"Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold." Those Girl Scouts sure were on to something with that old song, weren't they? You already know that your regular customers are gold. Sure there's obvious monetary value in their frequent visits, but they're also the ones filling seats on the slower nights of the week, helping give your restaurant an air of vibrancy. And regulars are the ones most likely to pass along word-of-mouth recommendations—or tweets, Facebook posts, Foursquare check-ins and even blog posts.

But how do you turn a customer into a regular?

Paulie Gee'sis an artisanal pizzeria in Brooklyn's Greenpoint area. In a neighborhood rich with dining options, Paulie's is consistently packed with regulars. The world-class pizza might bring them in initially, but owner Paul Giannone's studied practices keep them coming back. We asked him what he does.

Hire local staff

"I hire people from the neighborhood whenever possible," Giannone says. "I like it to be difficult to tell the customers and the staff apart."

Not only does hiring ultra locally help ingratiate Paulie Gee's to the neighborhood, it gives the non-locals a reliable source of intel. Need the number of a taxi service to take you home? What's the best subway route back to your hotel? Want a recommendation for something to do in Greenpoint after dinner? The knowledgeable staff has it covered.

Involve the Community

Beyond hiring locally, Giannone draws on the resources around him for all aspects of the restaurant. When building the place, he hired the Greenpoint-based design grouphOmEto craft the interior. They in turn usematerials reclaimedfrom local tear-downs to fashion unique spaces for their clients.

Giannone also smartly incorporates ingredients from neighborhood food purveyors into his menu.BaconMarmalade, made by a Greenpointer, is a topping on one of his pizzas. Giannone partnered with the duo fromOvenly; they use his kitchen for baking and in turn supply the pizzeria with desserts. His bartender, Mike Kurtz, makesMike's Hot Honeyout of Paulie Gee's kitchen and keeps the pizzeria stocked with the condiment for its "Hellboy" pizza.

Additionally, Giannone buys produce for two of his signature pizzas —the "Rooftop Red" and the "Greenpointer" (see that additional nod to the neighborhood?)—from a nearby rooftop-based urban farm. And the ice cream for desserts comes fromVan Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, another Greenpoint business.

Keep It simple

Although it might not be right for all small restaurants, Giannone eschews POS registers. "I do my best to keep the place very low-tech. No POS system for me," he says. "I don't want it to feel like a concept masquerading as a neighborhood joint. I want it tobea neighborhood joint."

The lack of high-tech doodads gives Paulie Gee's a warm, casual air and the feeling that customers are more than just walking ATMs.

Spreading the word

"The best part about Greenpoint, though, is that nobody here is from here," Giannone says, referring to the high percentage of young transplants moving into the area. "They all bring their parents in to pay for the meal when they're visiting from back home." Those folks then go out and evangelize to future potential guests. "Although we're a neighborhood place, we get people in from all over the world on a regular basis."