Social Media Spotlight: Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza

For this week’s Social Media Spotlight, we are pleased to introduce Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza. New York native Anthony Bruno moved to South Florida more than 25 years ago with his father to start Anthony’s Runway 84, now a Fort Lauderdale icon. Unable to find the great pizza he remembered, Anthony decided to introduce South Floridians to the old-world art of coal-fired cooking and opened the first Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in 2002. The concept caught on like wildfire.

Known for its high energy atmosphere and simple menu, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza uses 800-degree coal burning ovens to create a “well done” taste. Signature menu items include specialty pizza made with the freshest, top-quality ingredients, coal-oven-roasted chicken wings topped with grilled onions and Italian-style salad. Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza’s food and service have continually been ranked “very good to excellent” by Zagat Survey, the distinguished dining and entertainment guide.

Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza has 20 locations throughout Florida, as well as 9 locations throughout the Northeast (DE, PA, NJ, NY), including White Plains. Expansion plans include additional locations in the Northeast and South Tampa, FL. We had the pleasure of speaking with Toby Srebnik, the Director of Social Media for O’Connell & Goldberg, the PR firm that represents Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, and here’s what he had to say about their social media marketing strategy.

Which social media platforms do you currently use?

T: We have a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter.  In addition, all 29 of our locations are on Foursquare. 


What value, if any, has social media provided for your business?

T: Social media has helped extend the Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza brand to people that would probably not be reached by regular advertising methods. In addition, we have developed many brand ambassadors as evidenced by our over 10,000 Facebook fans and 1,700 Twitter followers.  We’ve also hosted some successful tweetups at our many locations with the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Metromix Tampa Bay, Orlando Sentinel and others based on our brand building through social media.  In fact, our most recent tweetup in White Plains with The White Plains Examiner brought many new faces to our location, which is one of our primary objectives for hosting these type of events.

Which social media platform works best for your business? Why?

T: All of our platforms work well for our business, whether it’s sharing photos of pizza with our Facebook fans, hosting trivia giveaways for prizes on Twitter, or connecting with Mayors on Foursquare by giving them gift cards just for being Mayor without prior announcement of the fact.

How has social media impacted your business in terms of marketing and sales?

T: We believe by engaging in these mediums, it helps reinforce the strength of our brand to thousands of people every day.

Do you have any advice for companies who are on the fence about social media?

T: Companies that create a true sense of community succeed in social media; therefore, companies on the fence need to understand the potential positive impact engaging in social media can have.

Is there any social media strategy that you would like to improve or do differently?

T: We are constantly monitoring other platforms to see whether it makes sense for our brand to be involved.

Toby has a wonderful understanding of what social media marketing can do and has done for Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza. It’s nice to see that they are always monitoring other platforms before just creating a new page; different platforms may or may not be right for a specific brand. I also agree that the tweetups Toby has mentioned have been extremely successful for their business, as that is how my partner and I came to learn about Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza and their delicious food. If you are interested in learning more about this “social restaurant,” be sure to check out their website today!