Eureka Pizza rolling out big changes in 25th year

For customers who’ve poked fun at Eureka Pizza in the past, the Fayetteville-based restaurant chain is about to make some big changes.

Company owner Rolf Wilkin said the business is transitioning to a new core recipe for its pizza crust. Eureka Pizza made the announcement in a self-deprecating post on social media.

“We never thought it’d get to this point,” the Facebook post read. “25 years of employment is a long time. But we’d heard the complaints. Pizza tasting like cardboard. Pizza getting stale after just a couple hours. One lady even said her high school’s cafeteria pizza was better than ours. Ouch.

“So we decided we’d had enough of it. It was time for a change. We’ll be honest — the old pizzas didn’t take it well. They said customers wouldn’t like the change. They said people will never think of Eureka as anything but cheap, crappy pizza.”

The change, Wilkin explained, is a new crust called Summer Wheat, developed in cooperation with Tom Lehman, known in the restaurant industry as “The Dough Doctor.”

Wilkin said since Aug. 21 and running through the end of the month, Eureka Pizza is randomly distributing 5,000 Facebook coupons that can be used for a free large pizza with the new pizza crust. The price of a large “Better Ready” pizza remains unchanged, Wilkin said, at $4.99.

Wilkin said the new pizza will be in all 10 Eureka Pizza locations by the end of August. There are stores in Bentonville, Fayetteville (3), Fort Smith (2), Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale (2).

Wilkin founded Eureka Systems Corp. in 1992 when he paid $8,500 for the former King Pizza restaurant on 826 N. Leverett Ave. in Fayetteville, a few blocks from the University of Arkansas.

The company has about 175 employees. Wilkin declined to share revenue figures.

“And I probably don’t even know it either,” he joked. “It’s been good. We make well over 1 million pizzas a year.”

Eureka Pizza’s menu offers an assortment of appetizers along with numerous pizza selections and more than 20 toppings to choose from.

Wilkin, who is president of the Arkansas Restaurant Association, said the company and its Fast ’N Fresh philosophy has trended to more of a quick-service restaurant as opposed to a traditional pizza restaurant. Eight of the 10 locations have drive-thru windows.