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It depends. While smaller locally owned shops are often better than huge national chains, I can think of more than a few instances where a small, regional or even local chain is better quality than some mom n' pops. Oftentimes, the best of the mom n' pops will be so well-received they will expand into a local or regional chain. In that case, they often ARE better than their former competitors, it's why they were able to expand.
Most local places can't stay in business if they're not doing something right. that's why they have a rep for good food. The chains can survive with suppport from their corporation. The local managers may or may not know what they're doing. They can run a sloppy shop and stay around longer than a sloppy local could.
Are the locally owned pizza restaurants better than the chain pizza restaurants?
Since I am originally from the NYC metro area and I now live in North Eastern Ohio, and both areas have healthy Italian American populations, I'd have to answer with a resounding "yes".
I like to support local, mom and pop businesses where ever I live or travel. I see no need for corporate owned chain pizza. At least not where I live, or anywhere that I have traveled.
I mean..why?
Once while traveling by car in the rural deep south when my kids were in grade school, we were hungry and the choices were McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut, we opted for Pizza Hut. They had a salad bar. The pizzas was at best, passable. The salad bar was OK.
No need to return unless I find myself in a similar situation again.
We have a locally owned pizza place here in Minneapolis called Dulano's. Absolute cheesy greatness. As far as chains go, I like Papa John's. They claim they use real cheese but they very clearly don't. Cheese at every chain I've ever eaten at, never acts likes real cheese. It dissolves. It's not stringy and chewy.
The other problem with chain places is the ridiculously ludicrous delivery fees. There's NO purpose to charge that (and expect a tip) other than to make more money. It would be more honest to just raise their prices.
If one lives in a pizza mecca, the answer is definitively "yes". But that's not most of the US, so I'd be dubious as to whether most of the country has actually ever experienced a great pizza.
I present to you Fairfield County, CT. Depending how you look at it, either the entire area is a suburb of NYC or it's several small cities mostly along the I-95 "pizza corridor" with some exburbs to the north.
There are 352 pizza places in Fairfield County. The largest chain is a local chain, Pizza Planet, with 8 locations. There are at least three other local chains with 3 locations. Domino's has five, Little Caesar's has two, Pizza Hut one, Sbarro has three, all in malls. Bertucci's - a high-end sit-down pizza restaurant has three, Anthony's Coal Fired, another upscale pizza chain, has two. So the national "everyday pizza" chains (PH, Domino's, LC) represent a mere 2.3% of the total, which I would imagine is among the lowest percentages of anywhere in the country.
For the most part, national pizza chains don't stand a chance in Fairfield County because of the abundance of good local pizza shops. FWIW, the Little Caesar's are in the exburb areas where the options are far fewer.
I am from NY and now live in Florida. While they certainly cannot compare to NY Pizza, the local Florida places are 100% better than Papa John's, etc., or the frozen ones. When the weather gets cooler here, I make my own pizza from scratch.
Location: The Northeast - hoping one day the Northwest!
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Originally Posted by randomparent
Honestly, the only pizza I've ever had that I truly thought was exceptional came from Geno's in Chicago. I dream about that pizza.
I've never even been to Chicago, and I've heard only good things about Geno's! I would love to visit Chicago one day, and if I do, Geno's is already on my to go to list.
the local Florida places are 100% better than Papa John's
Everything is better than Papa John's.
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