Pizza

October 3, 2008

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Friday, October 3rd. Ask most youngsters what their favorite food is and chances are they’ll answer “pizza.” In fact, this is the 21st annual National Pizza Month. An Italian immigrant named Gennaro Lombardi is thought to have opened the first pizzeria in the U.S. around 1900 in New York City. No one knows exactly when or where pizza originated, but the ancient Greeks ate something very similar. These made their way into Italy, where they were topped with tomatoes. American soldiers who served in Italy came back from World War II raving about pizza, and helped its climb to nationwide popularity. Americans eat enough pizza each day to cover 100 acres. Pizza restaurants form a good percentage of the more than half-million eating and drinking places across the U.S. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: 2002 Economic Census, NAICS 722110, 722211
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/data/industry/E722110.HTM