When Michael Porreca bought Adrian’s Pizza Thompson Run Road, one of four independently owned franchises in the Pittsburgh area, little did he know that it would come with a bit of history. Equipment history, that is. He purchased the Thompson Run Road location in November 2022 only to learn it was home to a Hobart planetary mixer built in 1928 — and it still worked.
The previous owners had used it during the many years they operated this location and Porreca and his staff continued to use the mixer until the fall of 2023.
“I think that mixer is a beautiful piece of equipment, in battleship gray, and sturdy as they come. But started to have some issues and we knew it was nearing its end-of-life,” said Porreca.
According to Porreca, he and his staff started experiencing performance issues with the M802, particularly slow mixing, which is expected with a machine that old. Unfortunately, slower or inconsistent mixing speeds can negatively affect quality, especially when mixing dough. Porreca was also unable to find anyone to service the mixer.
“We tried everybody we could find that handled the Hobart Equipment line to try to repair it. They didn’t have parts for that mixer. We could not get them fabricated. Nobody would touch it because it was that old and we just couldn't risk not having a mixer. So, we had to buy a new one,” Porreca explained.
Upgrading their pizza dough mixer
The longevity of the M802 led Porreca to invest in the Hobart brand again, with the purchase of a new Legacy+® HL800 80-quart maximum heavy-duty mixer.
"That was the reason we got another Hobart because that old one has been working for almost a hundred years. I can't even imagine how many thousands and thousands of batches of dough it has made,” he said. “It certainly underscores the reliability of the Hobart line.”
The new Legacy+ mixer is helping Porreca and his staff to create the high-quality dough this Adrian’s Pizza restaurant is well known for, whether it’s for their pizza, breadsticks, calzones or strombolis. And it’s helping keep up production. The restaurant offers dine-in for approximately 20 to 30 customers; however, carryout and delivery make up most of the business and it keeps Porreca’s 12 employees on the go.
The Thompson Run Road difference
While Adrian’s Pizza on Thompson Run Road shares many of the menu items with the other three franchises, there are other items that Porreca says makes them unique.
The cheese and homemade ranch dressing at Adrian’s Pizza are examples of Porreca’s commitment to creating unique offerings for customers, all made from the finest ingredients.
“We grate our cheese several times a week with a Sammic grater. It’s a small unit, but it can process about a thousand pounds of cheese an hour,” he said. “We buy local buttermilk to make our special ranch dressing, about 20 to 30 gallons a week. Our customers absolutely love it because it is so thick and rich. They put it on everything.”
But the pizzas are at the heart of the menu.
“We have complete flexibility to do whatever we want with the menu. Ours is probably the most extensive, since we have close to 80 gourmet pizzas,” he explained. “Our dough recipe is also special. It’s a little bit lighter and a little bit sweeter than the other shops.”
According to Porreca, the dough they mix in their Legacy+ HL800 mixer is also made specifically for baking in the restaurant’s Edge conveyor oven.
"It bakes well and bubbles up well. It looks great and it's lighter and more flavorful. The crust is more than something that holds up the pizza toppings. It has flavor. You can eat the crust by itself.”
In addition to the restaurant’s popular cheese and pepperoni pizza, there are many unique options for customers to choose from — everything from Pot Roast Pizza with homemade pot roast, gravy and cheese to Loaded Tater Tot pizza, a Pittsburgh Steak Pizza and the new Dirty Bird. The Dirty Bird has breaded chicken, fries, bacon, mozzarella, provolone with a ranch dressing base, served with a side of buffalo sauce. The list goes on, as does the many combinations customers come up with on their own.
“Some of the pizza recipes came with the restaurant itself. Others are what our chefs think up,” Porreca explained. “One of our value propositions is that we know what ingredients taste well together, present well and hold up well. We have combinations that we know work. We know how to put the cheese on so it looks and tastes good.”
The advantages of a mixer upgrade
Aside from being able to mix up great dough for its customers, the Legacy+ HL800 80-quart mixer has several features and benefits that appeal to Porreca and his staff.
First, they find the mixer easy to use. “We have two or three people that make dough. We had the mixer shipped in, plugged it in and just started using it. The new mixer is just so consistent with how Hobart makes their machines. It was easy for everybody to pick up on it,” he said.
“We really like the SmartTimer™, the locking bowl guard and the soft start,” Porreca added.
The SmartTimer counts up and down, so it’s easy for staff to mix dough consistently and attend to other jobs without concern of overmixing the ingredients. The bowl guard Porreca mentions is a removable without tools and is dishwasher safe. More importantly, it’s part of the Hobart triple interlock system. For the HL800 mixer to operate, the bowl must be fully in position, locked in place with the bowl guard secured.
“With the soft start technology, we are blowing less flour all over the floor and so we have less to clean,” Porreca explained. “That's a nice feature.”
The simplified cleaning of the HL800 planetary mixer is another benefit for Adrian’s Pizza.
“Cleaning the bowl is easy. Cleaning the dough hook is easy. The old mixer, we couldn't really get the dough hook off and the bowl itself was in rough shape. Cleaning all the divots and everything else was tough,” Porreca explained. “The new one is nice and clean and so much easier to care for. We can do it more consistently.”
Why Hobart mixers?
Having the right equipment to support the business is important. That’s why Porreca says he continues to hold the Hobart brand in high regard.
As for his overall impression of the Hobart and the Legacy+ HL800 mixer? “I would buy another Hobart in a heartbeat. It can handle the big loads. It’s reliable. It’s consistent. It is a work horse.”
About the Author
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Carolyn Bilger is the marketing director for Hobart – Food Preparation Products. She has been with Hobart since 2015 and sets the strategy for marketing and new product development for the full line of Hobart food preparation equipment. See all her blogs here.
