Papa Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza, a beloved pizzeria in downtown Sioux Falls, announced it will close after eight years in business. The owners shared the news in a Christmas Eve post on the restaurant’s Facebook page, stating the decision “wasn’t made lightly.”
The post did not include a specific closing date, and the Argus Leader has yet to receive a response from the restaurant regarding the closure timeline.
The owners, Lisa Esser and Steve Blumke, explained that the closure is due to financial struggles, including low foot traffic. “After fighting as hard as possible to weather this impossible storm we are all in as small business owners, we have no choice but to close our doors,” they wrote.
The couple shared that they used all of their personal funds to keep the business afloat but have “nothing left to give.” The post added, “It would take an absolute Christmas Miracle for us to be able to keep going.”
The announcement also highlighted the impact on the restaurant’s employees, noting that many of them have worked at Papa Woody’s since its opening in the Cascade Building at 775 N. Phillips Ave. in February 2022. The owners expressed regret that employees were learning of the closure on Christmas, “finding out they no longer have a ‘work family.’”
Papa Woody’s was a participant in this year’s Burger Battle with its Triple Crown Burger, a half-pound beef and brisket patty topped with fig jam, creamy goat cheese, arugula, and hot honey drizzle. The restaurant won the 2021 Burger Battle with its Uptowner Burger.
Originally a food truck in 2016, Papa Woody’s opened as a full restaurant in 2019 at 421 N. Phillips Ave. inside the Jones421 Building. In February 2022, the business moved to a larger space in the Cascade Building.
In addition to its pizza offerings, the restaurant began serving Sunday brunch last year. In August, the owners posted on social media about the challenges faced by small businesses, saying, “I don’t know if I will even know how to keep putting one foot in front of the other through this impossible situation, so please bear with us.” They ended the post with, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do…and we have not gone down without a fight.”
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