When one thinks of Johnny’s Pizza House, the rectangle pizza slices, the always fresh toppings, or the boy on the pizza box could come to mind.

But for most, the founder Johnny Huntsman and his energy and charisma are front and center. The West Monroe High graduate discovered pizza during his college football days at Graceland University in Iowa, working for a classmate’s small pizza shop that the head football coach eventually bought. Huntsman brought this new fangled pizza – almost no one in Louisiana had eaten or even heard of the food – to Monroe in 1967 in a converted washeteria across the street from then-Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM).

Encouraged by people’s reaction to his pizza when Huntsman baked it for family and friends, the first store with just three parking spots served as a launching pad for the now-unmistakable Johnny’s brand of pizza.

The “only link in the world’s smallest pizza chain” was born.

Designer pizzas like “Sweep the Kitchen” (11 different toppings like sausage, peppers, mushrooms) to “Sweep the Swamp” (seasonal pizza with crawfish, shrimp and andouille) along with the restaurant’s execution of more traditional pizza styles has taken hold of tastebuds across the state and region through the past 50 years.

The journey to nearly 50 store locations across three states hasn’t always been rosy, but Huntsman’s magnetic personality pushed the brand through good times and bad.

Following a bankruptcy roughly 20 years into the operation, Huntsman regrouped and relaunched, including famously wearing nothing but a hat, barrel, suspenders and shoes to promote his one-of-a-kind pizza on street corners in the area with his sign “Please Eat at Johnny’s.”

Johnny’s Pizza House is more than just the magic of its founder, who died in 2017 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

When contemplating the future of Johnny’s Pizza House, Huntsman decided in 2000 to offer employees stock in the company through the Employee Stock Ownership Program.

He credited the hard work of his employees for the company’s success, especially through those hard times, and he wanted that sweat equity to be rewarded by more than just pay and other common benefits.

In just three years, employees owned more than 50 percent of the company and now own 100 percent today.

Current CEO Melvin DeLacerda embodies that sweat equity, starting with the company as a high schooler in its early days and became a close personal friend of Huntsman’s as he worked his way through the ranks.
The personal and community connection of Johnny’s Pizza House, in addition to its superb menu that’s expanded from just pizza into muffalettas and desserts among other categories, buoys the brand against national pizza competitors that have lower prices.

Most of the 50 stores are located in North Louisiana – Shreveport leads the way with seven stores – but many in this half of the state have their own Johnny’s memories.

Whether it’s playing an arcade game next to the buffet in the restaurant after a little league game or serving Johnny’s at Super Bowl parties or other family celebrations, Johnny’s has earned a place in North Louisiana food and culture.

A place that also lives on through its current and former employees, some of whom attended college and bettered their lives and their communities with help from the guy in the barrel. part of your article here…