PRINCETON PIZZERIA DEBUTS ONLINE ORDERING SERVICE; COLLECTS EXTRA DOUGH

    /24-7PressRelease/ - LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ, July 09, 2008 - Conventional pizzeria wisdom: As temperatures heat up, sales cool down. Hometowns experience a mass exodus as patrons disperse to far-flung vacation destinations, graduations and weddings. Pizzeria promotion grinds to a halt, as does the delivery staff.

Unless your pizzeria happens to be owned by the Candelas, Mercer County masters of pizza who have been in the restaurant business so long that Candela spokesman Frank Candela can't even remember a time when the family did anything else.

"I think my great-great-great grandfather was making pizzas for Saint Peter," Frank joked, "but customers are different now, which is why we decided to start with online ordering."

The service, located at candelapizza.com, is quite extensive, allowing customers to order lunch, dinner or catering for pick-up or delivery from either Candela location in New Jersey. Customers may pay online via credit card, there's a tip calculator to aid the arithmetic-impaired, and a "favorites" function to remember, say, your regular Friday night dinner and file it away for easy re-ordering.

Store coupons have been configured to work online, too, in order to maximize the number of customers to whom the service will appeal.

A major summer promotion has been planned, including direct mailers, print ads, in-store signage and online advertising with a target of 1,000,000 impressions.

Candela Pizzerias partnered with their Agency of Record, CrowdConnect Group of Princeton, NJ, to implement and manage the service, as well as the accompanying ad campaign.

"Due to increased fuel prices and airfares, consumers are staying closer to home this year. This, coupled with an uncluttered pizza marketing environment during the summer months, should provide us with a great head start for our online ordering efforts," explained Patrick Diogenia, Founding Partner of CrowdConnect.

Mr. Candela, 41, is anxious to appropriate a piece of the multi-billion dollar online food ordering business for himself.

"We've already seen a great return," Frank added as he led a waiting couple to a corner booth. "Have you heard about our new online ordering?" he interjected as soon as they sat. "We're the first independent pizzeria around here to have it, so I just want to tell everyone."

Candela has also planned renovations to their Lawn Park location in Lawrence, which has been the wellspring of the chain for the past forty years. Complete details, photos and menus are available at candelapizza.com.

About CrowdConnect Group, LLC

CrowdConnect Group, LLC , is a marketing consultancy and advertising agency that advises clients in the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries on the full range of elements critical to their success. From marketing strategy and public relations to operations consulting, menu development, long-range planning and acquisition of financing, CrowdConnect delivers the 'full plate' of business-critical tasks to qualified entrepreneurs, mid-size companies and enterprises.

Patrick Diogenia, Founding Partner, signed his first clients to the firm in 2004, including the City of Philadelphia and Knight Ridder (now McClatchy Co.). Diogenia, a former television personality and recording artist, continues to lead the firm today.

For more information on CrowdConnect, please visit the firm's website, crowdconnect.com.


About Candela Ristorante & Pizzeria

Candela Pizzerias is a family-owned company that specializes in providing delicious, authentic Italian food to consumers and businesses via its two retail locations, network of delivery drivers and their recently launched Catering by Candela initiative.

Candela oversees the longest continually operating pizzeria in Lawrence, NJ, located on Lawn Park Avenue near Rider University. Their newest location on Quakerbridge Road in Lawrence opened in August 2006. For more information on Candela, please visit their website candelapizza.com .

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