Newsletter Subject

HopCat founder brings Chicago-style pizza to GR with Loretta’s Deep Dish (23 January 2021, for {EMAIL})

From

woodtv.com

Email Address

wood@publisher-news.com

Sent On

Sat, Jan 23, 2021 07:41 AM

Email Preheader Text

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The restauranteur who gave Grand Rapids HopCat, Grand Rapids Brewing Comp

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The restauranteur who gave Grand Rapids HopCat, Grand Rapids Brewing Company, Stella’s Lounge and Max’s South Seas Hideaway is at it again. Mark Sellers’ new ghost kitchen, Loretta’s Deep Dish, opens Friday at 3 p.m. Sellers added a pizza oven to Max’s and took a six-day trip to Chicago with chef Rich Williams to learn how to pull off top-notch Chicago-style pizzas. (A photo provided by Loretta's Deep Dish shows chef Rich Williams learning the secrets to making a great Chicago-style deep dish pizza.) “We trained with a world-renowned pizza master who's considered one, if not the most knowledgeable and experienced person cooking Chicago deep dish pizza. And he taught us how to do it in a way that is similar to the deep dish that you get in Chicago, but we have our own unique take on it,” explained Sellers. (A photo provided by Loretta's Deep Dish shows chef Rich Williams holding a certificate after finishing training in creating Chicago-style deep dish pizzas.) He says Loretta’s uses a unique blend of cheeses to create its multilayered masterpiece. “One slice is almost a full meal. Two slices is a lot of deep-dish pizza,” said Sellers. Loretta’s also offers thin crust pizzas, subs, lasagna and salad. Sellers says nearly everything is made in-house from scratch, including the spicy arrabbiata, white and house red sauces, meatballs and pizza dough. What isn’t made on site is locally sourced from companies like Beer City Bread and Pebble Creek Farm. (A photo provided by Loretta's Deep Dish shows one of the Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas the new ghost kitchen offers.) CHILDHOOD INSPIRATION Located in the basement of Max’s at 58 Ionia Ave. SW, Loretta’s is Sellers' seventh restaurant, but the first to include pizza on the menu. “It just struck me one day a few months ago that I couldn't find a good deep-dish Chicago-style pizza in Grand Rapids. And I've never started a pizza place before, but I've always loved pizza. Why not start a pizza place? It's really just something that I love and that's why I did it,” he said. (A photo provided by Loretta's Deep Dish shows one of the Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas the new ghost kitchen offers.) Sellers says the restaurant is named after a childhood friend’s aunt – a Chicago native who introduced him to Chicago-style deep dish pizza she baked in her Grand Rapids kitchen. “That just blew my mind as a kid, ‘cause I never had anything like that before,” said Sellers. Loretta’s is Sellers’ second ghost kitchen. He shut down his first one, Annika’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese Laboratory, because of limited grill space when Max’s indoor dining area temporarily reopened in June. RESTAURANTS 'IN SURVIVAL MODE' Since a traditional soft opening isn’t possible with COVID-19, Sellers decided to give his employees a shot at perfecting its pizzas while feeding frontline workers. This week, Loretta’s Deep Dish delivered 100 free pizzas to staff at Metro Health – University of Michigan Hospital in Cascade Township, Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, and Grand Rapids fire stations. “I have read a lot about how the frontline health care workers are just exhausted and working long hours, and that's a really tough job,” he said. The pandemic has also been tough on Sellers’ restaurants. His original venture, HopCat, went through bankruptcy, was repossessed by the bank and sold to another company. Meanwhile Max’s business is down about 85% from a year ago, according to Sellers. “We’re known as a dine-in kind of atmospheric experience. We’re not really known as a takeout delivery type of operation,” Sellers said of the tiki restaurant, which is also moving through Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring. Revue Magazine readers named Max’s the “Best New Restaurant in West Michigan” in July. “That was really nice… but nobody could come out to enjoy the restaurant when we got that award,” said Sellers. The interest is still there, according to Sellers. He says Max’s gets calls every day from people who want to save a spot for a large group in the coming months. But with no certain end to dining restrictions, the restaurant must turn down their request. “It feels like somebody's dangling money in front of my face and I can't get it. But it's nice that people still remember that we exist and they're still excited about the concept,” said Sellers. Despite it all, this restaurant owner doesn’t blame Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “It's not her that caused the virus. She's trying to prevent the virus. Now you can make an argument that she's clamped down too hard, maybe harder than a lot of other states, but the virus is the problem. She's just reacting to that,” he said. Sellers says the shutdown led to more leniency by landlords and vendors and eased worker worries about being exposed to COVID-19. He says dining numbers were declining before the restrictions took hold because customers were already avoiding public places. “Obviously I'd rather be open, but if our business is going to be down 60% anyway because people don't want to go out, what's the point of being open anyway?” Sellers said, adding that health and safety are more important. He says Max’s has enough money left to make it at least six more months. He thinks circumstances will improve for restaurants before then. “I think we’ll be OK, but we’re definitely watching every penny right now. It’s a rough time,” he said. Like other restaurant owners, Sellers says his goal for 2021 is the same as last year: staying in business. “We're all in survival mode right now, doing whatever we can to get to the other side of this terrible time,” he explained. But Sellers has no plans to leave the industry. “I don't have anything else I'd rather do. I love what I do. It's been a very, very challenging last year, but the thought of just giving up and going on to some other type of career, um, just doesn't, it doesn't work for me. It's not who I am,” he said. MASTERING DEEP DISH DELIVERY When Max’s reopens for dining, Sellers says Loretta’s will stick to takeout and delivery only. Sellers says he no longer uses Door Dash and GrubHub to deliver because they take 30% to 40% in restaurant sales. “So when people order through Loretta's, they're going to get the pizza delivered by a Loretta's employee and the money stays in the Grand Rapids economy. It doesn't go to a Silicon Valley firm out in California,” he said. Since deep dish pizza takes longer to cook than its thinner counterparts, Sellers recommends customers order an hour in advance to ensure their pizza arrives hot and gooey. People can order up to a day in advance and pick their delivery time at . And if you can’t make it through the entire pizza, reheating instructions are printed on each box. “We've worked really hard on it. We put a lot of effort into creating this concept and it's just great pizza,” said Sellers. Daily digest [HopCat founder brings Chicago-style pizza to GR with Loretta’s Deep Dish]( [HopCat founder brings Chicago-style pizza to GR with Loretta’s Deep Dish]( [GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The restauranteur who gave Grand Rapids HopCat, Grand Rapids Brewing Company, Stella’s Lounge and Max’s South Seas Hideaway is at it again. Mark Sellers’ new ghost kitchen, Loretta’s Deep Dish, opens Friday at 3 p.m. Sellers added a pizza oven to Max’s and took a...]( [Michigan launches online sports betting, casino games today]( [Michigan launches online sports betting, casino games today]( [LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Online sports betting and casino games will start in Michigan at noon Friday, an expansion of options for gamblers who now wager through offshore sites. State regulators have authorized licenses for all three Detroit casinos and seven of the dozen tribes with “Class III”...]( [Meijer begins vaccinations, rollout in W. MI unknown]( [Meijer begins vaccinations, rollout in W. MI unknown]( [GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Meijer has officially joined the vaccine rollout in Michigan. A few of their pharmacies have started vaccinating people in metro Detroit. Though shots are not available yet in West Michigan, Meijer has plans to expand its vaccine clinics across the state as soon as...]( [Biden ordering stopgap relief as talks start on big stimulus plan]( [Biden ordering stopgap relief as talks start on big stimulus plan]( [BALTIMORE (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to take executive action Friday to provide a stopgap measure of financial relief to millions of Americans while Congress begins to consider his much larger $1.9 trillion package to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The two executive orders...]( - Advertisement - Top stories [Indoor dining reopening but with strict limits]( [Indoor dining reopening but with strict limits]( [GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Restaurants are getting ready to reopen their dining rooms for the first time in months. Friday, the state announced it is easing COVID-19 restrictions. People can dine...]( [A year after Wuhan lockdown, a world still deep in crisis]( [A year after Wuhan lockdown, a world still deep in crisis]( [(AP) — Nearly a year to the day after the Chinese city of Wuhan went into lockdown to contain a virus that had already escaped, President Joe Biden began putting into effect a new war plan for...]( [MSU med school administrators push for vaccinations]( [MSU med school administrators push for vaccinations]( [GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A professor at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids is calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to help obtain vaccines for faculty and staff...]( [No bond for UP man charged in US Capitol riot]( [No bond for UP man charged in US Capitol riot]( [CALUMET, Mich. (AP) — An Upper Peninsula man charged in the riot at the U.S. Capitol will remain in custody after FBI agents found guns and ammunition at his home. Karl Dresch of Calumet is not...]( In case you missed it... [DeVos Place to host COVID-19 vaccine clinic]( [DeVos Place to host COVID-19 vaccine clinic]( [GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Health officials say DeVos Place Convention Center in downtown Grand Rapids will serve as a countywide COVID-19 vaccine center beginning on Monday, but distribution will be by appointment only. The Kent County Health Department, Spectrum Health, Mercy Health and other...]( [Silent Observer hopes billboard helps find suspect]( [Silent Observer hopes billboard helps find suspect]( [GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Silent Observer has put a wanted billboard in Grand Rapids in the hopes of finding a man wanted in a shooting death. Authorities say Darrias Markes Hardges is wanted in connection to the death of 27-year-old Jewelian Trevino, who was shot and killed Sept. 27 in the...]( [Trump impeachment to go to Senate on Monday, launching trial]( [Trump impeachment to go to Senate on Monday, launching trial]( [WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to send the article of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, launching the start of the former president's trial on a charge of incitement of insurrection over the deadly Capitol riot. “There will be a trial,” Senate Majority...]( [Dozens evacuated after small fire on Amtrak train in Van Buren County]( [Dozens evacuated after small fire on Amtrak train in Van Buren County]( [DECATUR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Dozens of people were evacuated from an Amtrak train in Van Buren County Friday afternoon due to a small fire. The train was between Decatur and Lawton near 39th St. and Burgess Rd. in Decatur Township when a fire started near one of the engines just after 12:30...]( [Feedback]( [Unsubscribe]( [About us]( © 1998-2017 woodtv.com | Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. | 120 College Ave SE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 To ensure you receive these emails in the future, please add wood@publisher-news.com to your address book, contacts or list of safe senders.

Marketing emails from woodtv.com

View More
Sent On

22/02/2021

Sent On

21/02/2021

Sent On

20/02/2021

Sent On

19/02/2021

Sent On

18/02/2021

Sent On

17/02/2021

Email Content Statistics

Subscribe Now

Subject Line Length

Data shows that subject lines with 6 to 10 words generated 21 percent higher open rate.

Subscribe Now

Average in this category

Subscribe Now

Number of Words

The more words in the content, the more time the user will need to spend reading. Get straight to the point with catchy short phrases and interesting photos and graphics.

Subscribe Now

Average in this category

Subscribe Now

Number of Images

More images or large images might cause the email to load slower. Aim for a balance of words and images.

Subscribe Now

Average in this category

Subscribe Now

Time to Read

Longer reading time requires more attention and patience from users. Aim for short phrases and catchy keywords.

Subscribe Now

Average in this category

Subscribe Now

Predicted open rate

Subscribe Now

Spam Score

Spam score is determined by a large number of checks performed on the content of the email. For the best delivery results, it is advised to lower your spam score as much as possible.

Subscribe Now

Flesch reading score

Flesch reading score measures how complex a text is. The lower the score, the more difficult the text is to read. The Flesch readability score uses the average length of your sentences (measured by the number of words) and the average number of syllables per word in an equation to calculate the reading ease. Text with a very high Flesch reading ease score (about 100) is straightforward and easy to read, with short sentences and no words of more than two syllables. Usually, a reading ease score of 60-70 is considered acceptable/normal for web copy.

Subscribe Now

Technologies

What powers this email? Every email we receive is parsed to determine the sending ESP and any additional email technologies used.

Subscribe Now

Email Size (not include images)

Font Used

No. Font Name
Subscribe Now

Copyright © 2019–2025 SimilarMail.