In a city where $2.50 is the normal price of a slice of plain pizza, some stores have succeeded with $1 slices.
Other retailers — either because they are already losing business or because they see an opportunity for increased profits — are experimenting with similar pricing. But consumers should contain their excitement for now. The $1 slice clearly faces an uphill battle.
About a month ago, the Villa Pizza shop on the northeast corner of 8th Avenue and 42 Street — right where people meet for my Grand Central & Times Square Walking Tour — cut the price of a large, plain pie from just over $15 to $7.99. The traffic jump was visible, even to my untrained eye, but it apparently wasn’t enough to justify so great a price cut.
A couple weeks after the price went down, it climbed back up to $9.99, as you can see from the sign. (Yes, they should have printed a new sign. Nothing makes customers feel like they’re getting ripped off more than seeing price increases like that.)
The current price is still much better than the original price, but it’s a far cry from $1 a slice. Location, doubtless, played some role in the decision. The discount pizza stores operate on remote corners (by Manhattan standards) while 8th & 42nd is one of the busiest intersections in the world, which presumably leads to high rents. Indeed, a second Villa Pizza located a couple blocks away, inside the cheaper confines of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, still sells large pies for $7.99.
But prices also hinge on what people are willing to pay. If New Yorkers refuse to go higher than $1 a slice for all but the most famous pizza, then prices will follow.