ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT: Northern Lights Pizza gets a fresh start in Newton

Jeremy Smith had never operated a pizza joint before.

“It’s the pizza business! How hard can it be?” the future managing partner of Northern Lights Pizza in Newton asked himself, not knowing that he would be eating his words faster than a football team devouring a box of garlic butter breadsticks after a Friday night win.

Smith, along with Marty Maynes, were originally recruited as investors of Northern Lights Pizza, which made its home in the former FNNB Bank on First Avenue East. Still equipped with the ATMs and pick-up window (which may see future use), the building’s space offered just enough room for a pizza operation.

After a falling out with past leadership, the investors were thrust into their new roles as business owners and pizza makers.

Maynes was about the only one with any kind of pizza parlor experience. When he was teenager, he remembered delivering pizzas for a short time, but that’s as far as it goes. He never had to form the dough with a confident spinning toss, smear the sauce in a circular pattern or generously put on the toppings.

Northern Lights Pizza opened in Newton the week after Thanksgiving to a “much, much bigger rush” than Smith and Maynes planned on. To put it lightly, it didn’t go well. They were told about 80% of Northern Lights Pizza’s sales were delivery, while the remaining is walk-in. On the first day, it was the exact opposite.

“There was no ‘grand opening’ — I put a two-by-two sign out there that said: ‘NOW OPEN.’ And the next day we broke the all-time sales record for the company,” Smith said. “We weren’t ready.”

Maynes added, “It took us a couple weeks to figure out what to do. Jeremy and I have owned a bunch of businesses and we know how business operates and what kind of the basic ‘dos’ and ‘dont’s’ (are). I know a ‘don’t’ is when you screw up somebody’s order you don’t ignore it. You fix it.”

Smith said it took them about five to six weeks to really get the right personnel and figure out their system. Since then, Maynes and Smith suggested Northern Lights Pizza staff have upped their game and hope customers who had poor experiences in the past will give them a second chance.

“I try to make it a point to call the customers who have had a bad experience.” Maynes said. “…We literally had a couple customers call in who I now consider friends of mine because I’ve talked to them on the phone once or twice a week — never met ‘em in person but they both had complaints.”

On Tuesday, Northern Lights Pizza staff celebrated their grand re-opening with city officials and members of the Greater Area Newton Chamber of Commerce, highlighting both the change in leadership and the positive changes in its operations. Smith even acknowledged the pizza shop’s past slip ups.

Smith and Maynes are determined to provide better experiences and are excited to have Northern Lights Pizza contribute to the Newton community.

“I feel confident that the experience somebody might have got Dec. 1 versus the experience they’re going to get Feb. 1 is night and day,” Smith said. “… I know with all the confidence in my heart that we have a good team now and we know what we’re doing.”

Northern Lights Pizza, 1821 First Ave. E., provides full carryout and delivery meals by calling 641-800-8242. Visit www.northernlightspizza.com for more details and menu options.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com