College is a very fast-paced time in life. Students are constantly running around, often more worried about their academics or extracurricular activities than their health. Since life can get pretty hectic, college students don’t always have time to sit down and eat a nourishing meal. This is where pizza comes into play. Although pizza may not be the healthiest food out there, it is very convenient since it is easy to eat on the run. Pizza also generally contains foods from the five main food groups: breads (crust), dairy (cheese), fruits (tomato sauce), vegetables (mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc.), and meats and proteins (pepperoni, sausage, bacon, etc.). Pizza is also relatively inexpensive (about $15 for a pie that can feed three or four people) and can even be delivered to a house or dorm room. It is due to all of these reasons that pizza is such a major hit with college students.
According to PizzaMarketplace.com, “with sales expected to reach $566 billion across 950,000 locations, the restaurant industry is a driver of the U.S. economy.”
The same website lists Pizza Hut as the largest pizza company with 13,000 locations worldwide. Domino’s is the world’s second-largest pizza chain with 8,600 units worldwide, grossing $1.5 billion in revenue in 2007. Papa John’s is the world’s third-largest pizza company, encompassing 3,330 units worldwide for about 1.1 billion in profit in 2007. Little Caesar’s is the world’s fourth-largest pizza company with 2,300 units worldwide.
Cities like Chicago and New York are famous for their pizza places. Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas and New York-style pizzas containing huge slices and lots of toppings are signature styles in the pizza industry. Cincinnati is also a city with a deep pizza history. Cincinnati’s signature pizza company is La Rosa’s, whose products and sauces can be shipped all over the world. With over 70 locations in the tri-state area, La Rosa’s has been serving the Queen City for over 50 years. Queen City Pizza, Trotta’s, and Adriatico’s are just a few of Cincinnati’s many other signature locations. Cincinnati is a city of diverse flavor, and its pizza places definitely contribute to this flavor.
I posted a survey on Facebook on January 26th that asked the question, “What is your favorite pizza place.” I received many responses, most of which were from college-aged people. In the survey, Papa John’s and LaRosa’s were tied as the top two favorite pizza places, each taking 27% of the overall vote. “La Rosa’s is chronic,” said 21 year-old Matt Schehm. “You can’t beat their selection of food, especially the calzones.” Alyssa Gerdes, on the other hand, feels that, “Papa John’s has the best cheese and the best crust.” Donato’s was third with 16% of the overall vote, followed by Pizza Hut with 11%. Dewey’s, Adriatico’s, and Marion’s (in Dayton) rounded out the field with 5% each. Twenty year-old Chris Greene says that Adriatico’s, which is located on Jefferson Avenue near UC’s campus, has, “awesome pizza. You gotta try it!” Most of the people who took part in the survey were in their early-20s and were from the West-side of Cincinnati.
It was not very surprising that La Rosa’s was one of the favorite pizza places, since most of the people who responded to this poll were from Cincinnati. Cincinnatians are loyal to their city, and this includes being loyal to local eateries. I work at Papa John’s, so it made me feel confident about future business prospects that Papa John’s was tied for the favorite pizza place overall. The main thing that surprised me was that Domino’s, the second largest national pizza chain, received no votes at all. I was also somewhat surprised that the world’s largest pizza chain, Pizza Hut, came in fourth place overall.
Best of Cincinnati.com polled people all over the city of all different ages and backgrounds about their favorite pizza places. Dewey’s Pizza was awarded the best local chain pizzeria, while Adriatico’s was named the best single-location pizzeria for 2009. Dewey’s was also named the restaurant with the best salads.
A Cincinnati Citysearch article also ranked the top ten Cincinnati pizzerias. Bravo Italian Kitchen in West Chester came in first, followed by Pomodori’s and Adriatico’s. Dewey’s was fourth, La Rosa’s was seventh, and Donato’s was ninth. This too was in high contrast to my Facebook poll, in which no one voted for Bravo Italian Kitchen or Pomodori’s. This could very well be because both of these pizza places are on the east side, while most of the respondents were West Siders. It is also less expensive to pick up a pizza or have it delivered, rather than to go out and eat at a restaurant. So, college kids (in this case West Siders) are more likely to go pick up a pizza from their local La Rosa’s or Papa John’s than to drive across town and spend tons of money at Pomodori’s or Bravo Italian Kitchen.
Regardless of what their favorite pizza place is, college kids love pizza. They love it for the taste, for the convenience, for the price, and for the fact that it contains food from each of the five food groups. College kids also like going to pizza places to hang out and eat with friends and classmates. Cincinnati may not be Chicago or New York, but there are definitely a large variety of pizza tastes available here. Like with anything else in life, different people with different demographics enjoy different things. College kids may like to eat different things than older people. West Siders may enjoy eating at different places than East Siders. However, despite all these differences, one thing is similar: Cincinnatians like to eat pizza.
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Sources:
1. http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/
2. http://www.bestofcincinnati.com/
3. http://cincinnati.citysearch.com/bestof/winners/pizza
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