Dec. 31—COLUMBUS GROVE — Curt Shafer and his brother Brent have owned and operated The Pizzeria for four decades.
The eatery, located on High Street, has been a popular fixture since it was founded in 1972 by Tom Cartwright. When June of 1981 rolled around, the business would be sold to the Shafers and their parents, Patsy and Ronald.
"We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into," said Curt, who was all of 17 at the time.
What a difference 40 years make: The brothers are retiring and selling the franchise — but keeping it in house — to their sons, who will honor their fathers with an "open house" Sunday at The Pizzeria in Columbus Grove.
There are four additional Shafer-owned Pizzerias in Ottawa, Pandora, Leipsic and Kalida.
"The open house gives Curt and Brent an opportunity to reminisce with employees from the past, customers, friends and family," said Jordan, one of Curt's sons — the other is Alex — who has taken over. Their cousin and Brent's son Zach are the second-generation owners of all the sauce, crust and cheese anybody could want.
"We feel that we put in our years," Curt said about his longstanding career with Brent.
Back in 1981, Brent had already been working at The Pizzeria for three years, which eased the transition of becoming a buyer. He studied computer programming and thought he would enjoy working in an office, "but it was too restrictive."
"We were doing well, so about five years later, decided to open a pizza place in Ottawa," Curt said of that town's Pizzeria, which set up shop on N. Perry Street in 1987.
"It was tough back then," recalled Brent. "People outside of Columbus Grove didn't know us, and Ottawa had other pizza places."
Even so, the Shafers went on to establish three more stores between 1991 and 2007. As franchise operators, Curt explained, they were in charge of everything. "We knew what we had to do. If something went wrong, it was our fault and we fixed it," he said.
They're passing the proverbial torch to their offspring, who will leave no pizza unturned.
"We've been grooming them for the takeover," said Curt.
Jordan is among the new owners who takes The Pizzeria seriously and personally. That's been the case since he started toiling there in 2001.
It wasn't long before he learned all aspects of working at a restaurant. By the time Jordan was old enough to drive, he did everything there but eat the customers' food.
"The Pizzeria has always been more than pizza to me," he said, recalling spending time there with friends after high school football and basketball games. "The atmosphere was, and still is, really fun for me."