Pizza Today - November 2021 - 3

COMMENTARY
JEREMY WHITE
Contributors
Pizza = Community
I
circled through the drive-thru window
of my hometown pizzeria. I'd
taken my two boys up to visit their
grandparents and cousins for the weekend.
I don't get to my hometown nearly as
often as I should, so when I do I make it
a point to throw down some of the pizza
and breadsticks I grew up on.
Th e place is always packed on Saturday
nights, so I picked up my order at the
window and drove off happily knowing a
taste of nostalgia was just about to make
my evening a lot better. As I drove off , I
peeked inside the window at all the happy
faces enjoying their meals in the warm
and inviting pizzeria lighting. Th ree small
boys caught my eye. Th ey were in a booth
with their father. Th e dad on one side of
the table putting warm slices onto plates.
Th e three boys, probably aged between
3-7 or so, sat wide-eyed and smiling as
they looked from the pizza to their father.
Th at small moment made my heart
swell. I remembered being the small child
in that booth. Th en being a college student
in that booth with my small nephews
sitting across from me. Th en being a
young father in that booth with my two
boys sitting across from me.
I was on the way to share that pizza
with my teenager and pre-teen. And that
pizza-shaped circle will repeat itself over
and over throughout the coming decades.
I'll sit in that booth with grandchildren
one day, hopefully.
As I refl ected on that during the short
drive, the word " community " dominated
my thoughts. I didn't just sit in that booth
as a youngster after high school football
games or on fun days spent with my
nephews ... that communal cuisine we
call pizza was present at birthday parties,
middle school socials, the concession
stand at basketball games ... you name it.
Pizza is the most communal food on
the planet. It's round - sit it on a table in
the middle of a group and encourage
everyone to reach in. It's the offi cial food
of parties. It's the comfort food of yesteryear
and tomorrow. It's universally loved.
It's the food little boys and girls stare at
wide-eyed in an oversized booth with a
loved one on a big Saturday night out.
It's perfect. And it's YOURS.
You, dear readers, are the collective
keepers of this food. Th e craftsmen. Th e
purveyors. Th e quality control proponents.
Every single day you celebrate and honor
this food so that your customers can enjoy
it as much as I have. And for that, I thank
you and celebrate you.
Pizza is community ... and what a community
we are.
Best,
DENISE GREER
Executive Editor
(The Art of Pizza Feature, pp. 56-59)
Chicago is a pizza capital and
pizzerias like The Art of Pizza
have been staples for decades.
Owner Arthur Shabez has such
a consistent product that the
legendary Chicago pizzerias visit
in hopes to learn the secrets to
his success.
NORA CALEY
Freelance Writer
(Delivery Driver Pay, pp. 34-37)
Delivery drivers are earning
more money than they did
pre-pandemic, because they are
getting higher tips. So pizzeria
owners have not felt pressure
to raise drivers' hourly wages,
but at the same time, there is
more competition than ever for
drivers, who can work for other
restaurants and for third-party
companies.
VOLUME 39 * NUMBER 11
NOVEMBER 2021
JEREMY WHITE
Editor In Chief
jwhite@pizzatoday.com
Photo: Josh Keown
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Pizza Today - November 2021

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