Super Bowl Pizza Orders 2026: Phone Answering Service and Delivery Solutions for the Big Game Rush

The Numbers Behind Super Bowl’s Pizza Surge

On Super Bowl Sunday, 12.5 million Super Bowl pizza orders flood restaurants across the United States, making it the biggest day of the year for pizza shops. Add in 1.47 billion chicken wings and nearly 48 million Americans ordering takeout, and Super Bowl Sunday becomes the single busiest day on the restaurant calendar.

But raw numbers only tell half the story.
The real challenge isn’t volume. It’s timing.

Orders don’t come in gradually. They hit all at once. Peak demand arrives exactly one hour before kickoff. In 2026, Super Bowl LX kicks off at 6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT NBC Sports, so the peak hour before kickoff would be 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM PT (or 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM ET).

During that single hour:

• Phones ring nonstop
• Online orders pile up
• Kitchens hit full capacity

Every pizza shop faces the same question:
Can we actually keep up and handle Super Bowl pizza orders without breaking our operation?

Preparation Is What Separates Winning Shops From Struggling Ones

Super Bowl demand hits every market at the same time.

A nine-location chain in a major city may log over a thousand orders. A single-location shop in a smaller town might handle a few hundred.

The scale changes, but the pressure doesn’t.

The shops that perform well usually have three things in place before the first order comes in:

1. A phone answering solution that can handle unlimited calls at once
2. A delivery solution that can handle all the deliveries you don't have the capacity to handle with your in-house delivery staff
3. Marketing that pulls orders in before kickoff day

That brings us to a real example.

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The Two Bottlenecks That Almost Crushed Pete's Pizza on Super Bowl Sunday

Pete Filopoulos runs Pete's Pizza, a nine-location operation across Philadelphia. For years, Super Bowl Sunday meant the same thing: chaos. 

Here are the two bottlenecks Pete's Pizza faced. See if you're dealing with the same problems.

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Bottleneck 1: Phones Overload Before Kickoff

Between 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM, Pete’s phones were maxed out.

This is exactly when many restaurants realize they need a reliable restaurant phone answering service to handle peak demand.

At one location, 11 customers were calling at the same time.
With only four lines, some calls never got through. Others sat on hold and eventually gave up.

Every missed call during that window is lost revenue.

Before working with Tarro, Pete estimated that during peak Super Bowl hours, each location would lose 15 to 20 orders simply because phones couldn’t be answered fast enough.

“At $40 per ticket, that adds up quickly,” Pete said.
“We could see calls coming in and still not pick them up in time.”

His team faced an impossible choice: Answer phones or make food. They couldn’t do both.

Bottleneck 2: Delivery Capacity Hits a Wall

Delivery is the second place where operations break down.

Pete typically staffs two in-house drivers per location. When dozens of delivery orders come in within a short window, even well-run shops hit capacity fast. That’s when many owners turn to third-party delivery apps.

Pete had looked at those options before, but the economics didn’t work:

• Commissions as high as 30%
• Loss of direct customer relationships
• Higher delivery prices for customers

“I wanted customers calling us directly and us delivering directly,” Pete said.“But we didn’t have enough capacity during the rush.”

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How Tarro Helped Pizza Shops Turn Chaos Into Control

Pete didn’t need to hire more staff for just one day. He also didn’t want to hand his margins over to third-party apps. What he needed was restaurant delivery without third-party fees, but still flexible enough to handle game-day spikes.

He needed a backup plan – support that kicks in only when his operation is under pressure. That is where Tarro stepped in.

The solution Pete found wasn't about replacing staff entirely. It was about creating backup capacity that activates only during surges—phone spikes, delivery overload, and unexpected rushes—without the cost of full-time hires.

Here is how Tarro solved Pete’s two biggest problems.

Solving Bottleneck #1: Phone Answering Without Missed Calls

Tarro’s phone answering service ensures every call gets answered, no matter the volume.

Instead of pure AI, Tarro uses well-trained phone order specialists (real people) assisted by an AI copilot. The results for Pete’s Pizza were immediate:

• Orders are sent to the kitchen with 99.5% accuracy.
• Better customer experience (fast service with a personal touch)

“Before Tarro, we’d pull phones off the line just to catch up,” Pete said. “Now every call gets answered.”

The Revenue Impact: Missed orders dropped by 90%. That translated into over $2,500 in additional Super Bowl revenue. Plus, Tarro’s phone order specialists use simple upsell prompts (like “Would you like to add some chicken wings?”), which increased Pete’s average ticket size by 5% without any extra effort from his team.

Solving Bottleneck #2: Delivery Coverage Without Giving Up Margin

When in-house drivers reached capacity, Tarro’s delivery network stepped in.

Unlike third-party apps:

• 0 commission for the restaurant
• Customers pay lower delivery fees than on major platforms
• Customer data stays with the restaurant

Beyond game day, Tarro also provides coverage for:

• Sick calls
• Unexpected rushes
• orders beyond a restaurant's normal 2-3 mile delivery radius

On game day, Tarro handled roughly one-third of Pete’s orders. It also cut delivery complaints by 82%.

“We didn’t have to scramble,” Pete said. “Tarro handled it.”

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Locking in Orders Before the Rush With SMS Marketing

Three days before the Super Bowl, Pete sent an SMS campaign through Tarro:
“Game Day Special – Order Now.”

Orders started coming in 5 minutes after SMS.

Here’s why that matters:
SMS pulls past customers back into the ordering cycle before the rush even begins, turning existing customers into repeat orders when demand is at its highest.

Instead of relying entirely on last-minute chaos, Pete entered game day with a stronger base of committed customers. And Tarro handled the entire campaign – no extra work for Pete’s team.

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What Pete’s Super Bowl Results Mean for Your Shop

Across nine locations, Pete‘s Pizza achieved:

• Around $5000 more average revenue for the day
• 2,562 calls answered 
• One-third of deliveries handled by Tarro when drivers hit capacity
• 100% fewer missed orders from phone overload
• 82% fewer delivery complaints

Just as important is what he didn’t have to do:

• Hire more front desks or drivers
• Train new front desk or drivers
• Pay 30% commission
• Hand over customer data

Instead, he partnered with one platform that supports phone answering, delivery backup, and SMS marketing (one year of free, valued at approximately $3000) – built specifically for high-pressure restaurant moments.

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Super Bowl 2026 Is a Four-Hour Revenue Test

Super Bowl Sunday compresses an entire month of stress into four hours. The demand is guaranteed. The only variable is your system.

If your phones rely on busy in-store staff, and your delivery relies on just two drivers, revenue is slipping away when it matters most.

With the right preparation, the Super Bowl doesn’t have to be chaotic. It can be your most profitable day of the year.

Find out how your restaurant can handle big game demand without chaos.  [Click here to claim your free trial with Tarro] to get started.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Super Bowl Prep

How do restaurants prepare for the Super Bowl pizza orders surge? 

Start preparing 3-5 days before the game. Set up a phone answering service that can handle multiple simultaneous calls, secure backup delivery coverage, and send SMS or email campaigns to lock in pre-orders and spread out kitchen demand.

How do I handle too many calls at once during the Super Bowl?

Use a phone answering service that scales with demand. Tarro handles unlimited simultaneous calls, ensuring no customer gets a busy signal even during the halftime rush.

Should I use DoorDash for Super Bowl delivery? 

While DoorDash provides drivers, they charge high commissions (up to 30%) and control your customer data. A direct delivery solution allows you to use backup drivers only when needed, keeping your margins high.

When should I start marketing for the Super Bowl? 

Start 3–5 days before the game. Sending an SMS or email blast early helps you lock in pre-orders, spreading the kitchen workload out rather than taking every order at 5:30 PM.

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