ANDERSON — Mike Cravens drives a flex fuel truck that runs on a blend of 85 percent ethanol.

Now and then, he uses it to deliver pizza for the Pennsylvania Avenue Pizza shop he owns in Lapel.

But with his four drivers running their own cars on the more than $4-a-gallon regular unleaded, there might be a change coming in Lapel pizza delivery.

“We might buy a little pizza car that runs on flex fuel,” Cravens said. “The drivers won’t have the wear and tear on their cars and they won’t be spending a fortune on gas.”

Pennsylvania Pizza, 609 Main Street, is a small operation though it serves a 12-mile radius reaching into Pendleton and Anderson.

On a good weekend, Lapel pizza-eaters can be kind; some drivers can earn more than $80 in tips on Fridays. The pizza shop also pays a per-hour wage.

Last year, national pizza chains indicated fear that gas prices could hurt sales. Instead, many found that consumers ordered more pizzas so they could stay at home.

However, gas prices is affecting deliveries to pizza shops.

Third Generation Pizza doesn’t deliver to homes; it’s carry-out or dine-in at its Pendleton and Chesterfield shops.

Yet the stores have been by higher gas prices, said owner Cheryl Hopkins.

Trucks bring food and plastic goods to her stores. Distributors bump up her delivery fee monthly when gas hits another high.

In October, she paid $14.77 for a 50-pound bag of flour, a necessity in making pizza.

“I’m paying $30 a bag now,” she said. “I have not raised my pizza prices but I’m going to have to evaluate all my inventory and see how much the prices have gone up this year.”