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Wood vs gas fired oven, I chose wood and paid for it in June
I took over a small pasta spot in Portland and had to pick between keeping the gas deck oven or ripping it out for a wood fired unit. My buddy who runs a Neapolitan place warned me about fuel costs and labor, but I wanted that char flavor so bad I ignored him. Six weeks in, I burned through $1,100 in oak and almond wood, plus my prep guy quit because the loading station hit 130 degrees by 7pm. The pizzas taste great, sure, but we only sell maybe 40 pies a night and the margin is gone. Anyone else chase the romantic version of a menu and regret the operating math later, or is it just me?
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martinez.paul5d ago
That line about the loading station hitting 130 by 7pm is the part that would break me, because you can't fix that with a fan or a shorter shift. Heat like that does not just cost you one prep guy, it makes every hire after him quit in a month once word gets around town. How long do you figure the oven has to run each day before it pays for itself, or are you already looking at swapping back?
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