Power to the Pizza


Tens of thousands of demonstrators have turned out in Madison, Wisconsin, to protest the new governor’s proposal to bust unions that represent teachers and other public employees. As things in Madison tend to do, the story has developed an odd twist. News reports say people from around the world are ordering pizzas from a restaurant near the State Capitol to feed the protesters.

As an old, skeptical, journalist, I checked it out. A phone call to “Ian's on State” verified the story. It took me about 15 minutes to get through to an Ian's employee. He said the number of foreign callers had increased in just a few hours from people in 12 nations to citizens of 25 countries, including people in Africa and the Middle East. Egypt and Turkey were among the latter. Orders had come in from nearly all of our 50 states.


Business is so good at Ian's that the firm has suspended its regular delivery service in Madison to concentrate on making and delivering food for the demonstrators. They have also simplified the system. The only orders being taken are for $20 pizzas. Callers are asked if they want to tack on a tip for the delivery person.

If you want to support the demonstrators, phone an order to Ian's at 608-257-9248 and hit 3 during the automated message to reach the State Street location. If you want to oppose public employee unions, you can post a comment on Ian's Facebook or Twitter sites.