Sammy Mandell is a visionary entrepreneur. He opened his first pizzeria when he was just 23 years old in 2007, bringing a slice concept to a late-night district in Dallas, Texas. The business has persevered many obstacles in its first decade. In 2014, Sammy renovated and rebranding the neighborhood pizzeria into Greenville Avenue Pizza Company (GAPCo). A second location followed in 2017.
Together with his wife Molly, Sammy has developed a pizza concept that has been ranked on Fortune’s 100 Fastest Growing Inner-City Businesses and Pizza Today’s Hot 100 Independents lists. Sammy is also a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.
Last year, Sammy became Pizza Today’s first Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He continually injects creativity and ingenuity into every aspect of the business. He has developed trademark products and revolutionized his employee culture by creating the trademarked persona of the Pizza Slayer. He has harnessed technology and content creation to attract and retain top talent. He pushes boundaries to lead not only his team but also to inspire the pizzeria industry to rethink how to approach operations, employee management and growth.