore my pectoral muscle doing something unrelated to the business and had to let it heal), but the other two were our choice.

The first service we canceled was a call we made early in the week. The forecasted weather for that weekend had a heat wave moving through. The temperature at time of service was expected to be around 108 degrees Fahrenheit.

We make dough on Wednesdays for service on Saturday, but the process actually starts on Tuesday when I make a poolish. So, looking at the weather forecast, knowing we'd be in an arguably dangerous situation with the heat (combined with the heat of standing in front of a wood fired oven), we opted to keep all of us safe.

That Saturday came and went, record high temp and all, and we sat at home in air conditioning. I don't necessarily regret the decision we made, but looking back, I feel like we bailed too early.

If nothing else, we should have went ahead with making dough and made the call Friday, when we had a clearer picture of the forecast. A dough ball costs us roughly $0.30 to make. We make anywhere from 75-100 dough balls per service, so at most we would have been out $30.

The second service we canceled was due to a perfect storm of what felt like the universe trying to tell us something.

For the entire season, we timed our food orders with the upcoming service. If I needed flour, for example, I would order it for delivery the day before we needed it. It worked out well, until it didn't.

On delivery day, I get a call from the delivery driver who was somewhat panicked. He explained to me that he couldn't make the delivery because the bag of flour exploded on the truck. The guys who loaded it stacked stuff on top of the bag, causing it to rip on the bumpy ride throughout the day.

To their credit, my food rep offered to personally deliver the bag of flour the next morning before we were scheduled to make dough.

Going forward, I'm going to have supplies arrive at least a week ahead of time – maybe longer for stuff that can sit on a shelf. Lesson learned. Again.

But the truth is, the bag of flour was just the final sign we needed to call it a season. The larger issue lingering over our heads was that I'd been struggling with a nagging shoulder injury since April, and it was only getting worse.

In early October I lost the ability to raise my arm above my shoulder at certain angles, and pain was a constant. Something wasn't right. I'd already been questioning whether or not we should open just for the fact that I didn't want to do more damage.

Setting up is far more physically demanding than I anticipated, but I love it. Getting out from behind a desk and doing something felt good. But the reality is that loading and unloading the trailer (complete with a 350 pound prep station), managing the oven and turning pizzas is hard on my shoulders.

And so, with a lingering injury and an exploded bag of flour, we called it a season.

A successful year, all things considered

My initial reflection on the season was that I failed. We didn't hit our target for number of services, which in turn meant we didn't have ample opportunities to refine our processes and craft. We need more practice, but I think I'll always feel like we need more practice.

Now that some time has passed, however, I've started to realize just how much of a success our first year was. We opened a mobile pizzeria. Full stop.

We. Opened. A. Mobile. Pizzeria.

Man, it feels good to say that. It was a huge accomplishment, and something I'll forever be proud of. Proud not only of my wife and kids for all of their support, hard work and effort, but also of myself.

For those we care about numbers, we made a profit in 2025. Our bank account balance increased by 60%, giving us enough to pay for our licenses, insurance and all the other pieces of paper we need just to open. That's a win in my book.

Sips & Pies: Year 2

Now, for the part that I'm struggling with. I don't know what 2026 looks like for Sips & Pies. That shoulder injury? It turned into shoulder surgery at the end of January. With that comes a long road of recovery. 28 weeks of recovery according to the recovery plan I was handed after the procedure.

For the first 4 weeks I'm in a sling and can't use my arm for many things. I can't lift anything heavier than my phone for the first 6 weeks. After that is when the real physical therapy starts with a goal of regaining my strength.

With the 28 week timeline, it puts full recovery at the end of July into the beginning of August. That's pretty late into the season. Is it even worth paying all of the required fees just to open a few times before the Colorado weather shuts us down? Or should I just view this as a recovery year and soak up as much knowledge as I possibly can, and then hit the ground running in 2027?

I don't have the answer. I probably won't until I'm more than a week post-surgery. For all I know, I could be an anomaly and get released much earlier than the recovery plan.

I'd be lying to you and myself if I said I wasn't having a hard time with all of this. It's easy to get down on myself for it. Too easy.

Either way, Sips & Pies is a dream come true. It's the direct result of two years of hard work and countless nights stressing over the finest of details. it happened, and no one can ever take that away from me. Whatever happens in 2026 is simply part of our story. A story we'll, with any luck, continue writing for years to come.