A family affair

Downtown restaurant hits milestone

By Olivia Coffin

Contributing Writer

GREEN BAY – This year marks 50 years since Ronald “Jake” Jacobson opened Jake’s Pizza and 10 years since the business was reopened by Cara Sanders and her sister, Brook.

 “It took us a while to get everything set and opened, but it was worth it,” Brook said.

The sisters were working together at another restaurant when Jim Rivett mentioned the idea of reopening Jake’s.

“We didn’t know Jake before, so I tracked him down. My husband told me to look him up in the phone book. I called him, we met with him, and the rest is history,” Cara said.

Jake stayed and worked with the Sanders sisters until January 2022.

Brooke and Cara still use Jake’s original pizza recipe.

“My husband does all the stuff Jake used to do in the old days… Jake taught us everything. He taught us his knowledge, and his recipe and gave us his blessing which was so important to us. We had to learn how to do it because we’re making everything. From making the dough and the sauces to our sausage for the pizzas and everything else. Jake’s Pizza had a huge following and because of that, it comes with family and memories,” Cara stated.

“Jake’s is the centerpiece of a lot of people’s family celebrations. A family said they come here for every birthday or anniversary. Or they’ve gotten engaged here. Our customers are our family, we know about their lives and their kids, and they know about us.”

And family they are, Brook ended up meeting her partner at Jake’s.

When COVID-19 hit, the customers family aspect truly played a huge role in helping them stay open.

“It was St. Patrick’s Day when we shut down, it was terrifying,” Brook said.

Cara said that they had a customer buy $1,000 worth of gift certificates and had many customers buying pizzas because they told the sisters, “We want to be able to come back when this is all done.”

The sisters said their customers rallied around them and without them, they wouldn’t be here.

“Jake’s Pizza isn’t just a pizza shop, it’s a family, whether you work here or are a customer or both,” Cara said.

Jake’s Pizza is located at 112 S Broadway, Green Bay, and is open Wednesday – Sunday, 4-9 p.m.