Pizza Ranch

Pizza Ranch, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurants
Founded1981; 43 years ago (1981), in Hull, Iowa, U.S.
FoundersAdrie Groeneweg
Lawrence Vander Esch
HeadquartersOrange City, Iowa, U.S.
Number of locations
218
ProductsPizza, chicken
RevenueUS$138.121 million[1]
Websitepizzaranch.com

Pizza Ranch, Inc., founded in 1981,[2][3] is a Midwestern fast casual buffet restaurant chain with more than 200 locations. It specializes in pizza and chicken.[4][5]

Pizza Ranch was founded by Adrie Groeneweg[6] and Lawrence Vander Esch. Vander Esch left the company in 2001 after being arrested and sent to prison for sexual abuse involving fraudulently obtaining semen samples of his teen employees under the pretense of a prostate study.[7][8] The first restaurant opened December 21, 1981, in Hull, Iowa.[9][10] The second Pizza Ranch opened in Orange City, Iowa in 1983.[11]

Pizza Ranch has over 200 locations[12] in Iowa, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Tennessee, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The chain's headquarters, formerly located in Hull, Iowa, moved to Orange City, Iowa in 2005.[13][14]

Pizza Ranch is a Christian-based company.[15][6] The Pizza Ranch vision is "To glorify God by positively impacting the world we live in [through pizza]."[6]

Because Iowa has the first caucus for US presidential primary elections, Pizza Ranch's more than 70 locations in Iowa are a frequent stop for presidential candidates, particularly Republicans due to the chain's conservative bent.[16][17][18] The 'Pizza Ranch strategy' was first noted in Mike Huckabee's campaign at the 2008 Republican caucuses; Huckabee went on to win the caucuses despite being a longshot candidate.[19]

  1. ^ "Pizza Ranch Inc Revenue and Financial". Hoovers. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  2. ^ Dreeszen, Dave (September 12, 2012). "Pizza Ranch to add Sioux City location". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  3. ^ Askew, John (September 17, 2007). "Meanwhile at the Pizza Ranch…". Iowa State Daily. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Wally (November 23, 2013). "Range Line to be home of still more pizza". Joplin Globe. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  5. ^ Korbelink, Jeff (February 27, 2014). "Pizza Ranch offers pizza and chicken". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Semuels, Alana (December 26, 2011). "Easy as pie: Iowa's campaign trail runs through Pizza Ranch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  7. ^ Lynch, James Q. (March 8, 2015). "Pizza Ranch is new territory for Bush campaign adviser". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Retrieved July 31, 2023. Lawrence Vander Esch from Sioux County spent time in prison on charges that he sexually abused male employees. ... In addition, the charges against Vander Esch, who was released from prison in 2006, have been vacated by a district court judge citing an Iowa Supreme Court ruling. Vander Esch, Kochel pointed out, is no longer with the chain of 180 restaurants across the Midwest.
  8. ^ Dreeszen, Dave (January 8, 2012). "Why Romney didn't dine at a 'Ranch'". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  9. ^ Viccaro, Eric (May 26, 2010). "In part, Madsen owns local Pizza Ranch spot". Sioux County Index Reporter. New Century Press. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  10. ^ Turner, Terry (March 4, 2004). "Pizza Ranch opens in Sergeant Bluff". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  11. ^ Anderson, Doug; Schlak, Tim; Grond, Greta; Kaltenbach, Sarah (2014). Orange City: Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467111584.
  12. ^ Eggmeier, Pam (January 22, 2017). "Pizza Ranch set to open Monday in Sterling". The Prairie Advocate. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  13. ^ Gearino, Dan (November 18, 2005). "Pizza Ranch gets state loan for move". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  14. ^ Oechslin, Russ (April 27, 2008). "Pizza Ranch grows into eight states". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  15. ^ Dreeszen, Dave (January 7, 2012). "Pizza Ranch again blazes trail to White House". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  16. ^ "Trump picks up the tab and the Pizza Ranch endorsement". www.cbsnews.com. January 16, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  17. ^ Masters, Clay (August 11, 2015). "Pizza Ranch: Fueling Campaigns On Cheese And Chicken". NPR. Retrieved June 5, 2022. Many of the Republican presidential candidates have a hefty goal in Iowa ahead of its first-in-nation caucuses: make a campaign stop in all of the state's 99 counties. Along the way, presidential hopefuls are turning to the Iowa-based restaurant chain Pizza Ranch, whose ubiquity and inexpensive cuisine have made it a staple of the caucus campaign trail.
  18. ^ Hafner, Josh (May 4, 2015). "To scarf up Iowa votes, candidates' first stop is pizza". USA Today. Retrieved June 5, 2022. But candidates of all political stripes visit Pizza Ranches: Democrat Hillary Clinton was the first to set foot in one ahead of 2008, according to Des Moines Register data. Democrats Joe Biden, John Edwards, Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson also appeared at Pizza Ranches for their '08 campaigns.
  19. ^ Adam Wren (January 13, 2024). "The Iowa Pizza Chain That Explains How Our Politics Became So Dysfunctional". Politico. Retrieved January 14, 2024.