Want to run a pizzeria in New Orleans—America's uniquely distinctive food city? Paulie Gee wants you!

You may know of him. Seen him. The hats. The glasses. The grin. He is a character, and he is very much pizza famous. His name is Paul Giannone and he’s from Brooklyn. But he’s better known by his professional moniker, Paulie Gee—as in the very famous Paulie Gee’s Woodfired Pizza and Paulie Gee’s Slice Shops. And Paulie Gee is hungry for a pizza partner in The City That Care Forgot.
 
Paulie recently said to me, “I need to find someone who has a passion for pizza and is entrepreneurial and has chutzpah.”

I admit, the man is amazing. His enthusiasm is so infectious, I feel like I’m making a huge mistake by not becoming a pizzeria operator.

I first met Paulie Gee back in October at PizzaCon in Philly. He walked up as I was talking to the great Scott Wiener of Scott's Pizza Tours.

​Scott introduced us, and I said, “Paulie, it’s an honor to meet you. I have an important question: when is Paulie Gee’s Crescent City Slice Shop reopening?”
 

Paulie glanced at my name badge, saw my hometown, and said, “Bay St. Louis? You wanna run it?”
 
I laughed and said, “I’m a writer.”
 
Paulie replied, “I come from IT!”
 
Paulie is so enthusiastic and gregarious, I was suddenly asking myself, Why the hell am I not running Paulie Gee’s Crescent City Slice Shop?
 
 
If you look at Paulie’s backstory, it’s pretty incredible.
 
Bread & pizza guru Peter Reinhart has just one of many, many interviews with Paulie Gee. And in true Pizza Quest fashion, Peter's interview was in-depth and inimitable. I asked Peter if it was OK if I borrowed from it. 

Peter describes Paulie as “The legendary pizzeria operator.” As far as I can tell, that is a 100% accurate evaluation. Paulie knows everybody, everybody knows Paulie, and he is, as Peter says, “Extremely humble and inspirational.”
 
And yeah, Paulie really did used to work in IT. For all you civilians, “IT” means “Information Technology.” You know: computer systems, software, programming languages, data and information processing, storage—nothing that belongs on a pizza.
 
In talking with Peter, Paulie says, “Although it turned out that I wasn’t wired for that type of work, I toiled at it for about 30 years. I did not realize it wasn’t for me until I had established financial commitments that kept me locked into that path…I wasn’t anywhere near approaching my potential.”
 
 
The turning point for Paulie was building a pizza oven in his back yard.
 
“I always enjoyed cooking for and entertaining friends and family and they often encouraged me to open a restaurant, but I had no desire to deal with the complications and risks that such a venture would bring.

"Being a pizza enthusiast, through observation I eventually observed that an artisanal pizzeria was a far simpler operation than a full service restaurant.
 
 
“That realization emboldened me to make the decision to open a pizzeria.”
 
How did that decision work out?
 
There are presently three Paulie Gee’s Wood Fired Pizza shops (Greenpoint, Chicago and Columbus) and three Paulie Gee’s Slice Shops (Greenpoint, Chicago and Philadelphia).
 
And yes, there used to be a Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop in New Orleans—and he wants to have one there again. It seems they'd like him back, too. I’ve even seen news stories from the Big Easy that say things like, “Paulie Gee’s Vows To Return.”
 
If there’s any question regarding Paulie’s commitment to New Orleans, it’s pretty clear he loves the city. Jazz Fest was last week, and images of Paulie Gee kept popping up in my social media feed.
 
(NON-PIZZA SIDEBAR: If you’re not familiar, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has a history of over 50 years, and attracts a worldwide audience. Over eight days in April and May, they have a dozen stages going from 11am to 7pm. You can see some of the biggest musical acts in the world. But some of the most astonishing music is played on smaller stages by small bands you’ve never heard of. Over the years at Jazz Fest, I’ve seen The Who, The Stones, Elton, Bruce, Lionel and Jimmy, but I’ve also seen Marcia Ball, Anders Osborne, Big Sam's Funky Nation, The Subdudes, Joe Krown, Tin Men, and New Orleans Klezmer All Stars. Each and every one of them tore the roof off. And I got a suntan. And let’s not even talk about the food. Holy mother of pearl. My top pick is the pheasant, quail and andouille gumbo from Prejean’s of Lafayette, which I believe I’ve eaten about 37 times. You don’t need to want to run a pizzeria to visit Jazz Fest. My wife and I have been almost 20 times, and it is always an extraordinary experience. Just wear sunblock. And stay hydrated. And think twice about eating the large Crawfish Monica on a really hot day. Pasta, cheese and shellfish, ya know.)
 
So anyway, as a Jazz Festian, it seems like Paulie is committed to New Orleans. It’s a city that’s easy to love. Who could blame him for looking for a partner?
 
 
Also, and maybe this is tangential, but New Orleans is a city filled with characters.
 
If you’ve ever read the John Kennedy Toole novel, A Confederacy Of Dunces, it is a roller-coaster fever fest through the wild kingdom called New Orleans, and all the fictional characters are legitimate and viable.
 
Maybe that’s another reason why New Orleans works for Paulie. I asked Scott Wiener if he would describe Paulie in a single sentence. Scott replied, “Paulie is such a character that his main characteristic is being a fan of other characters.”
 
(Paulie seems to be a fan of Scott, who is a character in his own right. Who else but a character would earn his living giving pizza tours and could set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest collection of pizza boxes? These people make me feel boring. But I digress.)
 
 
After our October encounter in Philly, I ran into Paulie Gee again in March at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas.
 
I quizzed him again on New Orleans.

He still wants to make it happen.

And I said, “What do you need in somebody who’d be running Paulie Gee’s Crescent City Slice Shop?”
 
Without hesitation, Paulie was succinct and definitive.
 

“I need to find someone who has a passion for pizza and is entrepreneurial and has chutzpah.
 
“They don't need to have the resources. They just need to believe that they could find the resources and get people excited about investing in them.”
 
I said, “So what happened to the store you had in New Orleans?”
 
“It was not a good location and COVID made it even worse.
 
“The daytime business we might've done from the office workers in the area disappeared, and tourists come to New Orleans for po’ boys, not for pizza.
 
“So we needed locals and there weren't enough of them and just not the right location. We need to be down near Frenchman's Street or someplace around there in the Marigny.”
 
If you’re not familiar with New Orleans neighborhoods, Frenchman’s and the Marigny are kind of like the younger, hipper French Quarter, vibrant and happening.
 
I asked Paulie, “Have you got an incentive for somebody who might want to do this?”
 

“Yeah. The opportunity to have a great life. Really. Since I opened up my shops, I'm living my dream.

“I was meant to be the boss, not have a boss. And I'm looking to help other people have the same situation for themselves.
 
“It's important to understand that you don't have to have a background in pizza or even restaurants. We'll teach you everything you need to know to run a successful shop.”
 

“So Paulie, if somebody's interested in this opportunity, how should they reach you?”
 
Paulie Gee says to email [email protected].
 
Laissez les bon temps rouler!

P.S. Paulie and his wife, Mary Ann have just released their first pizza cookbook, Pizza From The Heart: 100 Recipes For Pies, Pasta, Salads And More. Library Journal says, "The Giannones' distinctive culinary point of view, as well as their philosophies of life and love, shine through in this entertaining and informative debut, making a strong case for its place on cookbook shelves." 

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