Pizza Pizza introduces Italian-style deep dish

TORONTO – Pizza Pizza is going deep to start the New
Year. That’s deep, as in Italian-style deep dish pan pizza, one of
several new menu items Pizza Pizza introduced this month in its close
to 400 traditional restaurants.

TORONTO – Pizza Pizza is going deep to start the New Year. That’s deep, as in Italian-style deep dish pan pizza, one of several new menu items Pizza Pizza introduced this month in its close to 400 traditional restaurants. Hot apple pie with no trans fat, onion rings and zesty breaded chicken wings with a new marinade are among the menu additions.

“The culinary team at Pizza Pizza University spends countless hours collecting feedback from the field and making sure our menu responds to the tastes and preferences of our customers,” said Pat Finelli, vice-president of marketing for Pizza Pizza. “We’re very demanding of our chefs and nutritionists, as well as our suppliers, and insist that the products we offer customers are made with the best quality and in the most flavourful way. Our deep dish pan pizza and apple pie offerings are a testimony to that philosophy.”

 Pizza Pizza’s Italian deep dish, which uses the same dough recipe as the company’s Classic pizza and contains its New York dry, cured pepperoni, differs from the Chicago-style pizza offered by other restaurant chains.

“The Italian-style pan pizza is prepared just like an Italian grandmother would at home,” Finelli said. “We cook our pan pizza in a medium 12-inch pan and the toppings are level with the pan, unlike the Chicago-style, where the toppings are essentially inside the middle of it. We increased the height of our pizza boxes to fit the new pan pizza, because the crust was touching the top of the boxes.”

 Pizza Pizza believes the foray into the pan-pizza market is a well-calculated business strategy.

“We understand our consumers and believe the time is ripe to enter the pan-pizza market,” stated Finelli. “Continual innovation and product development has served us well in the past and will likely help us grow our market share, both in the Quick Service Restaurant industry (QSR) and pizza market.”

Pizza Pizza is partnering with Rogers Video on a special promotion coinciding with the launch of its Italian-style pan pizza. Consumers purchasing a medium deep dish pizza will receive a rent-one, get-one-free coupon for video rentals at Rogers Video stores and can buy the second and third medium pepperoni pizza for $5 each.

 Consumers looking for a side dish or some dessert to go with their pan pizza can satisfy their appetite with the new offering of onion rings, lightly battered sweet onions cooked in trans fat-free oil, or apple pie that has zero trans fat, five grams of fat and 90 per cent of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Vitamin C.•