National Pizza Week: Where To Find A Good Pie In New Jersey

NEW JERSEY — As National Pizza Week approaches, pizzerias nationwide largely have not faced the same financial difficulties as restaurants that specialize in other items during the coronavirus pandemic.

In many cases, pizza shops — both local favorites in New Jersey and national chains — have seen a sharp uptick in business as more people remain home to slow the spread of the virus.

Locally owned pizza places in New Jersey may offer specials during National Pizza Week, which runs Jan.10-16 in 2021.

"Thankfully Bella Pizza Hillsborough is doing well. My unbeatable priced deals are a hit and business has been well all because of giving back to the community. I am a firm believer that if you want the support of your community you must support your community," said Akhtar Farzaie, owner of Bella Pizza at 340 S Branch Rd. in Hillsborough.

These four New Jersey pizzerias landed on The Daily Meal's 2020 ranking of America's 101 Best Pizzas:

• #4 Razza Pizza Artigianale - 275 Grove St., Jersey City
• #36 Star Tavern - 400 High St., Orange
• #58 Santillo's Brick Oven Pizza - 639 S Broad St., Elizabeth
• #64 Pizza Den - 242 Nassau St., Princeton

Always held on the second full week of January, National Pizza Week has no known origin. The similar “National Pizza Day” is set for Feb. 9, according to the National Day Calendar.

Pizzerias have not been hit as hard by the pandemic as the restaurant industry as a whole, statistics show. While 60 percent of pizza places have seen an increase in sales, 50 percent of those across the country that did see growth had an increase in sales by 16 percent or more, according to a special report from Pizza Today released in November.

The increased demand for delivery, which the industry already had a prime focus on, has mostly helped the nation’s largest pizza chains during pandemic-related stay-at-home orders.

Domino’s brought in the most money among pizza chains during the first half of 2020, generating $240 million in net income, a 30 percent increase from the previous year, Fortune reported, citing data from Bloomberg Intelligence. Papa John’s and Pizza Hut are among the others reporting the next highest financial gains during the pandemic.

For many, pizza has been a comfort food as the world struggles through both the virus-spurred health and economic crises.

“Not too messy, hard to mess up, good whether it’s hot or cold, and I don’t need silverware,” Brandi Johnson said in an August report from Fortune. “It’s just a perfect guaranteed meal to have during such uncertain times.”

Financial analyst Lauren Silberman told Fortune that Domino’s has outperformed the industry over the past 10 years with “strong execution.”

“Domino’s has an industry-leading digital and delivery infrastructure, which we view as the most powerful asset it has,” Silberman said.

Smaller, locally-owned pizza restaurants have made some gains, too.

Independent pizza operators on Slice — an online ordering marketplace for pizzerias — doubled their weekly sales during the first six months of the pandemic, according to a RestaurantDive.com report citing research from BTIG, a global financial services firm. Slice was on pace to generate about $600 million in food sales and aspired to reach $1 billion in 2021.