Mark your calendars, dust off your red-and-white checkered tablecloths, and warn your dietitians: This week is National Pizza Week. January 11th through January 17th, the frenzy ensues!
A Slice of History: Why Are We Celebrating?
You might think National Pizza Week was invented by a fleet of delivery drivers, but the history of our national favorite goes back much further. While flatbreads with toppings were eaten by ancient Egyptians and Greeks, the modern pizza we recognize today began in Naples, Italy, in the late 18th century. By the way, if you are property manager in Naples, Florida— are you celebrating more than the rest of us?
Pizza started as a humble street food for the poor until things changed in 1889, when King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples, Italy. Legend has it that Chef Raffaele Esposito created a pizza featuring tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil to represent the colors of the Italian flag. The Queen loved it and the “Margherita” was born.
The Great Debate: Toppings, Crusts, and Controversy
If you want to start a fight in your leasing office, just ask everyone what the “best” pizza is.
- The Topping Titans: Pepperoni remains the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. However, sausage, mushrooms, and extra cheese are always in the top tier. Then, of course, there are the “Pineapple Believers”, the brave souls who insist that fruit belongs on a savory pie.
- The Crust Chronicles: From the cracker-thin Neapolitan style that you have to fold to eat, to the “Deep Dish” style, crust preference is a personality trait. There’s the New York flop, the Detroit-style caramelized edge, and the gluten-free cauliflower crust for the resident in Apartment 4B who does CrossFit.
- Be sure and follow our social media this week for our preferences!
The Dark Side of the Dough: A Warning for Tenants
As property managers, we know the grim reality: An open pizza box is essentially a “Grand Opening” sign for the local pest population.
We’ve all seen it during a routine inspection or a maintenance call. A greasy cardboard box or a half-eaten slice of “Meat Lover’s” resting on a bedside table that didn’t find its way into the dumpster. To a tenant, it’s a leftover snack. To the animal kingdom, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet with free lodging.
Serious Business: Keeping the Pests at Bay
In a multi-family environment, one resident’s “relaxed cleaning habits” can become a building-wide catastrophe. Pests don’t respect unit boundaries; they are the ultimate communal travelers.
Educate your tenants of what happens if pizza is left out. If pizza boxes are left open on the floor, bedding, or kitchen counters, they can attract the following pests into their living space:
- Flies and Gnats: The aerial scouts who find the scent within minutes.
- German cockroaches: The “VIPs” of the pest world who thrive in food, water and shelter get two of these with the dark, damp crevices of a pizza box.
- Rodents: Rats and mice have a very refined palate for artisan crusts.
Remind your tenants that once a pizza box has fulfilled its destiny, it needs to be emptied, flattened, and disposed of in the proper trash or recycling receptacle immediately. Leaving grease-soaked cardboard on the floor is like sending a GPS pin to every roach in a three-block radius.
Pro-Tip for Managers: Use this week to send out a lighthearted email blast or post on your resident portal. Use a meme, use a pun, but get the point across: Enjoy the week, celebrate the slice, but keep the boxes closed and the floors clear.
Wrapping Up the Week
National Pizza Week is a time for joy, community, and perhaps a little bit of indigestion. By educating our residents on the history and the “housekeeping” of pizza, we can ensure that the only things living in our buildings are the people on the leases, not the four to six-legged fans of pizza pies.
Happy National Pizza Week to all our fellow property managers! May your crusts be crispy, your toppings be plentiful, and your pest control bills be non-existent.
Who LOVES Pizza?
Get a pizza lunch for you and your leasing staff, fill out this referral form, and we will be sure to thank you and your community staff.