According to both Chowhound and The Takeout, there are no pizzerias within the Pentagon—meaning the Department of Defense must place enormous takeout orders from local restaurants during all-hands events.
A day before Israel launched its massive air strike campaign against Iran last week, President Donald Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center that the United States had begun to move military family members out of the Middle East, stating, “It could be a dangerous place.”
The White House had been briefed by Israel that an attack on the Islamic Republic was pending, and while Trump’s warning gave some clues to the public, near the Pentagon, there was another indicator.
It was the pizza portent.
Orders for pizza spiked at restaurants near the Pentagon, a fact first noted by the “Pentagon Pizza Report” account on X (formerly Twitter). The account routinely tracks takeout orders of the popular food based on open-source information. It is not scientifically accurate by any means, but pizza orders have historically been a not-so-subtle indicator that something big is about to happen. For example, pizza orders spiked last year when Iran launched its missile strike on Israel.
But the history of pizza as an indicator has been decades in the making.
The Pentagon’s Long History of Crisis Pizza Delivery
The earliest account of a spike in pizza orders near the Pentagon dates back to October 1983, the night before the Reagan administration launched its invasion of Grenada. Orders nearly doubled from the average evening. The phenomenon was repeated before the US military began Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama in December 1989.
Since then, journalists and analysts have continued to monitor for a surge of evening and late-night activity near the Pentagon. That has included pizza deliveries and any surge in orders.
Frank Meeks, who owned around 60 Domino’s Pizza locations in the DC area, claimed to have seen a sharp uptick in orders before Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. In that case, it was not to the Pentagon, but the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
Then, six months later, as the United States prepared for combat operations against Iraq, there was a surge in nighttime deliveries to the Pentagon. The trend continued in 1998 during the Kosovo conflict, and CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who previously served as Pentagon correspondent, once suggested, “Bottom line for journalists—always monitor the pizzas.”
How to Feed an Army
As the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the Pentagon is currently the world’s second-largest office building, falling to second place only in 2023. It has approximately 6.5 million square feet of floor space, which is three times the size of the Empire State Building.
Due to its size and large workforce, the Pentagon has no shortage of eateries. Instead of a cafeteria, there is the Concourse Food Court, which features several fast food restaurants, including Subway, Starbucks, Popeyes, and even a Lebanese Taverna, a local DC area chain specializing in Middle Eastern cuisine. Deeper inside the building, there is a McDonald’s, a Taco Bell, and a Panda Express, all of which are only accessible to federal employees who work in the building. Additionally, the building offers a variety of sit-down dining options, including at Bistro 108 and Moe’s Southwest Grill.
Yet according to both Chowhound and The Takeout, there are no pizzerias within the Pentagon. For those looking for a slice, they have to leave the building or order delivery.
Why there is no pizza option within the building remains unclear.
One imagines that pizza would be the food to get large teams through the night, rather than a stack of burgers or tacos. While the late Winston Churchill may or may not have suggested that one should never let a crisis go to waste, it is unlikely that any food goes to waste at the Pentagon during a crisis.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock / alexfan32.
