Pizza Depot, a popular mainstay eatery in Becker is celebrating their 10th anniversary this week and next.

Jane du’Monceaux has been running the establishment for a total of 20 years, counting the 10 years they existed as Salida Depot.  She currently is transitioning into retirement status while her own children (Morgan and Brady) learn the business and keep it thriving.

She has 17-29 employees and they do dine-in, take n’ bake and delivery. They also offer catering services.

“We have always advertised that what makes our pizzas special is that we put extra love in each and every one we make,” says du’Monceaux.

She mentioned there was a time she had customers help ‘make’ their pizza.

“They chose the sauce, crust, etc through many taste testing events we put on while developing our pizza,” She said. “And we have stuck with that recipe for over 20 years now.”  

She says the business focuses on using fresh ingredients and they make each pizza to order.  

“We just do the best we can to listen to the wants and needs of our customers,” she says. “Give them a fair value, take care of any issues that arise, and be as honest as we can in business.”

The Inside Scoop

The Pizza Depot store  houses a dining area that can accommodate up to 75 people. They also have the luxury of closing off a section for customers looking to hold a meeting, a birthday party or family gathering. They also have picnic tables set up outside during the summer months.

“We have a couple arcade games and a play area just for young kids, too,” said du’Monceaux.  “We also have boardgames and cards that you can play at your table.”

If one is craving delicious pizza, the Depot is the spot but it’s not just all about the pizza. They also serve fantastic salads, toasted sandwiches, pasta, and feature nine flavors of Kemps ice cream.  Every Wednesday thru Friday they serve homemade lunches, too.

Their drinks are Pepsi products and water.

Deliver More

Pizza Depot’s delivery radius is up to seven miles but for an extra $1/a mile, they will travel as far as 12 miles away from the store.

“During snowstorms, we limit our area to ‘no ditches’ (in town only),” said Pizza Depot’s boss.  “We care about the safety of our drivers and don’t want them going in the ditch.”

Great Work

Though du’Monceaux is fully staffed at this time as far as workers, however, the business still takes in applications for future openings.

“We are constantly accepting applications,” she said. “But sometimes we don’t have a position open.  Spring and fall is when we are typically hiring, as a group of kids graduate high school, so we need to replace them.”

Community Alliance

“This is an area that is extremely important to us,” said du’Monceaux. “We donate every chance we get — to a family who loses their home to fire, we offer to feed them until they get back on their feet — to donating to all school activities possible — to privately feeding someone who is down on their luck and just hungry — to doing fundraisers.”  

“This is our home and these are our people; we’re here to support them in any way possible,” she continued. “We are chamber members, and we are in the parade every year, and have participated in numerous expos.”

Pandemic Blues

Besides Becker, du’Monceaux also owned and operated the Pizza Depot in St. Cloud up until  the middle of January. After seven years and a limited staff,  they closed their doors at 2848 2nd Street South.

“We couldn’t find help during the pandemic and just couldn’t run it by ourselves anymore,” du’Monceaux said. “Mental and physical exhaustion set in and with no end in sight to this labor shortage, we made the hard decision to quit fighting it.”

Decade Memories

What sticks out in the mind of du’Monceaux as she reflects on a decade of serving the Becker community?

“There are numerous things that come to mind,” she said. “We had a catering job that was HUGE —much larger than anything we’d ever done to date, and we executed it flawlessly.”

She also remembers a memory of destroying the gun safe when they took over the suite next door And of course, there’s her employees.  

“Watching the kids who work for us grow and mature, and seeing how hard they work and how they work together has been a joy to experience,” she says. “For me personally it’s been watching my two kids, Morgan and Brady, take over the business as I slide into retirement. It has given me a lot of pride.”

“The biggest thing for us is to thank our customers for their support over the years.  We wouldn’t be here without them!!”