Nationally, the pizza business is flashing warning lights. A new Wall Street Journal report asks whether the country has hit “peak pizza,” pointing to sluggish sales growth, intensified competition, and a steady decline in the number of pizza restaurants since a 2019 high.
Americans are still eating plenty of pizza, but the category is losing its once dominant cultural position. The Journal cites Technomic’s estimate of roughly $31 billion in 2024 pizza chain sales, while noting pizza has slipped to sixth among restaurant chain cuisines by sales after ranking far higher in past decades.
Once the second-most popular restaurant cuisine in the U.S., pizza has been overtaken by burgers, chicken, Mexican food, and the explosive growth of coffee and bakery concepts. What was once the default, low-stress family meal now competes directly with everything from $5 fast-food deals to endlessly customizable delivery options at the same price point.
So what does “pizza fatigue” look like on the ground in San Diego, a city that still loves a great slice and has no shortage of pizza opinions. It looks less like empty ovens and more like sticker shock, the kind that quietly changes habits even when the food is excellent. When pizza stops feeling like the default affordable dinner, it starts competing with everything else in your neighborhood and available from the comfort of a phone.
Take Tribute Pizza in North Park, where an 18-inch plain cheese pie sits at $32 on the ordering menu and an 18-inch Margherita comes in at $34. Want a full loaded, Costco nod “supreme” style pie. Tribute’s online menu lists its 18-inch Classic Combo Supreme at $47.99.
That is not “too expensive” in a vacuum. It is just a very different psychological category than the old American promise of pizza as the easy budget meal, the thing you grab when you do not want to cook and do not want to think. The Wall Street Journal’s point is that the modern consumer is thinking more than ever, especially when delivery apps put endless alternatives one swipe away.
In Little Italy, Landini’s has long thrived on the slice economy, the walk up, grab a slice, keep moving rhythm of the neighborhood. Their Little Italy menu PDF lists slices at $5.99, which effectively makes “a slice is six bucks” the baseline before you even start adding extras.
Up in La Jolla, Regents Pizzeria shows how pricing can climb when a shop offers multiple regional identities under one roof. Regents’ posted menu lists a New York pepperoni slice at $5.75, and delivery listings show an 18-inch pepperoni New York pizza priced at $33. At that point, you are no longer comparing it to “pizza,” you are comparing it to other full meals that cost the same.
Then there is Bronx Pizza, still one of San Diego’s most popular old faithful slice counters, where the official menu lists a $3.50 cheese slice and a $19 18-inch cheese pie. That pricing, in 2026, reads almost like a statement of purpose, and it helps explain why certain legacy spots stay packed even as the broader market gets weird.
And one of the clearest signs of the new pizza economy is how quickly San Diego rallies around a place that still feels like a deal. Pit Stop Pizza’s own ordering page lists an $18 cheese pizza, positioning it as value in a category that is increasingly treating “large pie” as a premium purchase.
This is exactly the pressure the national chains and mid tier brands are feeling, too. The Wall Street Journal report describes a market where consumers see $9.99 deals in apps, then hesitate when a non chain pie costs 50 to 100 percent more, even if they can afford it.
The story is not that San Diego and the rest of the country is falling out of love with pizza. The story is that pizza is losing its automatic status as the no brainer choice, especially for families and delivery orders, because the city now has endless substitutes that feel more “worth it” at the same price. When a $32 to $48 pie becomes normal at one end of the market, the places that can still credibly say “great pizza, fair price” gain a new kind of power.
For San Diego’s pizza scene, the next phase may be less about novelty toppings and more about value narratives. Not cheap, not watered down, just an experience that feels proportionate to what you pay, whether that means a meticulously sourced wood fired masterpiece, or a big, satisfying 18-inch pie that lands under twenty bucks and reminds you why pizza became America’s comfort food in the first place.
So what does “pizza fatigue” look like on the ground in San Diego, a city that still loves a great slice and has no shortage of pizza opinions. It looks less like empty ovens and more like sticker shock, the kind that quietly changes habits even when the food is excellent. When pizza stops feeling like the default affordable dinner, it starts competing with everything else in your neighborhood and available from the comfort of a phone.
Take Tribute Pizza in North Park, where an 18-inch plain cheese pie sits at $32 on the ordering menu and an 18-inch Margherita comes in at $34. Want a full loaded, Costco nod “supreme” style pie. Tribute’s online menu lists its 18-inch Classic Combo Supreme at $47.99.
That is not “too expensive” in a vacuum. It is just a very different psychological category than the old American promise of pizza as the easy budget meal, the thing you grab when you do not want to cook and do not want to think. The Wall Street Journal’s point is that the modern consumer is thinking more than ever, especially when delivery apps put endless alternatives one swipe away.
In Little Italy, Landini’s has long thrived on the slice economy, the walk up, grab a slice, keep moving rhythm of the neighborhood. Their Little Italy menu PDF lists slices at $5.99, which effectively makes “a slice is six bucks” the baseline before you even start adding extras.
Up in La Jolla, Regents Pizzeria shows how pricing can climb when a shop offers multiple regional identities under one roof. Regents’ posted menu lists a New York pepperoni slice at $5.75, and delivery listings show an 18-inch pepperoni New York pizza priced at $33. At that point, you are no longer comparing it to “pizza,” you are comparing it to other full meals that cost the same.
Then there is Bronx Pizza, still one of San Diego’s most popular old faithful slice counters, where the official menu lists a $3.50 cheese slice and a $19 18-inch cheese pie. That pricing, in 2026, reads almost like a statement of purpose, and it helps explain why certain legacy spots stay packed even as the broader market gets weird.
And one of the clearest signs of the new pizza economy is how quickly San Diego rallies around a place that still feels like a deal. Pit Stop Pizza’s own ordering page lists an $18 cheese pizza, positioning it as value in a category that is increasingly treating “large pie” as a premium purchase.
This is exactly the pressure the national chains and mid tier brands are feeling, too. The Wall Street Journal report describes a market where consumers see $9.99 deals in apps, then hesitate when a non chain pie costs 50 to 100 percent more, even if they can afford it.
The story is not that San Diego and the rest of the country is falling out of love with pizza. The story is that pizza is losing its automatic status as the no brainer choice, especially for families and delivery orders, because the city now has endless substitutes that feel more “worth it” at the same price. When a $32 to $48 pie becomes normal at one end of the market, the places that can still credibly say “great pizza, fair price” gain a new kind of power.
For San Diego’s pizza scene, the next phase may be less about novelty toppings and more about value narratives. Not cheap, not watered down, just an experience that feels proportionate to what you pay, whether that means a meticulously sourced wood fired masterpiece, or a big, satisfying 18-inch pie that lands under twenty bucks and reminds you why pizza became America’s comfort food in the first place.
Originally published on January 7, 2026.
