Seasonal Start Dates

We consider our seasonal pizzas our babies. As such, their start dates can be just as much of a moving target as due dates. We always hope to begin delivering seasonal pizzas by a certain calendar date, but sometimes Mother Nature has her own plans. We recently experienced this with Walla Walla Sweet Onions. This cool summer weather foiled our plans to start our popular Crostata when we wanted to. Despite valiant efforts on the part of the grower, Walla Walla Gardeners, the famous onion just wasn’t ready to come out of the ground. While waiting for them we tried those old wives tales to induce delivery. Caster oil. Herbs. Walking a lot. Nothing worked. We had to patiently wait for the onions to arrive in their own sweet time. When they finally did arrive, we pulled out our “It’s a Walla Walla” cigars and rejoiced. While we’re up and running with the Crostata now, our experience reminds us that our seasonal pizza start dates are at the mercy of the crop we are trying to promote. And much to the dismay of customers and crew, our seasonal start dates must continue to be vague.