Papa Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza is a locally owned and operated company. Me and my husband, Steve started Papa Woody’s in August, 2016. It is a ‘woman owned’ business! I am the owner/president (the brains). Oh, who am I kidding, we wouldn’t even get out of the driveway without Steve! He is the one with all of the skill, expertise, knowledge and muscle that keeps this operation running! We make a damn good team!

We basically have a commercial kitchen on wheels! We can cater anything from office parties to large wedding receptions. We also do Vendor and craft fairs. You will catch us Vending on the street side as well.

We specialize in Pizzas and Flatbreads! We also have some amazing Wood Fired Italian Nachos, Smothered Soft Pretzel Bites, and other ‘snack-like’ items…If we can cook it in our oven, we will try it! We offer a salad bar and a Baked Potato Bar for our caterings as well.

In 2019, we also opened a location in Sioux Falls.

Our oven is quite spectacular. It came from France, and is called ‘Four Grand-mere’ (Grandmothers Oven).

We offer a very extensive pizza menu, as well as a great selection of starters/appetizers, burgers and sandwiches, pizzas, salads and desserts.

We make all of our pizzas fresh to order, so we make it just the way you like it. We cook them in our ~1000° oven, creating the best pizza ever!

Steve is the ‘Fire Master.’ He is the one who will cook your Pizza to perfection. Our oven runs completely off of wood, and is usually about 750 degrees. Steve can cook you a Pizza in about 3-4 minutes.

In addition to playing with fire, Steve is also the one that provides all the ‘muscle’ for keeping our operation running. He is the one that hooks up the trailer, orders all the food, stocks the trailer and makes sure we don’t run out of food, keeps it clean (so clean you could eat off the floor), preps all the food, cuts the wood for the fire, maintains the equipment…you name it, he does it! See, I told you, we wouldn’t make it out of the driveway without him!!

Lisa (that’s me)…I am Master of All Trades! I book all of our events (vendor fairs, festivals, benefits) and caterings. I handle all of our Marketing/Advertising and Social Media. I make sure we are staying involved in the community and attending social events. I take care of all of the ‘business’ operations, all of the paperwork, and all of the important stuff that makes our business function day to day.

I am the one greeting you and taking orders.  I am never short of words and would love to talk to you while you wait for your pizzas!

Arien, our oldest, is the one making your pizzas! He is a ‘Pizza artist!’  He loves helping his Dad with everything. on the Food Truck, He has learned how to attach the trailer to the hitch, jack the trailer down, start the fire, make pizzas, cook pizzas, take orders, take and count money/change…he will be opening a second trailer for us, or taking over for us when we are ready to retire! When he is not on the trailer, he is slinging pizzas at our downtown location.

Alivia, our oldest daughter, helps serve, stocks supplies, and lends an extra hand where needed. You will probably see her at the register at our downtown location! When we have large events and caterings, Alivia helps to keep everyone happy as they go through the buffet! She is also our babysitter for the younger kids, so she helps out more than you can imagine!!!

Addison, one of our middle daughters, also helps to serve, stock supplies, and be an extra hand where needed. Her and Alivia are great helpers when we are doing large events! She knows how to scramble a mean egg for your breakfast pizza! She also helps babysit the younger kids at home!

Aiden, our youngest son, is one of the reasons why we are so grateful we get to own and operate this business every day! Aiden was born with a congenital heart defect called Tetrology of Fallot. When he was 3 months old, he had open-heart surgery fixing three of the four defects in his heart. At the time, he was placed on a heart/lung machine while they operated on his heart that was the size of a strawberry for over 8 hours. Over the years, he has had countless procedures and surgeries to help his heart function. He has continued to live in heart failure. In August, 2014, he had a second open-heart surgery to replace his pulmonary valve. He will continue to undergo many more surgeries and procedures throughout his life, but today, his heart is doing great. As a result of his heart not fully functioning as a baby, Aiden was also diagnosed with autism. Although Aiden faces so many challenges, he takes on each day with a smile on his face and happiness in his heart.

Lily is the queen of Customer Service! She loves to help take orders, hand out pops, serve hot fresh pizzas, and talk your ear off while you wait! Her smile will get you every time!

Lucy is our number one employee! She wants all your money! She likes to stand in the serving window and take your money as you pay. It is pretty hard to say say no to her too! She melts your heart pretty quick!

Thank You Dad:

To my Dad, Terry Esser: Thank You for always believing in us. Thank you for your unconditional love and support. Thank You for helping us build our dream…without you, Papa Woody’s would not be possible! We Love You, Dad!