By Alex Guerrero
WELLS — Life isn’t simple, and issues don’t all the time go in response to plan.
Such was the case for Daybreak Navara, proprietor of Jake’s Pizza in Wells, after the roof collapsed on the restaurant’s previous location.
“It occurred to be Feb. 24 of final 12 months, and I got here in at 4 a.m. as a result of we have been going to have turkey specials that day, our third Wednesday of the month,” she mentioned. “I walked in to the entrance, and I used to be one desk away when the roof began to cave-in.”
The collapse despatched her to the hospital in want of surgical procedure, and Jake’s was closed for 10 months. However that modified just lately when the restaurant opened its new location, 27 Second St. NE, on Dec. 18.
“This city and the encircling cities are superior folks,” she mentioned. “… They actually need to assist, they usually have supported us by way of this complete factor.”
And whereas the brand new location isn’t as massive because the previous one, there was one vivid spot in getting a brand new place: a much bigger kitchen and storage space.
In line with Navara, the trick to good pizza is within the sauce.
“The sauce components that we get come from northern Minnesota means up into the Lake of the Woods space,” she mentioned.
For her, a typical day begins at 7 or 8 a.m., assembly the vans who deliver components, together with French fries, onion rings and every little thing else they should prepare dinner with. The hamburger meat, nevertheless, comes from Wells.
She and her workforce then put together for the evening rush.
“So, like, pizza stuff we be sure that we have now sufficient mushrooms, inexperienced olives and black olives, every little thing drained and it’s all in particular person containers so we are able to simply swap them out so we don’t have to take a seat and open up a can every time we’d like one,” she mentioned.
Navara first acquired into the pizza enterprise after she graduated in 1977.
“I assumed in the event that they ever bought Jake’s sooner or later I’d purchase it,” she mentioned.
However pizza wasn’t merely her ardour. It was a household affair.
“My daughter … who works for me now, labored by way of faculty and stored working there,” she mentioned. “Then I began to work for Joyce and Denny O’Rourke.”
However then they bought it to Greg Moen, and he or she labored for him as an evening supervisor.
In 2001, Moen determined to promote, and he or she provided to purchase it from him.
Jake’s Pizza in Wells is open from 5 to eight p.m. Sunday by way of Thursday and 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, however she’s hopeful to vary these hours as soon as COVID turns into extra manageable.
“It’s taking folks a very long time to come back again right into a restaurant, and I feel that’s throughout,” she mentioned.
However on the brilliant aspect, supply and carry-out has grown.
“It truly took a very long time for folks to even begin to order in any respect,” she mentioned. “Individuals actually stayed dwelling quite a bit.”
Jake’s telephone quantity is 507-553-5050.