Community Important to Pizza Ranch Owner
by Gary Scott Beatty, Editor, On the Shore Magazine
Dan Westra, owner of the Pizza Ranch at 1848 E. Sherman at the East Sherman Plaza in Muskegon opened the franchise in January of 2005 excited about the company's history of community involvement.
"Pizza Ranch is way beyond food. It's about being an integral part of the community," he explained. "It's being involved with people."
Dan and his wife Val both grew up in Iowa, eating at their neighborhood Pizza Ranch and watching the franchise grow. Pizza Ranch began as an idea by 19-year-old Adrie Groeneweg in 1981, to operate a restaurant from a Christ-centered perspective. The first menu was developed by the founder's mother.
That concern for people and neighborhood always impressed Dan and the idea of opening his own Pizza Ranch was always with him. "It was in the back of my head from the very beginning when we started seeing this franchise evolve."
Consequently, the East Sherman Plaza Pizza Ranch has a number of community groups that meet at the restaurant. "We have a Community Room people can reserve to come to eat and have their meetings or parties," said Dan. "The room seats 40. Off of that room we have the Birthday Cove that seats another 25. So we've had groups of up to 65 people."
Muskegon's Pizza Ranch operates all kinds of fundraisers. "Almost every Monday and Wednesday we have Tip Nights for nonprofit organizations, where they come in and greet, they bus, they do dishes, and then all the tips that are left go to their group," said Dan. "Plus, 10% of the volume we do goes to their group as well. We've had groups in one three hour period make $900 to $1200."
Dan works closely with schools, in concession stands and with various fundraisers, including Pizza Parties.
"There are a number of other stories, not only in this Pizza Ranch, but in other Pizza Ranches where the restaurant has really been a rallying point for communities."
Dan and Val moved to Muskegon in 1997 when he took the position of principal at Western Michigan Christian High School. Shortly after she started teaching elementary music at two Catholic schools.
When Dan left WMC his family knew they wanted to stay in the Muskegon area. "We liked living in Muskegon, our kids were doing well in school. We had moved around quite a bit when they were young and we really enjoyed living here."
Now, Dan's Pizza Ranch is in one of the largest population bases of all the franchises. "We're breaking some new ground for them. Mostly, Pizza Ranches are located in towns of 15,000 or less."
What makes Pizza Ranch food unique is the host of dining options. "People will tell us we really should call it Chicken Ranch, because our broasted chicken is outstanding. The nice thing about it is, we have the full salad bar, pizza and breadsticks, chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetable, dessert, drink, a chip that we make, so there's something for everybody."
Kids Night on Tuesdays and Chicken Fest on Thursdays increase that variety of food choices. "It's something for all ages. You can have a family of three generations come in and it appeals to everyone."