New owner excited to rebuild and reopen Pizza Ranch

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Charles City is getting back a Pizza Ranch, but there will be a wait before the doors open in early spring.

In the meantime, new owner Len Jentz will start working on his plan to make everyone’s dining experience at the new restaurant the best it can be.

“When I open it back up I want it to be a totally new experience for people when they come into the Pizza Ranch,” said Jentz. “It won’t be the same old Pizza Ranch. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but we want to make it better, cleaner and a much friendlier environment.”

Pizza Ranch closed this past June and folks in town wondered if it would ever come back. Jentz has a tentative date of April 1 for the reopening.

The time will allow Jentz and his crew to make some major upgrades in the building where the previous Pizza Ranch was located. He said there is plenty of work that needs to be done.

Jentz said he has purchased the building and restaurant from Clear Lake Bank and Trust and that sale should be finalized on Dec. 31. He met with contractors as well as franchise and business consultants on Wednesday to iron out some of the details.

“I’m extremely excited. The plans that were laid out today — it’s going to be pretty impressive,” Jentz said.

“We have a plan now for what we’re going to do on the inside of the building. I have to wait for pricing, of course, for my contractor to tell me what everything is going to cost. We do have a budget set up for it.”

Jentz has been owner of the Pizza Ranch in Waverly for more than 12 years.

“I know Pizza Ranch itself, the corporation, is extremely excited about us taking that over as well,” Jentz said about the Charles City site. “They’ve actually pushed me for years to try to get into a second location.”

Jentz said the new restaurant will be more than just a place you can enjoy a meal — it will be hub to congregate to strengthen bonds within the community.

“It’s a community center, is what I like to look at it as,” said Jentz. “It’s about giving back and it’s about being part of the community.”

Jentz has teamed up for fundraisers at his restaurant in Waverly with such organizations as Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Red Cross and Pheasants Forever, just to name a few. He said he has also done a lot of work with Waverly churches and schools.

“I want it to be a place where people can feel like they can go and meet with family — have a great time and have great food,” said Jentz. “The food is obviously part of the equation. The great thing about it is if we follow the Pizza Ranch standards for the food, the food takes care of itself.

“We are going to add ice cream, which I’ve been asked many, many times about already,” he said. There will also be takeout and delivery.

Jentz said part of a successful restaurant operation is putting together the right personnel.

“I need to hire people that are willing to serve other people — that want to be part of something bigger than just four walls and a restaurant,” he said.

Jentz’s son, Dustin Jentz, is a partner in the Charles City operation and will also be general manager of the Charles City site.

Len Jentz said he enjoys running restaurants and helping out any way he can.

“We don’t just run to the bank with bags of money and go, ‘boy, wasn’t it a great day,’” said Jentz. “We look for ways to give back.”

Pizza Ranch, a Midwestern “fast casual” restaurant chain, was founded in 1981 and first opened stores in northwest Iowa. Now there are more than 200 locations nationwide in states as far away as Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. There are 76 Pizza Ranches in Iowa, 43 in Minnesota and 23 in Wisconsin.

Pizza Ranch first opened in Charles City in 2000.

“We’re excited to reopen it and do the great things for Charles City that Pizza Ranch is known for,” Jentz said.