Neighborhood spirit boosts pizza restaurant

The original Nik-N-Willies pizzeria and sandwich shop is in Mammoth, Calif.

While the chain has spread nationwide to some 100 outlets, one of the original stores was opened in 1992 in the south Truckee Meadows on Geiger Grade (Nevada 341, occasionally known as the "Comstock Highway").

This favorite of locals south of Reno sits a mile up from the Highway 341 junction with South Virginia Street (U.S.

395).

Dave Hunt, 47, was and is the proprietor of this humble, friendly little pizzeria, whose faithful patrons hail mostly from the fivemile radius that encompasses Virginia Foothills, Virginia Highlands, Galena and other south Reno communities.

But the fame of Nik-N-Willies Pizza & Deli extends as far as Lemmon Valley, Sparks and Verdi ... and among commuters traveling to and from work in Reno and Carson City.

Hunt is a native of Oak Park, Ill.

(Hemingway's hometown), and a graduate in psychology from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Rather than pursue a career in his field of study, after college graduation in 1976 Hunt succumbed to the allure of management with Arby's, the roast-beef sandwich franchise chain.

He had been working part-time there and summers through school, and was rapidly advanced into management.

"I was moving on way too quickly and making way too much money" to consider pursuing a career as a psychologist, he says.

"I was named manager of the year for the stores in Chicago.

Then they sent me out here." "Here" was Reno, in 1980.

Hunt had been managing 12 stores in the Chicago area.

He was sent west to manage two stores as director of operations for northern Nevada.

He remained with Arby's another five years, then, seeking a change of pace, earned a real estate license and sold houses for three years.

The lifelong bachelor then moved into selling restaurant equipment for six years.

That last year had him working double-duty: He also opened a Nik-NWillies.

An original partner in Nik-NWillies in California approached Hunt about opening an independent restaurant using the Nik-N-Willies name.

Nik-N-Willies' slogan is "A welcome escape from franchise pizza." The restaurant's pizza available as take-and-bake or hot to go is made with hand-tossed dough, cheese grated daily and special sauces.

Besides the standard pizza toppings, Nik-N-Willies offers artichoke hearts, barbecue chicken, fresh garlic, basil and cilantro, jalapenos and mandarin oranges.

Patrons can design their pizzas in sizes from small to extra-large or opt for a menu favorite, such as the Garlic Chicken Dijon, which has Dijon sauce, chunks of chicken, red onions, garlic, basil, tomatoes and parmesan cheese.

The restaurant also sells calzones, salads, sandwiches, chicken wings, pizza by the slice, garlic bread, ice cream bars, beer, wine and soda.

Nik-N-Willies is open 11 a.m.

to 9 p.m.

Monday through Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m.

Sunday.

Hunt, a Reno resident, also opened an outlet in Dayton in 1996.

Q:Was this your first business? A: First time as an owner-operator.

Q: Were your parents or other family members in the food business? A: No.My father was an engineer.

Q:What is the value of having the Nik- N-Willies name? A: It's recognized by out-of-town people, especially from California and Colorado.

Q:What food-preparation requirements are there for you to use the Nik-N-Willies name? A: Since I'm in the original group of owners, nothing.

But people joining up now as real franchisees have to follow rules and regulations.

Q: What makes Nik-N-Willies' pizza different from chains'? A: First of all, it's made by people who care what you get, and make sure it's done right.

It's not made out of a box.

Obviously, tomato sauce comes in a can.

But it's part of the recipe, and we add everything.We don't use frozen dough or frozen cheese.We shred the cheese right here on the premises, which very few chain pizzerias still do.

Q: You don't see many of these combinations or ingredients on the menu of typical pizza franchises, such as the chicken Dijon, jalapenos, artichoke hearts, mandarin orange, fresh garlic and fresh basil.

A: Not often.

It's great to be able to experiment with various ingredients to come up with that favorite taste.

Q:What makes these pizzas different? A: It's not just the ingredients.

It's the presentation, how they're made.

The service has as much to do with it as the product.

A lot of the recipes are original Nik-N-Willies recipes; others are variations on a theme the things customers here have developed and now are on the menu.

"Pam's Creation" is from Pam, a neighbor up the street.

[It includes cream cheese, white sauce, fresh spinach,mushrooms, red onions, fresh garlic and tomatoes.

ed.]

Q: How do you get employees to learn these recipes? A: They're sharp.

They're having fun.

They care about what they do.

It might take a little longer once in awhile, but it's going to be made correctly.

Q: What qualities to you look for in employees? A: Personality.

Honesty.

And the normal employee things: Can you show up for work, stay late, work weekends? Q: How many employees do you have? very few chain pizzerias still do.

Q: You don't see many of these combinations or ingredients on the menu of typical pizza franchises, such as the chicken Dijon, jalapenos, artichoke hearts, mandarin orange, fresh garlic and fresh basil.

A: Not often.

It's great to be able to experiment with various ingredients to come up with that favorite taste.

Q:What makes these pizzas different? A: It's not just the ingredients.

It's the presentation, how they're made.

The service has as much to do with it as the product.

A lot of the recipes are original Nik-N-Willies recipes; others are variations on a theme the things customers here have developed and now are on the menu.

"Pam's Creation" is from Pam, a neighbor up the street.

[It includes cream cheese, white sauce, fresh spinach,mushrooms, red onions, fresh garlic and tomatoes.

ed.]

Q: How do you get employees to learn these recipes? A: They're sharp.

They're having fun.

They care about what they do.

It might take a little longer once in awhile, but it's going to be made correctly.

Q: What qualities to you look for in employees? A: Personality.

Honesty.

And the normal employee things: Can you show up for work, stay late, work weekends? Q: How many employees do you have? A: Nine, including myself.

Q: You hire mostly local teenagers? A: Mostly.

Q: Your longest-term employee? A.

Five years.

My assistant manager, Bryan Kinard, 21.

Q:Why did you choose this location? In 1992, this area wasn't growing rapidly, as it is now, with a new high school opening [Damonte Ranch, in 2003].

A: I just wanted to be off of Kietzke Lane, and out in the boonies.

There're wild horses in the neighborhood.

I knew the volumes weren't going to be as good as in the populated part of town - and they're still not, and never will be.

The rent was slightly more affordable at the time.

Q: How much of your clientele comes from within a radius of five miles? A: Probably more than 80 percent, like any food place.

Q: How much a part of the community are you? A: We're a supporter of the high school [Galena] and the grade school [Brown elementary].

We reward honor students with certificates for pizza.

We support the high school athletic teams and clubs, advertising in their programs.

Q: Do you know most of your customers by name? A: Most.

We have several who've been coming to us since our very first year.

Q: Since the south Truckee Meadows is growing rapidly, how will that affect your business? A: There're more commercial places, including pizza places, opening than the support of the new houses will cover.

The growth has minimal impact on sales, honestly.

Every time you get 15 new houses, you get a new place to eat.

Eventually there's less to go around.

There are 14 food places opening outside of Wal-Mart on the Strip [South Virginia Street, about four miles north, at 155 Damonte Ranch Parkway].

Roundtable Pizza is under construction.

Q: Will this carving up of the pie hurt you? A:We have our reputation and our niche, and expect to stay about the same.

Q: How do you describe your niche? A: A person looking for an upscale pizza at an excellent price, and likes to patronize local places as opposed to chain outlets.

If we're not "homeboy," I don't know what is.

Q: You have fairly antiquated video games: Galaga, Ms.

Pac-Man, Centipede.

A: The fellow who owns and operates them is a retired guy, and that's what he does.

Q: How have gross sales been? A: They've gone up since the beginning, and hopefully will be up another 5 to 7 percent in another year.

Q:Why do you close at 9 p.m., even on Saturdays? Can't you make more money staying open for customers leaving school football games or other events? A: Out here in the country, we've stayed open until 11 or 12.

But the phone doesn't ring much after 9.

We are very flexible and may change at a moment's notice.

Q: How many square feet do you have? A: The building's about 1,200 square feet, and the patio's close to 1,200.

Q: Do you own the property? A: The bank and I do.

Q: Any thoughts about expanding? A: Expanding to new areas, other parts of town, always is an option.

We opened our Dayton restaurant in 1996.

It's a small-town atmosphere.

Q: The Truckee Meadows is growing including in Spanish Springs and so is much of the rest of northwest Nevada, including Fernley.

Thinking about expanding there? A: Always thinking about it.

It's up to the staff.Whenever my people are ready.

Many are going to college right now.

Q: Does anyone come close to your quality of pizza in town? A: Blue Moon [Gourmet Pizza, 6135 Lakeside Drive] has won some awards.

They're in a neighborhood where people vote (for the awards).

They're a quality competitor.

We're certainly leagues above chain pizza.

The whole process is different.

Q: How many days a week do you work down here? A: About five.

I cut down from seven in my third year.

Q: How important is it to have the owner on the premises to greet people? A: It's important, but with quality management people two of my guys have been here four and five years, respectively they're pretty good schmoozers themselves.

But I don't feel right if I take two weeks off.

Q: What are your most important promotions, such as the stamped cards that accumulate toward a free pizza? A: Customer loyalty rewards are important.

School promotions are important.

Q: If a customer has been kept waiting for an order, you've been known to give them drinks on the house, or even a free pizza.

A: It's been known to happen.

Like any business, we make mistakes.

Q: You can't afford even one bad customer? A:Word of mouth absolutely is the best advertising.

I've tried various things newspaper, radio but word of mouth is the best.

Q: What are some of the challenges to running your business that may surprise people? A: How high taxes and fees are.

Like taxes on employee wages, and on the number of hours worked.

And you get to pay local government four times a year for the privilege of selling beer.

Plus the federal government finds out you're selling beer, and sends you a bill once a year.

And now utility costs are high.We're using less power than we did a year ago, because of conservation methods, but we're paying 50 percent more, at least.To mitigate these costs, you end up doing a lot of the work yourself.

Q:What advice would you give someone considering buying a restaurant franchise or starting an original one? A: Do your homework.

And have lots of backup funding for the surprises.

You're oncall 24-7, from sick employees to car crashes [the night before this interview, a customer banged his car into a light post in the back parking lot, toppling the post which Hunt repaired at his own cost], to alarm companies to whatever.

If you decide to leave town for a week or weekend, you better have somebody who's going to be on-call 24-7 while you're gone.

Handling those emergencies is part of it.