Jake Robbins, Contributing Photographer

New pizza-themed license plates are driving around the pizza capital of the United States, the state of Connecticut, as of March 14.

The hallmark of most states is the license plates tacked onto the back of their cars: Washington’s iconic Mount Rainier; the blue and yellow of the Alaskan plate with the big dipper flag; and New York’s Niagara Falls and the silhouette of the Statue of Liberty. Now, Connecticut has joined this trend — residents can celebrate the state’s culinary claim to fame by registering for the new Pizza State Connecticut License Plate.

“The license is giving homage and support to the families [in the pizza business]. That is the American dream,” Colin Caplan, New Haven historian and business owner, told the News.

Caplan started looking into commissioning a license plate last September. He began talking with the Department of Motor Vehicles in Connecticut to begin the process for getting a special interest license plate with pizza on it, which can be done either through passed legislation or through a nonprofit.

Caplan worked with the Connecticut Food Share, which is the largest food bank in the state of Connecticut.

To get production and distribution going, the license plate had to receive a minimum of 400 applications. The online form received 600 entries. The plate then launched on March 14, or Pi day.

“We had to stop because we got so many applications, and that had never been done before,” Caplan said. “We had to pause it to make sure we could complete every one of these applications, and that is where we are at now.”

The DMV sets the license plate prices. Caplan and his team added a processing fee associated with credit card processing, printing and digital signing fees.

According to the state comptroller’s Special Examination on Pizza, Connecticut has a total of 1,376 pizza restaurants, with the city of New Haven boasting the most, at 63 pizza shops.

The State of Connecticut ranks first in the number of pizza restaurants per capita, with 3.65 pizza establishments per 10,000 people. This proportion puts Connecticut at the highest density of pizza restaurants in the country.

According to Kadir Catabasoglu, the owner of Brick Oven Pizza, the introduction of pizza plate will be good for his business: “You see the pizza plate, and you want pizza.”

“You know, Georgia is the peach state, Connecticut is the Pizza state. I’m sure it will be fun,” George Koutroumanis, the owner of Yorkside Pizza, told the News. “You know, anybody sees it anywhere, so it sticks in your mind.”

This pizza culture has driven the Connecticut economy, with an estimated $600 million in annual sales, making up nearly 20 percent of the state’s economic activity. 

New Haven draws over 2 million visitors annually each year for pizza, contributing an additional $100 million to the local economy. 

“We are trying to create a positive rally call around something that is wholesome. These are family businesses, these are major employers, major parts of our economy and points of pride,” Caplan said. “These businesses are feeding us, it is building up together. That is how I see it.”

Caplan hopes to take the next set of plate orders in about three weeks. He plans to limit the number of plates to around 3500, with 600 already being sent out, meaning 2900 plates should be available for purchase in the next application cycle.

Connecticut Foodshare was founded in 1982.