Over the years of reviewing and selecting restaurant locations, it has became obvious that the industry needed a generalized set of guidelines regarding location selection. Thus, in 1992, my book entitled, Restaurant & Fast Food Site Selection, was published.  Interestingly, there is a feeling in many parts of the country that dining is a very personal thing, and therefore taste can overcome a secondary location. Perhaps that sometimes occurs, however, in my experience, it is very rare.  In fact, the exact opposite is usually true, namely taste cannot overcome a poor location, and thus failure is usually eminent.
 
The locational principles for pizza units vary somewhat from other types of food operations because there are so many different type of pizza locations. Locations include: dining, pick-up, a combination of dining and pick-up, delivery and a combination of all of the above. Also, there is gourmet, thin crust, thick crust, deep dish, pizza by the slice, pasta dishes, take & bake and numerous others.  Nevertheless, in studying them all, I have established some important considerations which an operator who is thinking of expanding needs to think about in selecting possible locations.
 
 1. KNOW YOUR CONCEPT AND OPERATION