The Pizza Ranch was founded in 1981 by Adrie Goeneweg in Hull, Iowa.  He tested different pizza recipes in his parents’ kitchen in the early 1980s and he did not know it at the time, but he came up with a recipe that became a very successful business.  He started his pizza parlor while he was also welding full time.  His parents helped him with money as his father put up the funds and his mother helped put together the menu and the recipes.  He was only 19 when he started the first location and now there are 145 locations in many different states.  They are still privately owned and Adrie is still the President of the company.

The Pizza Ranch menu includes standard pizzeria items like cheesy ranch sticks, many different specialty pizzas including the Texan taco, Round up, Bronco, and Bacon cheeseburger pizzas, cactus bread, which is a dessert pizza, and Buffalo wings.  They also offer a salad bar, many different wraps, potato items, waffle fries, ranch chips, chicken fingers, and even a Crispy ranch chicken sandwich with their own recipe for broasted chicken.  There are also many local specialties depending on the location.

Since the Pizza Ranch is looking to expand there are many restaurant franchise opportunities for those that qualify.  They are looking for individuals and groups that believe in their mission statement and their vision to join their franchise team.  They do not require previous restaurant experience, but it is a plus and so is prior business experience.  They offer both single-unit and multi-unit franchise, but if you have no prior experience you have to start with a single-unit franchise.  The initial investment is between $789,600 and $1,893,000 depending on the size of the location and the franchisee must pay the $30,000 initial franchise fee up front along with a royalty fee of 4% of the gross revenues each month.