How Big Was the Barstool Bump at This Metro Detroit Pizzeria?
Dave Portnoy gave Primavera in Livonia a very good score, and now the owner says he can hardly keep up with demand
Livonia — Dave Portnoy’s pizza reviews are a well-known phenomenon. Starting a decade ago, the Barstool founder kicked off his reviews with New York pizzerias, saying his goal was to review every pizza restaurant in the city. He soon expanded that nationwide, and this week he reviewed Primavera Pizza in Livonia.
Can a visit by Portnoy save a struggling pizzeria? How big of a boost are we talking about?
At Primavera Pizza, the impact was immediate. The parking lot was jammed parking lot with an unending flow of customers. The media ahovered nearby. The southeast corner of Six Mile and Middlebelt has been bopping more than usual.
Days after the Portnoy review—quite high at 8.4 —Michigan Enjoyer visited and spoke with owner Sokol Zoje. The man was very busy.
With little time to stand around bullshitting, Sokol never stopped moving.
“I’m backed up a full day in orders. If you order right now you might get your pizza tomorrow, but I can guarantee in two days.” Then one of his employees corrected him, “No, we can guarantee tomorrow.”
Sokol was not able to give an estimate on how much of a boost his business has received, but he compared it to Chow Down Detroit.
Chow Down, a Michigan-based social media influencer, visited Primavera Pizza earlier this year. Sokol says he received a substantial boost in customers for several weeks in response to that review, but says the Barstool Bump is stratospheric.
“I’m physically unable to make more than 200 pizzas a day, and I’m maxed out,” he said as he moved at a frantic pace with several waiting customers in his business and even more waiting in cars in the parking lot. “I’ll have to hire more help if I’m going to keep this up.”
Sokol’s operational tempo was frantic. He was stretching dough, saucing, and working the ovens. The man was locked in, and I was slowing him down by talking to him.
Sokol was not lamenting the current onslaught of customers. Rather, he appeared to be a man possessed, as though fighting a war with no end in sight, soldiering through pizza dough, seemingly unaware of his new fame and ignoring the mass of customers taking selfies, recording videos, or just watching with entranced eyes.
What exactly is the economic measure of the Barstool Bump? Can it be determined? Sokol is far too busy to find out.
Before turning back to his impossible task, he stopped briefly and smiled, giving his last comment in a thick foreign accent before turning back to his oven.
“I liked Dave. He was nice.”
