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They’re every capitalist’s dream.
The Occupy Wall Street crowd camped out in downtown’s Zucotti Park have created a big-business venture for one pizza twirler — who’s now rolling in the dough.
“[We were] just surviving, working day-by-day” before the protest, said Telly Libertos, owner of Libertos Pizzeria on Ceder Street a few blocks from the park.
“I didn’t understand [the protests] at first, but an organizer said that he saw that we had online ordering, and did I mind if he put our number on their Twitter page so we could work together,’’ Libertos, 29, told The Post yesterday.
“I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ Who’s going to say no to business?’’
The pizzeria’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since.
On a bad Monday before the protest, the shop sold as few as 35 large pizzas at $21 a pop for a total of $735. Now, even though Libertos has cut his pie price to $15, he rakes in about $3,525 on a good Monday, thanks to the up to 200 extra pies sold daily to the renegade hordes.
Thursdays and Fridays are even better, when Libertos can see his business triple to nearly $4,500 as the protestors’ ranks swell with weekend-warrior add-ons.
The pizza man even came up with a gimmicky “Occu-pie” to peddle — a cheese pizza topped with pepperoni in the shape of a crossed-out “No!” sign.
As with many businesses, Libertos’s pizzeria suffered after the financial markets imploded in 2008, and his best customers — the targeted banker crowd — had evaporated.
“Our whole business model [upon opening in 2006] was to cater to AIG, which was right across the street,” he said.
The protest movement’s pizza orders have allowed him to “catch up on my bills, catch up with my vendors,” Libertos said.
Some orders are being phoned in from all over the United States — as well as England, Germany and Greece — from people wanting to donate to feed the masses.
While some restaurants have turned away the protesters, Libertos said he wanted the business without taking sides.
“Karma, man. That’s the way it works. Help your neighbor, and they’re going to help you.”