What happens when a pizza shop expects to do $6,000 a day... but ends up doing $16,000? In this episode, Eidref visits Odie's Pizza in San Diego and sits down with founder Odie O’Connor to discuss one of the fastest-growing pizza concepts in Southern California. From building a vegan Detroit-style pizza brand in Portland to launching a surf-inspired sourdough pizza shop that generated over $1 million in its first few months, Odie shares the systems, mindset, and lessons behind scaling a high-volume restaurant. This conversation covers dough production, team building, customer service, expansion plans, and the mental challenges that come with explosive growth. Highlights:00:52 – Crushing Projections: From $6K Days to $16K Days 01:12 – Producing Up to 800 Pizzas Per Day 01:42 – The Dough System Powering High Volume 02:12 – Why Odell Returned to San Diego 02:42 – Building a Surf, Skate & Punk Rock Pizza Brand 03:12 – The Unexpected Explosion in Sales 03:42 – Scaling Without Selling Out 04:12 – Managing a 22-Person Team During Peak Service 04:32 – Redefining What's Possible in a Small Space 04:52 – What Good Dough Means to Odell 05:22 – High Hydration, Long Fermentation & Sourdough 05:52 – Switching From Conveyor Ovens to PizzaMaster Ovens 06:32 – The Hardest Part of Running a High-Volume Restaurant 07:12 – Training Pizza Makers Under Pressure 07:42 – Handling Customer Complaints the Right Way 08:22 – Why Great Customer Service Builds Loyalty 08:52 – Growing From Pop-Up to Food Truck to Brick & Mortar 09:32 – Why Starting Small Matters 09:52 – The Pizza That Defines Odie's 10:22 – Expanding to a Second Location 10:52 – Raising Capital and Scaling the Brand 11:32 – Surpassing First-Year Revenue Goals 12:12 – The Reality of Overnight Success 12:42 – Managing Stress as an Entrepreneur 13:22 – Therapy, Mindset, and Staying Present 14:02 – What If Everything Goes Right? 14:32 – Gratitude, Success, and Building Something You Love Follow them:https://www.instagram.com/propizzamaker/https://www.facebook.com/papaspizzacaborojo/ Thank you to our show sponsors: Bacio Cheese:https://bit.ly/3FmQ3up Corto:https://bit.ly/457DNII Join my Instagram Community Channel: https://www.instagram.com/channel/AbbWnReTYIlCfO21/ Patreon Page: patreon.com/whatsgooddough DM @whatsgooddoughhttps://www.instagram.com/whatsgooddough/email me: claire@whatsgooddough.com Topic: odies pizza, odie's pizza san diego, san diego pizza, sourdough pizza, sourdough pizza shop, pizza business growth, high volume pizzeria, pizza restaurant systems, pizza dough production, pizza master ovens, pizza entrepreneur, pizza shop success story, restaurant scaling, restaurant operations, pizza business podcast, what’s good dough podcast, eidref podcast, surf skate pizza culture, california pizza, pizza startup story, million dollar pizzeria, restaurant leadership, pizza team building, pizza customer service, expanding a pizzeria, restaurant growth strategy, pizza industry insights, opening a second restaurant, successful pizza business, san diego food scene, artisan pizza business, pizza operator mindset