Pizza is a dog-eat-dog business. Since the epidemic began, pizza became a comforting salve, and brief looks from delivery drivers were the closest we got to camaraderie.
Not every pizza shop has succeeded because everyone stayed home and ordered pizza. The U.S. has over 100,000 pizza establishments in 2020.
Pizza's popularity is only the latest chapter in America's doughy tale, which has seen many franchises emerge and die.
Some struggling chains are doubling in size, while others aren't. American diners are finicky, with ever-changing palates and preferences.
Here are four American pizza giants that have gone out of business:
Pizza Haven, a pioneer of pizza delivery in the Pacific Northwest, is now a relic. The business began in Seattle in 1958 as one of the earliest dial-a-pizza brands.
ShowBiz started in Kansas City in 1980 with an animatronic stage show called Rock-afire Explosion featuring Billy Bon, a musical gorilla, and a passionate mouse.
Happy Joe's had 42 locations in Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota, and Wisconsin until its parent company filed for bankruptcy.
Pizza Cucinova, an Ohio-based mini-chain with a passionate fanbase, appears to have disappeared overnight.
All five shops were closed without any public statement or acknowledgement , giving Ohioans little chance to mourn.