Sundance Star Spotting

Celebrity watching at Sundance isn't necessarily as easy as you'd think it would be - at least it hasn't been for us. We'd heard that this year there were going to be lots of great actors milling about the festival but we hadn't seen anyone yet. We started to think that maybe it was because we didn't have the inside scoop on where the celebrities were hanging out, or maybe we were just too busy delivering pizza and not paying enough attention!

I have to admit, we were starting to get discouraged a bit. We'd been at the festival a few days and still hadn't seen a spec of stardom (at least none we'd recognized). Not even a glimmer of glamour - nothing! Sure we'd heard rumblings that Jessica Alba, James Franco and Kristen Stewart were in town, but we sure hadn't any luck spotting them. We would enter a restaurant and the hostess would say, "You just missed Ben Affleck!" or we'd hear people saying, "Did you see what Paris (Hilton) was wearing?" We'd scoured Main Street, screenings, parties and panel discussions but our timing must have been off, that is until we went to see the premiere of "Get Low".

We clearly hadn't done our research on the film when we were star struck to discover legendary comedic actor, Bill Murray in our midst! There he was standing outside the theatre with a small entourage. A real live movie star in the flesh! And one talented enough to be cast in an independent film at Sundance! We're not sure why he had a crutch but he was pleasant and smiled for the few people who noticed him before being led into the theatre.

Bill Murray outside the Eccles Theatre at Sundance.

We thought that was it until the premiere started and out he walked onto the stage, followed by more stars! Sissy Spacek and veteran actor, Robert Duvall both joined Murray and were introduced as the stars of "Get Low". It was pretty exciting to see these celebrities up close and then watch them perform in the incredible film that followed. Following the screening, they once again came out on the stage for an informal question and answer period with a huge audience full of people. A few brave souls raised their voices to ask questions about their experiences in the film and in true character, Bill Murray commanded the stage and had the audience roaring in laughter.

Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray at Sundance Q & A session for premiere of "Get Low"

Click below to watch a funny video clip from the Q & A at "Get Low: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch3Qpw5vgT4

It's official, we're hooked on star gazing! Hopefully there are many more stars in our future!

The Real Stars of the Sundance Show.

It's no doubt that the volunteers at Sundance are an integral part of making the event run efficiently. Some may say they're actually the real stars of the show here. The Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization, therefore it relies heavily on donations, sponsors and the dedication of thousands of people - many of whom don't get paid a cent.

Festival volunteers enjoying our pizza.

We've noticed the volunteers everywhere at the resort. They can be seen in the theatres, at the info booths and the box office, and even directing traffic. This year 1,600 people have graciously donated their time to be a part of this world renowned festival. Sure, they get to see some fantastic screenings and are fed great meals from Nick-N-Willy's pizza, but for the most, they're worked hard over the course of the 10-day event.


We had the chance to speak with Emily Aagaard, the Manager of the Sundance Festival Volunteers, to learn more about how the volunteer operation works, why Sundance values having a pizza sponsor this year, and what the volunteers really think about Nick-N-Willy's Pizza!

Interviewing Emily Aagaard, Manager of Sundance Festival Volunteers

Click here to watch our video interview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lk4wsg1YVM

Sundance Fever

Party time at Sundance - Legacy Lodge Opening Party

The moment had finally arrived. After months of anticipation we touched down in Park City, Utah and found ourselves in a mystical winter wonderland buzzing with excitement about the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Right away it was apparent that everyone we met was absolutely thrilled to be here. The volunteers were incredibly enthusiastic to help direct us to the Eccles theatre for our first screening and provide insight into where and how to meet the stars. They were even more eager to help us out when they found out we were their pizza provider! Many of them had already been served our pizza and were already anticipating their next delivery!

Volunteers enjoying our pizza

Even our hard working crews at Nick-N-Willy's in Salt Lake City and Park City were getting into the spirit of the festival with their branded chef hats and newly hung window signage. Starting tomorrow the orders are really going to start pumping out of our restaurants, especially in Park City.

Nick-N-Willy's staff in Salt Lake City (top) and Park City

Nick-N-Willy's VP of Operations, Paola Rossi and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the premiere screening of "Restrepo", a war documentary that was both shocking and fascinating. Following that, we headed for the Sundance Opening Night Party at the Legacy Lodge.

Inside the Sundance Opening Night Party

This uber-artsy extravaganza boasted four floors of film industry movers and shakers schmoozing the night away. We had a blast trying to keep up with the crowd and met a few savvy locals who shared some serious Sundance "how to" tips.

Tanis Sullivan, PR Manager and Paola Rossi, VP Operations, strike a pose at Sundance

Within just a few hours of being here, we can definitely say we've caught Sundance fever, and we've only just scratched the surface of our adventure here.

Nick-N-Willy's will be dishing it out at the Sundance Film Festival

The crew from Nick-N-Willy's is headed to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah tomorrow to dish out hundreds of meals to thousands of hungry festival volunteers. From our Park City restaurant, we'll be turning out close to 700 pizzas and countless focaccia sandwiches and salads as part of our contribution to this world renowned international film event. We've ramped up staff and delivery vehicles to accommodate this exciting opportunity, and will be travelling "behind-the-scenes" to deliver the goods. That means, we'll have access to some interesting festival perspectives that we want to share with you!

Beginning tomorrow, we'll be posting tweets and updates on our Twitter feed and Facebook Fan Page, plus we'll provide updates here on our Slice of Life blog. Through our pictures, video and posts you'll be able to come along on our Sundance Film Festival "Feast" and see how we make our way through the festival delivering hundreds of pizzas and taking in all the sites. You never know we may run into a celebrity or two.

Stay tuned......

Find us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nick_n_willys and on Facebook by clicking here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/wwwnicknwillyscom/Nick-N-Willys-Pizza/138765372253?ref=mf

Hot, Crispy Pizza on a Cold, Crispy Night at the Loveland, CO Nick-N-Willy’s

My family and I were recently invited to try out one of Nick-N-Willy’s pizzas and who can resist a free large pizza in exchange for a few thoughts? Our choices were between the Big Kahuna and the Canadian Chicken Club varieties. Seeing as the temperature outside was below zero, my family of five was dying to get their hands on a little tropical pizza paradise so we went with the Big Kahuna. One of the nice things Nick-N-Willy’s offers that their take-n-bake competitors don’t is the option of eating in and having the pizza come out piping hot from their stone oven. That was a huge plus for us as the pizza would have been frozen by the time we got home if we had taken it to go. With a family of five, we wanted to make sure we had enough food to go around so we also ordered a medium Olde Fashioned Italian pizza and a large order of foccacia breadsticks. The staff was very friendly and answered any questions we had making the ordering process painless.

After we ordered, we had a seat and relaxed. After only a few minutes our breadsticks were already out and on the table. The breadsticks were crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside and were accompanied by marinara sauce for dipping.

By the time we were done with the breadsticks the pizzas were finished and brought out to the table piping hot, pre-cut and ready to serve. The Big Kahuna is a slightly different twist on a traditional Hawaiian pizza. It not only has pineapple and Canadian bacon on a red sauce base, it also has mandarin oranges. This was a huge selling point for everyone in the family. The cheese and toppings were abundant and everything tasted fresh. Their stone oven produced a wonderful, flavorful, crispy crust that was also a highlight. The Big Kahuna was a big hit and will definitely be on my family’s frequently ordered list.


The second pizza, the Olde Fashioned Italian, came out at the same time and looked just as good. The pizza is a combination of nine different ingredients but the seasoned beef, feta cheese, garlic and black olives really brought it all together and provided a nice contrast to the sweeter Big Kahuna.

Overall, the visit was a great success. The pizzas were piping hot, flavorful, well-made and not skimped on. Everything we ordered we would certainly order again and even though we have a take-n-bake competitor in our home town of Windsor, Nick-N-Willy’s in Loveland, CO provides a much better menu and the ability to have the pizza cooked for you in their oven is a huge plus and worth the extra 10 miles we had to drive.


On this night I would rate the Loveland, CO Nick-N-Willy’s a 10 out of 10.


Sam Dreyer is a married, father of three from Windsor, CO

Wild Willy Pizza Combo "Uncovered" by Karen Beers

After a hard day of investigating, what better way to discuss the case than with a Nick-N-Willy’s pizza. We have tried other take and bake pizzas, but we love the way the pizza is crispy on the bottom with the Nick-N-Willy’s pan versus the soggy affect you sometimes get with some pizza crusts. When I saw the opportunity to receive a free pizza from Nick-N-Willy’s and all I had to do was write a review, I jumped at the chance.

Wild Willy Combo Pizza after being baked in our oven.

This particular pizza we had not tried before, we usually get the thin and crispy Margherita, but we were open to try a different pizza. This pizza was the “Wild Willy Pizza Combo”. Well, first let me say that this is quite the pizza with loads of ingredients. We chose the spicy sausage over the Italian sausage along with the salami, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, seasoned beef, mushrooms, black olives, green and red peppers, red onions, and Roma tomato slices on top of their tangy tomato sauce. All of those fresh meats and veggies were topped with plenty of mozzarella, cheddar and provolone cheeses. I must say that was one heck of a pizza, and I’m sure you can see for yourself just by looking at the photos that this pizza was not lacking any ingredients.

This pizza is loaded with flavor, which satisfied every taste bud from tangy and spicy to sweet and salty, not to mention satisfaction of the appetite. I must have said, “This is really good” about six times while the two of us devoured the entire large pizza. Yes, I am ashamed to admit it, but we ate the whole thing and to top it off we even had one of Nick-N-Willy’s awesome take and bake chocolate chip cookies. We rolled around for hours after this huge meal, but it was really, really, really good! Nick-N-Willy’s classifies the “Wild Willy Pizza Combo” under the heading “Ultimate Pizzas” and we can certainly see why. It was an ultimate pizza and one we would order again.

Dean and Karen Beers are Legal Investigators and own Forensic Investigators of Colorado. http://www.forensic-investigators.com/. They love what they do and are diligent in their investigating no matter how big or small the case might be. They are proud parents of two beautiful daughters and recently became proud grandparents of a beautiful granddaughter, and handsome identical twin grandsons. Dean and Karen are very thankful and fortunate to have their healthy family and a fulfilling career.

Own a Pizza Franchise For Only $50K Down

Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza has five amazing resale opportunities !!!

· Chanhassen MN
· Holladay UT
· Vancouver WA
· Plano TX
· Kansas City KS

Own one of these Pizza Franchises:

· Only $50K down
· Owner will finance
· 5% interest rate

All of these locations are being individually sold for just $50,000 down with the balance being financed through us, the franchisor.

The only catch is we're looking for the right candidate. Not everybody will be able to qualify for this financing deal. Only strong candidates with management and sales backgrounds who have a strong desire to follow systems will be considered. We’re not in the business of running locations, we’re in the business of running a franchise system, and if we find the perfect candidate who wants to run this store and make it hugely successful, then we will offer this deal.

These restaurants have been open for anywhere from one to five years, and gross revenues have ranged from $250,000 to $500,000 annually. All five of these stores have a sale price of under $250,000. We are currently accepting offers from pre-qualified candidates. We will be selecting the best candidates over the next couple months and making our final decision and offers.

Watch our new franchise video:

http://www.nicknwillys.com/files_2/franchising.php

To learn more contact:

Jason Brice
Franchise Development Manager
1-866-985-8586 x422