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Pizza My Heart owner Chuck Hammers remembers a time when showing up with pizza on Valentine’s Day would be considered less than romantic. Hence, Valentine’s Day week was traditionally a weak time sales-wise for the regional chain and other pizza shops.
“Basically, if you were taking your spouse or partner out for a slice of pizza and not a romantic dinner, you were in the doghouse,” Hammers said. “Then about 10 years ago, we came up with the idea of making heart-shaped pizzas for people to send each other.”
Now, Valentine’s Day has become one of Pizza My Heart’s top-selling days, and other pizza joints have caught on — Mountain Mike’s is also offering heart-shaped pies for the entire month of February. But this week may set records at Pizza My Heart thanks to delivery service DoorDash, which is paying for the first 1,000 heart-shaped pizzas ordered through the online delivery service. (The fine print: You’ve got to place an order of at least $15 and then use the promo code HEARTPIZZA to get the freebie.)
Hammers said he expected the promotion to quickly sell out, but you can still buy a heart-shaped pizza even if you miss the window. And speaking of hot sellers, Hammers said he’s been stunned by the response to the premiere over the weekend of a plant-based mozzarella produced by Miyoko’s Creamery. Hundreds of people turned up at Pizza My Heart’s Palo Alto store to try the Cultured Vegan Pizza Mozz. (It’s also available in Monterey.)
“People traveled from as far as San Francisco and Berkeley to taste it,” he said. “There was a couple in near tears that said they had missed Pizza My Heart so much after going vegan and were so happy to have great pizza again.”
JESSE EISENBERG COMING TO CINEQUEST: After playing Mark Zuckerberg, Lex Luthor and a blue macaw, Jesse Eisenberg seems pretty well suited for the Maverick Spirit Award, which the actor will receive at Cinequest’s closing night March 15.
The festival announced Tuesday that Eisenberg will be at the California Theatre in San Jose for the screening of his newest film, “Resistance,” which details the World War II experience of Marcel Marceau, who later became world famous as a mime, when he was a young, struggling Jewish actor in France.
He joins two previously announced award recipients, actress Hong Chau and poet ruth weiss , at the festival, which opens in March. Get the full schedule and ticket information at www.cinequest.org.
ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Stewart Slater has been a frequent presence on South Bay stages for decades, however, that was usually providing pre-show announcements when he was general manager for American Musical Theatre San Jose or other music and theater companies over the years. But he’s doing a lot more than that for “The Fantasticks,” which is running at downtown San Jose’s 3Below Theatres through Feb. 23.
He plays Henry (the Old Actor) in the show, a role he first performed a couple of years ago for the Shelton Theatre in San Francisco. Before that, however, he hadn’t been on stage in a performing role since 1973. That was just 13 years after “The Fantasticks” started its record-setting, 42-year run playing Off-Broadway.
“It’s a great way to return,” Slater said of the current production. “A quality theater, a wonderful show, a fun role and a talented company of artists. Who could ask for more?”
Well, I can ask for more — more audiences. Not just for “The Fantasticks” but other South Bay shows currently running, including Tabard Theatre’s comedic turn on Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps,” Northside Theatre’s “Other Desert Cities,” City Lights’ hilarious “Stage Kiss,” and San Jose Stage’s electric production of “Chicago.” There’s a good theater scene here if you just look around.
