Pizza Ranch is a private restaurant originating from Hull Iowa. The franchise offers customers a “fast casual” dining experience. There are several dining options available. There is a buffet with pizza, vegetables such as peas and corn, and salads. Other options for food include make your own pizzas, Ranch packs, and various delectable deserts.

The company has had strong growth in the areas of Midwest America. It is a Christian organization, hoping to glorify God by helping the world around them. The chain makes about $155,017 million a year. Employees of the restaurants have been awarded $2,000 by the franchise and the Coca-Cola Company.  Its headquarters is in Orange City Iowa.

History

Pizza Ranch was founded in 1981 by co-founders Adrie Groeneweg and Lawrence Vander Esch. The first restaurant was opened in 1981, in Hull Iowa. 2 years later the second location was in Orange City Iowa. Mr. Esch was removed from the company’s site’s official history. This is because of issues involving his treatment of employees.

The franchise found success in its Hometown of Hull Iowa. Originally the company offered just five pizza flavors: Hawaiian (Sweet Swine), Taco, deluxe (Roundup), Meat Lover’s (Bronco), Veggie Lover’s (Prairie), and Sagebrush. The chain expanded to include the buffet menu. The buffet was only offered on Tuesday nights.

Soon the afternoon buffet menu was offered. By the chain’s 5^th anniversary there were 10 locations. By the 10^th anniversary the number of restaurants more than quintupled with 52 locations. More success was found in the year 1996, when by it gained 80 restaurants. Eventually the company’s 100^th was opened in the year 2003. As of now there are 165 plus locations in the country.

Pizza Ranch is continuing to grow to this day. A Culinary Research and Development Director was hired in 2009. This new employee helped to give the company new menu items that soon become very popular. The chain moved its headquarters in 2007. The new headquarters changed from Hull to Orange City Iowa. 

Menu

The menu of Pizza Ranch has great variety. Their buffet has options ranging from pizzas to fried chicken, mashed potatoes to potato wedges, and soft-serve ice cream to other types of deserts. There are quite a few recommended menu items. The salad bar offers a great many options for dressing up and creating a salad. The chain also serves quite a few types of pizzas, such as the Roundup™ and Taco.

The price of most of the foods of the franchise are in-between expensive and cheap. The lunch buffet option costs around $9.00. While it costs about $10.00 for a dinner and weekend buffet. Other foods include the medium BBQ Chicken for about $14.00, and the medium Steak and Onion for another $14.00.

Several restaurants have hygiene problems. Several customers have had issues ranging from very dirty tables to poor bathroom conditions. As such, the staff is very hit or miss. Some customers have reported problems such as poor waiting while others have had an excellent time with the staff. The ambiance is Western style, with cowboys and various tongue-in-cheek wooden signs.

There are a few locations in the United State. The franchise is concentrated in Midwest America with locations in states such as Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, and Colorado. It is the largest regional pizza company in this area. Wait times will peak around the weekends and nights. The company offers several coupons on its site.