Find the N.J. policy message in the pizza | Editorial [Video]

Comings and goings of pizza shops in South Jersey are not often huge news. In fact, in Washington Township, Gloucester County, you don’t need to go far to find a decent one. In part, that stems from the mass migration of South Philadelphia families to the township over decades. You can’t fool them about good pies.

But a closer look at the exit of Papa’s Pizza on Tuckahoe Road last week suggests not just nostalgia for ardent fans, but a microcosm of the challenges facing small businesses in the region.

According to CBS Philadelphia, buddies Ken Ford and Chuck Green, Papa’s Pizza’s owners, didn’t hang it up after 28 years because they wanted to retire, because the wholesale cost of cheese and tomato sauce had skyrocketed past their ability to charge more, or because they had to pay higher wages and benefits.