In essence, pizza is misleading. Made with just a few ingredients: baked mass, spicy sauce, molten cheese and perhaps some dressings might seem the perfect candidate for mass production standardization that defines many global food chains, where the predictable menus are the norm.
However, visit two pizzerias in different villages, or even in different apples of the same town, and will discover that pizza refuses to be homogenized.
We are researchers who work in a local business history project that documes the commercial landscape of Gainesville, Florida, in the twentieth and twenty -first centuries. As part of this project, we have dedicated many hours during the last two years to interview owners of local restaurants, especially those responsible for the independent pizzerias of Gainesville. What we have discovered reaffirms a powerful truth: pizza resists monotony, and small pizzerias are one of the main reasons for it.
Why the standardized pizza prospered but did not conquered
Although the tomatoes were unknown in Italy until the mid -16th century, since then they became synonymous with Italian cuisine, especially through pizza.
The pizza arrived in the United States from Naples at the beginning of the 20th century, when Italian immigration was in its peak. Two of the main destinations for Italian immigrants were New York and Chicago, and today each one has a distinctive pizza style. A New York portion is easily identified by its fine, soft and folding mass, while Chicago’s pizzas are known for their deep, thick and butter masses.
After World War II, other regions developed their own types of pizza, including the famous New Haven and Detroit styles. The New Haven style is known to be fine, crunchy and roasted in a coal oven, while the Detroit style has a rectangular and deep shape, and a thick and butter mass.
For the second half of the twentieth century, pizza had become a basic element of the American diet. And as its popularity grew, so did the demand for regular and affordable pizzerias. Chains such as Pizza Hut, founded in 1958, and Pope John’s, established in 1984, applied the model initiated by McDonald’s in the late 1940s, adopting limited menus, chain kitchens and franchise models designed for consistency and scalability. New technologies, such as point of sale systems and inventory management software, increased even more efficiency.
As explained by the gastronomic historian Carol Helstosky in “Pizza: a global history”, the transformation involved simplifying recipes, guaranteeing constant quality and developing optimized formats for rapid expansion and franchises. What began as an artisanal and regional dish became a highly replicable product, suitable for global mass markets.
Today, more than 20,000 Pizza Hut operate worldwide. Papa John’s, which manages about 6,000 pizzerias, built its brand explicitly with a promise based on standardization. In this model, success is to make pizza in the same way, everywhere and always.
So what happened to independent pizzerias? Were they absorb for efficiency? Not quite.
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Local pizzerias offer creativity in the corporate era
According to recent studies, restaurant chains do not necessarily suffocate small competitors. In fact, in the case of pizza, they usually coexist, sometimes even promoting creativity and opportunities. Independent pizzerias – there are more than 44,000 throughout the country – focus on what makes them unique, creating a niche market.
Instead of focusing solely on speed or price, they compete offering personality, innovative ingredients, personalized service and a local environment that chains simply cannot replicate.
For an example, just look at Gainesville. A university city with less than 150,000 inhabitants, Gainesville does not have the same culinary prestige as New York or Chicago, but developed a very unique pizzera scene.
With 13 independent pizzerias that serve Neapolitan styles, Detroit, New York, Mediterranean and more, the hungry gators have a wide variety of options when a slice is craving.
What makes the pizza scene in Gainesville especially interesting is the variety of trajectories of its owners. Through interviews with pizzeria owners, we discovered that some began as artists and musicians, while others had worked in engineering or education, and each had their own way of making pizzas.
The owner of Strega Nona’s Oven, for example, uses his engineering training to convert mass elaboration into a science, modifying the proportions of the ingredients in just half a percentage point depending on the season or even the weather.
Satchel’s Pizza, on the other hand, is full of works of its owner, artist, which include mosaic stained glass, paintings, sculptures and fountains.
Gainesville’s independent pizzerias usually function as what sociologists call “third spaces”: meeting spaces that are not home or work. And their owners strive to create a cozy atmosphere.
For example, the owner of Scuola Pizza insisted that the restaurant did not have televisions so that diners could concentrate on their food. Squarehouse Pizza has ample outdoor space; An old school bus, now converted, equipped with tables and chairs to eat, and a scenario for live music.
Squarehouse is also known for its unusual ingredients in Detroit -style square pizzas; For example, Mariah Curry, with chicken to curry or cauliflower and coconut curry sauce. Renue its specialties menus each or two semesters.
While the American pizza panorama may be influenced by large brands and standardized menus, small pizzerias continue to stand out. Gainesville is a perfect example of how a local pizzeria in a small university city in the South can be so unique, even in a globalized industry.
Little pizzerias not only offer food, but also offer a tasty reminder that the market rewards singularity and local character.
*Paula de la Cruz Fernández is manager of digital cultural collections of the University of Florida; Avi Ackerman is a researcher Inquire Capitalism UF at the University of Florida.
This text was originally published in The Conversation
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