Johnny's Pizza celebrates golden anniversary

When people who moved away from northeastern Louisiana come home to visit, the first thing they want to eat, other than home cooking, is Johnny's pizza.

The regional chain started in Monroe in September 1967 on DeSiard Street across from what is now the University of Louisiana at Monroe. The small building had three parking spaces and relied heavily on foot traffic from the university.

Johnny Huntsman, founder of Johnny's Pizza House, remembered all of the gimmicks he used at the original Johnny's Pizza restaurant in a 2001 interview with The News-Star.

"I'd put somebody on hold and ring up a fake sale on the register where they could hear it, just to act like we were busy," Huntsman said, laughing. "I'd borrow my mother's car to park out front to look like there was somebody eating here. It was day-to-day for a while."

Today, the company has 38 corporate locations and 11 franchises, most of which are across northern Louisiana; one is in Arkansas and one is in east Texas. Johnny's Pizza House Inc. employs almost 750 people.

Under the leadership of President and CEO Melvin DeLacerda, the chain is looking to the future and plans to expand through corporate growth and strategic franchising.

He said the company is celebrating its golden anniversary throughout the year.

World's smallest pizza chain

Huntsman learned to make pizza as a student at Graceland University in Lemoni, Iowa, for a part-time job at a restaurant. After college, he was head football coach at a high school in Belle Plaine, Iowa, for two years before he returned to Ouachita Parish. He worked as an assistant football coach at West Monroe and then as a sales engineer at what is now Graphic Packaging.

"All of this time I was making pizzas for my friends and at parties," Huntsman said. "One day, I was driving by the college and I saw a sign that this building was for rent. It had been Flynn's Grill."

It soon would become the first Johnny's Pizza.

"I'd never even seen a pizza before I went to college," Huntsman said. "Now I was going into the restaurant business making them."

Finding a market was difficult. Most people from here hadn't seen a pizza before. What could be a huge customer base was, well, wary.

"The most difficult part of the business was creating an awareness about pizza," Johnny said.

Then Shaky's Pizza Parlor, a national chain, built a restaurant in the Monroe market.

"I thought they were going to roll over me like a bug. But what they did was create an awareness for pizza that I never could have done. They were able to do real advertising — newspaper and TV and radio. All I had was a kid wearing a sandwich sign and ringing a bell who I paid in pizza," Hunstman said.

He kept trying new ways to pique customers' interest. In a 2011 interview, Huntsman said, "The only thing anyone remembers that first year is our slogan, 'The only link in the world's smallest pizza chain.'"

The original spot had a casual, home-like feel. DeLacerda said many people knew Henrietta Smith, called Miss Henry, because she worked the day shift there. The Sweep the Kitchen pizza was created at that store, as was the Salad Tub, a cast-iron bathtub filled with ice and turned into a salad bar.

The flagship store closed in 2001 and operations moved to a former Pizza Hut at 3501 DeSiard St., Monroe. At the time, Huntsman joked that it was about time he had more parking spaces.

Barreling along

In 1972, Huntsman and his brother Freddie converted an old washateria in West Monroe to create the second link in the chain.

In 1980s, the company started extensively acquiring restaurant locations. At its peak in the mid-'80s, Johnny's operated 42 full-service, sit-down restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 1989 because of competitive pressure, high cost structure and high debt-service obligations.

In a 2011 interview, Huntsman talked about how he drummed up exposure for the languishing company.

"The phone had stopped ringing, and I had no money for advertising," Huntsman said. "I was laying in bed one night trying to figure out what to do. So I decided to have a little fun with it.

"I went to a hardware store and bought a big plastic barrel. It cost me $9. I'll never forget that. I made up a sign, got some suspenders and hung the barrel on me. I just had on jogging shorts underneath. I stood on the corner of Forsythe and 18th streets from 3 (p.m.) to dark."

Local news sources covered Huntsman's antics, and the business turned around.

"It was like somebody turned the faucet back on because it created awareness that we were still in business. That was the beginning of a tremendous turnaround for us," he said.

The company was discharged from court supervision in September 1990. After the filing, Johnny's had 25 stores.

A profitable gamble

In 1994, Johnny's introduced video poker machines into some of its locations on a trial basis. By the end of 1995, the machines were in 22 of its 25 locations.

In 1996, the Legislature put a parish-by-parish referendum on video poker on the ballot in fall 1996. Many parishes opted to ban the machines. The referendum allowed businesses with existing licenses to continue operating the machines until June 30, 1999. On that date, Johnny's shut down video poker in 15 locations.

Caddo and Bossier parishes opted to keep video poker. In fiscal year 2014 and 2015, approximately 5.1 percent and 4.7 percent of the company's revenue came from gaming at those locations. (Three northeastern Louisiana parishes also kept video gaming, but the chain does not operate in those parishes.)

Growth through franchising

Starting in 2002, the company restarted expansion efforts by purchasing locations previously operated as franchised locations, allowing new franchises to open and opening new corporate-owned restaurants.

In 2009, JPH Franchising Inc. was created to market and license Johnny's Pizza Houses for third parties.

In 2014, the company worked with a franchise consultant to streamline the process and better ensure the success of franchisees. The company worked to improve the franchise system and develop better criteria, train employees on the changes and recruit qualified franchise partners.

At the same time, the company started working with a marketing agent to refine the brand and make it more appealing for new markets.

DeLacerda said the company looks for financial stability and restaurant experience in franchise partners, and they'e found that establishing multiple locations in new markets contributes to franchise success, so it can mean committing to more than one restaurant. However, the company offers options for both stand-alone locations and in-line locations, such as a strip mall.

Based on 2013 sales, the 2015 Pizza Power Report compiled by "Pizza Magazine" ranked Johnny's 50th among top chains in the nation. It ranked 49th largest in terms of locations. The chain fell from the list the following year. Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesars, Papa John's and Papa Murphy's Pizza have held the top five positions for the past three reports. A handful of other chains in the northeastern Louisiana market are in the top 50, but the majority of those listed do not have locations nearby.

Employee ownership

In May 2000, the company formed an employee stock ownership plan with an initial purchase of 8,806 shares. That number is adjust for a 110-to-1 stock split on Dec. 31, 2001. The ESOP additionally repurchased 5,502 shares in 2003, 2,751 shares in 2009 and 1,376 shares in 2011.

When Hunstsman retired, he sold much of his stock to the company in order for it to be bought by the employees. DeLacerda said the move was a testament to Huntsman's generosity and desire to take care of the employees who had made him a success.

Today, approximately 70 percent of the company is employee-owned. Huntsman still owns about 20 percent and Bernie Lear, who is chairman of the board, and Ron W. Stewart each own approximately 5 percent of the shares.

Huntsman remained the face of the chain in ads and other media for several years following his retirement.

He was honored for his business accomplishments with the following awards:

• 1992: Small Business Person of the Year in Louisiana
• 1995: Distinguished Alumni of West Monroe High School
• 2003: Ouachita Parish School Board Business Partner of the Year
• 2006: ULM Lifetime Achievement
• 2012: West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce Entreprenurial Success
• 2014: West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce A.O. Evans Award

He currently lives in Oak Grove with his wife.

Dough for good causes

Huntsman's goals of giving and camaraderie live on through the company's continued efforts. DeLacerda said the founder raised the company to be involved in the community and to do business that way.

It would be rare, he said, to find a ball park in the area without a Johnny's sponsorship. A discount card for school teachers has be "extremely well-received," DeLacerda said, and the company is still involved in University of Louisiana at Monroe and Louisiana Tech University athletics.

The company helps sponsor various local sports teams and helps provide concessions for many local sporting and charitable events.

DeLacerda said giving is an important part of the company. After the bankruptcy filing, the company as a whole understands that sometimes people need help, and they're proud to be successful enough to give back.