Although a new Atilano’s seems to open each day in Spokane, I was still a little surprised by the news. Last week, the Wall Street Journal announced that pizza is no longer the #2 most popular type of chain restaurant in the United States—it has plummeted to #6. Furthermore, Mexican restaurants (here’s looking at you, Atilano’s) and coffee shops now outnumber pizzerias.

Supposedly pizza is in decline and MOD is one of the chains that is really struggling.

The WSJ report, which is hidden behind a paywall (sorry), offers a couple reasons for this development. One factor is that pizza no longer has a monopoly on the delivery business. Because of Uber Eats and other similar operations, people can order any type of cuisine to their home. The story also noted that folks are more health conscious and are seeking alternative options to a pie loaded with three different types of meat and extra cheese.

There are a lot of “healthy” people who don’t care for my favorite pizza toppings: meat, meat, and more meat.

But the reason that actually contradicts my family’s current reality is that the value of pizza can’t match the value of competitors. The article stated that a $20 pizza can’t compete with $5 fast food deals. On the surface and given those numbers, that reasoning appears to have merit. However, when it comes to my family and the prices of fast food in our little corner of the country, things couldn’t be further from the truth. When the Resers order McDonald’s, Subway, or even Taco Bell (yes, Taco Bell of all places), we usually always rack up a bill near $30. In some instances, the cost is even north of that! So perhaps the $20 pizza isn’t so bad after all, right?

Sadly, people are starting to buy less dough.

But here’s the thing: We aren’t paying $20 for a pizza. In fact, we aren’t even paying $20 for two pizzas.

I found it telling and accurate that in the Fortune story, it mentioned that pretty much every American pizza chain is in decline except for one…Domino’s. Thanks to what the article attributed as “riding pizza promotions to relative success,” the pizza giant is managing to stay relevant in a market where Papa John’s and Pizza Hut are floundering.

Sloan standing next to the pizza we ordered from Domino’s.

Let me raise my hand in agreement that Domino’s truly is the outlier. It was only last month when I confessed that our family orders pizza from them probably much more than we should. But can you blame us? As the Fortune article alluded to, the promotions offered at Domino’s are too good to pass up. For probably the past two years, we have cashed in on the $7.99 carryout large pizzas at least 2-3 times per month. We turn to Domino’s for family movie nights, potlucks, meeting fare, and sleepovers. Most of the time we order just two pizzas, stay under $20, and then have leftovers the next day.

It is very common to see my front passenger seat occupied by two Domino’s pizzas.

The best part? Domino’s actually makes pretty decent pizza! And because the base price ($7.99) is so cheap, sometimes we will add a premium topping or go with an alfredo-based sauce to enhance the taste just a bit. Furthermore, Domino’s offers a really solid rewards plan so we are constantly redeeming points for free pizza.

Beau and his cousin, Johnny, enjoy some pizza from Domino’s earlier this month.

So, whatever. The Wall Street Journal can say that pizza is in decline but at our house it has never been more popular. With that said, I will say that I love myself a chicken and rice burrito from Atilano’s every now and then. Don’t Blink.