Baker's Pizza will celebrate 25th anniversary this month
Twenty-five years ago this month, Breck Baker opened a pizza shop with his sister, Connie Smith, and a staff of four — two high-school kids and two delivery drivers.
"It was just pickup and delivery back then, because we were in the old location," Baker recalled. "Now we have over 100 people, I think, who work here for us."
On Feb. 13, Baker's Pizza will celebrate its 25th anniversary with specials, a raffle and giveaways, said Holly Judy, one of the restaurant's general managers. Pizza specials will include $5 off a large one-item pizza, or two large one-items for $25, "a pretty significant discount on our pizzas," she said. Everyone who comes in will be given a raffle ticket and they'll have drawings or merchandise every 30 minutes.
A lot has changed since Baker and Smith opened the first shop at 416 S. Sandusky Ave. on Feb. 11, 1998, they said. The shop, which moved to its current location in 2004, is now regularly ranked among Pizza Today's Hot 100 Independent Pizzerias.
"But back then it was just pickup and delivery, a lot smaller menu — basically just pizzas, subs, some salads," Baker said. The business originally was only open in the evening, though they started adding lunch hours a few days a week before moving to the current location, 224 N. Sandusky Ave.
"It was kind of a totally different business," Baker said. "With just pickup and delivery, you don't need as many people to run it and that kind of thing."
Business moved to current location in 2004
The new location gave them an opportunity to add a dining room, but getting it ready to open was a lot of work. They recalled putting in some 20-hour days during the week before it opened in October 2004. Baker's wife was expecting at the time; he recalled the contractors working on the new site kept saying, "your wife's going to have that baby opening night."
Sure enough, Baker's son, now 18, was born the day after it opened. "It kind of helps me keep track of how old we are here at this location," he said.
"He left me right after we opened the doors," Smith said, laughing. "She was like two weeks early, too, I think... because we thought we had time." The doors opened and four hours later, "he was like, 'I gotta go.'"
"It was after the rush; it was like 10 o'clock," Baker said in his own defense.
Since then, the business has continued to grow.
"When we first opened here, Connie and I were basically the GMs; now it just takes every bit of everybody we have to run our ship now. We're one of the top independents in the country, as far as gross sales, and it's kind of wild to think that in little Bucyrus, Ohio," Baker said, chuckling. "But it takes a lot."
Baker and Smith also own Old 30 BBQ, 1330 E. Mansfield St.; and The Venue at Old 30, across the street at 1335 E. Mansfield St.
Old 30 opened about eight years ago. Originally, they were renting parking space at the building that now houses The Venue, and purchased it when the owner decided to move out of town, Baker said. That space is used for events.
Jessica Shifley, Smith's daughter, is now an "intern" owner, her mother said.
'This was a need in our town'
Baker said he thinks the business filled a need in the community.
"When we opened up this, there was really nothing in town here. ... That was the No. 1 we heard from customers, was boy this was a need in our town. So I think that's for starters, but then I think we've grown our name through our food and our atmosphere. Now it's nothing for people traveling hours away to come here on weekends.
"I think it started as a good need and a niche in Bucyrus but then grew just by word of mouth. People all over the state come here because of our product and atmosphere."
Shane Wisterman, one of the business' general managers, agreed.
"We offer something in Bucyrus that nobody else can offer, in terms of the venue ... you can't go anywhere else where it's family-oriented, and it's sports-oriented and we do parties," he said. "We have a lot of offer."
"I think a big thing, too, is the attention to detail within our recipes," Shifley said. "Our dough, for example, it's homemade, it's fresh, it's not frozen. Breck's done a lot to improve that recipe over time, and now he offers multiple crusts. ... He's done some training with a chef out in San Francisco. So over time, the menu has evolved and we always are looking for ways to improve our recipes and have the best quality ingredients."
The menu is constantly evolving, Judy said. For example, Wisterman's in charge of creating a different specialty pizza every month, such as macaroni and cheese or chicken queso. They rotate appetizer specials, too.
"We are constantly changing and trying to adapt what our menu has to meet not just people needs and wants for food but their allergies or their taste in different foods as well," she said.
Local craft beers available at pizzeria
Baker's supports other local businesses by having craft beers from local breweries on tap, Wisterman said.
But the focus is always on the customer, stressed Samantha Feeman, another general manager.
"I think that one thing that's special about us is every time time we go to change something, we always think about the customer first, and how it's going to impact their experience," she said. "Our customers have been coming here for years and years; the things that they love, keeping it the same while also evolving for the new customers. I don't think a lot of people understand that we actually are putting our customers first in even the new customers that haven't been in the door yet; we're always, every single thing that we do, is customer-driven."
The employees have been an essential component in the business's success, too, Baker said.
While the restaurant employs some younger, high-school-aged employees who might work there for a few years, he estimated about half of the staffers are career-minded people who have been there for years.
"It's kind of a mix, a little bit of everything... We're a family here; we offer flexible hours, even for our GMs, we try to rotate them on weekends and just try to work with all of our staff," he said.
Staffers also stressed the restaurant's efforts to help others in the community. For example, it works with schools and churches on fundraisers, sometimes donates pizza to first responders, and sells pizza at a discounted price to school organizations that serve it at concession stands. Each year, the business donates gift cards to Crawford County Child and Family Services. The business also does fundraisers where profits from merchandise sales are donated to a charity, such as the Gary Sinise Foundation and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
"Of course we love being nationally known for our food, but I think it's really important, the work that we do with the community," Shifley said. "We're constantly giving back in multiple ways."
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Baker's Pizza, celebrating 25 years, is one of the top Independents
