Gabe Lindbom, 19, a Becker High School graduate of 2020, has purchased and is the new owner of the Godfather’s Pizza place in Becker. He employs around a dozen workers including his family members of mom (Patty), dad (Scott) and sister (Kady).

Deann Bromenschenkel, the previous owner, sold the eatery to Lindbom last September.

The restaurants serve a wide variety of pizzas, breadsticks, cheesesticks, garlic bread, calzones, chicken wings, potato wedges, monkey bread and dessert streusels. They also feature Pepsi products along with water.

Godfather’s Pizza was established in 1973 by William Theisen and he was influential in growing the chain of restaurants into one of the most recognizable brands in the country. Theisen sold the company to Pillsbury in 1985 and stepped down from actively managing the company. 

The headquarters for Godfather’s Pizza is located in Omaha, NE and when Lindbom completed the purchase agreement for the business, he took a trip to the 37th state of the union to get proper training.

Lindbom had been an employee under Bromenschenkel (assistant manager) both while he was in high school and during the summer months whenever he’d return home from college.  He also subbed-in during holiday breaks when business was hopping around Christmas and New Year’s. Gabe had been attending St. John’s University to study finance when the opportunity of a lifetime fell into his lap.

COVID-19 has had a loathsome affect on students over the last few years as undergraduates tried to adjust to mask mandates, part-time, in-person classes, part-time online classes and vaccine protocols. Lindbom was tiring of the system and when he suffered yet another knee injury while playing lacrosse, he decided to plunge himself into the workforce rather than toil through another few years of advanced education.

“I will continue to encourage him to still find ways to get a college degree,” Gabe’s dad, Scott said. “There’s no reason he can’t find the time when we get this ship righted.”

The “ship” is the business the Lindboms acquired. Being that it is tied into the Godfather’s franchise, the Lindbom’s are required to follow uniform guidelines as well as color schemes and ingredient ordering procedures.

According to the Godfather’s Pizza website, the franchise fee for Godfather’s Pizza is $20,000. The total investment to open and operate a Godfather’s Pizza franchise ranges from $82,500 to $358,000, with minimum net worth of $200,000. A 5% royalty fee on gross sales is paid to the company.

At the Becker Godfather’s Pizza shop, the Lindbom’s make sure the customer is the boss. First and foremost, they are allowed to choose from among several crust selections, including the thick, rich, original crust, a buttery, pan-style golden crust, or a light and crispy thin crust. Then they choose what they want on top, what kinds of veggies and meat to pile on. Godfather’s chefs take it from there, smothering the whole thing with cheese for a pizza that is irresistible.

They also feature pizza-by-the-slice on Thursdays and Fridays for a reasonable price — which includes a drink.

Every day they are open, Gabe and his crew open the doors early to get the store ready for regular hours. They spend a good deal of time preparing the dough for the crusts to ensure the highest quality. Gabe is also responsible for running the register at times, answering phone calls, doing payroll and even delivering the pizzas.

A big challenge has been learning the POS system which Bromenschenkel has been offering her assistance with to smooth things over in the transition. However, Gabe is not sure if he wants to continue with the current system or look into an updated system to make the business flow better.

One of Gabe’s initial duties when he took over was to replace the menu board behind the cash register with a modern, TV-screen wall. He and his family repainted the walls (in the Godfather-approved colors) and learned they needed to replace and repair several pieces of equipment that added to the extra expense of opening up.

One of the drawbacks Gabe faces is the limited space his store currently has. He plans on trying to reposition some furniture and equipment to try and open up the front end more to possibly accommodate more tables and chairs (currently, there is only room for one table and chairs). He also mentioned he’d like to see if the building is possibly conducive to an expansion to grow the seating and kitchen areas.

Gabe said the closest Godfather’s Pizza chain used to be in St. Cloud, but that store closed down — most likely due to the COVID-19 constraints attributed to public spaces. According to the Godfather’s Pizza website, there are only six Minnesota locations (including Becker) in the entire state.

“They (St. Cloud) had a buffet, which for a long while was quite popular,” said Gabe. “When they had to reduce hours, limit seating and cut back employees, they couldn’t make it work. It killed them.”

The other locations are in Austin, Faribault, Owatonna, St. Peter and Windom. As of August 2016, the chain had 453 locations in the U.S. Godfather’s Pizza also operates in some Speedway locations,

Gabe is determined to make his investment work and he hopes people from the area give his business some consideration when the hunger pangs hit.

“I’m here everyday to work to make this right,” Gabe says. “I enjoy it, I have fun and I want to make sure it’s all done right.