CLAY COUNTY – Take-out and delivery of restaurant food have increased on the whole during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the state-wide stay-at-home order that was in place, as well as the recent closure of restaurant dining rooms, people still want the food from their favorite eateries, even if they cannot eat it there.

It seems that pizza, for the most part, has seen some of the biggest increase.

“Our pizza sales have gone up significantly,” said Michael Mastrocinque, of Santioni’s Italian restaurant on U.S. Highway 17 on Fleming Island. “Probably over double, with customers not being able to dine in the restaurants right now. Pizza has traditionally been a great take home, serve the family type of meal.”

Mastrocinque says that Santioni’s has a very loyal customer base. Even with its dining room closed, there is a drive-through window on the side of the building, where customers can pick up the orders.

“If I had to give it a number, I’d probably say 50% [increase in pizza business],” he said.

National pizza chains reported record sales during the shutdown. Dominos reported its sales jumped 7.1%, and that created a need for 10,000 full- and part-time workers. Papa John’s and Yum! Brands-owned Pizza Hut also have posted healthy sales numbers, particularly with its deliveries.

That boost in pizza sales has been seen in other establishments, but it isn’t the same across the board.

Joseph Renna, the owner of Renna’s Pizza on Argyle Forest Blvd., has not seen the same boost in pizza sales as Mastrocinque. The Brooklyn, New York native, has been at this location for 35 years and is the original tenant in the shopping center where Renna’s Pizza stands. Though he has seen ups and downs, he has not seen anything at all like this (COVID-19).

“We have experienced quite a bit of decrease,” Renna said. “We had to close the dining area. We’ve been doing take-out and delivery. And that’s about it. So, it cuts down your numbers quite a bit.”

Renna says that typically, they do not do a lot of delivery orders, so it’s been a lot of take-out.

“Twenty-five, thirty percent,” said Renna when asked about a rough estimate of the hit his pizza business has taken. “We typically don’t do that many delivery orders, so we haven’t seen that much of an increase.”

Mastrocinque, on the other hand, has had better luck. He says that besides pizza, other dishes are doing well.

“Our staples like lasagna, eggplant parmesan, ravioli…traditional dishes, chicken marsala, veal parmesan, veal marsala. A lot of the staple dishes are selling well right now,” he said.

For most people, though, the easiest answer is just to order a pie and grab a slice, and the numbers show it.