In 1961 Rudolph, the current owner’s grandfather, started his first pizzeria. In 1981, after working the family business for 10 years, Rudolph’s son, Keith, started his own pizzeria called Keith’s Pizza. In 1996 Keith’s two sons took over ownership, & in 1999 opened a second location in Bemidji. In early 2000 the concept of the Old River Pizza Co. was developed as an expansion idea to evolve outside the Bemidji area. The name was secured, and a business plan was developed in hopes that, one day, expansion would occur. Since 2000, Keith’s Pizza has transformed into Keith’s “Old River Pizza Company”. In 2006 the first franchise opened in Council Bluffs, IA. It is a 100-seat Dine-In and Carry-Out location, in a high traffic retail district. It has received profound acceptance in the market place and will be used as the model store for future locations. The partners have been developing the concept, keeping it in sync with a northern rustic and woodsy Minnesota theme. Just as the theme has evolved, the systems, and menu items that have been the corner stone for a strong business have taken a distinct shape. The systems, menu items, and tone with which the business operates has been streamlined and fine-tuned.
Our pizza dough is made with a signature three-generation-old recipe, and a unique handling process, which creates a crispy crust. It is baked in stone-brick ovens, adding a golden crisp texture. The pizza sauce is made with mouthwatering vine-ripened tomatoes. We slow cook our sauce with a special blend of Italian seasonings for several hours to create a complex, robust flavor, with a zesty flair, that is hard to find in many of today’s pizzas. We purchase our Italian sausage meats locally, and mix in our seasonings back in the kitchen. No precooked sausage here! Our ground beef, taco meat, and chicken are all cooked on site. Our cheese is blended on site with high quality, 100% South Alma cheese blend. We mix a whole milk mozzarella, which adds the creamy flavor, with a part skim mozzarella, which gives our product a consistent cooking texture. The rest of our sauces, and most of our meats, are all made from scratch, giving you a taste you can’t find anywhere else.
Tammy Podraza said her family decided to start the pizza place after her son, Jared, went to school in Bemidji, Minn. There, Jared Podraza discovered a pizza shop named Keith’s Pizza. After some discussion, the Podraza family asked the two brothers operating the business if they could buy one. “We were the first one outside of Bemidji,” Tammy said. “They decided to call it Old River Pizza because the Mississippi River starts near Bemidji.” The Council Bluffs location was the first to break away from Bemidji in 2006, and so far, the only one. Click here to read more about the Council Bluff's location...
COUNCIL BLUFFS HISTORY