Hidden Hills: Petting farm, paintball, non-GMO meat, more
From the football field to the kitchen
October 6, 2025
MANITOWOC – From patrols to pizza – Animal’s Frozen Pizza is under new ownership after former Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Deputy Lane Gosz and his wife, Alie, purchased the local business last month.
After he and Alie welcomed their son, Owen, into the world, Gosz said he began looking for a more family-friendly career.
“It’s a big change,” he said. “The main thing that triggered [the change] was having my son 10 months ago. After having him, we wanted something a little safer and a little more flexible at times, so if I needed to do stuff with him, we could take care of that.”
Gosz said Animal’s Frozen Pizza was founded by its previous owner – Lee Weichart – in 2001.
“[Weichart was] getting to the point where he’s going to retire and just relax,” Gosz said, adding that with its recent change in ownership, the business is now fully family-operated.
Since its inception, Gosz said the operation has included his mother and aunt – “the two full-time ladies who make every pizza by hand.”
When his son was born, Gosz said he decided to lean into his family connection to the business and reached out to Weichart with interest in purchasing it.
“Prior to that, I used to work here on and off to fill in and help when needed,” he said. “So, I had a little bit of a relationship with him to start and sparked a conversation based on that.”
Now that the ink has dried, Gosz said he and his family are looking forward to both maintaining the Animal’s Frozen Pizza customers have come to know and love, while simultaneously expanding the business’s distribution network and product offerings.
Handmade pizza, homegrown vendors
With each Animal’s pizza being handmade by him and his family, Gosz said locally sourced, fresh ingredients are key to maintaining the product’s quality.
“Obviously, quality is our No. 1 thing,” he said. “All of our produce and supplies come in at least twice a week. So, we try to keep everything fresh and have a standard of quality – making sure everything is up to snuff there.”
Sourcing ingredients solely from two, Wisconsin-based vendors – Badger Wholesale Foods out of Green Bay and Greco and Sons out of Oak Creek – Gosz said maintaining Animal’s Frozen Pizza’s local identity is also paramount to its success, especially in a market saturated by national and global brands.
“We try to stay local and use local ingredients as much as we can,” he said. “Obviously, there are some rules and regulations with the state [regarding] where you can and can’t get things from – making sure there’s a product guarantee and things like that. But, we, at least, try to use the local vendors.”
Though Gosz said Animal’s Frozen Pizza’s mainstay recipes will remain unchanged, he and his family are looking to introduce additional products to the business’s frozen fare line-up.
“We don’t have any plans or anticipation to change anything – my thing is, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it – and the ingredients will stay the same,” he said. “What we might change, down the road, is adding additional pizzas – some different varieties [and] possibly a breakfast pizza.”
Utilizing a freezer truck capable of storing “about 14,000-15,000 pizzas,” Gosz said he’s hoping to rebuild the company’s book of business after its previous owner ramped production down as he approached retirement.
“[He] used to have 45 or 50 accounts – just seeing that he was getting ready to retire and weaning back a little bit – [and] I think we’re at seven right now,” he said. “So, I’d like to get that back up to a few more establishments.”
Mainly distributing to Manitowoc County “gas stations and a few grocery stores” currently, Gosz said he hopes to expand the business’s network both in type of establishment and geographical location.
“We used to have accounts in Brown County, Calumet County, Sheboygan County, places like that,” he said. “I have received a couple of phone calls from those prior retailers that are looking [to reopen their account], and a few other ones that we might add along the way once we get our feet wet.”
Community-oriented operation
Born and raised in Francis Creek and an alumnus of Lakeshore Technical College, Gosz said his career in criminal justice led him to Minnesota prior to his return home to the Badger State a handful of years ago.
“For the last seven years, I was working for the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy, and prior to that, I was a TSA [agent] in Minneapolis,” he said.
Reflecting on his previous, city-based lifestyle, Gosz said he’s grateful to have made a return to his hometown community despite the culture shock it brought.
“Going from [Minneapolis] back to Francis Creek – with a population of [about] 700 people – it was a big difference,” he said. “[It’s] more homey, more comfortable. I like that sense of community and knowing people around the area who we can rely on. You help them, they help you. It’s just a community feel.”
Now the owner of a small business, Gosz said he’s looking forward to helping his community when possible, but in a different way as compared to his former career at the county sheriff’s office.
“[Animal’s Frozen Pizza] does approximately 56 fundraisers a year [for] different schools, organizations, youth groups – things like that,” he said.
Depending on demand, Gosz said they will enlist some part-time help to supply the company’s accounts and fulfill fundraising needs.
“We have a couple other individuals who’ll assist us from time to time, depending on the quantity of pizzas,” he said. “The fundraisers that are coming up are fairly large, so we have a couple extra helpers that’ll come and step in to help us.”
Currently, Gosz said he and his family are able to hand-produce “anywhere between 205-435” frozen pizzas a day.
“The only automation we have here is a sauce dispenser,” he said. “You put the crust on the machine, push the button, it spins and puts sauce on, but everything else – cheese and all the toppings – is all put on by hand.”
Though the business doesn’t have a website yet – “we do plan, at some point, to set up a website” – Gosz said he and his family have created a Facebook page where current and future customers can find a full list of retail locations carrying their favorite Animal’s Frozen Pizza.
