By Charlie Pogacar
On May 22, 2024, over 100 people gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Led by congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro, the group found itself on hallowed ground for an unusual reason: to read into the Congressional record the claim that New Haven, and the state of Connecticut, was the pizza capital of the world.
The big day came just months after Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont had made a similar declaration. And sure, there were detractors, including those who thought perhaps New York or Italy held a more legitimate claim to such a title. One fact that was not up for debate, however, was the growing buzz surrounding New Haven’s pizza scene. Once a well-kept secret, apizza—funky pronunciation and all—had vaulted into the international pizza conversation over the preceding decade.
Behind the scenes, one man could take at least some credit—if not the lion’s share—for planting the seeds that would one day lead to the Capitol visit. Colin M. Caplan, owner of Taste of New Haven and the city’s apostle of apizza, grew up in Connecticut’s third-most-populous city, most famous for being home to Yale University. Caplan had left New Haven to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles, where he ended up taking a job as a tour guide. With that experience under his belt, plus a background in history, academia, architecture and more, few people were as qualified to lead tours of New Haven than Caplan—which is exactly what he did upon returning home.
Related: The Mystique and Magic of New Haven-Style Apizza
About 15 years ago, Caplan launched Taste of New Haven. The company has grown to the point where it now employs 10 different tour guides and hosts tours centered around cocktails, tacos, french fries and more. But Taste of New Haven is, of course, best known for its pizza tours. The tours are a way for Caplan and his fellow guides to show off the city—and to make new connections in the process.
“My job is to help promote the city and build community from both within and [outside] of our community,” Caplan said on the latest episode of Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast. “And I’m having fun doing it. It’s tasty, and I always make new discoveries. There’s always something new, and I’m meeting new people, making new friends.”
Like it was for so many people, the pandemic was a time of reset for Caplan. As the dark news cycle played out around him, Caplan started thinking of ways to help build something positive in his community during a tough year. He landed on an idea: to make pizza the official state food of Connecticut. He first tried to make it happen in 2021, and it failed in the state legislature. In 2022, he tried again, and so on and so forth.
“I’m trying again this year,” Caplan said on the podcast. “And I’m going to succeed. But what I started realizing [is] legislation is tough. It’s tough to work in committees. So I was just like, hey, Governor Lamont…will you make a declaration that says we are the pizza capital of the United States?”
On National Pizza Day—February 9, 2024—that’s exactly what Lamont did. Riding the wave of momentum, Congresswoman DeLauro suggested taking it a step further by bringing the claim to Washington. With DeLauro’s help, Caplan chartered a plane with 105 people. Renowned pizza makers, veterans, lawmakers and others stood on the steps of the Capitol as the Capitol Police enjoyed slices of Frank Pepe’s apizza, procured from the brand’s Alexandria, Virginia location.
“So we did not do this to piss off New York, we didn’t do it to make New Jersey feel [bad],” Caplan said. “Its purpose was pride. It was giving people in Connecticut something to be really proud of.”
This year, Lamont and the state of Connecticut doubled down on its claim. They also announced a brand-new tourist attraction, The Pizza Capital Trail, conceived by Visit Connecticut with the help of Caplan.
To hear more about Caplan, Taste of New Haven and the state’s proud pizza scene, listen to the latest episode of Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast:
