According to a news report from www.floridatoday.com, “Restaurants have felt the impact of the sagging economy, but amid the energy of the just-completed Florida Restaurant and Lodging Show in Orlando, some restaurateurs and vendors were serving something unusual to the menu these days: optimism.”

“At least in the pizza market, “it’s been a good year,” said Jerry Smith of Rockledge, a Florida territorial manager for Wisconsin-based Grande Cheese Company, as he handed out cheese, pizza and cannoli samples,” said the story. “Though consumers have been cutting luxuries, “I don’t think it got all that bad,” Smith said. “People went down to pizza, but they still wanted quality pizza, so our independent pizzerias are doing fine.” Show vendors hawked everything and anything imaginable connected to the hospitality industry — gourmet chocolate, pizza displays, ovens, menus, high-end ingredients, T-shirts and shoes — and crowds of people plucked samples from trays offered at the numerous booths.”