Nick Bogacz wrecked his car on his first shift Pizza Outlet in Hampton.
Hence, no pies got delivered that evening.
“When I came back that first night, the manager was so busy he couldn’t really even talk to me,” Bogacz said. “I kind of stood there as a meek 17-year-old, just waiting for what to say or do.”
Bogacz didn’t allow that accident to crash his dream, though. He called his mother, Eileen, and borrowed her vehicle for the next day.
“Not long after that, I wrecked her car, too,” he said. “So I ended up working inside making pizzas, and the rest is history.”
Delivering wasn’t his forte, but the drive to get pizzas into the hands of customers definitely was and still is. His passion for pizza grew into Caliente Pizza & Draft House, which long ago became “Houses.”
The newest location is planned for a Sept. 27 opening in Ross at the former Silvioni’s Restaurant, an Italian eatery on Babcock Boulevard for decades.
“The Silvioni family is excited and proud to be blessed with the opportunity of having such a special family taking over the legacy of Silvioni’s restaurant,” said Chris Castagnari, Silvioni’s owner, in a statement.
“I know that my grandfather is looking down and is so happy that the seats will be filled again with the great patrons that we were blessed with for 75 years, as well as many new ones that will be excited to start patronizing Caliente Pizza & Draft House. Families will once again be laughing and enjoying themselves once more for generations to come.”
The Ross location will be the eighth. The other shops are in Aspinwall, Bloomfield, Mt. Lebanon, Hampton, Monroeville, Sewickley and Crafton, each spot symbolic of pizza cut into eight slices.
“For me, pizza is universal, and everyone can find something they like,” Bogacz said. “It’s a celebration food. If your kid gets good grades, you want to celebrate, and if your kid wins a baseball game, you want to celebrate. We’ve served pizza at engagement parties, weddings, christenings, birthdays and many other family life events.”
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Family is what Caliente Pizza was founded on. Bogacz met his wife, Angie, through a friend in the pizza business. When they heard that Caliente Pizza and Bar in Bloomfield was for sale, they met with the owner, even though they didn’t have a lot of money. What they did have was experience working at other shops.
The owner helped them finance the business.
”We pretty much bought Caliente on a handshake,” Nick Bogacz said. “That’s how it all started.”
In that first restaurant, Angie was the bartender and Nick was the cook. Their two children would fill salt and pepper shakers and fold pizza boxes.
That was in 2012.
“Yes, we took a risk buying a pizza shop,” said Nick Bogacz, who at one time worked several jobs, including for the U.S. Postal Service.
They thought about eventually changing the name but had developed a following for the brand, which has grown into an eight-figure business. They have more than 200 employees, including many who have worked with them for years.
Caliente offers six different styles and over 20 different pizzas. They serve burgers and French fries, salads, wings and chicken, as well as gluten-friendly, vegetarian and vegan items.
The Pine couple sat in the dining room of the nearly finished Ross establishment and reminisced about how they’ve been able to build such a pizza empire. They both agreed taking care of employees, offering them opportunities for advancement and being flexible with their schedules are some of the reasons for their success. Their managers are never hired from the outside.
“Our employees believe in what we are doing,” Angie said. “I look back now, and sometimes you forget what you have done. You are just doing it, and when you sit and think about it, you are like, wow! We did this, and we did it together.”
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She said some people might consider Caliente to be a chain because it has multiple locations, but it’s a business founded on Pittsburgh family roots. That is why you will see her father, Paul Copelin, helping with the carpentry or any other detail that needs attention.
He said he wants to do his part because everyone at Caliente’s Pizza is family.
Copelin has a lager beer brewed specifically for the style he likes to drink. The restaurants have bars, and in the early days, the owners traveled to get brews. A few years ago, they partnered with a local brewery to make a signature beer called Hazy Dough Dazy and eventually purchased the operation, naming it Dough Daddy Brewery.
Angie is president of the brewery and is focused on getting a new restaurant space ready. Nick leads the pizza side.
Their daughter, Lilly, works in the marketing department. Their son, Perry, is a roaming manager.
“You get to meet so many people in this business,” Perry said. “It’s a true family business.”
He said he likes competing in pizza triathlons at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. The goal is to completely and properly fold a 12-inch pizza box, toss out a 22-ounce dough ball to cover a 16-inch screen, and then toss out another 22-ounce dough ball to cover a 24-inch pizza screen, as fast as possible.
Caliente has participated in the expo since 2015 and have five World Pizza Championships. In 2019, Caliente’s Mee-Maw Pizza earned the title of Best Pizza in America. Employee Matt Hickey — general manager of the commissary in Crafton, where they make 1,500 pizza shells a week — is a champion in the largest dough stretch at the Pizza Expo.
In addition to its restaurants, Caliente has locations in Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park on Pittsburgh’s North Shore and PPG Paints Arena in Uptown. Caliente’s wings are available at Acrisure. Caliente is selling beer at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium and Pegula Arena, at PNC Park and soon at PPG Paints Arena.
The company has several sauces such as Hot Pepper Spread, General Tso Sauce, Bloody Mary Mix and New York, Original and Alla Vodka Pizza sauces and more being sold in 24 Giant Eagle Market Districts.
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The Bogaczes continually look for new opportunities to expand.
“Nobody moves in Caliente speed,” Angie said. “People take six months to a year to renovate a restaurant. I’m like, we’re doing it in a week.”
Nick Bogacz, who published a book called “The Pizza Equation: Slicing Up How to Run a Successful Pizza Enterprise” and has a podcast known as “The Business Equation,” said what he likes is the teamwork.
Each pizza is made to order. He said someone takes the call and an order is placed. Someone stretches the dough and adds the homemade sauce, and puts on the fresh cheese and toppings. Someone watches it in the oven. It is then placed in a box or on a tray and cut before being delivered to the customer.
Nick Bogacz doesn’t have a business degree. But as a pizza shop manager, as a way to increase business he would have employees take pizzas to sell to construction workers for lunch and dinner.
“Don’t wait for the phone to ring,” he said. “Go out and take the pizzas to the customers, because sales fix everything.”
The reason he got that first job delivering pizzas is because a co-worker at a car wash where Nick was working told him he could make more money in tips delivering pizzas.
“If I had said after that first night delivering pizzas that I am not going back tomorrow, I am not sure what would have happened,” he said. “We will never know. But I did go back, because I immediately fell in love with the pizza business.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region’s diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of “A Daughter’s Promise.” She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.