They say hard work is its own reward. You know what makes an even better reward? Pizza. For the Hayes family, owner of Olympia’s Izzy’s Classic Buffet, the two go hand in hand.
With their thriving restaurant located at 3540 Pacific Avenue SE, popular and committed employees, and three wonderful children, owners Will and Cheyenne Hayes are truly blessed. But this blessing came after years of dedication, long hours and riding out an economic roller coaster.
Pizza is a titan of the food industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture even studies its consumption and reports: “Called the world’s most popular food, pizza has experienced growth in sales…About 1 in 8 Americans consumed pizza on any given day.”
For those who make, bake, slice and sell this national treasure, it’s truly a way of life. The Izzy’s Classic Buffet chain began in 1979 in the Albany/Corvallis area of Oregon. A few years later, Cheyenne and Will Hayes started working in nearby locations.
“Will started with the Izzy’s company in Bellingham in 1992, while in college,” says Cheyenne. “He quickly moved up the ranks into management after demonstrating all the skills necessary to not only manage, but improve a restaurant. In 1995, at the age of 17, I was hired at an Izzy’s in Salem, Oregon, and I, too, began to move up the ranks of leadership as I worked my way through high school.”
She continues, “In 1998, a year after I graduated from high school, Will was transferred down to a store in Keizer, Oregon as the general manager, in hopes of getting that very low-performing restaurant turned around. I was then approached to become his assistant manager. Little did I know that was a life-long commitment!”
Within two years, they were engaged and owned two Izzy’s locations in Washington: Bellingham and Everett. The following year, they welcomed their first child. “Those days often consisted of Will running the store from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with me bringing the baby in and feeding him in the office, only to hand him over to Will so I could work 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. Will especially worked long hours in those early days, yet working his magic, we immediately started seeing the sales turn upward and customer satisfaction growing.”
After their purchase and relocation to a third store in Olympia, and the birth of their 2nd child, they ended up making the difficult decision to downsize, closing and selling the Bellingham and Everett locations. As the year continued, and an exhausting commute removed, they were able to pour all their efforts into turning around another Izzy’s franchise and raising their growing family in a town they would grow to love. Baby three arrived in 2007, and despite a significant economic downturn, they began plans to complete an extensive remodel on the store, adding a grill to serve made-to-order items in addition to their classic buffet line.
“During that economic time, we watched restaurants close right and left around us, but we hunkered down, believing that we could survive through our hard work, and of course, the grace of God,” Cheyenne recalls. “We rolled out the grill to our very excited customers and it seemed to be the very thing that got us through that tougher economy and has now become one of our features.”
Izzy’s is staffed by a team of dedicated employees, including the Hayes’s oldest son, Deaven. “From the day we started in Olympia, we have been able to hire some incredible staff members. Laurel, JP, Shannon, Rosa, Rachael and Gloria all joined our team very early on. In fact, Buddy, who has worked for us for more than 15 years, was from the original crew when we took over,” says Cheyenne.
Overall, Izzy’s is more than simply a storefront to the Hayes family. They take pride in turning stagnant sales into repeat customers and failing franchises into dining destinations. Their banquet room offers discounts to local sports teams and five-star reviews praise everything from the buffet to the customer service.
If you’d like to try their expansive menu of pizza, chicken, steak, fish, salad, soup and full dessert bar, the Olympia location is open from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Don’t miss out on Sunday brunch, too.
Americans eat 3 billion pizzas each year. With nearly a dozen different varieties, Izzy’s offers something for every taste (even gluten-free!) thanks to the Hayes family’s tireless dedication.
“It’s been a journey – a long one. One that has involved so many people. And, like all self-employed people, we have patches where it is smooth sailing, and patches where we feel like we don’t want to do it anymore. But there always seems to be more blessings than struggles and at least for now, Izzy’s will continue to be our second home,” admits Cheyenne.
Follow their location on Facebook for updates, specials, hilarious staff videos and upcoming events. Visit hungry, bring the family and let Izzy’s become your second home, too.
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