Here in Queens there is a pizza parlor in every town. It is the most…
It’s so simple and yet should be considered the major success story of cuisine. A plain combination of dough, olive oil, tomato sauce and mozzarella ignites the birth of pizza.
Here in Queens there is a pizza parlor in every town. It is the most saturated market in our metropolitan area, with an excess of 3,000 locations. And with the right location it is safe to say that many a millionaire has been made out of those who can brace themselves daily behind those big, hot ovens.
Pizza maintains the reputation of being a greasy, fattening and carb-laden food, but those qualities still have not deterred its success. Did I say carbs? Many bakeries are closing their doors because of the low-carb-diet craze — even Krispy Kreme donuts delivered its very first financial loss this past quarter. But carbs or not, people still line up for pizza.
And even pizza is entering the realm of its own paradigm. For years the choice has been quite effortless. When entering a pizzeria for a slice of one of the tastiest foods in the world, you either got a piece of a Neapolitan-style from the traditional round pie or, for those with a bit more of a craving, a Sicilian slice from the rectangular pie.
In addition, you could order specific toppings such as mushrooms, pepperoni, olives, peppers and so on. But as pizzerias have expanded and even enlarged into restaurants, so have the ideas and varieties of pizza. There are pies with mozzarella baked right into the crust (initiated by Pizza Hut) as well as other specialties including potato, ricotta, rosemary, walnut caramel, strawberry, banana and, would you believe, chocolate sauce. Give me a break!
College Point’s Cascarino’s location offers a wide variety of pizza selections, with pasta, seafood and salad, among others choices, according to Lori DiPaolo, manager of the restaurant at 14-60 College Point Blvd. Two that were quite interesting included the Hawaiian pizza, with ham and pineapple toppings, as well as the buffalo spicy chicken topping.
There is a demand for these new exotic toppings at Cascarino’s, but the biggest seller still remains that good old-fashioned slice of pizza with cheese.
So how’s the pizza business doing? As goes the old saying, the greatest power comes from simplicity. Pizza will cease to exist only when people do likewise. Get a decent location and you’ll make a very comfortable lifetime living. Get a real good location and you, too, can be the next pizza-tossing millionaire.
Joe Palumbo is the fund manager for The Palco Group Inc., an investment company, and can be reached at palcogroup@aol.com or 718-461-8317.
