With people across the world spending most of their time at home, for many, takeaways have become a weekly highlight giving us all something to look forward to.
And many have also been using their takeaway treat as a chance to support local businesses hit hard by the pandemic. But diners in the US have had a shock after realising the pizzeria they thought was a new local business was in fact worldwide chain Chuck E Cheese operating under a different name.
It all started after a Reddit user in Philadelphia became suspicious of the order she made from a restaurant operating under the name of Pasqually's Pizza & Wings on delivery app GrubHub.
After questioning the delivery driver, she learnt the order had actually been collected from a nearby Chuck E Cheese restaurant, which had a new logo for Pasqually's Pizza & Wings on the door.
A spokesperson for Chuck E Cheese confirmed to Food and Wine that the restaurant was branching out across the US with the new delivery name, which comes from one of the cartoon characters in the Chuck E Cheese universe, chef Pasqually P Pieplate.
"Pasqually's Pizza & Wings' recipes use fresh, home-made pizza dough, just like Chuck E Cheese, but it is a different pizza that features a thicker crust and extra sauce, giving consumers a more flavourful, more premium pizza experience," the spokesperson told Food and Wine.
The news has been met with humour by many social media users.
"Chuck E Cheese is selling their food as 'Pasqually's Pizza' on food apps because no one wants to order Chuck E Cheese pizza for delivery and I think this is nominated as the funniest part of this pandemic," wrote one user.
“Chuck E Cheese is tricking people into buying their pizzas on GrubHub," another tweeted.
The spokesperson for Chuck E Cheese added that menu items from the new arm might be available on Chuck E Cheese menus soon.
"While Pasqually's Pizza & Wings recipes are currently only available for delivery, select items might be added to the Chuck E Cheese menu in the future."
