Happy Joe’s Pizza in Crookston attended the annual Happy Joe’s conference in Iowa and stole the show, bringing home three major awards for their efforts in 2023.
The Crookston Happy Joes received the following honors at the conference
- Coach of the Year
- Best Remodel of the Year
- Operators of the Year
- Joined the 1 Million Dollar Gold Club for 2022 and 2023
The store manager in Crookston, Brooke Cavalier, specifically received the Coach of the Year award for the second straight year and received high praise from the president of Happy Joe’s Pizza, Tom Sacco. “She’s been phenomenal; she’s gone back to back coach of the year awards,” said Sacco, “What she’s done to improve service and the quality of food, and Crookston is ahead of everyone. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about Grand Forks or in the quad cities. She’s been the role model and the poster child of what you would want the head coach of a Happy Joe’s to be.”
Co-owner of Crookston Happy Joe’s, Jake Fee, also commented on Brooke and her outstanding job not only managing the store but also about what she has done for the entirety of her time at Happy Joe’s. “She’s received this award three times now,” said Fee, “There’s quite a few franchises out there, so it’s a great honor for Brooke to have received it for these years. We’re extremely proud of her. She runs a good store and is well-respected throughout the franchise.”
Crookston brought home the Best Remodel of the Year award for the additions presented in the store, such as digital arcade games. Sacco commented that the Crookston store did the best job modernizing its store while keeping the traditional Happy Joe’s experience. “They’ve taken this building and tried to incorporate new elements,” said Sacco, “They did a great job incorporating today’s feel and what today’s consumers are looking for because that’s the stuff that’s important.”
The last major award that Crookston Happy Joe’s owners, Jake Fee and Ellie Koepp, received was the Operators of the Year award. Sacco described this award as ‘being the MVP of the league,’ it is the highest honor a Happy Joe’s store can receive. “This is the last and most prestigious award we give out,” said Sacco, “There’s been a couple of years where we didn’t give the award out because the criteria couldn’t be met. The criteria are based on cleanliness, quality of food, following recipes, marketing of the building, and what you invest in the building, which is a pillar in the community.”
This is the first time in history that Crookston Happy Joe’s received this honor. From all of us at KROX, we would like to congratulate Happy Joe’s and all the current employees who serve there.
