Remember when Bernatello’s Foods purchased Valley City-based
Pizza Corner in 2016 and ruined every North Dakotan’s favorite pizza?
Remember when a little-known employee at Midwest Radio
blogged about it
and incited pure outrage from every man, woman, and child who
grew up on Pizza Corner pizza?
I do, too.
I wrote
that story
. In terms of “doing good” and “helping
others,” saving Pizza Corner for all of mankind wasn’t exactly my plan, but
life is funny like that and sometimes one’s talents realize themselves in
unforeseen ways.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to meet the Who’s
Who from Bernatello’s Foods for pizza sampling and discussion, along with
several members of our station’s air staff.
If you enjoy schadenfreude, my face turned bright, blazing red when they
introduced me to Matt and Trent. Like pizza sauce red. Appropriate.
We know that meteorologists like to talk about the weather
and dental hygienists like to talk about flossing, so it’s not surprising that
Matt and Trent never once deviated from the topic of pizza. Did you know there
is Tabasco in the pizza sauce? Did you know the hamburger on the pizza isn’t
raw anymore for food safety reasons? Did you know they never once debated
calling Canadian bacon ham?
To briefly review, in June of 2016 I purchased a Pizza
Corner pizza shortly after the sale to Bernatello’s Foods. The sauce wasn’t
right, the meat wasn’t right, the crust was absolutely wrong. I would later
learn that this pizza was from the very first run on the new production line. Nonetheless,
I took to my keyboard and tapped out a little article on Bernatello’s new
version of Pizza Corner.
Panic ensued, people rushed to purchase the old stock, people
complained, boycotted, started petitions. Despite the uproar, I am eternally
grateful that Bernatello’s Foods put time and effort into making it right.
Because they listened and improved, I respect them immensely.
For all the havoc caused, I never stopped buying Pizza
Corner pizzas. There is no other pizza like it on Earth. New owners or not, my
family powered through the change and it remains the singular pizza brand we
purchase.
Change is brewing again. I know folks — and folks aren’t
going to like it, but I’m here to help you through it in a safe, rational way. Let
out the breath you’re holding. Relax. Stay calm.
There are three major changes coming to a Pizza Corner pizza
near you.
The most obvious change is the packaging. It will be
packaged in a regular cellophane wrapper like the rest of the pizzas in the
cold cases. Some might not love the new non-flat look, but now the toppings
have some room to cook more evenly. The resulting pizza is thicker and more
textured while still retaining the signature Pizza Corner flavor.
The new label is a nod to the classic orange and blue Pizza
Corner packaging. I like it. It’s simple, easy to read, tells me everything I
need to know about the pizza, plus I can see about half of the pizza toppings.
Even from a distance a shopper will know it’s a pizza corner label just by the
colors.
Inside the package, the most remarkable change is the
location of the meat and toppings. We have a joke at our house that Pizza
Corner toppings are placed using a t-shirt cannon. I like to imagine having
that job – shooting pepperoni out of a t-shirt cannon at a line of pizzas and
hoping for the best. The meat and toppings on the new pizzas are now located
underneath the cheese. Like the new packaging, this is somewhat of an industry
standard. I also anticipate this to be thing people scoff about most. I think
people really like the Canadian bacon smiling up at them when they open the
package.
The new placement of the toppings is not a big concern for
me. The taste is right. The crust is right. The meat is more flavorful because
the cheese takes the brunt of the browning process. The only difference between
this pizza and the old-style Pizza Corner is the loft.
The changes in packaging and the changes to how the
ingredients are placed are to simplify manufacturing. Bernatello’s Foods makes
several other brands of pizza, and now all can be assembled in the same way
while still retaining the uniqueness of each pizza brand.
The third change is my favorite. Bernatello’s took an
unpopular pizza flavor and jazzed it up. Deliciously Deluxe is more deluxe than
before, with the addition of green olives, Canadian bacon, and pepperoni to the
sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, red peppers, and onion already on it. You
had me at green olives.
The Deliciously Deluxe pizza impressed me. Bernatello’s saw
an underperforming pizza and gave it a facelift. They were gutsy enough to make
a change, and they nailed it. The new Deliciously Deluxe is a Pizza Corner
pizza through and through. It’s a brand new member of the family and it works.
Will I miss the little swish sound as the air gets into the
packaging when I cut it open? Yes. Will I miss the uneven sauce blobs and the
sometimes rock-hard crust? Yes. Will I miss the look and feel of that perfectly
flattened disc of a pizza and the sound it makes hitting the rack in the pizza
oven? Yes. They are all characteristics of an institution. North Dakota loves
their nostalgia.
Since Bernatello’s Foods purchased Pizza Corner in 2016,
there is no denying that they have taken care of our baby. They’ve listened,
analyzed, tweaked recipes, improved, and done everything we asked. They cared
enough to take their customers seriously. Now they are bringing the pizza into
the 21
st
Century while holding onto the Pizza Corner tradition and
flavor we grew up on. We could not possibly ask for more.
Except maybe some more new flavors…
