The Opportunity
Bacio Cheese, the premium Italian-style pizza cheese brand under the Leprino Foods umbrella, is broadening its commercial push beyond traditional pizzerias into bar-and-grill concepts — a segment where pizza often sits as a menu afterthought rather than a profit engine. The Denver-based brand says the timing is right: a 2026 Bacio consumer survey found 97% of U.S. adults love or like pizza, and 88% report eating the same amount or more pizza year over year.
For full-service operators running bar-and-grill concepts, that demand signal is increasingly hard to ignore. Foodservice margins are under pressure across the board, and operators are looking for high-turn, high-satisfaction categories that justify repeat visits. Bacio's pitch is that a premium cheese upgrade — specifically its mozzarella-style blend made with fresh, Grade A milk and a proprietary Kiss of Buffalo Milk® touch — can convert a commodity menu item into a signature destination offering with measurable retention impact.
Tommy's Tavern: A 19-Unit Case Study
Tommy's Tavern and Tap, a 19-location concept spanning sushi, burgers, and tavern fare, illustrates the model. Executive Chef Chris Perrino switched to Bacio and built a coal-fired pizza program that now functions as one of the chain's clearest brand differentiators. The results are quantifiable: pizza complaint rates fell from approximately 1.5% to 0.25% after the switch, according to Perrino.
Consistency across locations was a key driver. Bacio's shredded cheese blends ship with proprietary measuring cups calibrated for precise coverage, reducing variation from unit to unit — a persistent challenge for any multi-location operator. Off-premise performance also improved: Perrino notes that a slice picked up twenty minutes after cooking still pulls close to fresh-mozzarella quality rather than turning oily or rubbery, a meaningful advantage as takeout volumes remain elevated across the casual-dining segment.
Perrino frames the ingredient investment in straightforward economic terms: spending an extra dollar on better cheese to generate eight dollars in guest retention is, in his words, "really good math." The same Bacio cheese also anchors non-pizza menu items like the chain's spinach and artichoke dip, consolidating SKU count while maintaining kitchen-wide quality standards.
The Rewards Program Angle
Beyond ingredient quality, Bacio is leaning on its Gold Club Rewards program as a retention and training tool for operator partners. Members earn monthly cash-back rewards on purchases — automatically tracked through Performance Food Group distributor channels — and gain access to Bacio's Marketing Store for customized merchandising support.
At Tommy's Tavern and Tap, accumulated rewards funded an unconventional staffing investment: a dedicated pizza specialist who rotates across all 19 restaurants, training kitchen staff on technique, portion precision, and execution. "We used our rewards to hire our best pizza guy to travel restaurant to restaurant teaching our staff how to make pizza with Bacio," Perrino said.
For operators evaluating where to direct limited training budgets, that kind of program-funded specialization is worth noting. It reframes ingredient spend not as a pure cost line but as a mechanism to fund adjacent operational improvements — a framing that resonates in a foodservice environment where labor efficiency is as scrutinized as food cost percentage.
Bobbi Laski, brand manager for Bacio, says the bar-and-grill push is about helping operators compete on a category where guest expectations have risen sharply. "Guests are becoming more selective when dining out, so operators need a standout pizza program that creates a distinct reason to return," Laski said. Bacio's sales team offers customized product cutting and tasting demonstrations for operators considering a program upgrade.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
