CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — The Clarion Pizza Pub will be celebrating its 45th anniversary next week, Monday through Thursday, and owner Mike Schill is promising specials and prizes to mark the occasion.

The Pizza Pub has been a large part of Schill’s life since 1973 when his father and mother, Pete and Germaine, opened the business, and he was just seven years old.

“I really grew up here,” Mike said. “It’s hard work having a family business, and everyone knows that, but we love it.”

Mike graduated from Clarion-Limestone High School and then continued his education at Clarion University earning a degree in marketing before deciding to stay with the family business.

His education didn’t stop with college, though. His father sent him to a special program at the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas, to learn how to make homemade pizza dough.

“We used to get the dough in from Harry’s Pizza, which my dad’s sister was involved with, out of Johnstown, but she was getting out of it at the time,” Mike said.

Harry’s Pizza was actually the predecessor to the Pizza Pub. Mike’s parents first brought pizza to Clarion in 1960 with Harry’s Pizza Shop, which was located on Main Street where the Immaculate Conception Church now stands.

The Harry’s Pizza chain began with Harry Koehler of Johnstown, Pa., who owned five pizza shops around the Johnstown area in the 1950’s. Pete’s sister, Bernice Bowser, who owned and operated more than twenty Harry’s Pizza Shops in Pennsylvania at the time, encouraged Pete and Germaine to open Harry’s Pizza in Clarion.

Clarion’s original Harry’s Pizza Shop only sold take-out pizza by the slice and soft drinks from a vending machine. Though the business was quite popular, it eventually closed to make way for the new Immaculate Conception Church.

Though Harry’s Pizza closed in 1975, Clarion residents could still get their favorite pizza at Pizza Pub. The old tradition continued at the Pub, where Harry’s Pizza still remains available by the slice on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings.

The building housing the Pizza Pub, along Route 322 across from Clarion Ford Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, first served as a service station that sold Studebakers. After operating as a service station, the building housed a laundromat for a number of years before being transformed into the Pizza Pub.

The Original Pizza Pub.

The red bricks on the inside and outside of the current building were taken from a collapsed portion of a home on Route 322 in Strattanville. According to local legend, the home had been used as part of the Underground Railroad. The bricks were originally brought from Philadelphia in the early 1800′s in Conestoga wagons.

The iconic Pizza Pub logo, featuring a dog lounging on a chair, is a tribute to a favorite pet of Mike’s aunt, Bernice Bowser, a poodle named Pixie.

Both the interior and the menu of the Pub have remained much the same over the years.

“A lot of people like the same things. Different people I talk to say, ‘Don’t change anything, keep doing what you’re doing.’ Every now and then we’ll throw something new out there, but for the most part, we kind of stick with the staples. That’s what people are accustomed to,” Mike explained.

Mike not only attributes much of the business’ success over the years to the consistency of their products but also to their employees.

“We’ve had a lot of good, really loyal, dedicated employees, and that’s kind of key to any business’s success,” Mike said.

The Clarion community has been good to the Pub and the family behind it for many years, and Mike likes to give back to the community when he can. Pizza Pub makes many oven-ready pizzas for fundraisers by local school and community organizations.

Mike said, “It started out back years ago whenever I was in high school, we did a fundraiser for the varsity club. Then, we just said, ‘hey, let’s just sell some pizzas.’ After that, when it really got started, I think it was the C.L. Cheerleaders. They started doing some sales regularly, and it just snowballed from there.”

The popularity of the oven-ready pizzas for fundraisers has only grown with time, and Mike couldn’t even estimate how many organizations they’ve worked with over the years.

“We get a lot of repeats, and we get some new ones. It is really a good, easy sale that everyone likes. Everyone says the pizzas pretty much sell themselves.”

At the end of the day, Mike and his family are aware of how much the community’s support has meant to them and their business over the years.

“We really just thank the Clarion community for the last 45 years and thank all of our dedicated workers over the years. Without our workers and the support of the community, we wouldn’t even be here,” Mike said.

As luck would have it, Mike was actually able to find and purchase the original sign from Harry’s Pizza in Clarion a few years ago. He had the sign refurbished and repainted, and the neon replaced by Jim Colwell, in Knox, and keeps the sign in his garage.

In honor of their 45th Anniversary, Pizza Pub will be offering the following specials next week:

Monday, April 23: Harry’s Pizza Special, $0.50 per slice (plain or pepperoni only), half tray (14 slices) for $7.00, full tray (28 slices) for $14.00 (Two tray limit).

Tuesday, April 24: Any 12-inch Sub or Wedgie for $3.75 (special orders do not apply).

Wednesday, April 25: $2.00 off any large pizza, $1.50 off any medium pizza, $1.00 off any small pizza, and all appetizers 45% off (excluding wings).

Thursday, April 26: Strombolis for $3.95 (special orders do not apply).

There will also be registration available for both daily prize drawings and a grand prize drawing.