In the 16th century- Maria Carolina, the Queen of Naples convinced her husband, King Ferdinand IV to allow the peasant dish pizza to be made in the royal oven.

In 1889 Raffaele Esposito, the most famous PIZZAIOLO (pizza chef) created a pie for Queen Margherita with toppings of tomato, basil and cheese, (to resemble the Italian tri color flag). This remains the basis for American pizza even today.

Pizza Nation
93% of Americans eat AT LEAST one pizza per month. That equals 100 acres of pizza EACH DAY, or about 350 slices per second.

Habit Forming
American children between the ages of 3 and 11 years prefer pizza to any other dish for lunch and dinner, according to a recent Gallup Poll.

American Pizza Sales
Approximately 3 BILLION pizzas are sold in the United States each year, that's 46 slices each for every man, woman and child in the country.

What’s Your Favorite?
Pepperoni is by far America’s favorite topping finding it’s way onto 36% of all pizza orders. Anchovies are the least popular pizza topping in America.

62% of Americans prefer meat toppings on pizza while only 38% prefer the vegetarian. Thin crust is the most popular with 61% of pizza lovers preferring thin crust. 14% vote for thick crust or deep dish as their favorite variety

Let’s Celebrate
October is National Pizza month in the US, so designated in 1987. Pizza is one of America's most popular foods, with approximately 69,000 pizzerias in the US!