What’s it like to work at a DC-area pizza parlor on Super Bowl Sunday? ‘Controlled chaos’

Its controlled chaos,” said second-generation Ledo Pizza owner Jigar Sheth. (WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)

No matter which team wins the big game, the real winner on Super Bowl Sunday is pizza.

Pizza sales skyrocket up by 35% on Super Bowl Sunday compared to an average Sunday, according to WalletHub.

So what is it like making and selling pizza on the pizza’s biggest day of the year?

“It’s controlled chaos,” said second-generation Ledo Pizza owner Jigar Sheth.

Sheth should know — he has a lot of experience making pizza on Super Bowl Sunday.

“I’ve done it every year since 1997 … so this will be my 26th Super Bowl at Ledo Pizza,” said Sheth from his Rockville, Maryland, location.

Their Rockville and Wheaton locations are so busy that they bring back former employees to help on Super Bowl Sunday.

“It’s all hands on deck,” said Sheth.

In Potomac, Maryland, at Potomac Pizza, co-owner Andy Goldstein also described Super Bowl Sunday as “controlled chaos.”

“We are tripling our staff. Normally I have three drivers, but on Super Bowl Sunday, I will have eight delivering pizza,” said Goldstein.

Potomac Pizza co-owner Andy Goldstein says the restaurant more than triples its staff. (WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)

Potomac Pizza will need the extra staff due to the jump in business.

“On a normal Sunday we sell between 90 to 100 pizzas, but on Super Bowl Sunday it’s between 250 to 300, said Goldstein, adding “We’ll have minimal dine-in. Most people want to be at home eating pizza and enjoying the game at home”

Sheth said they started receiving orders for Super Bowl Sunday last Monday. He added, “97% of our business will be walking out the door on Sunday with take out,” added Sheth.

But it is not only pizza that’s a big seller on Super Bowl Sunday. Sheth and Goldstein both said they are expecting to sell thousands of chicken wings on Sunday.

There is one wish that Sheth has for after the big game: a day off.

“I think the Monday after the Super Bowl should be a holiday,” he said.

When asked how tips were on Super Bowl Sunday, Goldstein answered, “Good, wish the Commanders would be in it, maybe it would be better then. But they are good, we are in a great community.”

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Jimmy Alexander

Jimmy Alexander has been a part of the D.C. media scene as a reporter for DC News Now and a long-standing voice on the Jack Diamond Morning Show. Now, Alexander brings those years spent interviewing newsmakers like President Bill Clinton, Paul McCartney and Sean Connery, to the WTOP Newsroom.

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