Jacques: New article: the COVID-19 pandemic and Madison's pizza places, 2020–2022 (newspaper research recorded in the database)

2026-10-21T03:49:01Z

New article: the COVID-19 pandemic and Madison's pizza places, 2020–2022 (newspaper research recorded in the database)

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The '''COVID-19 pandemic''' shut Madison's dining rooms in March 2020. Pizza places were better placed than most restaurants to get through it, since carryout and delivery were already their business, but several closed for good in 2020–2022. The owners who closed often blamed the shortage of staff after the restrictions lifted as much as the lost sales.

==Timeline==
* Mid-March 2020: Public Health Madison & Dane County limited bars and restaurants to half their capacity, and the governor banned gatherings of 50 or more<ref name="mc-2020-03-17-takeout">Christians, L. (2020, March 17). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_695f59ef-8886-5ca1-9579-223f0de515a1.html "UPDATED: Some restaurants close, others shift to low-contact take-out in wake of COVID-19."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* March 17–18, 2020: Gov. Tony Evers closed restaurant dining rooms statewide; from 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, they could only sell carryout and delivery<ref name="mc-2020-03-17-takeout" /><ref name="mc-2020-03-19-how-to-help">Kalk Derby, S. (2020, March 19). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_bd74a561-1dc8-5ffe-a55f-1796f3fc22df.html "How customers can help Madison's restaurant scene survive amid COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* March 23, 2020: the state insurance commissioner ordered insurers to cover restaurant delivery drivers on their personal car policies at no extra cost<ref name="mc-2020-03-24-delivery-order">Kalk Derby, S. (2020, March 24). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_884c1e3e-c73f-59ac-b0db-751f8810886b.html "State order designed to help restaurants deliver during COVID-19 pandemic."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* May 26, 2020: under the county's Forward Dane plan, dining rooms could reopen at 25% of capacity<ref name="mc-2020-06-21-darkhorse-salvatores">Christians, L. (2020, June 21). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_e7a8ee0d-036e-55e1-a02e-e2bd71d61aef.html "Coming at you like a . . . Salvatore's: DarkHorse restaurant changes name."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. Phase two, on June 15, allowed 50%<ref name="mc-2020-06-20-sanitizing">Christians, L. (2020, June 20). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_664035a9-a399-5741-a6e4-9cd938717521.html "Sanitizing on the hour, restaurants adapt to pandemic dining."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. The city let restaurants put temporary outdoor seating on sidewalks and in parking lots through October 25<ref name="ct-2020-06-03-pO23">(2020, June 3). Restaurants and the city's temporary outdoor-seating program. ''The Capital Times''. p. O23. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/666891763/ 666891763].</ref>.
* Fall 2020: indoor dining was held at 25% again; Dane County's limits were "longer and stricter than most counties"<ref name="mc-2020-11-07-cold-comfort">Christians, L. (2020, November 7). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_2fdc210d-f78e-55cb-a251-96fc41516a1e.html "Cold comfort: With winter on its way, Madison restaurants scramble to stay alive."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* 2021: the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund paid out grants; in Wisconsin only about one applicant in three got one<ref name="mc-2021-07-31-rrf">Schmidt, M. (2021, July 31). [https://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_bbe65cda-b915-57d0-95d6-982294aa9b54.html "Only 1 in 3 Wisconsin restaurant applicants got COVID relief grant, leaving room for worry."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* January 5, 2022: [[Lucille]] became the first Madison restaurant to require proof of vaccination<ref name="mc-2022-01-05-lucille-vaccine">Kalk Derby, S. (2022, January 5). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_cc630d0a-33d0-5d77-8194-8ea1e4398809.html "Lucille to become first Madison restaurant requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.

==How pizza places got by==
* '''Carryout and delivery.''' In the first weeks of the shutdown, delivery held steady or rose slightly at the small local chains, but not enough to make up for the lost dining room business. [[Glass Nickel Pizza]] stopped taking cash and set rules for no-contact delivery; drivers left pizzas on doorsteps<ref name="mc-2020-03-28-pizzerias-adjust">Rickert, C. (2020, March 28). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_6f528fe8-7078-53aa-ade5-2e22ddc35ed8.html "Quintessential American delivery: Pizzerias adjust, hope to ride out COVID-19 pandemic."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. [[The Roman Candle Pizza|Roman Candle]] lost 30–50% of its sales and tried a make-it-at-home pizza kit<ref name="mc-2020-03-28-pizzerias-adjust" />.
* '''Delivery apps.''' Apps charged restaurants 12–30% of an order<ref name="mc-2020-12-31-year-in-food">Christians, L. (2020, December 31). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_3da83bb0-aff2-5202-a941-643f723be6cc.html "Patios, protests, takeout and resilience: 7 stories from a memorable year in food."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. Grubhub listed [[Salvatore's Tomato Pies]]' menus without permission, so that a $22 pizza cost a customer $38; the owner, [[Patrick DePula]], fought until Grubhub dropped the listing<ref name="mc-2022-02-08-delivery">Kalk Derby, S. (2022, February 8). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_92ef5c50-6546-5f48-ad1d-dec98d7f4835.html "Solving third-party delivery problems with sights set on Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* '''Cheap pizza for the emergency.''' Salvatore's sold a 16-inch one-topping "community response pizza" for $12 "for the duration of this emergency"<ref name="mc-2020-03-19-how-to-help" />.
* '''Pizza for the front lines.''' A fund called "Stay home! Send pizza!" raised over $9,000 in two weeks to send [[Ian's Pizza]] to hospital workers<ref name="mc-2020-04-06-send-pizza">Christians, L. (2020, April 6). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_9b471e7f-cc86-5675-850b-2a42a21150e4.html "Stay home, send pizza: Efforts to 'feed the frontlines' of coronavirus fight gain traction."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* '''Patios.''' The outdoor-seating permits of 2020 and 2021 went to pizza places including Rocky Rococo on Regent Street, Ian's, Lucille, Natt Spil, Roman Candle and Salvatore's on East Johnson Street<ref name="mc-2021-05-27-outdoor-dining">Kalk Derby, S. (2021, May 27). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_818b3b7b-d687-5918-ad14-f6e7b7fe9669.html "Outdoor dining is here; beleaguered bar and restaurant operators say it helped them through."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* '''Virtual brands.''' Some restaurants sold food under extra online names from the same kitchen: Lucille's Slice Queen, with thin-crust pies cut into squares<ref name="mc-2020-11-07-cold-comfort" />, and Monk's Bar & Grill's WisCow Pizza, started in January 2021<ref name="mc-2021-05-06-online-brands">Kalk Derby, S. (2021, May 6). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_e53ed79d-6040-5bdb-9a73-d771b720ff3a.html "Online brands help the bottom line for some Madison-area restaurants."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. Many disappeared once dining rooms were full again<ref name="ct-2022-05-11-pO24">(2022, May 11). "The rise of ghost kitchens." ''The Capital Times''. p. O24. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/840896501/ 840896501].</ref>.
* '''Frozen pizza.''' Salvatore's developed frozen 10-inch pizzas at its new Monona commissary<ref name="mc-2021-08-20-dark-horse-artbar">Kalk Derby, S. (2021, August 20). [https://madison.com/galleries/article_b8dca43b-15b8-5a5e-b232-b158da60d69e.html "Dark Horse rides again: New gallery and music space taking shape in former Star Bar."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.

==Money and staff==
The [[Salvatore's Tomato Pies|Salvatore's]] on Livingston Street got $12,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program, but its sales were still 30% below 2019 at the end of 2020<ref name="mc-2020-12-03-salvatores-livingston">Kalk Derby, S. (2020, December 3). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/article_4dda7b4b-5a6c-5cde-88ee-123c2d35b14d.html "Curbside review: 2 people, 2 top dishes of the year at Salvatore's on Livingston."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. Of [[Ian's Pizza]]'s seven restaurants in Madison and Milwaukee, only three got Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants<ref name="mc-2021-07-31-rrf" />, and Roman Candle got none<ref name="mc-2022-05-21-roman-candle-closing">Kalk Derby, S. (2022, May 21). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_e4e67ccc-335c-5dc5-94f7-fd7dd194fe4c.html "Roman Candle on Williamson Street closing, 'It's just a really untenable situation'."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.

Staff were the other problem. Ian's guaranteed tipped workers $15 an hour, paid $2 more after 10 p.m., and dealt with customers who refused the county's mask orders on State Street<ref name="mc-2021-09-29-out-of-service">Christians, L. (2021, September 29). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_a297a5ab-2123-50a5-af56-a60dab7344ed.html "Out of service: What will it take to bring back Madison's restaurant workers?"] ''madison.com''.</ref>. When [[Rossi's Pizza & Vintage Arcade|Rossi's]] in Monona closed in 2022, its owner said, "It wasn't that my customer base wasn't there ... I just could not fill positions"<ref name="mc-2022-07-07-rossis-closes">Kalk Derby, S. (2022, July 7). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_c2c98718-c59d-51f0-93ba-968a0290d82d.html "Rossi's Pizza, a local institution known for its arcade and 30-inch pies, closes in Monona."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.

==Closings==
{| class="wikitable"
! Place !! Address !! Closed !! Notes
|-
| [[The Roman Candle Pizza|Roman Candle]] || Madison Children's Museum || March 2020 || The museum closed and the counter never reopened<ref name="mc-2022-05-21-roman-candle-closing" />.
|-
| [[Greenbush Bar]] || 914 Regent St. || March to August 2020 || Then curbside pickup only; the small basement was too hard to ventilate for dine-in<ref name="mc-2021-04-02-greenbush">Kalk Derby, S. (2021, April 2). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/article_22280779-fcd4-5ee5-af6c-1ed05d5af8f1.html "Curbside review: Greenbush Bar will win you with Sicilian salad, antipasto, pizza."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
|-
| [[Pizza Di Roma]] || 313 State St. || June 2020 || Damaged and looted during the protests of late May and early June, after 18 years on State Street<ref name="mc-2020-06-21-state-street">Adams, B. (2020, June 21). [https://madison.com/business/article_fe87660e-5c02-5207-9524-0c0292e1088b.html "A changed landscape, worry and hope on State Street in wake of protests, amid COVID-19 pandemic."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
|-
| Boston's Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar || 1370 Water Wheel Dr., Waunakee || September 2020 || After one year<ref name="mc-2021-08-20-dark-horse-artbar" />.
|-
| [[Pizza Brutta]] || 6712 Frank Lloyd Wright Ave., Middleton || 2020 || Closed to concentrate on the Monroe Street store<ref name="mc-2020-10-22-long-haul">Christians, L. (2020, October 22). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_632221d0-b98b-5d80-8f70-50d0a8efe209.html "'This is going to be a long haul': Local taverns close for the winter."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
|-
| [[Salvatore's Tomato Pies]] || [[912 East Johnson Street|912 E. Johnson St.]] || January 3, 2021 || Too small for safe dine-in; closed "to remodel and refresh"<ref name="mc-2021-08-30-salvatores-pandemic">Christians, L. (2021, August 30). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_f5434a86-7cb3-5480-aa03-f74f4f49e7ba.html "Salvatore's Tomato Pies swims through the pandemic, picking up speed."] ''madison.com''.</ref>; reopened for a time in 2022<ref name="mc-2024-06-25-molten-monkey-coming">Kalk Derby, S. (2024, June 25). [https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/food-drink/article_16eaaefa-325a-11ef-99ea-d375d3f6ed42.html "Ale Asylum co-founder opening Detroit-style pizza place on Madison's Near East Side."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
|-
| [[Pizza Di Roma]] || 439 Grand Canyon Dr. || 2021 || "Temporarily" closed by March 2021<ref name="mc-2021-03-02-annas">Kalk Derby, S. (2021, March 2). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_9b051837-f5b3-545d-9443-149945d9603b.html "'Community over competition': One pizzeria helps another after Sun Prairie crash."] ''madison.com''.</ref>; it never reopened, and Mirch Masala took the space in 2022<ref name="ct-2022-12-07-pO37">(2022, December 7). Mirch Masala review: the former Pizza di Roma on Grand Canyon Drive. ''The Capital Times''. p. O37. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/902934910/ 902934910].</ref>.
|-
| [[Paisan's]] || 131 W. Wilson St. || June 6, 2022 || The city closed its building over structural concerns three times from September 2021<ref name="mc-2022-06-16-paisans-over">Mosiman, D. (2022, June 16). [https://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_b678cce8-9228-55d7-9a97-35571bff6f3b.html "Fight to reopen compromised Paisan's restaurant building seems over."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
|-
| WisCow Pizza / Monk's || Verona || May 1, 2022 || "The employees just basically left us"<ref name="mc-2022-05-31-monks-verona">Kalk Derby, S. (2022, May 31). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_2b0678c0-3b0c-5958-9f25-719842b4604c.html "Monk's Bar & Grill in Verona closes, 'the employees just basically left us'."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
|-
| [[The Roman Candle Pizza|Roman Candle]] || [[1054 Williamson Street|1054 Williamson St.]] || May 27, 2022 || Sales 30–40% below 2019: "we just never quite recovered from COVID"<ref name="mc-2022-05-21-roman-candle-closing" />.
|-
| [[Rossi's Pizza & Vintage Arcade]] || 4503 Monona Dr., Monona || May 31, 2022 || No staff; it became North Shore Pizza and Subs<ref name="mc-2022-07-07-rossis-closes" />.
|-
| [[Rocky Rococo]] || 1301 Regent St. || August 2022 || Later Fabiola's Spaghetti House, owned by the same family<ref name="mc-2023-01-24-fabiolas">Kalk Derby, S. (2023, January 24). [https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/food-drink/restaurants/article_149ab27d-f330-5ac0-8bf6-fe1059846d0b.html "Old-school, red-sauce spaghetti house coming to Regent Street."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
|}

Just before the pandemic, Roman Candle had closed its Monroe Street store on December 14, 2019, and its Fitchburg store a week later<ref name="mc-2019-12-09-roman-candle-two">Kalk Derby, S. (2019, December 9). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_b66b06f9-d653-517f-a41d-8ef1e0aff943.html "Roman Candle closing 2 of its 4 local restaurants."] ''madison.com''.</ref>, and [[Cafe Porta Alba]] had closed in October 2019<ref name="mc-2020-01-09-novanta">Kalk Derby, S. (2020, January 9). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/article_8b30c289-8457-531d-a219-5e5db0e1a9cc.html "New Novanta restaurant is quick, dependable and spirited."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. [[Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza]] on State Street is sometimes counted among the pandemic losses, but it had closed in 2018<ref name="mc-2020-08-23-state-street-fund">Adams, B. (2020, August 23). [https://madison.com/business/article_244eed49-92e1-5a00-aa36-2823664cd1a7.html "Fund launched to aid State Street businesses but challenges persist."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.

==Openings==
* February 18, 2020: '''DarkHorse by Sal's''', 10 N. Livingston St.; a month later it was carryout only, and in June 2020 it became a [[Salvatore's Tomato Pies]]<ref name="mc-2020-02-18-darkhorse-opens">Kalk Derby, S. (2020, February 18). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_5fec4800-f636-5158-83d3-3bd5d14f43fe.html "DarkHorse by Sal's opens Tuesday with glam, rock n' roll look."] ''madison.com''.</ref><ref name="mc-2020-06-21-darkhorse-salvatores" />.
* June 9, 2020: Salvatore's in Monona, carryout and delivery only<ref name="mc-2020-06-21-darkhorse-salvatores" />.
* October 2020: [[Sugar River Pizza]] in Sun Prairie; building it counted as essential work<ref name="mc-2020-03-24-delivery-order" /><ref name="ct-2024-04-03-pO38">Haase, N. (2024, April 3). "Hot chicken and cold beer: Stone Porch Alehouse in Verona invites celebration." ''The Capital Times''. p. O38. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1056657020/ 1056657020].</ref>.
* 2020–2021: [[Clyde’s Pies|Clyde's Pies]], started by a cook who lost his restaurant job in March 2020<ref name="ct-2021-12-01-pO30">Thompson, H. (2021, December 1). "At Clyde's Pies, a bread baker turns pizza maker." ''The Capital Times''. p. O30. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/783773172/ 783773172].</ref>.
* July 2021: Branch + Daughter in Windsor<ref name="mc-2021-08-15-branch-daughter">Davis, V. (2021, August 15). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_f6c8689b-e2cf-5615-90f5-8a6f9c26401b.html "In Windsor, new Branch + Daughter bridges farm to table with pizza."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* February 1, 2022: [[Maria’s Pizza & Pasta|Maria's Pizza]] in Oregon reopened after more than two years, for carryout only<ref name="mc-2022-02-03-marias">Kalk Derby, S. (2022, February 3). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_4967471d-9b89-5d6c-a8cb-e015bcc52227.html "Maria’s Pizza in Oregon makes triumphant return."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* March 2022: [[Glass Nickel Pizza]]'s new building in Sun Prairie; the owner had put it off because of COVID-19<ref name="mc-2021-11-01-glass-nickel-sp">Kalk Derby, S. (2021, November 1). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_0c23437e-8ff1-5b53-bd65-1aa41ae81c83.html "Post explosion: New Glass Nickel Pizza taking shape in Sun Prairie will be more 'bougie'."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* August 22, 2022: [[North Shore Pizza and Subs]], in the former Rossi's<ref name="mc-2022-11-04-north-shore-review">Kalk Derby, S. (2022, November 4). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/article_f9b5d4d4-787b-56ef-93a5-e6fde7a3795e.html "Restaurant review: North Shore Pizza and Subs a welcome addition to Monona Drive."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* Announced: Mio Fratello, from the [[It’s Good for You]] pizza stand, in 2021<ref name="mc-2021-07-17-mio-fratello">Kalk Derby, S. (2021, July 17). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_48745743-58ce-537b-9b0c-1f2003f1ad24.html "Friends who met in a Madison sushi restaurant plan to open a pizzeria."] ''madison.com''.</ref>; and Mafia for Pizza, next to Kosharie on Regent Street, planned for January 2021 and still waiting for staff in April 2022<ref name="mc-2020-12-03-salvatores-livingston" /><ref name="ct-2022-04-20-pO34">(2022, April 20). Kosharie review, with the owner's plan for Mafia for Pizza. ''The Capital Times''. p. O34. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/835047676/ 835047676].</ref>.

==Trivia==
* Delivery drivers were exempt from the "safer at home" order. Tips per order went up, but total tips went down<ref name="mc-2020-03-28-pizzerias-adjust" />.
* Ian's Pizza had fed protesters before: in 2011 it delivered up to 1,200 pizzas a day to the Act 10 protests at the Capitol<ref name="mc-2021-02-07-act-10-ians">Vetterkind, R. (2021, February 7). [https://madison.com/article_b2c9311a-cbb1-5abd-98ef-87aa849d7cf1.html "Act 10 helped put Ian's Pizza on the map."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. In 2020 it gave pizza to the racial-justice protesters<ref name="mc-2020-06-12-blm-pizza">Christians, L. (2020, June 12). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/article_55514e40-8cf6-558d-ac86-d8d32770333f.html "Restaurants say #blacklivesmatter with posts, pizza."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* With no 2020 football season, Rocky Rococo on Regent Street lost the home-game tailgates that drew 4,000 to 5,000 people<ref name="mc-2020-08-11-big-ten">Wroge, L. (2020, August 11). [https://madison.com/news/local/article_208e8f15-6464-573c-83f5-cb9f850fc21f.html "Reported Big Ten football cancellation deals economic blow to Badger-reliant businesses."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.

==See also==
* [[Item:Q1441|The pandemic in the Madison Pizza Wiki database]]

==Notes==
<references />

COVID-19 pandemic - Revision history

Jacques: New article: the COVID-19 pandemic and Madison's pizza places, 2020–2022 (newspaper research recorded in the database)