Valentine’s Day is the busiest time of the year for Me-n-Ed’s, which has been selling heart-shaped pies for three decades, leading to lines out the door. Photo composite by Cecilia Lopez
Me-n-Ed’s Pizzeria has spent nearly 30 years perfecting what it calls the original — and on the most romantic night of the year, the line will be out the door.
The National Retail Federation forecasts that Valentine’s Day related consumer spending will hit $29.1 billion this year — a record high for the most romantic day of the year. Local pizza parlors are serving up heart-shaped pizzas to secure their slice of the nearly $30 billion dollar pie.
Despite their trendy appeal, heart-shaped pizzas aren’t a new fad.
Me-n-Ed’s Pizzeria, which was founded in Sacramento back in 1958, has sold heart-shaped pizza pies for nearly three decades.
“We consider ours the original,” said John Ferdinandi, the president and CEO of Milano Restaurants. The Fresno-based restaurant group operates over 70 restaurant locations, including Me-n-Ed’s.
Heart-shaped pizzas are the company’s best selling promotional menu item – leading to significant significant sales bump each year on Valentine’s Day. The promotion often leads to lines out the door.
“It’s our busiest day of the year,” said Ferdinandi.
Their presentation may be novel and fun, but a lot of time and effort goes into each holiday pie. Each Me-n-Ed’s location makes its dough in house over the course of two days.
Pizza artists mix the dough on day one, then let it rise. On day two, the dough is worked in a process called “priming” before being set aside to rest for another day. On the third day, the dough is rolled out into sheets and cut into the shape of a heart — ready to be prepped and baked.
Customers can choose from a variety of toppings, but the classic pepperoni is their biggest seller — with roughly 90% of the orders being single-topping pepperoni.
Ferdinandi described their heart-shaped pizzas as a fast and easy option for busy people on V-Day — including families with young children — as well as those looking to spend the holiday with friends.
“If you want to stay at home with your friends or go on a picnic … it’s just a way of recognizing the day and having fun with it,” he said.
Me-n-Ed’s may be the O.G., but there’s no shortage of alternatives. Several other local businesses offer heart-shaped pizzas for customers who are looking to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day or even Palentine’s Day with a pie.
Fresno-based pizza shop called 99 Craft offers a heart-shaped pepperoni pie covered in fluffy ricotta cheese hearts. For customers that prefer to buy now and bake later, Our Little Pizza Place in northern Visalia sells a heart-shaped take-and-bake pizza.
Madera’s Popolo’s Pizza shared on social media that any of their large pizzas could be made heart-shaped at no extra charge.
Firebaugh Pizza started offering their heart-shaped pizzas beginning Feb. 2.
As for Me-n-Ed’s, though Valentine’s Day is their busiest day of the year Ferdinandi said that their Pi-Day pizza is their best deal of the year. Each year on March 14, the company offers their personal pizzas at $3.14 in honor of Pi, or 3.14.
“That deal gets better and better every year. As prices go up, Pi-Day always stays the same,” he said.