This is how pizza sales have been going during the pandemic in Toronto

Pizza sales may be the one thing in Toronto that's actually improved during the pandemic.

Toronto is known for its diverse food offerings, but not all of them transition well to a takeout format, despite the creativity many restaurants have displayed.

Judging by the way restaurants have adapted menus, it appears we're gravitating back to the convenient no-fail comforts of burgers, fried chicken, and of course, pizza.

"Sales have been up for sure," says Shant Mardirosian of Fourth Man in the Fire. "If I had to guess it's probably a combination of less competition with other restaurants being closed, coupled with the fact that pizza is a very comforting food that travels well for delivery."

He says takeout business at Fourth Man went from about 40 per cent to 100 per cent.

"We definitely saw that pizza has been very popular, particularly in the earlier part of the pandemic. We don't have a direct comparison as we weren't selling pizza for takeout or delivery before COVID. Pizza is the ultimate comfort food. It's delicious, familiar, convenient, and fulfilling," says Roger Yang of vegan concept Pizzeria Du.

"If you don't feel like cooking, and if you don't want to or aren't able to leave your home, pizza is the classic delivery food. Customers tell us how much they've been enjoying the food when they pick up or receive another order. We're just launching our house made gelato, which is a summer comfort food."

Of course, pizza places aren't immune to the pressures that have come with our current new way of life.

"We were lucky enough to remain open during the entire pandemic but our pizza sales are down 80 per cent since the pandemic hit," says Sean Holland of The Parlour. "Thankfully with government assistance and patience from our landlords we are able to keep our doors open and keep some staff employed."

Matt Blondin of Blondies has stayed hopeful during the pandemic, but notes that no amount of success has come without a great deal of adaptation and flexibility.

"Over the past few months our pizza sales have been fairly consistent, however we have had to reduce staff at each location to make sure social distancing measures were applied. Our staff and customers safety was and always will be our number one priority. This only allowed us to make a certain number of pies each night," says Blondin.

"We’re extremely grateful that our community continued to support us through these difficult times."