Our History

It started in 1969 when Fritz Diekvoss took over from the previous owners, Marie and Bruno Girmelli, and put his own name on the door. The Pizza Haven was Fritz's boyhood dream. From a very young age he knew he wanted to own his own business and when the opportunity presented itself, he didn't hesitate, although he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to sell once he acquired the place.

"I opened February 28 and I didn't intend to open a pizza place," Fritz said, "but I liked pizza so that's what we went with." And it's all about family traditions and freshness at the Haven. Fritz still even uses the original recipe that the Grimelli's brought over from Italy for his homemade tomato sauce.

And according to Pam Young, Fritz's daughter who works for her father, that's the key to their continued success. The Haven is a family restaurant and totally original, which is what brings the people back.

"We make our own sauces, from pizza to alfredo, and we make the garlic bread and pizza dough from scratch," she said, "and the customer can taste the difference. You're not going to find pizza like this anywhere else. If you ate here 50 years ago and came back today it would taste exactly the same. That's why people keep coming back."

But making their famous tomato sauces in house is just the beginning. Homemade gives all their food the quality the satisfied customer remembers. And comes back for.

"We mix the sausage ourselves and the bread dough is made fresh, nothing is pre-made and though it takes longer you can definitely taste the difference," Pam said.

And it continues to be a family owned and run business. Pam started working for her father when she was in fourth grade and still works there today. And her siblings, and now her own kids, have been a part of the daily routine.

Pam's daughter, Nicole, said as a member of the family, she had to know how to work every job in the restaurant and was often called in to fill in when they were short staffed.

"We worked as busboys to start," Nicole said, "and then once you were old enough you work in the kitchen and take orders so we were definitely involved."

The Haven has always been known for their delicious menu and they also have a banquet hall that allows them to host weddings and other large events. Pam makes wedding cakes, as well as the Italian cuisine for the Haven, but she said the wedding party doesn't have to have pizza as their meal.

"We can cater, or bring your own in," she said. That means you can have them help you with as much or as little as you want with your event. A little known fact about the banquet hall is that it was originally intended as a bowling alley during the reconstruction after a fire damaged the Haven in 1980.

"My dad wanted to make it a bowling alley but for some reason we just made it a banquet hall," Pam said. It's all about the family tradition at the Pizza Haven, and it always will be. According to Fritz, and Pam, and everyone who works at the Haven, holding onto that tradition with the original recipes, and the friendly family atmosphere, has made the Haven unique and successful, and that keeps the regular customers coming back over the years.