Bitesize 28 - I’ll Have Pizza, Please

The Toledo Blade reports that pizza market there is competitive, but it appears that pizzerias still go out of business - there and elsewhere. Still, according to the article, “only 388 pizzerias went out of business from July 2004 to July 2005.” This is compared to 1,139 from the previous year.

One trend I’ve noticed, at least at pizza parlours in Canada, is an expansion in the number of non-pizza items on their menu. This might be due in part to expansion of menu items at many fast food restaurants. Several, whose names I won’t mention, are now offering food items that are not traditionally part of their menu.

But there’s a new contender that’s coming to North America that may give pizzerias an advatange, at least for a while. Pizza cones are the rage in Korea, other parts of Asia, and even in Europe.

In other pizza news, San Diego Papa John’s pizzerias were hopping recently, making 13,500 pizza pies and setting an unofficial world record. The pies were for sailors and shipbuilders completing a new cargo ship.

They should have hired pizzaiolo Giovanni Crapanzano, who at six years of age is already a veteran pizza maker - having started tossing dough at the age of 3.