ELBERTA — Bryan Fast grew up in the restaurant business. He was born in 1990, the same year his parents opened Harbor Shores Restaurant in Frankfort. Around age 7, he was running the cash register.
He continued there until his parents closed Harbor Shores after 12 years. Bryan then went on to work in other restaurants and pizzerias. Most recently, he was managing That’sa Pizza in East Bay Township.
Now he and his wife, Desiree, have opened their own place: Elberta Pizza Co. in Elberta.
“I’ve been wanting to do it for years,” Bryan says. “I’ve really had a drive to provide for my family and create our own business.”
While they live in Interlochen, both of them grew up in Benzie County so opening the business in Elberta is a homecoming of sorts. Desiree says she still can’t believe it sometimes.
“I call it imposter syndrome,” she says. “I just don’t feel like it’s real, because it’s nothing I ever envisioned for myself.
“I still, when someone says, ‘Are you the owner?’, I say, ‘Huh. Yes, I am the owner.’ It hasn’t really sunk in.”
She and Bryan opened the doors the weekend before Memorial Day. How they got there took a collaboration between themselves, Venture North Funding and Development and State Savings Bank in Frankfort.
Tim Ervin, communications and resource development director for Venture North, says the way it came together reflects Venture North’s reason for being.
“It’s a startup business, and there are very few lending institutions that will work with a startup business,” Ervin says, noting that financing was put together with bank and Venture North loans along with the Fasts’ own investment. “It’s a partnership approach to a startup business. It really is our mission to help lift people and communities up through investment, and to work with them to ensure they’re succeeding and hopefully prosperous and growing.”
The building the Fasts found used to be owned by a caterer, so it didn’t take a lot to make it work as a pizzeria.
“We had kind of peeked in the windows and saw it looked like something we could work with,” Desiree says.
Even so, when her husband said he wanted to buy the building, it was a leap for Desiree.
“I thought, ‘Whoa,” she says. “I’m not a risk-taker, I’m a safe, safe person.”
Not to mention they’ve got an almost 2-year-old son. And now Desiree is pregnant with their second child; they found out right after they closed on purchasing the building.
But they forged ahead. Their cousins had recently purchased The Lighthouse Café, just down the street in Elberta. Between Bryan’s years in the restaurant business and Desiree’s customer service experience from her pre-motherhood jobs including administrative assistant at Crystal Mountain, Ervin says, they had the chops to take it on.
And so far, so good, the Fasts say. Even before the busy summer tourist season kicked in, business was steady.
“Our very first weekend was amazing,” Desiree says. “We practically had a line out the door the first day. Everyone was really excited.”
They’re making their own dough and sauce. They’re also grinding their own cheese, which they say provides better quality. The “Elberta Special” with pepperoni, ham, bacon, sausage, fresh mushrooms, white onion, Italian seasonings and mozzarella has been a big seller. They’re buying St. Ambrose Cellars’ Kirk’s Hot Honey to drizzle on a pizza they call Spicy Roni.
The menu includes salads: Michigan chery chicken, Greek, chicken tender and garden among them. They’re offering wings and hot and cold sandwiches, with plans to expand the latter as time goes on. Home delivery is available.
Family members rallied to help them open and continue to assist as needed. Even Bryan’s dad, Bob, has been back in the kitchen boxing up pizzas out of the oven and grinding cheese.
“It’s kind of cool because I see people I graduated with and old customers,” Bob says. “There’s been a lot of good feedback so far.”
The Fasts have also been hiring employees, and Bryan says his experience will guide the way he manages them.
“It’s important to have a good relationship with your staff,” he says. “That’s what’s going to make it or break it. It’s for the employer to take care of their staff.”
Meanwhile, Ervin says Elberta Pizza Co. is good for the community.
“Elberta is really making a comeback,” he says. “There’s a lot of young people in Elberta now owning businesses.”
Elberta Pizza Co. is at 619 Frankfort Ave. in Elberta. Current hours are 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; and 4-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with lunch service and expanded hours coming soon. 231-399-0071. Elbertapizzaco.com.