Major renovations transform Red Oak’s Pizza Ranch

Red Oak’s Pizza Ranch at 1511 N. Broadway St. underwent some major changes this year.
The restaurant was closed from April 3-9 for a full remodel. Co-owner/general manager Tim Petersen said it’s been quite a while since the restaurant saw any major changes.
“The restaurant was established in 2005, and it hasn’t been remodeled since then. When I took over as manager in 2019 we did some kitchen remodeling, but nothing in the dining room where the customers could see it,” Petersen said.
According to Petersen, revamping the restaurant has always been an intention since he took over.
“It was always in the back of our minds when we came in that someday we wanted to do something, and we felt now was the time to remodel and give the restaurant a more modern feel,” commented Petersen.
As for the renovations themselves, Petersen said they were handled largely with in-house crews.
“We have engineers up in Orange City that do the blueprints, and we have a contracting crew in the Denison area who did the remodeling. I believe we were the eighth restaurant he’s remodeled for us, and his ninth project was the Pizza Ranch in Atlantic. We turned over the keys on a Monday morning April 3, and presented all of the blue prints to him and went from there. We got the keys back the following Monday on April 10 and put everything back together and we were reopened for business on April 11,” Petersen explained.
The renovation, Petersen said, was pretty much top to bottom.
“Everything was taken out April 3, and we used space nextndoor to store the tables and chairs and everything. We had renovations from carpet to ceiling; we had new lighting installed. Everything was repainted, and we took out the awnings around the community room,” stated Petersen. “There was some drywall work that needed to be done. The wall next to the pop machine was cut down, we redid all the cabinets, and put in a few new tables and chairs, as well as some flat-screen TVs. We were able to reuse a number of the tables as they were purchased recently and were fairly new.”
Petersen said there was also renovation done to places that not all the customers may be able to see.
“There was work done in the bathrooms with new countertops, sinks, and painting. We added a variety of colors to the walls, as well as new artwork on the walls. It really changes the atmosphere. The last renovation was taking out the middle wall in the dining room. I knew when we remodeled that I wanted that wall to be removed. Now we’re up to spec with what most of the newer Pizza Ranch locations are looking like,” said Petersen.
Petersen added the customer feedback has been almost unanimously positive for the renovations.
“I’d say the reactions have  been 99.9% wow. A lot of the feedback has been how much bigger it is. Interestingly, we did take 12 chairs out, so there is a little less seating space, but have we ever had the entire restaurant full? Not often. A lot of the times there’s two people sitting at a table for four, or four people sitting at a table for six,” advised Petersen. “Ultimately, reducing the chairs just made for more room to work with and made the customers feel more comfortable. In fact, all of the local customers seem to sit and visit more. They’ve got a lot more comfortable feeling in here now.”
Not only have the customers been pleased with the remodel, Petersen said he and the staff have also been excited.
“Not everything is 100% perfect, but it’s 99% perfect which is very close. We’re all very happy,” Petersen commented.
The restaurant remodel isn’t the only big news that Red Oak’s Pizza Ranch received this year. Petersen said they were also honored with a major sales award.
“We got an award for being number two in sales growth in 2022 for Pizza Ranch’s division two of restaurants. Pizza Ranch is divided up into five divisions based on the size of the town, and they give out various awards during our national conference in June. The top three are given a plaque. In the four years I have been here, we’ve been second place, sixth place, first place, and now again second place,” stated Petersen.
Petersen also said he’s hopeful that they can rate highly again for this year, but they have some challenges.
“We still have a lot of work to do this year. Sales growth is a hard thing to do year after year, so we’re setting our sights on things and are doing them the best we are able. Now that we’ve finished the remodel, it’s boosted our sales a little bit. We’re hopeful that people consider us the place in town to take their families. We feel we have a great product at a reasonable price. We offer all you can eat, and if you price it out somewhere else, you’ll find you’re spending a lot more money other places than your spending here,” Petersen advised.