Pizza Shop Entrepreneur Given Break by Braintree Board

In 2010, Spiros Stogiannis agreed to take over a friend's ailing pizza shop in South Braintree, using his corporate culinary chops to build his own restaurant out of the former PJ's Pizzeria.

Stogiannis immediately immersed himself in the task, coming up with a new name – Easy Pie – developing his own marketing, creating a website and carefully selecting produce and meats for fresher pizzas, burgers and sandwiches.

"It's been very, very difficult," Stogiannis told members of the Board of License Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon. "I'm not making any money yet."

Those always-busy habits – Stogiannis worked as the manager, chef, dishwasher and cleaner –  also led him to forgo several regulatory requirements of businesses, he said, including letting the PJ's food license lapse at the end of 2011.

"That's a significant amount of time to be operating without a license," board chair Joe Powers said.

Stogiannis agreed, saying that he had "dropped the ball."

"I apologize for that," he said.

The board ultimately approved a food license for Easy Pie, on the condition that he sort out pending certificates from the state, and declined to fine the Roslindale native for operating without a permit for five months.

After attending college for visual communications, Stogiannis entered the food industry, eventually working for six years for Legal Sea Foods and then running a dining hall at Wellesley College.

Easy Pie features a variety of food, including salads, calzones and subs, and is especially known for its specialty pizzas, like the Big Mac-inspired Mac Daddy and one topped with Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

A few months ago, Easy Pie was featured on Phantom Gourmet and saw an uptick in business, Stogiannis said. Since then he has been able to hire employees, though he still doesn't draw a paycheck for himself.

"I get there at eight in the morning, I leave at 11 at night," Stogiannis said. "I'm exhausted."