December 28, 2016 at 1:35 p.m.
Woodruff resident Rydzik brings new pizza joint to Lake Tomahawk
Woodruff resident Rydzik brings new pizza joint to Lake Tomahawk
In fact, the new Pizza Vault in downtown Lake Tomahawk won't be her first foray as the owner of a restaurant. Rydzik, 41, owned The Pizza Guy in Wales, Wis., before moving to Woodruff in 2005, where she was a co-owner of the Heart II.
After spending the past six years in home health care with the elderly, Rydzik is back in the restaurant business, transforming an old bank into a pizza place, which will include a drive-thru window.
"I loved it when we had the pizza place down south," Rydzik said. "It's just fun and I don't have to worry about staying open until 2 a.m. like in a bar, then you have to clean afterwards and get up again to get everything started, so at least you get a little break in between."
Adding a new restaurant destination in the area could be a boost that Lake Tomahawk needs. With empty storefronts and buildings throughout the downtown area, a vibrant business could be a welcome sign.
Given the lack of a pure pizza place and the proximity to snowmobile trails in the winter made Lake Tomahawk an ideal place for Rydzik.
"In my head there wasn't really much for just pizza in [Lake Tomahawk]," Rydzik said. "So I just thought it would be good and the snowmobile trail was huge because a lot of Woodruff, Minocqua and Arbor Vitae is all cut off now because some of the trails were closed or changed. In the winter, I know from the Heart II, if you don't have snowmobiles, you don't have business. This place (Heart II) is just packed with snowmobiles in the winter."
There are vast number of cars that travel through Lake Tomahawk each day on Route 47 commuting to or from the Minocqua, Woodruff and Arbor Vitae areas to Rhinelander. That's why the uniqueness of the drive-thru could be quite popular.
For parents not wanting to unload kids to run inside to pick up an order or someone on the way home from work that simply doesn't want to deal with the Wisconsin winter weather, a pick-up window is a convenience factor.
"I'm excited to see how that goes," Rydzik said. "When I got this place, I thought it would be so cool to have a drive-thru."
Rydzik was require to appear in front of the Oneida County Planning and Development committee for a public hearing on Dec. 7 to get approval to run a restaurant in what was formerly a bank, and it was unanimously approved. She even got vocal support from a resident of Lake Tomahawk who happened to be in attendance.
The Pizza Vault opened Dec. 21.
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @SabatoNick.
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