Nov. 26, 2008 – Any way you slice it, pizza is the food of choice as Americans prepare for Thanksgiving. Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce might be staples on Thanksgiving Day, but pizza is the official food on Thanksgiving Eve.
Pizza sales on the day before Thanksgiving are 50 percent to 80 percent
higher than on a typical Wednesday, said Tom Santor, spokesman for
Donatos. That makes Thanksgiving Eve one of the biggest days of the
year for pizza.
"Everybody is running around trying to prepare for Thanksgiving. The
stove is full. It's really, really hard to cook on Thanksgiving Eve, so
pizza is the perfect alternative. It's almost tradition now,'' Santor
said, adding that Donatos is introducing a new two-pizza big value box
with 32 pieces.
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| Topping it off: Mike Cool cuts a pepperoni pizza as part of an order at Donatos Pizza, 1465 W. 86th St. |
Pizza is a $30 billion-plus industry with about 3
billion pizzas sold each year in the U.S. It accounts for more than 10
percent of all food service sales.
What are the favorites?
While 62 percent of pizza lovers prefer meat toppings, 38 percent favor vegetarian.
Some other facts about the pizza industry:
» The U.S. has about 70,000 pizzerias, accounting for roughly 18 percent of all restaurants. Indiana has 2,052.
» Each man, woman and child in America eats an average of 46 slices (23 pounds) of pizza per year.
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Approximately 350 slices of pizza per second are consumed in the U.S.;
93 percent of Americans eat at least one pizza per month.
»
Pepperoni is America's favorite topping — 36 percent of all pizzas
ordered include pepperoni. Other popular toppings are mushroom, extra
cheese, sausage, green pepper and onions.
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