How Mąka i Woda made delivery a reliable 15–20% of sales with Wolt

Mąka i Woda began with a simple idea: honest food, done well. For founder Paweł Fabiś, that means wood-fired pizza, handmade pasta and high standards. More than a decade on, the same families still come back, proof that quality and genuine care stand the test of time. And, as tastes and habits evolve, delivery has become another way for him to share his passion with even more people.

Paweł Fabiś spent years cooking in the United States: burger places, neighborhood spots, and Michelin-star kitchens. He loved simple food done well: pizza, bread, pasta. In 2013 he brought that idea home and opened Mąka i Woda in Warsaw, Poland. The menu is straightforward: neo-Neapolitan pizza from a wood-fired oven and fresh pasta made by hand.

“We opened 13 years ago, and the same people still come. They used to arrive with five-year-old kids. Now those kids show up as adults, coming in on dates. That tells me we’re doing something real,” Paweł says.

Spending time in New York, Paweł developed a taste and appreciation for Detroit-style pizza. Rectangular pans. Light crumb. Caramelized cheese edge. Different, and delicious.

“I loved it. I started bringing pans back to Warsaw and experimenting at home, giving slices to friends, asking what they thought.”

In 2022 those trials became Kwadratowy Pies, and he created a small counter spot with a tight, square-pie menu.

When the doors were forced to close, the plans had to change

Before 2020, delivery wasn’t on the table. “We never considered it,” Paweł says. “The house was full every day so there was no need.”

That changed overnight with the lockdowns. “Suddenly, delivery was the only way to sell. We were taking orders by phone, driving them out ourselves, but without software or a fleet, you max out at maybe five or six orders a day. You can’t scale that.”

Paweł looked for delivery that would protect the food. “When it’s -5°C outside, you can’t send pizza in a regular bag and expect it to taste the same. That’s a hard no for me,” he says. “From the start, Wolt’s drivers were professional, they had the right equipment and looked after the food.”

Responsiveness mattered too. “Sometimes you open in the morning and realize you’ll rely on delivery that day, but the app isn’t working. With Wolt we could fix it fast; ten minutes later we were live.”

Integrating tech and rethinking workflows 

Early on, delivery orders arrived on the Wolt tablet and were entered into the point of sale system (POS) by hand. But after connecting Wolt to the point of sale system, orders now drop straight into the POS and print on the kitchen printer like dine-in tickets. The pace feels steadier and delivery runs as part of the normal service.

 “That integration solved a lot of problems,” he says. “It made delivery part of our normal flow.”

Pickups are set up to move quickly. There is a clear pickup spot near the door and a small waiting area so couriers don’t crowd the counter. “These small things matter. If drivers are comfortable, orders move faster, and customers get their food in better shape.”

In the Wolt tablet the team can set shorter prep times at lunch and longer prep times at dinner to reflect how the kitchen moves during those service times. 

Clear results, split by concept

On a normal day, the team prepares around 100 Wolt orders across the two kitchens. 

At Mąka i Woda, Wolt makes up 15–20% of orders, enough to add steady weekday demand without changing how the dining room runs. At Kwadratowy Pies, it’s 35–40%. The Detroit-style format travels well, so the team treats delivery as part of the nighttime routine. “It’s a good part of our sales,” Paweł says.

What’s next?

Paweł’s focus now is growing Kwadratowy Pies into a slightly larger spot with room to sit, have a beer, and hang out. He is also exploring a location that would operate only on Wolt.

“We’d like a slightly larger spot where you can have a beer inside, maybe a pinball or a couple of arcade machines,” Paweł says.

His advice for anyone weighing delivery is simple: match the partner to your standards, and build for the road from day one. “Quality. We make everything by hand from great ingredients, and we needed a partner who could match that.”