About Jack💡Jack Lander is the co-founder and managing director of Bristol-based pizza chain Pizzarova. He’s helped it grow from a mobile pizza oven in a Land Rover to a four-restaurant success story, all while staying true to their ethos of good-mood food, in a relaxed, warm environment, using high quality local suppliers. Jack credits his brilliant team as the company’s most significant achievement.
We sat down with Jack to talk about his journey from a Land Rover to a multi-site brand, learning from mistakes and evolving the business, mentoring the next generation, and how tools like Nory support his team.
Pizzarova opened their first bricks-and-mortar site in early 2016 but before that came a year selling pizzas from the back of a Land Rover. So, why ditch the vehicle? “At the time, we were part of that wave with brands like Honest Burger and Pilgrims, when street food was starting to feel like a legitimate route to market. We realised quickly there was demand for great food outside the traditional restaurant format.”
Making the big leap happened fast. With the team not having the chance to lay much groundwork, the restaurant had a slow start: “But Bristol is amazing. Once we opened up, showed a bit more of our personality, and leaned into who we really were, the city embraced us.”
It’s clear from chatting to Jack how fond he is of Bristol – something that also comes through in the brand itself: “When we stripped back the marketing a bit and started involving the team – putting up local artwork, partnering with charities, donating pizzas – it clicked. We really embedded ourselves into the community and found our identity.”
"If people are asking for something different, you have to adapt"
But moving from a Land Rover to an actual site still took a real leap of faith, and a confidence that the Pizzarova offering could adapt to its new environment.
“It was hectic and expensive, that’s what I remember most! We picked the wrong site initially, to be honest. We wanted a fast-paced, high-turnover, community-focused corner spot. What we ended up with was more of a neighbourhood pizzeria, where people wanted to sit for hours, drink wine, have dessert – a totally different vibe.
So we had to pivot quickly. We went from a grab-and-go model to a full restaurant setup. It meant reworking a lot of our vision, but in doing that, we actually developed a better product. The sit-down setting made us really focus on the quality of the food, and that set a higher bar from day one.”
It proved a valuable early lesson that’s informed the business since: “You can have a strong vision, but if people are clearly asking for something different, you’ve got to adapt.”
"You can't grow without a great team"
In fact, missteps are all part of the journey for Jack. In the beginning, he admits, he wanted to do everything himself: “But the truth is, you can’t grow without a great team. At this stage, I’m not doing everything – I’m setting vision, giving purpose, and supporting people when they need it.”
And having made a few mistakes before tasting the highs of hospitality, Jack’s the perfect mentor for students at a Bristol business school, impressing on the next generation the importance of keeping pace with technology: “On the front end, do what you’re comfortable with. But on the back end – you have to get with the times. If you’re still paying someone to sit and build spreadsheets, that’s not sustainable. That time could be spent on the floor, doing the stuff they actually signed up for: serving guests, making great food, being part of the experience.”
To Jack’s mind, it’s about giving people more freedom: “If they don’t have to spend hours doing admin, they’ll stick around longer, the job will be more enjoyable, and the customer experience will be better.”
"Data supports gut instinct - It backs up theories"
That philosophy extends to the ever-growing importance of data and AI. At Pizzarova, they’re not the be-all-end-all, but useful tools to help guide your judgement:
“For us, data supports gut instinct – it backs up theories more than it forms them. You need to be aware of what’s selling and what’s not, but we also factor in customer feedback, seasonality, and trends. Sometimes you get one piece of feedback that makes you question something, but then the data shows it’s actually doing great overall. It keeps you balanced.”
So, what does that look like in a normal week? “With Nory, we’ve got a live view of sales, labour, and cost of goods – key indicators that tell us whether we’re making money or not. Our fixed costs don’t change much month to month, so it’s really about understanding those three levers and staying reactive—especially with things like seasonality.
We have a weekly check-in where we review numbers with the team. If labour is high, for example, we’ll look at whether we’ve just recruited new team members and are investing in training. If supplier prices go up or we change menu pricing, we’re tracking it.”
For Jack and the team at Pizzarova, data insights aren’t the finished dish; they’re ingredients which, combined with their expertise and knowledge, can be turned into something special: “The key is rhythm. If you’re making big decisions in isolation, you’re probably not engaged enough in the day-to-day. That regular heartbeat is essential in hospitality, especially once you’re operating at scale.”