Why “Good is Horrible” in the Restaurant Business: Inside Andolini’s Tulsa Empire

Written by Jennie Wolek

Why “Good is Horrible” in the Restaurant Business: Inside Andolini’s Tulsa Empire header image.

Welcome back to Tulsa Looks Good On You, where we spotlight the incredible people and businesses that make our community special!

I’m Jennie Wolek with The Wolek Group. Today, we are sitting down with Tulsa restaurant royalty: Mike Bausch. Over the last 21 years, Mike has grown a single pizza shop into an absolute empire, including Andolini’s Pizzeria and Prossimo Ristorante.

Here is a look at what it takes to survive the brutal restaurant industry and how his team put Tulsa on the map!

Building a Tulsa Empire 🏙️

If you have eaten in Tulsa, you have likely experienced one of Mike’s concepts. By the end of 2026, his team will operate 14 different entities across the metro, including:

5 Andolini's Pizzerias
Prossimo Ristorante (Fine dining on Cherry Street)
2 Mother Road Market Locations
The Tulsa Flag Mart (Inside the Tulsa Airport!)

The Secret to Success: "Fine is Horrible" 🛑

The restaurant industry is notoriously tough. So, what is Mike’s secret to surviving and thriving?

"Good is fine, and fine is horrible."

As Mike explains, if a customer leaves your restaurant and says the experience was just "fine," that is just as bad for business as them actively hating it. To survive, you have to deliver a "wow" experience every single time. To ensure his product was the absolute best, Mike even traveled to California to learn directly from the greatest pizza makers in the world. If you want to be better, you have to put yourself in a better room!

Creating an Elite Team Culture 🤝

You can't deliver an amazing experience without an amazing team. Mike leads his staff with ideological buy-in. He compares his team to a high school football squad—they show up early and work incredibly hard because they feel like they are part of something elite. By taking a highly human approach to management, he has built a fiercely loyal team.

Breaking a World Record (and Beating NYC!) 🏆

A few years ago, Andolini's organized an event to break the Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously eating pizza. The previous record was 1,000 people—and cities like New York, Chicago, LA, and Dallas had all tried and failed to beat it.

Tulsa showed up and absolutely shattered it with 3,323 people! Even better? That massive community effort raised enough money to send seven kids on Make-A-Wish trips.

The American Dream is Alive in Tulsa 🌟

Though Mike grew up in New York and California, he wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

"This city just has all the best aspects of America," Mike shares. "The American Dream still totally exists here. Entrepreneurship is still a standard-bearer, and we get to be a part of it."