Hot July Nights!

We were asked by the work crew for Hot July Nights to serve them pizza when they set up for Peter Frampton and The Beach Boys! We were very honored that the crew asked for us! In return, we are getting tickets that we will be using as part of a drawing! This is so exciting! Cliff would love to get the opportunity to meet one of the Beach Boys backstage! Wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake!

Esther Short Park Concerts in the Park - Vendor Spot

We were selected to be one of the vendors at the Concerts in the Park at Esther Short Park from July 10 through the end of August. So . . . every Wednesday from 12 to 1 p.m. and every Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., we will down at the Park serving pizza slices, sodas, maybe some fresh fruit and cookies.

This is our first year to do this and we are excited, honored and just a little bit nervous about that many people! I am told there may be as many as 5,000 there! But we aren't the only food vendor so that will help!

It should be a very fun time and I already have a good crew lined up so we should be just fine!

Hopefully we'll see many of our regulars at Esther Short Park enjoying the concerts!

Southwest Washington Health Department Score

HURRAY!!! I am so proud of my crew! Today the Health Department was in and we scored a ZERO! That is a PERFECT score! We all work so very hard to achieve that number and we are elated to have received it! Thanks my VPC team!!

Crust Made with Whole Wheat

I have been noticing that there is a chain who is now advertising 100% Whole-Wheat Crusts. I wonder if they put anything else in the crust besides just the basic ingredients. We tried to do a 100% Whole-Wheat Crust and the staff absolutely loved it. It was a very simple recipe using only a handful of healthy ingredients. But we discovered that most customers who tested it didn't want that much of a wheat taste. That's why we went with a mix of coarse whole wheat flour and our unbleached original flour. Healthy is what we are striving for and that's the reason that we use honey rather than sugar, why we use olive oil rather than shortening, and why we do not add any fillers or "fake ingredients" to our dough!

Whole-grain products have more than triple the fiber, more iron, more calcium and double the protein. Also, keep in mind that when grains are refined, other nutrients, such as vitamin E, vitamin B6 and magnesium, are removed. Many whole-grain products have added sugars and other ingredients that you can certainly live without. As an example, look at some of the products on the market that advertise their product as "natural." I'm not sure what the "natural" means in some products, because even though all the ingredients - including added sugar, soybean oil, calcium sulfate, cultured wheat starch, sugar cane fiber, molasses, etc. - are "natural" as opposed to "fake," that doesn't mean they ought to be in your bread or pizza. So be careful when someone says 100% Whole Wheat - you need to be certain that it doesn't contain a lot of other ingredients your body doesn't need.

You can be confident that, at Vancouver Pizza, we will always strive to being you quality and healthy pizza!

Vancouver Pizza British Columbia Canada

Nope, we're not located in Vancouver, British Columbia. We are located in Vancouver, Washington. But we are sure worth the drive! So if you are ever traveling south on Interstate 5, please stop in and see us. Just take the Fourth Plain exit off I-5 and head west to Main Street. Take a left and we are on the left at 2219 Main Street. Check out our website at www.vancouverpizza.net for hours and our fantastic selection of gourmet pizzas!

And say hello to Karen, the owner - I am Canadian - born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba! Let me hear some of those "ehs!"

Father's Day and Barbequing

If you come into the restaurant, you will see this huge barbeque just waiting to be used! It's part of our Father's Day drawing at Vancouver Pizza! Just spend $30 and fill out the entry form before June 13, 2008. What a great gift for dad (or yourself!).

Draft Beer

Denny and crew came in from Stein and installed our new kegerator along with 4 beers. Right now, it's Mirror Pond, Hefenweizen, Fat Tire and a seasonal which is Alaskan summer ale for now. We are very excited about the addition of the draft beer. Now we just have to learn how to pour it so that it gets the nickel foam on the top just right!

You can also check out the nice variety of wines we have in also. I'll do a list here as soon as I have something accessible!

Enjoy - Good Friends and Family and Vancouver Pizza - what a masterpiece!

Phone Book listing

We just received our new phone book and I wanted to make sure that Vancouver Pizza was listed in it. Sure enough, it was. The odd thing was that just under ours is a listing for Van Pizza. Odd! I seem to remember that it may be one of the chains that have their listing like that. I wonder how many people get confused and call that number instead of ours?

The Columbian Review

What a fantastic weekend we had at Vancouver Pizza! Karen Persson did such a delightful review on us and we had so many new customers because of it. We were definitely hopping the whole weekend trying to make sure that everyone had the quality and service they deserve and that we expect of ourselves. We certainly hope that we accomplished our goals!

Honey Wheat Crust

We tried another batch of our honey wheat crust and we are so excited about it. Ryan (my son) tried the Rossini (C11) - our house BBQ sauce, BBQ chicken, red peppers, green peppers, red onions, low fat mozzarella and cheddar cheese. I cannot believe how fantastic it tasted!

I am in the process of researching the benefits of the whole wheat flour over white flour for diabetics. I am also wondering if Weight Watchers will be able to use it in their food exchanges.

This is such an exciting time for us at Vancouver Pizza! And we are so fortunate to have a great staff and customers who care about us! Thanks again for voting us Best of Clark County 2008!

DELIVERY

The fastest way to order pizza from Vancouver Pizza is to call us at 360-750-1176. You can have high-quality pizza delivered to your house! We also have take n bake available.

Outdoor Seating and Vancouver Discovery Walk

Wow! It was beautiful today! We did a lot of yardwork before we had to be at the store. And the sun kept right on shining once we got there. We had so many people eating outside and there was much laughter and enjoyment. It's always such a boost when the sun is shining! There were a lot of people walking by this afternoon too because of the Vancouver Discovery Walk. Ah! Summer - you are almost here!

Take N Bake Pizza

Did you know that we do take 'n bake pizza? We have been doing it since we first owned the restaurant and it was offered before that also. It's a wonderful idea especially if you are traveling to another city and want to take one of our delicious pizzas with you! We had one customer who stopped by on her trip from Arizona to Seattle (she does so everytime she makes this trek) and she bought a take 'n bake Mozart! What a great idea!

We'll put the pizza in one of our boxes and give you directions on how to cook it a home so that you know exactly what to do! Then just enjoy!

Whole Wheat Crust. www.vancouverpizza.net

Wow! Something else exciting is happening at Vancouver Pizza! We are in the midst of trying to perfect a crust made with whole wheat flour! And it will use honey rather than sugar!

One of my employees, Andy, is working right along beside me lending his excellent math and chemistry skills! He's a real joy to work with!

We should be announcing the whole wheat crust any day now, so stay tuned!

Here's to a healthy, happy you!!!

Tip the Principal Night

We're really getting excited about our Second Annual Tip the Principal Night on May 7, 2008. Principal Sean McMillan from Hough Elemantary will be busy working in the dining room and the kitchen as he raises money for Hough Elementary. Be sure to visit us that night for either dine in, take out or come by and see us and then order a pizza for delivery! Any extra money you wish to donate may be put in an envelope marked for Hough.

We will be giving 30% of our sales that night to Hough along with whatever tips Sean receives. Last time we were able to raise around $1,000!

Tornadoe Swim Team Receives Check!

Congratulations to the Tornadoe Swim Team! We were able to raise $175 for them during the month of March 2008! Every time they came in to eat, they earned a percentage of their sales to use for their team! What an enjoyable bunch of people. And it turns out that one of the coaches is a swimming instructor at Club Green Meadows - it's such a small world!

Customer Comments

Here's what Katie N. had to say about our restuarant: "What a pleasant experience! A friend raves about VPC and so we checked it out. You have a rich history, an incredible staff, wonderful patrons and delicious food!" Thanks Katie!

Best of Clark County 2008

A big hug goes to all of you in Clark County who voted for us! We were so excited when The Columbian told us that we had won Best of Clark County 2008! So much of our success is due to you, our customer, and to our fantastic team! We definitely appreciate the vote of confidence in our little "home away from home" and we will certainly do all that we can to live up to the expectations we have set for ourselves and what you have come to expect from us!

We have to say thank you to The Columbian also - what a wonderful way to pull Clark County together!

Thanks, again, Vancouver! Karen, Cliff, Kristen, Ryan and the rest of the VPC Family

VISIT US AT WWW.VANCOUVERPIZZA.NET

Please visit our website at Vancouver Pizza Co.
to view our menu, join our VIP Club, get driving directions, etc.

We look forward to seeing you soon!! Karen, Cliff and the Crew

The Art of Pizza, Tastefully Done!

Ahhh!! The smell of fresh pizza bread permeates the restaurant now! What a glorious scent! And the sound of laughter and chatter fills the air! How delightful!

It has been at least four weeks now since we opened our doors for our soft opening. Thank you Vancouver for making our comeback such a success! It has been such a blessing to see all of you!

Many of you have been waiting so patiently and I thank you - you gave us time to get our staff trained and, although it will take a few more weeks to get up to speed, I believe that they are doing their best to keep up with the pace!

Come on in and see us! We still have the same menu except we have added 3 new salads - my favorite of which is the Renaissance - romaine lettuce, red onions, cranberries, apple wedges, bleu cheese crumbles served with either honey mustard dressing or raspberry walnut vinaigrette.

When you come in, look UP - there are new tiles in now thanks to Leith and Sherry, and Mr. Ford's art class! I'm so grateful to them because the loss of my ceiling tiles was very devastating to me! Thank you!

See you soon!!! Karen and the VPC Team

WE'RE OPENING THE DOORS!

Yes, we are finally opening our doors! We started gradually taking orders during the past week and will hopefully be up and running smoothly in the next few weeks! We have been having a bit of a time with our ovens - the top was finally fixed yesterday. So, in the meantime, we would ask that you please be patient with the new staff and us also! We will attempt to remedy any unintentional mistakes and would appreciate any comments or concerns being directed to us. We definitely appreciate all of you who have stuck with us during this time and are committed Vancouver Pizza Family!

We will still be unofficially closed for lunch until February 12 to allow the staff another week to get used to the lunch hour. If you have any large orders you would like to put in, please email me at info@vancouverpizza.net during this next week!

Thanks again!!! Karen, Cliff and the VPC Family

Menu is now on our website!

Many, many thanks to Toni at Cascade Web Design for the hours and hours she has spent creating and tweaking and editing our website! What a beautiful creation! Also, she has put our new menu on line which should easily print out for your use!

One more thing checked off our list!! Thank you Toni - you are a gem!!

FIRST PIZZA IS A MOZART!!

We made our first pizza on Thursday! And it was DELICIOUS! We can hardly wait to share the flavors with you! We are slowly getting the new staff trained and the old staff re-trained! Everything is so different in the store that sometimes we feel we are just turning in circles because we had been used to doing the same things for 6 1/2 years. But the new will be even better in a lot of ways!

We are taking one day at a time so please don't come beating down the doors yet! We know it has been a very long time and we appreciate your patience. There have been so many little things to get together - since I lost all my paperwork and computer disks, I have had to retype everything. And since we did not have enough money to hire additional people to help out, Kristen and I and Ryan have done the majority of the work after the contractors left. We have been spending hours and hours completing this project so that we can see you again!

Vancouver - you are incredible! We again continue to be amazed at how loyal and supportive you are!

Tentative opening will be sometime in the next 2 weeks! Oh! to see your faces again! Karen

First batch of dough rolls out!!!

We spent last night, January 8, making dough until 10:30 p.m.! I, of course, got all teary eyed - just can't believe that we are this close. My, oh my, how sweet that dough smelled! Kristen and I fought to get our hands used to rolling it again! We'll have to get back in "pizza shape!"

We'll be training for a couple of weeks and then . . . yippee!!! We should be open!!! Oh, goodness, I can smell those breadsticks cooking - if only we had some cheese in the store!!! Karen

Ovens are in, breadsticks can't be far behind!!!

Okay, so who would ever have known that it would take six months to get Vancouver Pizza up and running? I sure would not have!!! What a learning curve!!! But it is really shaping up! Eric of Alpine Design is working feverishly to get the last minute counter tops and shelving done! What an amazing job he is doing with the woodwork! Our ovens are in and ready to be fired up and used!!! Our new soda machine was installed this week. We moved our dear ol' dough machine in yesterday (December 5) with the help of Scott Cameron, Eric, Jeff and Harry's Locksmith (well, really Pat loaned us their safe mover but not his muscle - what's up, Pat!!! Hey, we did appreciate the "lift!"). Bryce of TDK Electric came in and wired it up for us and with great apprehension we threw the breaker and hit the switch! But it wouldn't start up! I ran and got the safety cage, we hooked it back on and Presto!!! it worked! Hurrah!! One more thing checked off the list!!

Let me share with you some amazing things that have happened - even better than whether a shelf was built!!! I had a wonderful man, John and his dog, Barney, come by the store the other day and give me a picture of his dog and him. Attached to the picture was a crisp $100 bill! Then today, Wednesday, a lady walking down the street handed me a bill and said "I want you to use this for napkins." She wouldn't tell me her name; she just smiled and continued walking down Main Street. I unrolled the bill and it was $100!! We had just received a shipment for our paper towels and holders that came to $123! Coincidence??!! I don't think so!!! Thank you my angels in disguise! Daily, I am touched by the emails I receive or the words that are spoken, the help that is given or the gifts that are bestowed. Blessings to all of you, once again!!

Vancouver Pizza will rise again - even better than before. But my prayer is that the community has been united somehow throughout all of this - that you have felt a part of something bigger than yourself at work! Hugs! Karen, Cliff and the VPC Family

Sip 'N Stroll Was a Huge Success!

We had so much fun at Sip 'N Stroll this past Saturday night(December 2)! There were many more people than last year who came through enjoying the music and participating in the wine tasting at various businesses! We enjoyed opening our doors to all of our old customers and potential new ones to let you get a better glimpse of the new VPC! The band, Revolve, consisting of Micah and Kristen Dodson, Bryce and Brent was awesome!!! We loved the music! Kristen, you have an amazing voice!!

Thanks to Erica who made some absolutely divine almond roca! We just couldn't stop eating it and anyone who tasted it was hooked!!!

Next year - PIZZA and wine!!!!

We are still making progress!!!

Well, it has been awhile since I blogged on here! We have been very busy with our remodel! We have all the painting done and the floor was just finished tonight! So, we will be working on starting to pull some of the loose ends together!

We continue to be in need of employees! Over the age of 18 and able to deliver are two important requirements!

A special thank you goes out to LSW Architects for all their help with our rebuild! And to Scott and Sam and their crew at Scott Mikel & Associates Real Estate who helped us paint and install some of our ceiling tiles! Thanks to Eric and Eric of Alpine Design who have done a wonderful job with the counters and trim work. Leith, you are my, oh! so very talented artist. Also, a big hug to my two kids, Kristen and Ryan, for always being there when I need you!!! There are many others - you know who you are - hugs to all of you!!!

When are we re-opening? That remains to be seen! We hope to be up and somewhat operational by the middle of December! In the meantime, if I don't have your email address, please be sure to send it to me at info@vancouverpizza.net so that you are included in our updates! Thanks for all of you who are so loyal and patient!!! Karen, Cliff and the VPC Family!

Check this out!!!

We are now on myspace!!!!

http://www.myspace.com/vancouverpizza

GREAT EMPLOYEES NEEDED!!

We are taking applications for individuals willing to work in our fun pizza restaurant. Please email us at info@vancouverpizza.net and request an application.

The right individual for the position will possess a high level of customer service, be 18 years of age, have a valid driver's license plus two years' driving experience.

You will be expected to learn all aspects of the restaurant including driving, answering phones, making pizzas, cleaning, making dough, greeting customers, taking orders, etc.

We are a drug-free workplace.

Contact us at info@vancouverpizza.net. Thank you!

VPC Contest!!!!!

We need your input!!!! What is YOUR favorite pizza? Is it one we have on our menu? Or do you have any creations of your own?! We'd love to hear from you!!!!

Your name will then be entered into a DRAWING and the WINNER and their family will be our GUEST at the pre-opening of the new Vancouver Pizza!!!

Email us at info@vancouverpizza.net or join the blog and let us know!

Get your red hot t-shirts!!!!!

VPC clothing line!

T-shirts now available: 15 dollars each or two for 25$

Botticelli, get in my belly!

s, m, l, xl, in both women's and unisex. special size orders available upon request.

I heart the mozart!!

s, m, l, xl, in both women's and unisex. special size orders available upon request.

i heart VPC

s, m, l, xl, in both women's and unisex. special size orders available upon request.

Uptown Village Festival : August 19th-20th, 2006

For those of you who attended the Uptown Village Festival, it was great to see you!! Hope you enjoyed our burgers and got a chance to buy our new t shirts and/or mugs. If you didn't get a chance to make it to the festival, we missed you! We had a really great time, the weather was beautiful, and we still have t shirts and mugs available if you would like to order one. Here are some photo highlights of the festival!!!!

Friends of the Carpenter

Here is team VPC flipping burgers at the Friends of the Carpenter Dance...



***FYI***


We’ll be at the 13th Annual Uptown Village Street Festival on August 19-20th! We won’t have pizza and our store won’t be open but we’ll be there! We’ll be selling Teriyaki Burgers, our very own “much-asked-for-and-missed” Derron’s Delights, cookies, pop and T-shirts. We’d love for you to come by, say hello and eat with us! It’ll be just like old times!!!

While you’re visiting us, enter to win FREE PIZZA. The lucky winner will receive a FREE PIZZA EVERY MONTH FOR A YEAR! It just can’t get any better than that!!!

See you there!! www.uptownvillage.com

Vancouver Pizza Visits Smith Tower

We certainly are getting "around!" Excuse the pun but we visited Smith Tower today for their 40th Anniversary BBQ! Michelle invited us to join them and we are certainly glad we did! Niki treated us to a grand tour of the Tower including the 14th floor. What an amazing view from up there of the Columbia and the I-5 bridge! Michelle also had such kind words about us and volunteered to help in any way! What a sweetheart! We could see that they really love and care about the people living there - it was evidence in their smiles, in the way they knew the residents and in the way they spoke to the residents. Thank you for caring! Karen, Kristen and Ryan

Out in the Community

Here is team VPC preparing the wall near Carnelian Rose Tea for the Mural Project!!! We scraped, sanded, and painted to help get the wall ready to be beautiful again! We were really glad to be apart of the process.

Pictures of Demolition.

A frontal view of where the ovens used to be, and the kitchen area.
Food prep, dish pit, and part of the walk in area.
Front view of the entire store.
A side view of the ovens leading back to the walk in and the rear of the store.
The Bathroom.
Back hallway and door to bathroom.

Continuing the Journey

The past four weeks have flown by so quickly! We feel, though, that we have been standing still even amidst a flurry of activity! Our family (which includes our employees!) have worked very hard getting everything out of the building. (You should have seen Ryan swinging the 20 lb sledgehammer!!) And Robert and Chris from Designers Northwest are to be thanked for their continued involvement along with Compass Church, our dear friends and many others. Again, thank you!

Demolition is set to begin on Monday, July 17 and will entail taking out walls, the drop ceiling and the floor, etc. In the meantime, LSW, our architect neighbors, have been working very diligently trying to come up with some new floor plans! We are so thankful to them!

We continue to receive emails and encouragement and are so appreciative of that. There is really nothing physically that can be done at this time as a contractor is involved. We continue to solicit your prayers for us and, if you have time before Monday, come on down and sign our front door. It might be blocked off during demolition from Monday through Wednesday. I hope to incorporate that door, somehow, into the inside of the store. Ideas????

Many of you have asked about being able to give gifts. At first we said no, thank you, but we have since decided (after receiving many emails concerning this) that we will accept gifts which can be made payable to Vancouver Pizza/McMillen and mailed to us at 2219 Main Street, Vancouver, WA 98660. Your name will appear on some sort of a placard or wall hanging to show our gratitude. I thought about putting name plates on chairs if you wanted to "buy" one but decided that might wreak havoc if someone was sitting in "your" chair and you wanted it! I can just visualize that and kind of chuckle at the thought! Anyway, we will have a place inside the store for your name to go!

We remain grateful to customers like those on this blog site who have such kind words. We still continue to be amazed at how much our pizza home is yours also! Karen, Cliff, Kristen, Ryan, Becky, Kerri, Shar, Emily and Danielle

We Heart Our Customers!!!

We need your input!!!! What is YOUR favorite pizza? Is it one we have on our menu? Or do you have any creations of your own?! We'd love to hear from you!!!!

Your name will then be entered into a DRAWING and the WINNER and their family will be our GUEST at the pre-opening of the new Vancouver Pizza!!!

Clean up Crew!

Community Volunteers to help us clean up. Thank you!


Damage to the back all way leading out the door.


Ceiling Damage above the dining room ruining the beautiful artwork.


Dining room wall hosting our featured artist: Bob Byrd.
A piece of Bob Byrd’s artwork that was damage.


Smoke damage to the wall after we took down Bob Byrd’s artwork.


Damage to the prep room, where the fire began. You can see how all of our appliance melted and deformed together.

A hole, caused also by damage on the wall separating the prep room from the dining room, leading to the front window.


Another picture on the wall damaged.
our very own Becky scrubbing away!

Journey of Destruction, Loss, and Renewal.

This site is a temporary place for you to follow along as we post progress updates on our rebuilding journey. In the next few days and weeks, we'll post news updates and photos, so you can follow along. We’ve gone through many emotions since standing outside Vancouver Pizza Company watching the firefighters work. We as a family have experienced anger, sadness, heartache, and joy when we think about the situation that we find ourselves in. We have invested our hearts and souls in this little restaurant, and this tragedy has brought us much pain because of that investment. However, we know joy though this tragedy also…as we find our family of four growing exponentially through our dedicated employees, loyal business friends in Uptown Village, and in you, our wonderful customers. The calls, e-mails, prayers, words of encouragment, support and offers of help and time are amazing to us. We rebuild because of YOU. Thank you, and we look forward to once again serving you the best pizza in the world!
Thank you
Karen, Cliff, Kristen, Ryan, and the rest of the VPC Team.