A legacy baked in for 40 years

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

June 15, 2026

GREEN BAY – Frank Hanold – co-owner of Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream in Green Bay – said a recent conversation with a longtime customer reminded him of how rare his family’s business longevity is.

The customer, Frank said, still has an old Green Bay phone book, which lists numerous pizza restaurants that once operated in the area – many of which have since closed. 

“He said, ‘I have the 1977 phone book with all the pizza places in it, and there is probably not one of them left except for you guys,’” he said.

Frank said for him and Terri – his wife and fellow co-owner – the conversation carried special meaning.

Nearly 40 years after taking over the restaurant as teenagers, Frank said he and Terri are still serving customers, employing dozens of people and welcoming families who have celebrated birthdays, graduations and other milestones at Happy Joe’s across multiple generations.

The couple said they also remain deeply involved in the community they have called home their entire lives.

Their career-long emphasis on community connection, Frank said, was recognized last month at the Happy Joe’s 2026 Annual Conference, where he and Terri received the Community Outreach Award.

Terri, Frank said, also received the Joe’s Spirit Award – which, per happyjoes.com, recognizes franchisees, team members or community leaders who consistently embody the brand’s core values, spread joy and demonstrate a commitment to making a positive impact in their local communities.

The Hanolds said the Green Bay location was additionally named one of the system’s Top 5 dine-in restaurants and received an Excellence in Reinvestment Award for recent facility upgrades.

The recognition, the couple said, reflects values they have held since the beginning.

“When we received the Community Outreach Award, it was incredibly humbling, because it recognizes something we have always believed: a successful business should be an active part of the community we serve,” Terri said.

Growing up with Happy Joe’s

Terri said her Happy Joe’s story began when she first started working at the pizza joint at 15. 

Frank, she said, joined the restaurant at 18, taking a part-time job making pizza dough to earn extra income.

At just 19, the couple – who were dating at the time – said the opportunity to become owners came along, shifting the course of their future. 

The Hanolds said the road to ownership – now spanning 40 years – was far from easy.

Frank said an existing owner, an accountant, served as a mentor and helped guide them through financial matters.

The former ownership group, he said, also co-signed the loan that allowed them to purchase the franchise.

Hanold said like many small business owners, the early years came with challenges.

“We lived at home with our parents for a while and went a couple of years not really getting paid,” he said.

But the sacrifices, Frank said, paid off.

“We started out with four employees back in 1986, and now we have about 40 on the schedule, and a nice success story,” he said.

Over the years, Frank said the business has continued to evolve.

Last year, he said the restaurant made a series of updates, including a new parking lot, upgraded walk-in cooler and freezer systems and improvements to the game area. 

A lesson learned early

Terri said she credits some of her success as a co-business owner to her father – who she watched operate a sewer-cleaning business, seeing the realities of late-night calls, long weekends and a constant focus on customer needs. 

Those lessons, she said, carried into Happy Joe’s.

So, too, Terri said, did the philosophy of the company’s founder, Joe Whitty – who opened the first Happy Joe’s in Davenport, Iowa, in 1972.

Frank said community involvement has been part of the company’s foundation since the beginning, and that he and Terri embraced that expectation from the start of their ownership. 

“As two young people, that’s what they told us to do – reach out to the community and get involved [as part of doing business],” he said. 

Terri said for her, the reasoning is simple.

“I always simply thought that you give and you get,” she said. “Give one way, and God blesses you in other ways.”

Building a business through community

The Hanolds said community involvement also played an important role in building the business in their early years as owners, when marketing resources were limited. 

Terri said she spent countless hours attending local events, handing out promotional items and building relationships.

She said she also visited adult softball leagues, distributing promotional cards that offered a free pitcher of beer in hopes of drawing customers to Happy Joe’s. 

One evening, shortly before the restaurant closed, Terri said an entire softball team arrived to redeem the offer.

Those players, she said, became customers, which led to their workplaces becoming customers and their friends becoming customers.

“But it took a lot of effort to get there,” she said.

Terri said that grassroots approach remains central to the business today, with the restaurant hosting fundraising nights that return 20% of sales to participating organizations.

She said it also sponsors local sports teams; donates raffle prizes; supports golf outings and other benefit events; provides pizza for fundraisers; and supplies incentive certificates for reading programs.

Terri said organizations can purchase pizza from Happy Joe’s for $2.75 per slice and resell it for $4 to $5 as part of fundraising efforts.

The restaurant, she said, prepares, boxes and transports the pizza to events. 

The Hanolds said the restaurant also provides VIP certificates for athletes in the Miracle League of Green Bay, supports the Brown County Library’s Summer Reading Program, donates to school incentive programs and offers a free dinner each month for Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Match of the Month recipients.

School groups, they said, also regularly tour the restaurant.

Each year, Terri said West De Pere School District brings groups of 4K students through the restaurant over several days, and other schools schedule similar visits.

The outreach, she said, continues year-round, with softball and other sporting event sponsorships and involvement picking up this time of year.

Recently, Terri said she appeared as Happy the Dog – the company’s Dalmatian mascot – to throw out the first pitch at a Green Bay Blue Ribbons baseball game.

“It’s kind of fun,” she said. “It’s funny when you’re in the costume and smiling inside, but nobody sees that.”

‘You’re at everything’

Terri said community involvement has become so synonymous with the business that customers often comment on it.

“I hear from people, ‘You’re at everything,’” she said.

One recent example of this, Terri said, was the Green Bay East High School athletic golf outing, where Happy Joe’s provided catering, sponsored a hole and donated raffle prizes.

The pizza-focused menu, she said, helped organizers keep costs down and direct more proceeds to the school’s athletic program.

Terri said she receives about 20 donation requests every couple of weeks, though Frank said the actual volume is likely higher.

Even so, the couple said they aim to support as many of the hundreds – and sometimes thousands – of annual requests as possible.

Frank said this commitment intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the restaurant continued supporting community organizations despite uncertainty.

That support, Terri said, came full circle when local residents rallied behind the business during COVID-19.

“The support we received from the community was quite impressive,” she said.

The feeling attached to it

The Hanolds said they believe their success ultimately comes down to relationships.

Their goal for customers, Terri said, is a simple one. 

“We just want people to leave [the restaurant] a little happier than when they came in,” she said.

Frank said that idea reflects a philosophy often repeated by Happy Joe Whitty, a mindset he continues to pass on to employees. 

“I have always said, ‘I want to treat a guest as I’d expect to be treated,’” he said.

Frank said he encourages employees to engage with guests rather than simply checking tables, as a way to reinforce the culture they have worked to build. 

“We want someone to say ‘hi’ to the kids, ask how their day was, get involved with these people in the short window we have and make a connection,” he said. 

Frank said the approach has helped create a unique emotional connection with customers.

“There is a cult following,” he laughed. “There’s always a memory attached to [visiting Happy Joe’s] – a feeling attached to it.”

Terri said she hears those stories often.

On any given day, she said the dining room reflects decades of community history – from graduation crowds to generations of families who have continued to celebrate birthdays and milestones at the restaurant.

“A family recently celebrated [their] twins turning 18, and they said they have celebrated every birthday at Happy Joe’s,” she said.

More than a franchise

At the annual conference, Happy Joe’s leadership highlighted the Hanolds as an example of the brand’s mission in action – recognizing the Hanolds’ community involvement, as well as their partnership that has helped sustain the restaurant for four decades.

Within the franchise system, Terri said she is often viewed as the hospitality and relationship-building force, while Frank oversees operations, food quality and execution.

“She is the face of Happy Joe’s in Green Bay,” he said. “It may be a franchise, but to the local community, it’s a mom-and-pop shop.”

Frank said he is proud to see his wife recognized for the time and effort she puts into giving back to the community. 

As the Hanolds reflect on four decades of ownership, they said they credit their longevity to a simple formula.

“We haven’t built this business on just one thing,” Terri said. “It’s been a combination of treating people well, delivering quality food, supporting our community, adapting when necessary and consistently showing up for our guests year after year.”