Pizza trucks

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From 1963 into the 1970s several Madison pizza places delivered by truck, and three companies went further and baked the pizzas in ovens in the trucks on the way.

Pizza-on-Wheels (1963)

The first was Pizza-on-Wheels, which began on Monday, September 9, 1963. "The business is different from other pizza establishments in that the pizzas are cooked and prepared on order in the trucks as they are enroute to deliveries at the home," the Capital Times explained. Orders were telephoned to an office at 1330 Regent St. (257-4654), and a dispatcher radioed them to one of three trucks — East Side, West Side and Central Madison — where the driver passed the order to the cook in the back. The trucks had ovens, refrigeration and hot and cold running water. The founders, Dick Smith and Thomas Lees, had run a Pizza-on-Wheels in Kenosha for two years; Smith knew of only one other, in Dallas[1]. In 1964 its ads promised "Radio Dispatched Mobile Kitchens. The Only Pizza Prepared & Baked Enroute to Your Home!", serving Madison and Monona Grove from vans lettered "Wisconsin's First"[2]. It gave students 10 percent off on weeknights in 1966[3], and its last advertisements, in early 1967, still showed the "Wisconsin's First" van: open daily from 4:30 p.m. to midnight, until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays[4][5].

Delivery trucks

  • Paisan's, then at 821 University Ave., advertised for a "driver for pizza truck, 2 or 3 nights per week" in 1966 and again in 1968[6][7].
  • In February 1967 thieves twice in one night took the hotbox and the pizzas from the delivery trucks of "Gargano's Pizza Parlor, 535 State St." — Gino Gargano's first restaurant, before Gino's moved to 540 State St.[8]
  • Mr. E's Pizza at Hilldale wanted a part-time truck driver in August 1970[9].

Eveready Rolling Pizza

Two later companies took up the idea. Eveready Rolling Pizza, Inc. was hiring night drivers for its pizza truck in September 1969[10]. The Daily Cardinal's restaurant columnist ordered one in October 1971 — "Did you ever try pizza baked in the back of a truck?" — and found the crust "like soggy motzoh", with much sauce and spice "but there wasn't a lot of anything else"[11]. In the Cardinal's first pizza contest that November, Eveready's pizza arrived in 14 minutes, far ahead of everyone else[12]. It was still hiring truck drivers in January 1972[13].

KC Rolling Pizza

KC Rolling Pizza, or "KC Roll'n Pizza Man", sponsored a city softball team in 1970[14]. The 1971 columnist liked it better than Eveready: a thin crust "with character", with a "tart-like ridge all around the pie"[11]. It took part in every Cardinal contest from 1971 to 1974, usually near the bottom. In 1974 the paper explained: "KC's used to be a place that could be counted on for fast delivery, if not edible pizza, because the pie is cooked right in the delivery truck." Its driver that year needed three phone calls to find Vilas Hall[15].

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ (1963, September 13). "Firm to Cook Pizzas On Way To Customers." The Capital Times. p. 6. Newspapers.com image 518733738.
  2. ↑ (1964, February 18). Pizza on Wheels advertisement: "Radio Dispatched Mobile Kitchens. The Only Pizza Prepared & Baked Enroute to Your Home!". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 10. Newspapers.com image 401165133.
  3. ↑ (1966, April 5). "Merchants Agree To WSA Discounts." The Daily Cardinal. p. 9.
  4. ↑ (1967, February 3). Pizza on Wheels coupon. The Daily Cardinal. p. 11.
  5. ↑ (1967, March 4). Pizza on Wheels coupon advertisement with its "Wisconsin's First" van. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 14. Newspapers.com image 401951767.
  6. ↑ (1966, January 28). Paisan's Restaurant, 821 University Ave., advertises for a pizza-truck driver. The Capital Times. p. 22. Newspapers.com image 519603222.
  7. ↑ (1968, January 22). Paisan's Restaurant, 821 University Ave., advertises for a pizza-truck driver. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 14. Newspapers.com image 404570718.
  8. ↑ (1967, February 3). "Pizza Truck Looter Gets Pies, Heater." The Capital Times. p. 1. Newspapers.com image 520021410.
  9. ↑ (1970, August 7). Mr. E's Pizza, Hilldale, advertises for a part-time truck driver. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 22. Newspapers.com image 396678866.
  10. ↑ (1969, September 12). Eveready Rolling Pizza, Inc. advertises for pizza-truck drivers. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 35. Newspapers.com image 401149093.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gourmet, S. S. (1971, October 28). State Street Gourmet column on delivered pizza: Eveready Roll'n Pizza, KC Roll'n Pizza Man, Gino's. The Daily Cardinal. p. 4.
  12. ↑ Anchovy, W. J. (1971, November 5). "Promises, promises: First annual pizza contest." The Daily Cardinal. p. 9.
  13. ↑ (1972, January 14). Eveready Pizza advertises for pizza-truck drivers. The Capital Times. p. 3. Newspapers.com image 520628182.
  14. ↑ (1970, June 12). City softball roundup naming a K.C. Rolling Pizza team. The Capital Times. p. 21. Newspapers.com image 520706538.
  15. ↑ Calhoun, H. (1974, October 14). "Pizza hits the pits; Rocky wins by default." The Daily Cardinal. p. 11.
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