• USA Today, Monday, September 10, 2007 11:46 AM

Despite the failure of fast-food trendsetters like McDonald's to expand into pizza in the past, Subway is dishing out personal-size pizzas at about half its stores nationally, and Dunkin' Donuts is testing personal pizzas at 15 prototype stores in six states.

Fast foodies find it tough to resist sticking a gooey finger in the $28.5 billion pizza industry at a time when the pie biggies--Pizza Hut, Domino's and Papa John's--have seen growth stall. "The demographic of pizza eaters is about the same as oxygen breathers," says Steve Green, publisher of PMQ's Pizza Magazine.

Recent pizza growth has been in artisan, take-n'-bake and rising-crust pizzas, Green says. Now, Subway and Dunkin' think faster, smaller pizzas may find a niche. The chains are likely serving pizza to build up dinner business when consumers prefer hot meals, says Sherri Daye Scott, editor of QSR magazine. Dunkin', however, is even serving pizza for breakfast.

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