Food & Beverage

From Fired Pie's Pizza-O'-Lantern pies to &pizza's voting push, pizza brands in a seasonal mood

Whether it's voting, collecting candy or just taking in some seasonal comfort food, pizza brands are rolling out the campaigns to meet customers'' wishes.

Fired Pie's Pizza-O'-Lantern. (photo provided)

October 21, 2020

Maybe it's all those colorful leaves fluttering to the ground, or all that candy our kids collected for us to raid, but fall always seems to put everyone in a celebratory mood, pizza restaurant brands included. In fact, over the last several days, the parade of news releases for Pizza Marketplace about such offerings has rocketed. Here are a few with promises of more to come:

Fired Pie get's in seasonal 'shape'

Fired Pie warms the fall chill with its newly introduced Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza, made, of course, with ample Nashville hot sauce, along with mozzarella and Nashville hot chicken, then topped with spicy coleslaw and chopped dill pickles.

It's available at all 20 locations of the brand across Arizona with either regular, gluten-free and cauliflower crust, a news release said.

Additionally, Fired Pie, is offering it's Pizza O'Lantern pizzas from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, which is a pie made in the shape of a jack-o-lantern with the customer's choice of toppings and, of course, edible eyes, nose and mouth. The pumpkin-shaped pies start at $9.59 for an 11-inch pizza.

Fired Pie is has 20 locations across Arizona.

Pieology has 'boos' for you

At California pizza chain, Pieology, Halloween is on the brain and up until Oct. 31, the brand is inviting customers to "boo" their friends through its "Boo-It-Forward" event.

Through the promotion, customers who download the . Pie Life Rewards App and hit the "Refer-a-Friend" option, can send Pieology's 2020 Bundle Deal to friends that includes two 11-inch 'Create Your Own' pizzas and a shareable dessert for $20.20.

When that that friend downloads the app and makes their first purchase, the customer who gifted them gets 30 bonus points on Pie Life, to be used for pizzas and other offerings. Then, when those friends also refer someone to Pieology the original gifter gets 10 points every time one of those referrals download the brand's app.

That offering is available through Halloween, as is the brand's offering to enter those who share Halloween costume pictures on Instagram or Facebook, tagged @Pieology #Crustume, in Pieology's Scream Your Individuality contest.

Pieology will choose 5 favorites and one winner to also receive a 2020 Bundle Deal.

Boston's Pizza helps you 'sip' into something comfortable

Boston's in slipping into sweater weather with some seasonal menu additions, beginning with specially created cocktails, like the burnt orange & vanilla old fashioned, as well as Louis M. Martini cabernet sauvignon and Robert Mondavi chardonnay.

The warm-up continues with menu additions like Spicy Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo, Baked Spaghetti & Meatballs, a Steak Frites entrée with truffle Parmesan fries, and a house-made apple crisp flatbread dessert.

"As a brand, we've always focused on the unique energy our in-restaurant experience provides," Katie Borger, Boston's vice president of marketing, said in a news release about the additions. "This season, we understand the desire to low-key connect, reunite, and experience some normalcy is the primary focus of guests choosing to dine out. Our menu is robust and we're really proud of the craftsmanship in our kitchens and behind our bars to bring our menu together, so we're leaning into what we do well that is seasonally appropriate to create a safe and comforting experience for our guests to dine out."

Boston's also recently launched an all-new catering program via ezCater for its 21 locations nationally. The company's sister brand, Boston Pizza, has more than 400 locations throughout Canada.

&pizza pushes everyone to the polls

Of course, it's also election season, and in that regard, Washington, D.C.-based &pizza is going all out to get out the vote.

The brand's Vote it Out initiative is going on full-force through Election Day, Nov. 3. A company spokeswoman said in an email that the campaign is designed to help break down barriers that might hinder people from voting.

&pizza has launched both an internal campaign with its staff, as well as a wider push with the general public to push the numbers of people heading to the ballot box up by the big day. It's doing this through partnerships with Uber, World Central Kitchen, When We All Vote, and others to provide services that make voting easier.

Included among these initiatives at &pizza are actions like providing food for those waiting in polling lines, helping to send volunteers to fill polling stations posts, providing discounted rides to the polls and even total shop closures with paid time-off on Election Day.

Inset photo: Pieology