Today, February 9, is National Pizza Day. Many will celebrate by looking up where to get a delicious, but perhaps cost-efficient pizza. Per usual, large pizza chains and independent pizzerias will clash to earn diners business—so how can indie operators best position their shop to earn those dollars?

A quick Google search shows a handful of articles  breaking down which large pizza chains are offering the “best deals” in honor of National Pizza Day.

  • Domino’s is offering a “Perfect Combo Meal,” an ongoing deal that ends after Super Bowl Sunday. Diners can snag two medium one-topping pizzas, an order of 16 Parmesan Bread Bites, eight Cinnamon Bread Twists and a two liter of Coke for $19.89. If that price looks familiar, it’s in honor of Taylor Swift’s famed 1989 album—the coupon code, 1387, used to activate the deal is a combination of Swift’s lucky number and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce’s, uniform number with the Kansas City Chiefs.
  • If the Domino’s deal sounds a bit odd to you, Papa Johns would like a word. The nation’s fourth-largest pizza chain is offering a “Get $tuffed” promotion that ends today. Consumers can enter for a chance to win a “Vegas Style Pizza” stuffed with $58,000 in the crust. “Ingredients are supplied by @Venmo,” a social post by Papa Johns reads. “Just don’t eat the money.”
  • For National Pizza Day, Pizza Hut is tripling down on its Deal Lover’s Menu, where consumers can order two or more dishes for $7.
  • Fazoli’s is offering a pizza and breadsticks for $9.99
  • Marco’s Pizza is offering Pizzolis—house-dough stuffed with cheese and other fillings—for $5.99 and $3 off any specialty pizza.

Related: Is Anchovy Pizza Making a Big Comeback? 

The list goes on—a comprehensive breakdown of what each chain is doing for National Pizza Day was published by USA Today.

So how are the independent pizzerias responding? Not everyone is doing something so drastic. In fact, many are doubling down on the value they provide consumers each and every day. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, for example, posted a reminder about the brand’s loyalty program.

An Instagram post from Frank Pepe Pizza Napoletana showcasing a pepperoni pizza with text that reminds users of the brand's loyalty program.

 

Andrew Simmons of Mamma Ramona’s Pizzeria posted on LinkedIn plugging his innovative pizzeria’s commitment to a subscription pizza model.

“Help us have the single biggest subscription signup day, and beat that Black Friday day when we first launched this product… in November 2022,” Simmons said, noting that he sold $30,000 worth of pizza subscriptions then. Here’s how that works: normally priced at $199, a consumer is entitled to one of Mamma Ramona’s medium 12″ cheese or pepperoni pizzas per week. In honor of National Pizza Day, Simmons is dropping the price down to $99.

“While the math seems to good to be true,” Simmons wrote, “there’s a science behind what we do and how this makes us money.”

Still other shops are fighting fire with fire. 550 Pizzeria in Laredo, Texas, for example, is offering a large cheese pizza for $8 and a large pepperoni pizza for $10. The shop teased the promotion last night on its social media channels prior to announcing it this morning.

A Facebook post from 550 Pizzeria in Laredo, Texas, teasing a National Pizza Day promotion. A photo of a smiling woman holding a pizza accompanies the post.

Others are looking to help indie pizzerias boost their sales for National Pizza Day, including Slice, the third-party delivery app. Users who have never ordered from Slice before are entitled for a $5 discount through the end of the month in the name of National Pizza Day.

Happy National Pizza Day to all who celebrate.

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