Operations
By leveraging AI dispatch, hybrid success fashions and clear communication, pizza operators can rework the acute logistical stress of Tremendous Bowl Sunday right into a repeatable blueprint for year-round operational success and buyer retention.
Picture: Adobe Inventory (AI generated)
January 26, 2026 by Alex Vasilkin — Co-Founder & CEO, Cartwheel
This yr, Tremendous Bowl Sunday falls on the identical weekend as Nationwide Pizza Day, creating an ideal storm of pizza demand. Tremendous Bowl Sunday already drives the best pizza supply volumes of the yr, and with Nationwide Pizza Day on February 9, pizza operators are dealing with back-to-back peak days the place orders spike inside tight time home windows, kitchens run at capability and supply groups have zero margin for error.
However the pizza manufacturers that execute flawlessly on sport day aren’t working particular playbooks. They’ve constructed supply infrastructure that scales to peak demand as a baseline, making each different Saturday night time manageable by comparability.
The operational selections that decide Tremendous Bowl success are the identical ones that separate leaders from laggards each Friday dinner rush, Valentine’s Day and Pi Day. Listed below are 5 ideas that work when quantity peaks — and why they matter 12 months a yr.
Set clear expectations and talk in actual time
Communication drives buyer satisfaction throughout peak demand. Prospects forgive delays once they perceive what’s occurring and may belief the knowledge they obtain.
Actual-time order monitoring, correct ETAs and proactive notifications cut back buyer calls and handle expectations earlier than frustration builds. Operators with full visibility into lively deliveries determine potential delays early and talk clearly, preserving belief even when quantity peaks.
This is not only a Tremendous Bowl technique. Clear communication builds buyer confidence every single day of the yr, creating the belief that drives repeat orders.
Management supply capability with out slowing the kitchen
Tremendous Bowl demand not often aligns with in-house driver availability. Counting on one success mannequin results in bottlenecks, missed guarantees or pointless handbook selections through the busiest hours.
Hybrid supply fashions steadiness in-house and third-party success based mostly on real-time situations. Orders route robotically utilizing distance, order worth, time of day and driver availability, guaranteeing constant execution with out slowing operations.
Operators utilizing hybrid supply mixed with AI dispatch see supply occasions enhance as much as 25% throughout peak demand. However the actual worth exhibits up each weekend, while you’re not scrambling to manually determine which orders go the place.
Take away handbook dispatch bottlenecks
Each handbook step turns into a legal responsibility throughout main occasions. Manually routing orders, reassigning drivers mid-rush or reacting to points after they happen provides friction when groups can least afford it.
AI-powered dispatch removes this burden by constantly optimizing assignments within the background. Orders route immediately and persistently, permitting workers to deal with meals high quality, prep velocity and customer support moderately than firefighting operations. Throughout a number of pizza chains, AI-powered auto-dispatch has been confirmed to avoid wasting managers three hours per day — time that is particularly useful throughout peak intervals just like the Tremendous Bowl.
On Tremendous Bowl Sunday, this prevents operational collapse. On Tuesday nights, it saves your managers hours of decision-making overhead and lets them deal with working the restaurant.
Defend your model, irrespective of who delivers
From the client’s perspective, the supply expertise belongs to the restaurant, no matter who’s behind the wheel. When one thing goes fallacious, the model takes the hit.
Sustaining a constant, branded supply expertise throughout all success sorts protects model notion on high-visibility days just like the Tremendous Bowl. Branded monitoring, clear communication and post-delivery touchpoints preserve the restaurant entrance and heart, reinforcing belief even when third-party drivers are concerned.
First-time clients on Tremendous Bowl Sunday do not know if it is your driver or a third-party service. They simply know whether or not your pizza arrived scorching, on time and with knowledgeable expertise. That notion determines whether or not they order once more in March.
Flip game-day orders into repeat clients
Tremendous Bowl Sunday brings an inflow of first-time and rare clients. The chance would not finish when the sport does.
Eating places that observe up with clear post-delivery communication, bounce-back affords, or loyalty incentives convert game-day clients into regulars. A clean supply expertise paired with considerate engagement creates momentum that extends properly past a single occasion.
The shoppers you purchase on Tremendous Bowl Sunday turn out to be your weeknight supply orders when you execute the expertise proper. Sport day is buyer acquisition. The remainder of the yr is buyer retention.
Peak efficiency as customary working process
The largest supply day of the yr exposes which pizza manufacturers have constructed infrastructure that scales and which of them are held collectively by handbook workarounds and heroic workers effort.
Pizza manufacturers utilizing real-time visibility, hybrid supply and AI-powered dispatch do not simply survive Tremendous Bowl Sunday, they use it as validation that their programs work beneath essentially the most demanding situations. When you may deal with Tremendous Bowl Sunday with out chaos, you’ve got constructed a supply operation that creates aggressive benefit 52 weeks a yr.
The distinction between thriving on sport day and barely surviving it comes right down to infrastructure selections made lengthy earlier than kickoff. The winners don’t get fortunate. They’ve constructed operations the place championship-level quantity is the anticipated baseline, not the exception.
Sturdy execution on Tremendous Bowl Sunday proves your supply programs work. Sturdy execution the remainder of the yr is what truly builds your small business.
About Alex Vasilkin
Alex Vasilkin is the co-founder and CEO of Cartwheel. As a enterprise chief and entrepreneur with over ten years within the supply house, Alex Vasilkin has a ardour for transformative expertise that fuels enterprise success. Cartwheel is the the main expertise supplier powering the supply operations of prime eating places like Portillo’s, P.F. Chang’s and Potbelly, the place he’s answerable for the strategic imaginative and prescient and day-to-day operations that drive Cartwheel’s spectacular progress.
