Judy Waller Breece: The Mother Of U.S. Pizza

Ever wonder how the iconic Arkansas restaurant chain, U.S. Pizza, got its start?

Casey Penn interviews U.S. Pizza founder and President Judy Waller Breece in the latest edition of our Talk Business Quarterly magazine.

Breece is the youngest of 11 children, but her determined mother instilled a work ethic and business acumen that motivated her to succeed. Breece now has a role in 11 U.S. Pizza restaurants in Arkansas.

While Breece’s business now reaches across Arkansas, it began locally in Levy when Breece and first husband Whit Waller opened a humble pizza parlor in 1972. The small, 10-table parlor soon became known for big taste and fresh ingredients.

“A little word of mouth was all the advertisement we needed because our food was of quality and wonderful,” Breece said. “We made our dough by hand and chopped our vegetables fresh daily. We had a simple menu that included two sizes of pizza, one sandwich and a fresh, green salad.”

The salad was as much a hit as the pizza, and it wasn’t long before customer requests led to the Salad Supreme, a staple menu item for which U.S. Pizza is still famous. “I can be in 10 different cities in the United States, and somebody will have heard of U.S. Pizza,” Breece said. “That’s a huge compliment, and the first thing out of everybody’s mouth is, ‘Oh, I love your salads.’”

Breece also has done a lot to encourage customer and employee loyalty and she offers up the ingredients for success. You can read more in this article.