Pizza Ranch in Detroit Lakes scheduled to open mid-January at former Spitfire location

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – It’s official.

Detroit Lakes is getting a Pizza Ranch at the former Spitfire restaurant location on North Shore Drive

Nick Price, owner/operator of the Pizza Ranch in Perham and operations manager for the new Detroit Lakes location, said the whole sale process took nearly 10 months to complete, but, in the end, it’s going to be well worth the wait.

“(The sale) got finalized about two weeks ago,” said Price. “We got all of our numbers together and everything came in on budget, so that was good. We’re moving forward and we’re hoping for a mid-January open.”

The new Pizza Ranch will include buffet pizza and other items, an arcade/play zone and a large patio they hope to utilize during the summer. He also said they’ll be saving a portion of the old Spitfire bar to include some alcoholic service.

“There will be an arcade with (the Detroit Lakes location) as well,” he said. “If you’ve been to Perham, it’ll be a little smaller than Perham since we’ve done our expansion. But there is still about 22 games going in there. We’ll have the games, the prize wall and everything else that goes with that. Something kind of unique with this one, being that Spitfire had that existing bar in there, we’re actually going to keep a small portion of that and kind of do walk-up beer and wine service. And then that beautiful patio out back, we’re going to utilize that during the summer as well. Just kind of some additional seating and another option for people.” 

Price said they are currently in the middle of their general manager search for the new restaurant and anyone looking for a new career with some previous restaurant management experience should consider applying online. 

When asked how Pizza Ranch is going to fit into a crowded Detroit Lakes pizza market, Price said, their buffet variety, arcade, and family friendly environment is going to set them apart from their competitors.

“Endless buffet,” said Price. “It’s quick. It’s simple. Also with our arcade, Pizza Ranch is a good family restaurant to come to. Especially, people with younger kids, picky eaters, we have so many options, there’s something out there for everyone to be happy with.”

The new Pizza Ranch is tentatively scheduled to open in mid-January.