When the Farrugio family opened channel in Washington, DC in 2010, their goal was to make the best pizza in the world.

Giuseppe Farrugio, who is known as Joe, immigrated to the United States in the 1970s and has worked in the pizza business ever since. Having owned and operated several Italian-American spots, he saw il Canale as his opportunity to offer a more authentic, Neapolitan-style experience to DC diners while working alongside his son, Alessandro. hear After the Review episode below to hear live from Alessandro and Sydney and learn their recipe for success.

The secret sauce

The Farrugio family knew that a key part of achieving their goal was sourcing quality ingredients. Il Canale flour, tomato sauce and mozzarella are all organic and imported directly from Italy.

Beyond good food, the restaurant offers a warm environment and fast service, creating a high-quality dining experience. Despite serving thousands of people each week, the Farrugio family and their staff make sure to personally greet and check on their diners throughout the meal. This is part of what makes the il Canale experience so special for Yelp Elites and Community Managers Sydney G.

“There's always a family member to greet you,” she said. “I've been for dinner, lunch, and happy hour, so I feel like I've gotten a really good experience in all the different service options. They do a great job of walking you through the menu.”

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Managing a team of hundreds of employees is not easy. Co-owner and general manager Alessandro has found success by focusing on thorough training, thoughtful employment, and achieving work-life balance. He makes sure that he not only supports his staff with key resources while they are on the clock, but also hires enough people to give himself and his team the time off to recharge.

“We just try to be a family. We try to be supportive. The biggest challenge is having such a big team and having every person follow your vision, follow your path, follow the demands you make. But it's just (about) providing the means, providing the resources.”

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Another of Alessandro's strengths as a business owner is that he is always willing to try new things. When he noticed that some diners weren't looking for just a pizza place, but for a full-service Italian restaurant, he added new items, including gluten-free pastas and premium Italian wines, to the menu. This has allowed the restaurant to attract a wider clientele that includes locals and tourists.

“It's nice when you have a big table. Some guests are gluten-free, some guests aren't, maybe (some are) vegetarian or vegan, and everyone looks at their menu and finds something they like,” he said. .

Il Canale is also not afraid to find new ways connecting with customers. Sydney admires the restaurant's willingness to use a variety of marketing tools, including Yelp products and resources, social media campaigns and talking to as many guests as they can.

“One of the ways to stay successful is to never stop innovating and trying new things,” Sydney said. “If it doesn't work, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try something else, because you never know what's going to hit someone.”

Along with using paid features like Yelp Connect Alessandro uses to share personalized posts and photos with his clients Yelp reviews to keep a pulse on his business. With the Yelp for Business app on his phone, he gets a stream of notifications that alert him to any problems and give him a confidence boost when he gets positive feedback.

Reviews paint the most accurate and current picture of a business, helping both owners and prospective customers make informed decisions. Even when you're visiting a restaurant like il Canale, which has thousands of reviews, adding your voice to the conversation is a valuable way to contribute to the Yelp community.

“Things change over the years,” Sydney said. “Businesses evolve, menu items change, service changes, especially how things worked so far before the pandemic. So you really want to make sure you're giving people the most up-to-date information based on your experience.”

Although Alessandro likes to get insight into his restaurant's performance through reviews, he also makes an effort to visit with diners during their experience to make sure everything is to their liking.

On the customer side, Sydney recommends that diners speak up while in the restaurant so staff can address issues immediately. Mix-ups are not uncommon in the restaurant world, and providing in-the-moment feedback can be incredibly rewarding for both the diner and the restaurant. For example, Sydney mentioned in her review that she got the wrong dessert. Although she didn't tell the staff at il Canale because it didn't have a big impact on her experience, she wishes it had.

“They take service so seriously. I know they would have made it right and made it with us. I robbed them of that opportunity by not saying something. People are people and there (are) many ways to raise it it without being rude and giving them the opportunity to fix it so that everyone walks away with a positive experience.”

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Focusing on quality food, service and marketing, il Canale has earned third place Yelp Top 100 lists over the past three years. Recently, the restaurant reached number 14 in Pizza highlights list, which is voted on by Yelp Elites. These reviews encourage Alessandro to keep thinking about how he can elevate his offerings.

“This sets our bar higher because we know that next year we have to do something better. Il Canale five years ago, six years ago, seven years ago is not il Canale today. We are constantly evolving , we are constantly improving, constantly raising our standards”.

In addition to investing in quality food and service, il Canale believes in:

• Staying on top of it customer trends and requirements. Modifying your offerings based on guest needs and wants is key to growing your customer base.
• Online customer engagement. If you are using specific marketing features such as Yelp Connect or responding to reviewsthe internet is a great place to find yours target audience and encourage repeat visits.
• Maintaining a work-life balance. When you and your staff have enough time to stay healthy and recharge, you can avoid burning and achieve high-level service on a regular basis.

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