Friendly faces take over Big Bear Pizzeria and Deli in Lake City

Aug. 13—LAKE CITY — Big Bear Pizzeria and Deli is under new ownership after almost 28 years of business in Lake City.

Big Bear Pizzeria and Deli was opened in 1996 by Vicky Raymond and her husband. The local pizzeria found small-town success in Lake City due to the delicious pizza and friendly faces. Those same friendly faces are the ones who bought the establishment.

Alex Fricke, Ben Miller and Nicole Naylor were all longtime employees and managers at Big Bear Pizzeria.

Fricke and Miller were first approached by the Raymonds nearly five years ago and Naylor was brought on a year later. The original owners knew they wanted to retire in the near future, but then it became a waiting game. Fricke and the others were just glad they decided to sell internally.

The three partners bought the business together and took over operations as of Jan. 1, 2024. Although it was a major adjustment at first, the team is managing well.

"We've all got our strengths and weaknesses," Fricke said. "Ben's more of the bills, checking the bank, his bank account all the time. I'm more of if something breaks down and fixing it, hands-on aspect. And Nicole's extremely detail-oriented."

Despite the change in ownership, not a lot is actually changing. Big Bear Pizzeria and Deli already has a brand and is completely embedded into the community, so why change a thing? The name Big Bear Pizzeria and Deli came from Raymond's children who suggested the name Grizzly's but that name was already in use by a popular restaurant in the Twin Cities so they decided to go with Big Bear. They have completely decorated their restaurant with more than 140 stuffed bears.

In addition to the stuffed bears, the menu has fun bear-related names and their delivery trucks have bears, too. Fricke understands that it could seem gimmicky to some, but he loves the brand the Raymonds built and knows the community does as well.

Fricke, Miller and Naylor also made sure to keep the menu consistent. They also wanted to make sure all the partnerships they love, like selling pizza at the concession stands at high school sporting events, were intact, too.

The trio was happy with the community's response to the news. They have been delivering pizzas to Lake City for years, so they were well known in the town.

"I know a lot of people in this town and a lot of people know me," Fricke said. "... It's been really good. It's been really supportive. Nothing's slowed down."

Fricke, Miller, Naylor and their staff are excited to keep bringing pizza to the community. They are one of the only places in town that delivers and seeing the joy from the customers is always Fricke's favorite part of the job.

"I love seeing the little kids freaking out that pizza is coming, seeing everybody's dogs there," Fricke said. "They say the mailman is the dog's worst enemy. I think the pizza man is their favorite. Anytime I open the door, I'm going to spend an extra two minutes out of my time, even when I'm swamped, just so I can give that dog attention."

Even though they have no plans to make significant changes to the menu at the moment, they would like to start adding in a monthly specialty pizza only available for a limited time. Fricke wants these pizzas to be unique to their restaurant and help draw foodies in.

"I want to work with a local taco truck and make a street taco pizza," Fricke said. "We've got the American taco pizza that goes crazy but I'm a huge fan of authentic cultural foods. ... Nothing beats it. I would love to make a green curry pizza, too."