Is a pizza still a pizza without cheese? An Indiana Pizza Hut franchisee thinks it is and is offering a new “veggie mozzarella” pie featuring a soy-based topping as a cheese substitute.

        Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne tested the product for about three years before adding it at its 44 stores in northern and central Indiana and northwestern Ohio.

        The pie is lactose-free, with less cholesterol and trans-fatty acids, and contains 27 fewer calories per slice.

        “Our customer base is aging, just like everybody else,” and becoming more health-conscious, said Ralph Wilson, operations director for Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne.

        Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne, a franchisee of the Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands unit, does not expect to win over regular pizza buyers with its cheeseless pie. But response in tests has been positive, and the product brought in new customers.

        Have a tip about a Tristate company that should be included in our Buzz? Call 768-8147 or e-mail businessenquirer.com.

Fresh funds to fight foreclosures
Local stocks mimic national drop
Play the Stock Market Game
HIGGINS: Don't let bear get you down
Savvy Strategies: Buy by basketful to keep tax break
Newport Levee gets taste of Asia
Drop in unemployment a surprise
Toyota makes more for less
Plant closures inevitable as ports sit idle
Toyota cuts back
Costume tariff spooks sellers
Tristate summary
What's the Buzz? Cheeseless pizza tested
Rate report