Best Pizza at Rowan - Draft

At a very young age, almost all American children are introduced to pizza. It is easy to make, easy to eat, easy to clean up, and something about it appeals to people nationwide. One of the reasons this item is sold nationwide is because it can be made in so many different ways. It can be made in a gourmet restaurant or a fast food chain. Any topping can be put on pizza in order for it to fit specific taste buds. The “easy” factor behind pizza is why it is such a big food at colleges. College students are on their own for the first time and resorting to eating frozen/microwaved meals and also eating out. Ordering pizza is fast, easy, and fits right into a college student’s budget. At Rowan University, there are over twenty pizza places in the area, but the question of which one is the best is a constant debate.

When stepping foot on this campus as a freshman, everything is new. One of the main ways to learn the on-goings on campus and to learn what’s “hot” is to ask the upperclassmen. They have been here for at least a year, giving them a chance to test different fast food restaurants in the area to decide on a favorite. There are many factors that come into play when choosing a favorite pizza place: taste, price, acceptance of BoroBucks, delivery, location, etc. Clearly these preferences change from person to person, but there is still a general consensus of what is most people’s favorite. I polled the Women’s Lacrosse team at Rowan in order to see what this consensus was. This was a good group to poll because of the different age groups and living situations on the team. When twenty-five girls were polled, twenty-one said Nick’s Pizzeria, three said Cicontes, and one said Papa John’s. Clearly, Nick’s Pizzeria was the overwhelming winner.

When Nick’s was the answer of over eighty percent of the team, I chose to look into why that may be. I don’t think it was just because of the good taste, because any fresh cooked pizza will taste amazing compared to Ramen, EZ Mac, and the cafeteria. I think one of the main reasons that this polled so high is because they take BoroBucks. When choosing how to spend money in college, a student must be economical. Mainly, BoroBucks are put on a student’s Rowan card at the beginning of the semester along with the meal plan, so they are prepaid. For many, this is paid for by our parents, making it that much better to pay with it rather that our own cash. Nick’s Pizzeria is one of the only pizzeria’s nearby that accepts BoroBucks; Cicontes and Papa John’s do not. This is clearly one of the main reasons that Nick’s trumped any other pizzeria in the poll. For the people who do not have or run out of boro bucks and have to pay cash, Nick’s is still cheaper. It is simply $10 for a large pizza at Nick’s, while it is $12 at Cicontes. Location also has a lot to do with picking a pizza place if you do not want to pay a tip and choose to pick up your pizza. Nick’s is located in a plaza on Delsea Drive, which is a three minute drive from anywhere on campus but you cannot walk there. Cicontes on the other hand is located on Rt 322 right next to Campus Crossings, Triad, and Beau. The students who live in these buildings have the option to walk here; save gas and tip money. The option of delivery is not a problem for any of the three pizza places that were given because they all deliver. This may have been why these three were chosen over some of the other ones nearby, but most of the pizzerias deliver because they know they need the college students’ business.

It is apparent that the sample size of twenty five that I chose seems to be relatively comparable to the Rowan University campus body as a whole. I believe this because I chose to ask both Nick’s Pizzeria and Cicontes about how many pizzas do they average on a daily basis. I thought that this could show how others would clearly agree with the choice of the lacrosse team. When asked this question, Nick’s estimated that they average 150 pizzas each day while Cicontes estimated only 100. Nick’s triumphed Cicontes in votes 4:1 and pizzas 3:2. By analyzing these statistics, one may come to the conclusion that the best pizza place on campus is Nick’s Pizzeria.

It is clear that pizza is a large part of college students’ diet, and the choice of pizza depends on many variables. A pizza place that wants to have the best business must accept BoroBucks, deliver, be open late, be cheap, and last but not least taste good. According to Rowan University Women’s Lacrosse team, Nick’s Pizzeria is the best place to get pizza around campus. It fulfills everything the average students may desire in a pizza place. It is also apparent that such a diet is not only common to college students. There are 3 billion pizzas sold each year in the US; 350 slices eaten each second.



References

N/A. "Pizza Trivia & Statistics." Your Guide To Pizza. Onion Skin Press, 2010. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. .

Manager at Nick's Pizzeria. "Pizza Statistics." Telephone interview. 7 Feb. 2011.

Manager at Cicontes. "Pizza Statistics." Telephone interview. 7 Feb. 2011.