If you've lived in Billings over the past 60 years, there's a pretty good chance you've enjoyed a slice of Village Inn pizza.
But in March, the iconic building at 2048 Grand Ave. was leveled, and many feared they'd never get to taste the pizza again.
Fortunately, they were wrong. As many families said goodbye to the pizza parlor, the Smith family, who are longtime Billings residents, chose to take matters into their own hands and reopen the restaurant at CJ's Garage at the corner of 24th Street West and Central Avenue.
"People loved Village Inn pizza, and we loved Village Inn pizza," new co-owner Macie Smith said Thursday. "Our kids grew up there just like every kid in town seemed to grow up there. So, that was sort of the motivation behind looking into it."
Those memories were a big reason why the Smiths reached out to the current owner, who was 94 years old and was ready to move on.
"We literally grew up in that neighborhood, and it seemed only right to jump in and say, 'This has to stay,'" co-owner Brittany Jorgenson-Smith said.
The negotiation process was old-fashioned, but Dane Jorgenson-Smith said it felt right on brand.
"It was my dad, the owner and I and the three of us negotiated right at one of these tables," Jorgenson-Smith said. "It was kind of funny, it was a piece of paper that we wrote everything down and signed it."
Once the contract was signed, the family got to work. They quickly realized that buying Village Inn was unlike buying any other restaurant. The stakes were much higher.
"It was so well-recognized and remembered and we felt that right away," Smith said. "The first thing out of everybody’s mouth was, 'Are you bringing the red cups back?' And we were like ‘Yeah, we’ll bring them back.’ And then we were like, 'Let’s just bring everything back.'"
And when you get to step inside — the lobby opens in the next few days — the effort to bring back those memories is noticeable. The red cups, the stools and booths, the lights, the signs, the menu and even the original Pac Man video game machine are all inside. The original door is added to one of the walls.
"Well, that's just the way it had to be," Dane said. "That was our goal. We wanted it to be upgraded obviously, but honestly still feel like the old Village Inn."
It isn't just the decorations that are the same. The recipes, stove and much of the original staff are all a part of the new project.
“I think I get the most emotional when I see our staff, the people who really started it, start to get emotional," Brittany said as she teared up."That’s the best part."
The Smiths wanted every detail to be the same. They even went as far as to gain ownership of the original phone number from the location.
But most importantly, they wanted Village Inn to remain a family business. After 55 years of enjoying it, it now is their project to run.
"Any day with my kids is a good day for me," Smith said. "Whether it's vacation or working, I'm a mom and I love spending time with them."
Longtime customers Jim Lombardozzi and Doug Affleck were getting their first tastes on Thursday and they both said that so far, the Smiths have accomplished what they hoped.
"I had a lot of memories at the old one," Affleck said.
"Oh yeah, many, many years," Lombardozzi said. "We were disappointed when it went away, but today is great. This is like a resurrection. We're glad to be here again."
