Marketing

And the golden pizza goes to …

Photo: Ohio Restaurant Association

February 17, 2021

Galloway, Ohio-based Flyers Pizza & Subs not only did a whole lot of pepperoni pizza sales the last week of January, it also did a whole lot of good.

And as a result, the Ohio Restaurant Association Education Foundation has named it the winner of the state-wide Pizza with a Purpose fundraising campaign, according to a news release.

Flyers Pizza & Subs Galloway Team (Left to Right): Tabitha Burke, Chris Aler, John Barker (Ohio Restaurant Association) Greg Cox, Dustin Schooley, Tre Holmes.(photo provided by ORA)

With more than 1,200 pepperoni pizzas sold at Flyers Galloway location during the week of Jan. 25-31, brothers and co-owners, Mark and Steve Ulrey, topped the sales results of the more than 110 restaurants competing in the contest, which raised more than $35,000 for the Buckeye state's restaurant relief fund.

Participating pizza operators in Ohio donated $1 per pepperoni pizza sold to the Relief Fund, which provides grants to restaurant, foodservice and hospitality employees financially impacted by the pandemic.

"We are honored to win the "Golden Slice" trophy for having the "Best Pepperoni Pizza" in Ohio!" Mark Ulrey said in the release. "More importantly, we are happy to be able to give back to our industry's struggling workers with our donation."

The Ohio Restaurant Association said that statewide restaurants were struggling with lower sales due to capacity restrictions. Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the industry was down 2.4 million jobs since March 2020.

Even with the vaccine distribution in the early stages, Ohio's 585,000 restaurant and foodservice employees were struggling to find work due to many furloughs and are in financial distress.

"Since its launch in April 2020, the Relief Fund has awarded more than 1,300 grants to use for housing, living and medical expenses, and fundraised over $450,000 for employees in need," Patty Halper, ORAEF executive director, said in the release. "Pizza with a Purpose is one of the many ways the ORAEF and generous operators are supporting them."