Pentagon pizza orders surge as US launches strikes on Venezuela

Dubai: A late-night surge in orders at a local pizzeria near the Pentagon has once again drawn attention to the "Pizza Meter" theory, after an unusual spike in traffic coincided with US military action in Venezuela early on Saturday.

Pizzato Pizza, a popular late-night outlet in Arlington County, Virginia, reported a sharp increase in activity starting at approximately 2am local time. The timing aligned closely with a series of US airstrikes launched against the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, which began an hour earlier at 3am local time.

The spike was documented by the "Pentagon Pizza Report", an online account on X (formerly Twitter) that monitors footfall at fast-food establishments surrounding the US Department of Defence headquarters. According to the tracker, the pizzeria saw sustained heavy traffic for nearly 90 minutes before the outlet "emptied out" by 3.44am.

"Pizzato Pizza, a late-night pizzeria nearby the Pentagon, has suddenly surged in traffic," the account posted at 2.04am, later noting that activity had returned to near zero once the operation concluded.

The phenomenon, often referred to as the "Pizza Meter," suggests that a sudden influx of food delivery and takeaway orders at nearby establishments can indicate heightened activity and late-night staffing levels inside the Pentagon during major international crises.

This is not the first time such a correlation has been noted. In June last year, similar spikes were observed at fast-food outlets in the Arlington area as Israeli forces prepared for Operation Lion, a series of airstrikes against Iran.

While the Pentagon does not comment on the dietary habits of its staff or its link to global operations, the brief surge in Virginia mirrors the duration of the strikes in Caracas.