Missourians can’t get enough of this pizza chain during COVID-19 pandemic, report says

People in Missouri have visited one pizza chain more than any other during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report from insight company Top Data.

Which pizza place seems to have stolen Missourians’ hearts? That’d be Little Caesars.

Domino’s ranked second in the Show Me State, with Papa John’s, Papa Murphy’s and Pizza Hut rounding out the top five, the report said.

The team at Top Data analyzed cellphone data from mid-March to August to determine the most popular pizza chains in states across the U.S. during the pandemic.

Little Caesars was the overwhelming victor across the nation, with 24 states visiting Little Caesars more than any other pizza chain. Papa John’s was the second most popular, having been visited most in nine states, the report said.

Nearly all Missouri’s border states favored Little Caesars, as well, except for Iowa, which preferred Domino’s, and Oklahoma, which preferred Godfather’s Pizza, according to the report.

Pizza Hut saw surprisingly few wins, with only Louisiana and South Dakota visiting the chain most.

The coronavirus pandemic has been tough on restaurants, and pizza places are not immune.

Traffic at restaurants including fast-food, sit-down and pizza establishments is down, according to Top Data

But pizza chains have fared the best, seeing a 20% drop in visits since the onset of the pandemic, followed by fast-food restaurants at a 30% decrease in traffic, another Top Data report said. But their sit-down counterparts took a harder hit, suffering a 58% decrease in traffic.

Restaurants were forced to shutdown when states across the U.S. imposed lockdown measures to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Despite being the most visited pizza chain in the country since the pandemic began, Little Caesar’s has still seen a 6% drop in visits compared to the same period in 2019.