Posted on 01/05/2026 6:44:58 PM PST by logi_cal869
The restaurant industry is trying to figure out whether America has hit peak pizza.
Once the second-most common U.S. restaurant type, pizzerias are now outnumbered by coffee shops and Mexican food eateries, according to industry data. Sales growth at pizza restaurants has lagged behind the broader fast-food market for years, and the outlook ahead isn’t much brighter.
“Pizza is disrupted right now,” Ravi Thanawala, chief financial officer and North America president at Papa John’s International, said in an interview. “That’s what the consumer tells us.”
The parent of the Pieology Pizzeria chain filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December. Others, including the parent of Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings and Bertucci’s Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta, earlier filed for bankruptcy.
Pizza once was a novelty outside big U.S. cities, providing room for growth for independent shops and then chains such as Pizza Hut with its red roof dine-in restaurants. Purpose-made cardboard boxes and fleets of delivery drivers helped make pizza a takeout staple for those seeking low-stress meals.
Today, pizza shops are engaged in price wars with one another and other kinds of fast food. Food-delivery apps have put a wider range of cuisines and options at Americans’ fingertips. And $20 a pie for a family can feel expensive compared with $5 fast-food deals, frozen pizzas or eating a home-cooked meal.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
In the pizza kitchen, us pizza boys would tell the waitrons that it was "extra golden brown and delicious"... 😂😂
Took my kids to Pizza Hut...Pitcher of Root Beer and Pizza and everyone was happy.
Too many carbs.
NY and Jersey pizza are the best. I will always love pizza. I make my own dough, add my own sauce, them some shredded mozzarella and pepperoni. Better than the chains.
Do you deliver?
Right. Besides the political dumbassery of Ben &Jerry’s, their ice cream tastes to me like they threw as many sickeningly sweet ingredients as possible in, mixed them all together, and dreamed up some Leftist name to print on a label.
I like Häagen-dazs, and my favorite is Vanilla Swiss Almond. Very simple.
I am repelled by pizza that has more than two toppings on it. Others like it, and that is okay with me. To each their own.
Heheheh, I’ll bet!
Costco still sells a slice and a Coke for $3. Works for me.
Back in the day, when we rode bikes into town in northern Long Island, 25 cents a slice at one of the couple of pizza parlors pizza was, well… we got I guess spoiled. The oven in one is still there. Different ownership. Great pizza. The clientele is demanding.
There’s a Pizza Hut here nearby in flyover. I’ve never considered going there in 30 years.
The kids go for dominoes. I’ll take a slice. It’s not bad but it’s not the same.
Meanwhile visiting New York you can’t get a good tortilla to save a life.
It’s all in the bread and the atmosphere. Dry vs sea air And the flour itself. It changes per region
> “Pizza is disrupted right now,” Ravi Thanawala said…<
And what would a guy named Ravi Thanawala know about pizza?
Anyway, here’s the problem. Within a few minutes of my house there are five pizza shops. Count ‘em, five. One is a well-known chain store. The other four are small businesses. All make a good pizza, at a decent price.
The market is just over-saturated. Something’s got to give. There are too many pizza shops here for what I’m sure is a good demand.
I’d like to say more, but I’ve got to phone in a pizza for delivery now. $16.99 for an extra-large pizza with three toppings. Can’t beat it.
🍕
Local Pizza Hut used to be a good place - eat-in with a buffet on Tuesdays, good tasting pizza, friendly staff. Then they closed it and opened a take-out only place that serves lousy pizza. There are some pretty good frozen pizzas out there for 10 bucks or less that are better than any of the chain places (my fave is Screamin’ Sicilian Thin and Crispy), and the smaller pizzerias and Italian places are prohibitively expensive. Plus, as has been pointed out in the comments, it’s not hard to make a good home-made pizza just the way you like it - my simple home-made sauce (crushed tomatoes + seasonings mixed in a blender and chilled) is easy and cheap and I like it. So I don’t go out for pizza much anymore.
Whatever pizza hut puts on their pizza, i wouldn’’t call it cheese
All we are saying, is Give Pizza A Chance!
I’m a big fan of homemade pizza - the commercial stuff I can do without and usually do.
Yup
Lou Malnatis
The best pizzas have well kept (”secret”) sources for their cheese and tomatos. They also use certain types of tomatos that really work well for pizzas.
Too many grains.
A lot of people have cut out the whites ... sugar and flour.
Pizza Hut used to be the place to go especially for birthdays.
Don't remember the last time I was in one but it was before the Great Silliness.
It did not feel like a fun place to be. It felt like, eat your food and get out.
You’re right on the taste thing - also by the time Instacart adds on all their extra expenses - and you’re 4th or 5th on the delivery person’s run... and the box isn’t taped shut... Well, it’s not as good as it used to be - even from second level pizzerias...
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