Motorino (left) and Rocket Joe's (right).   (Photo: Macon York)

What’s more profitable: a new-school pizza restaurant with fancy imported cheese and a wood-burning oven or a traditional gas-oven slice joint? We asked the proprietors of Motorino in Williamsburg and Rocket Joe’s on the Lower East Side to open up their books.

Motorino
Owner: Mathieu Palombino

ANNUAL EXPENSES
Labor: $432,000 ($9,000 a week for twenty employees; note that Motorino is a full-service restaurant and pizzeria)
Utilities: $6,600 ($550 a month for electricity and gas)
Wood: $13,688 (three cords per month, $375 per cord)
Rent: $72,000 ($6,000 per month for 1,400 square feet)
Pizza ingredients: $160,000 (flour, tomatoes, housemade mozzarella)
Toppings: $100,000 (prosciutto di Parma, soppressata, etc.)
Miscellaneous costs: $25,712
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $810,000

COST OF A MARGHERITA PIE:
Fior di Latte mozzarella: $1.00
San Marzano tomatoes: $0.40
Caputo 00 soft-grain dough from Napoli: $0.32
Sicilian sea salt: $0.01
La Frontoin extra-virgin olive oil from Sicily: $1
Pecorino-Romano: $0.41
Raw Israeli basil: $0.50
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3.64/pie
Cost to customer . . . . . . . . . . . .$10
Markup per pie . . . . . . . . . . . .$6.36

REVENUE
From pizza: $832,200 (21,900 margherita pies at $10, plus 51,100 specialty pies at $12).
Total gross . . . . . . . . . . . $900,000
Anuual profit . . . . . . . . . . . $90,000 (revenue of $900,000 minus expenses of $810,000)

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Rocket Joe’s
Manager: Thomas Laux

ANNUAL EXPENSES
Labor: $182,500 ($3,500 a week for five full-time employees and two part-time deliverymen)
Utilities: $9,600 ($500 a month for electricity, $300 for the gas oven)
Rent: $60,000 ($5,000 a month for 1,400 square feet)
Pizza ingredients: $70,080 (domestic mozzarella cheese, sauce, flour, and sesame seeds for the crust—Rocket Joe’s specialty)
Toppings: $25,000 (sausage, baby spinach, pepperoni, etc.)
Miscellaneous costs: $33,375
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $380,555

COST OF A LARGE PLAIN PIE:
Tane Supremo mozzarella mixed with Grande whole-milk mozzarella: $1.70
San Marzano tomatoes mixed with Tomato Magic tomato paste: $0.43
Pillsbury’s Best full-strength bleached flour: $0.40
Diamond Crystal Kosher salt: $0.01
Sesame seeds from Parisi Bakery: $0.02
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.56/pie
Cost to customer . . . . . . . . . . . . .$13
Markup per pizza . . . . . . . . . $10.44

REVENUE
From pizza: $348,444 (10,721 cheese pies at $13, plus 11,946 topped pies at $17.50)
Total gross . . . . . . . . . . . . . $435,555
Anuual profit . . . . . . . . . . . $55,000 (revenue of $435,555 minus expenses of $380,555)

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Christine Whitney
• Table of Contents: Jul 20, 2009 issue of New York | Subscribe!