With only a couple of weeks under our belt, the HWLT HEART campaign has already received hundreds of nominations, and they don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. After a great deal of consideration, we were incredibly excited to announce the second winner, Florencia Pizza Bistro! The bistro received a whirlwind of nominations from dedicated customers and pizza lovers.
This pizza restaurant is located in Ahwatukee and has been for over 20 incredible years now. Currently, it employs 40 hardworking Arizonans, most of which are residents of Ahwatukee. Many locals love the bistro, as it supplies incredibly delicious pizzas for a fair price.
After being announced as the newest winner, Florencia Pizza Bistro opened its doors on Thursday, April 17th, happily awaiting its customers. Needless to say, the people of Arizona did not disappoint. In fact, there was a line far outside the doors of hungry people excitedly waiting to order some delicious pizza.
After only nine hours of business, which the owner Val was happy to say were the busiest nine hours of his life, Florencia Pizza Bistro sold 500 pizzas! During some points of the day, over 50 orders were waiting in the window to be filled. The restaurant reached far beyond the $4,000 goal, and for those waiting for their food, it felt like a typical, busy Friday night.
At the end of the day, the bistro had earned over three times what they normally make on a Friday. Even better, the momentum carried through to the weekend, and the Florencia was buzzing with pizza orders Friday through Sunday. Val told us that the HWLT HEART campaign had a huge impact on his business. To future winners, he warns them to “be prepared.”
If you would like to help out your favorite local establishment, head on over to our HWLT HEART page and submit a nomination. In these trying times, we should all be working together to help keep these beloved small businesses afloat. Without them, Arizona would not be what it is today. Thank you to everyone who has already submitted a nomination and a hearty congratulations to our two current winners.