We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Victoria Tiso. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Victoria below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Victoria with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic comes from a very long blood line of hard workers. My grandparents and parents were always the type of people that would be the first in and the last out in any job that they had. My family came to America speaking no English but with the american dream in mind. Both of my parents started working at a young age to help provide for their families. My dad went out to work in the pizza industry at 14 as my mother went out to work in an office setting in NYC at 17. Although they were in two completely different fields they always made sure to leave a place better than how they found it. They took pride in their work and whatever job they had was a reflection of them as a person. Both of my parents instilled the same morals and enforced the same pride in me and my brother. My mom would tell us every day is a new chance at putting your best foot forward and creating a new approach. My dad would always say do your best, but I want you to do better than me . It took years to understand what he meant by that but he lived out the american dream , he bought a house, he put his kids through college, he ran a successful business. But he always wanted more for us and as I got older I realized not everyone is programmed the same as me , not every one will work the way I do , but everyone has the potential .
I graduated college and set off in the job search and never wanted their years of hard work taken away in the blink of an eye because of me. I worked 4 jobs a day with the goal that one day I can go on my own and operate a business . This year I opened my own pizzeria . Being one of the only women owned pizzerias in New York is amazing , I take pride not only in my business, my product, but also in my staff . I believe no task is too small and no job is too big . As a team we can do anything and I make sure to work just as hard as the people around me . I lead by example and I am a firm believer that attitude and hard work is contagious if you have the right philosophy and outlook. Some might say that work ethic evolves from what you see growing up but I do believe that it can be taught if you have the right mindset. A great leader or boss is able to prioritize work, give importance to the job, offer gratification, and value what your staff has to say . Leaders are focused, goal oriented, and dependable ! Most importantly REAL LEADERS EAT LAST!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My story starts in The Bronx where I was working for my father at Louie and Ernie’s Pizza. Louie and Ernie’s has been in The Bronx for 65 years. Growing up in the pizza industry was no simple task . Starting at age 11where I learned to clean tables, serve, and work the cash register. I worked through out high school and some of college when home at the pizzeria. I went out on my own after receiving my college degree working in college athletics and was the head coach of a college softball team. As time went on I always felt that something was missing . I always would think about my time at the pizzeria and how I had learned how to cut cheese, make sauce, manage the place but there was one thing I didn’t know and that was making pizza.
I was in Atlanta at a women’s sports conference and the speaker said ” Women can do anything, be a pioneer in a industry that doubts you – who said you cant have a seat at the table” it was like something went off in me. All the years of watching men in my family thinking I couldn’t do it erased. As much as I loved college athletics and coaching I had to walk away and chase another dream. I knew how to do everything else in the business so why couldn’t I learn how to make pizza. So what there was not many of us out there why cant there be more. Let’s end the stigma . I flew home and quit my college job a week later. I walked into my dads pizzeria and said if I come back here full time I’m learning everything , no excuses, I am making pizza. I never want to be told I cant do something or that I cant have a seat at a table I belong at .
I showed up the next 4 months 3 days a week early as my dads apprentice . I turned ovens on , cooked Sicilians , learned how to make calzones, fix things that were broken in the pizzeria. No job wasn’t my responsibility or problem . My dad would always say “One day I wont be here and you will have to know how to do it on your own”. He taught me how to make pizza and still will always be my biggest critic because of how amazing he is at making pizza. He watched me for months on end when I would beg him to go home . It was his way of making sure I knew what I was doing , putting pressure on me to make sure its perfect representation of the product he worked hard at creating and yet enforced confidence in me so the day he did leave me solo I was ready .
My first day alone the oven went out , the bathroom flooded and a staff member did not show up but I was ready. The next 4 years I went on making pizza 6 days a week and managing the place for my dad . I fell more and more in love with pizza and the idea that people were in shock that I can do it . I joined the group women in pizza which was made up of women from all over the United States who were making pizza. I knew I wasn’t alone any more . As time went on I went to work on a wood fired pizza truck to learn a different style and decided to leave my dad’s pizzeria to fully study Detroit pizza. John Gristina who is the owner of Pizza Fenice and a world pizza champion instilled even more confidence in me as I finally was out of the shadow of my father. John was patient , full of information and made me think outside the pizza box. He was always pushing me to think outside my comfort zone and get creative with my pizza. I worked for John for only a couple of months and I always wish I had more time with him . After the first day I worked for him he told me never sell yourself short kid , you know what you are doing, you got this. I was always transparent with him that one day soon I would be opening my own place. His Detroit pizza was so good and fascinated me. I learned how to do it and listened to every bit of information that John offered. I still turn to John for advice and I am forever grateful to have met him and have him in my corner.
I finally opened my first pizzeria Tori T’s in March of 2024. Tori T’s offered the same style of NY pizza that my dad had taught me and my version of Detroit pizza that John showed me, and featured some wood fired recipes I learned on the truck. I am one of the only sole owned women pizzerias in New York and went from being one the only female pizza maker in The Bronx to one of the few on Long Island. I love that my place now allows me to have creative pizzas , different styles and how the limit doesn’t exist in pizza options. We were just named top 24 restaurants to try in Long Island, nominated for best pizza on the island and I’m looking forward to a bright future here.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back I think my adaptability to change , my accessibility to my staff and customers especially if something is wrong is critical to running a successful business but I am most proud of my coaching skill . Being that I was a college softball coach and worked with young kids for over ten years it helped me interact with my staff well. I am able to coach my staff to success and bring out the best in them as people and workers . I take the time to learn about each one of them , their passions, what fuels them as workers and help instill core values that they can take with them whether they are here working for me or out in another job. People want to be valued , heard and respected, I always feel in this industry it is often forgotten.
The best advice I can give to anyone is to jump and the net will appear . You have what it takes not only to be successful but to guide people to be the best version of themselves. It’s all about facing your fears and getting out in-front of what you were destined to do. Build yourself a corner of people to fall to when times get rough so you are never alone . Find the people who will remind you why you started out in the first place. The people you can shoot ideas off of and those that are not scared to hurt your feelings when you are wrong. Those are what I call my home base. When you are motivated you become resilient and nothing will stop you or get in your way .
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
It was once said “Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness” I am a firm believer that it’s in the darkest times you learn what you can do as a person. Darkness can sometimes overshadow a person’s ability to keep pushing that’s where determination and resilience sets in. It’s one thing to only focus on the strengths but it takes a different type of skill to be able to adapt and accept wanting to improve. Learning something new every day helps create new opportunities and keeps ideas in the work place flowing. I’m always setting out to read new articles, seminars , and workshops not only for making pizza but for being a small business owner. I want my business to have consistency but adaptable to society norms and new ideas. By setting off and learning 3 new styles of pizza was a true challenge but worked out in the end . The next style of pizza I would like to learn is Roman and focus on the skill of making different breads . In time I would like to go back to school for social media marketing with the intent to help other small businesses like my own.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://toritspizzeria.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tori_tspizzeria/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Tori-Ts-Pizzeria-61557085002760/
- Yelp: https://www.instagram.com/tori_tspizzeria/
Image Credits
Andrew Young
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