U.S. Pizza Still Cooking Despite Fayetteville Lag

In 2002, pizza is a mealtime staple for American families and patriotism is fashionable. But neither of those statements was true in 1972, when Judy Waller and her husband opened their first tiny pizzeria and named it U.S. Pizza Co.

Back then, years of growing antigovernment sentiment was climaxing with the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, and pizza was still an occasional treat — nothing like the $30 billion a year industry it has since become.

It may be true that the Wallers got in on the ground floor of a growth industry, but it is also true that U.S. Pizza Co. has become a central Arkansas fixture by following a more traditional path: slow growth without reliance on gimmicks. That’s led to $5.1 million in annual sales including $284,900 from the franchise’s only location north of Interstate 40 — the U.S. Pizza on Fayetteville’s Dickson Street.

The centerpiece of U.S. Pizza’s simple, limited menu is still the thin-crust pizza that inspired the Wallers to open that first restaurant in a burned-out clock shop in the Levy section of North Little Rock.

Judy Waller studied microbiology at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and her husband, Whit, majored in accounting. Whit also worked at a Pizza Hut near the campus, and that experience convinced the couple that they could make a living selling better thin-crust pizzas.

Judy Waller is no longer managing an individual store, but she remains the heart and soul behind all of them. She visits the stores frequently, lending a helping hand at the cash registers or waiting tables, especially during game weekends in Fayetteville where she works alongside her son, Tom “Trey” Waller III.

That store, while situated near the UA campus, has been a disappointment, Waller said. But U.S. Pizza started offering a late happy hour with live music starting at 9 p.m. in hopes of boosting business there. Trey Waller is also remodeling the Northwest Arkansas store to make the kitchen work area more efficient.

The chain made its Fayetteville debut in 1993. Judy Waller purchased a 65-year-old Coca-Cola bottling plant, a garage and an old house, which allegedly was the site of the city’s worst mass murder.

Humble beginnings

The Wallers spent $400 to get the idea rolling for the first store, then borrowed an additional $600 from a local bank. They invested another $500 for inventory. The first store at 3124 Pike Ave. was only about 630 SF — a “hole in the wall,” Judy Waller said, with only 10 tables. The Wallers remodeled the undamaged portion and paid $100 a month in rent.

Because the pair couldn’t afford new equipment, Whit converted an old freezer into a pizza pan holder by using slats he attached to the freezer frame. He built a preparation table out of another old freezer. A refrigerator out back could only hold one keg of beer, while the pantry held just enough to last until the next shipment. There wasn’t space to expand, Judy said — and in the beginning they didn’t need to expand.

That first year was rough. Whit managed the books, kneaded dough, prepared the limited selection of toppings and built the storage units and preparation tables. He often took naps on the kitchen floor while his wife and mother looked after the store. They grossed about $1,000 a week.

But the original U.S. Pizza Co. location, which the company finally bought in 1979, became increasingly popular, thanks to a reputation for cold beer and rock slate ovens that eliminated the need for greasy pizza pans. The Wallers bought them for $350 from a defunct pizzeria in Tulsa.

By 1974, U.S. Pizza Co. was thriving while the Wallers’ marriage was crumbling. After their divorce, Judy took over operation of the business she had grown to love and began making plans to open another restaurant.

With her friend Mary Beth Fricks, Waller opened the sequel to U.S. Pizza Co. in 1976 at 8403 Hwy. 107 in Sherwood. In 1982, Fricks took that store over under a 20-year franchise agreement. Fricks operated it for more than 17 years before turning it over to George Kyzer, whose family owns the property.

When the franchise agreement expired in January of this year, Waller wouldn’t agree to an extension, Kyzer said. He has changed the name of the store to Pizza of Sherwood.

“I don’t think Mary Beth Fricks has gotten the credit she deserves,” Kyzer said.

Controlled growth

It was five years before Waller would attempt another location. In 1981, she purchased a gas station at 2814 Kavanaugh Blvd. in The Heights and converted it into U.S. Pizza Co.’s third location. Two years later, she and Fricks did the same with a service station at 5524 Kavanaugh Blvd. in the Hillcrest area.

In 1990, Judy and Trey bowed to the ever-growing demand for parking and moved the original Levy store down the street to a former Pizza Planet restaurant at 3324 Pike Ave. The same year, Waller opened the U.S. Pizza Co. at 9300 Rodney Parham Road, which has become her most successful store. It grossed $1.45 million in 2001.

In 1994, Waller rented a small location off Edgewood in Maumelle.

It has been six years since Waller opened U.S. Pizza Co. in the former Way Out Willie’s location on McCain Park Drive, part of a cluster of restaurants north of McCain Mall in North Little Rock. This location has made its way onto Arkansas Business’ list of highest-grossing restaurants in North Little Rock with almost $1.15 million in gross receipts last year.

But it won’t be the last. For years, Waller has been buying equipment — tables, chairs, ovens — at auctions and squirreling them away. She has enough equipment in storage to open two new stores without high startup costs, she said. She would like to open a new store on Chenal Parkway to relieve some of the traffic at the Rodney Parham location, but she said the cost of real estate on west Little Rock’s premier thoroughfare makes Highway 10 a more likely location.

She also hopes to open restaurants in Conway, Benton and possibly Hot Springs. And she would like to try a health food store in North Little Rock.

Keep it simple

In the beginning, U.S. Pizza Co.’s menu consisted of 10-inch and 12-inch pizzas made with Waller’s simple Parmesan and one-spice tomato sauce and a choice of seven toppings, simple salads and sandwiches, beer and soft drinks.

Thirty years later, the menu has expanded only slightly, but the additions include the Salad Supreme and the Scooby Sandwich, best sellers that Waller has trademarked.

Waller is a fan of vegetables and salads, so she created the “Heart Smart Pizza,” which includes fresh squash, spinach and broccoli toppings. Offering a large variety of toppings keeps customers happy, Waller said, but it can also be expensive. So it is no coincidence that salad ingredients and pizza toppings are interchangeable at U.S. Pizza Co.

“There’s not much waste if you keep it simple,” she said.

Waller also makes surprise stops at the various restaurants to check on cleanliness — which she admits hasn’t always been a priority of the managers. But the open floor plan of the stores allows customers to feel involved in the preparation process and keeps the staff accountable.

“I want people to see the kitchen. That’s kind of a safeguard to keep it clean,” she said.

Improvements elsewhere include a drive-through window at the Levy location and patios at other stores, Waller said.

And at the suggestion of her accountants, Waller is considering implementing an employee stock ownership plan that will allow employees to own shares of the company that has been her baby for 30 years.