Pizza On the Way Means Capitol Negotiations Have Heated Up

There’s one sure way to know when Congress reaches a crisis point: young aides start wheeling in pallets of pizza.

It’s a rite of high-stakes, late-night negotiations, like the one unfolding now over the debt ceiling, and it puts Michelene Mendelsohn on alert. She’s the deputy CEO of the Sunnyside Restaurant Group, which includes a trio of restaurants just steps from the Capitol Hill and House offices: a New York-style pizzeria (We, The Pizza), burger and shake joint (Good Stuff Eatery), and a taco stop (Santa Rosa Taqueria).

“We’re only two blocks away from the Capitol and we’re on the ...