Pizza Haven

Pizza Haven is the name of a Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

-based pizzeria and pizza delivery

Pizza delivery

Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria delivers a pizza to a customer. Delivery is normally made with an automobile, motor scooter, or bicycle.- Ordering :...

chain, founded in 1958 opening its first location in the University District, Seattle near the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

. Pizza Haven was among the first to make deliveries. Restaurant employees used radio phones to relay orders to roving drivers who carried stacks of pizzas in warming ovens in the back of their jeeps and pickup trucks.

Ron Bean, original founder, and a series of partners grew Pizza Haven into a chain of 42 restaurants throughout the Pacific Northwest and California. The 700-employee company even opened franchises in Russia, Poland and the Middle East.
In the mid '70s, Bean branched out, opening a second restaurant chain called Bean Pod Delis that offered baked goods and health food. By the mid-'80s, his partner wanted out so a portion of the chain was sold to Pietro's Pizzas, which itself had just been bought by the Campbell Soup Co.

By the late '90s, increasing competition from better-funded national chains, leasing difficulties at some mall locations and what Bean describes in hindsight as several "bad decisions" combined to push Pizza Haven into filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
A missed tax payment then forced the company into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1998. The remaining stores were shuttered, except for the Pizza Haven and Bean Pod restaurants in Seattle Center

Seattle Center

Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...

Center House.

http://www.facebook.com/PizzaHaven

Read more: Pizza Haven founder is at it again | Puget Sound Business Journal

Pizza Haven (AU)

Pizza Haven is also an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

chain and franchise

Chain store

Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...

operation specialising in pizza

Pizza

Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...

and unrelated to the original US company.

In 1984, brothers Evan, Louis, Bill and Gabriel Christou started Pizza Haven with the aid of a A$

Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...

24,000 mortgage

Mortgage loan

A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

on their parents' home. The first Pizza Haven outlet was at Glenelg

Glenelg, South Australia

Glenelg is a popular beach-side suburb of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Located on the shore of Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent, it has become a popular tourist destination due to its beach and many attractions, home to several hotels and dozens of restaurants.Established in 1836, it is...

in Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

. Employing twelve people, the Christou brothers were active in the running of the business. Today, Pizza Haven is a franchise

Franchising

Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

d business.

In May 2006, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

Pizza Haven stores were bought by Domino's Pizza

Domino's Pizza

Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....

and a majority were converted to Domino's while some stores were able to stay branded as Pizza Haven.

In July 2008 it was announced that Pizza Haven Australia had been acquired by Eagle Boys

Eagle Boys

Eagle Boys is an Australian fast food chain specialising in pizza. Eagle Boys has over 300 stores throughout Australia,particularly in regional areas. Currently it has no stores in Tasmania. Eagle Boys was as of 2007 the third largest pizza chain in the country....

pizza chain.

Innovations

Pizza Haven was the first Australian pizza company to:

Introduce a 131 custom net phone system
Introduce cheesy crust
Introduce a gluten free pizza base
Introduce a baked not fried pizza base
Introduce the handstretch base
Introduce a fully computerised POS (Point Of Sales) system

Pizza Haven

Pizza Haven (AU)

Innovations

See also