Pizza Ranch Saddling Up for Lakeville Opening

Editors note: The original story published listed Dan Peterson's name as Anderson. Lakeville Patch regrets the error.

Workers are ramping up construction efforts on a new Pizza Ranch franchise location coming to Lakeville. News of the restaurant’s opening first broke in summer of 2010, but the location next to Hirshfield’s in front of HOM Furniture on Kenyon Avenue has been quiet until recently.

“We’re excited to finally be coming to Lakeville” said Dan Peterson of DDJ Ranch, LLC., the store’s operator. “I think we’ll give people a good offering for their money.”

According to Peterson, the store is targeting an “early May” opening date and is expected to begin hiring approximately 90 employees within the next few weeks to staff the location. The restaurant began internal construction in early February and progress had become more noticeable as it moved to the exterior in recent weeks.

Pizza Ranch started in Hull, Iowa in 1981 and now has approximately 160 locations in nine states. The Lakeville store will be the 39th Minnesota location and the first in the Twin City metro area. This will also be Anderson’s first Pizza Ranch location with DDJ Ranch. More metro locations are planned but specifics were not available.

Peterson, a Richfield native with more than 40 years of experience owning and operating a variety of concepts nationwide, said he picked Lakeville in part due to the community atmosphere.

“When I was driving around and inquired about this location, it just all seemed to fit,” he said. “More than 88,000 cars a day pass by out front, the city is one of the fastest growing areas in the state, plus we (Pizza Ranch) do a lot of community involvement activities, and with the two high schools and number of churches, it was attractive for all of those reasons.”

Peterson said the restaurant will run special Tip Nights where proceeds will help fund area youth groups of all types.

The restaurant is being designed to seat just under 250 people and private rooms will be available to for meetings and groups of up to 50 people. A unique feature to the Lakeville location is an indoor basketball court that will be enclosed but still provide viewing windows for parents to monitor children at play.

Pizza Ranch is known for its trademarked Pizza Lover’s Pizza and Country’s Best Chicken buffet which also includes a salad bar, dessert buffet and beverages. Customers will also be able to order from a regular menu for dine-in, take-out and delivery.

The store is combining the two spaces formerly occupied by Second Wind and a carpet store. The locations are owned by Hom Furniture and under the lease agreement ample parking will be available through a shared parking lot use.

A Facebook page has been set up for customers and job seekers to monitor the store’s progress.

Paradise Pizza, an establishment which had also announced plans to open a pizza restaurant in Lakeville last summer, has since ceased renovations on the former Kazolly’s Sweet Shop location on Holyoke Avenue in downtown Lakeville. The restaurant was to have offered gourmet pizza in a tropical ambiance but owners defaulted on the lease prior to opening resulting in a lawsuit being filed in November of last year. Holly Hewitt, the building’s owner, received a default judgment for more than $25,000 in the case and the space remains renovated but vacant.

Hewitt was not available for comment on that space’s current availability or status.