>>> We're here at Benny's Pizza, as you can guess.

And I'm here with Fred Neumeier, the owner.

Fred, thanks for joining us this morning.

>>> You're welcome.

>>> Want to talk a little bit about your place, because it's very interesting this is interesting.

When I came in, we pulled there and we saw a lot of different places, stages and all that kind of things.

Give me a little bit of history about Benny's.

I know it used to be like a drive-in root beer place where people will pull up and get the root beer.

It's a whole different thing now.

>>> Well, the building was built back in the 40s as a Frost Top Root Beer, and that pretty much was just the kitchen back there.

This this room was added later when a person named Benny bought it.

And he added this from a dining room and he had it for 18 years.

And then my wife and I, Robin, my wife and I purchased it in 1996.

Larger patios, band stages a couple times for our outdoor music, couple outdoor bars, and then we added a carry out building across the parking lot there.

>>> When you first bought Benny's, what did you have in mind?

Did you see it blowing up like it is now to this?

>>> Well, not quite to this level, but fortunately it got here.

So.

>>> Okay.

>>> When we bought it, there were 15 employees.

And, you know, I was just looking to make a living.

And now we have over 100 employees.

A lot of them are part-time, a lot of people that's their first job out of high school.

And college kids work here now.

>>> You have bands here, you have a lot of people come out.

>>> We have live music outside beginning in late April, and that goes through mid-October, and that's generally Wednesday through Saturday.

We're closed on Sundays still.

The year we bought it, I started out with just maybe a solo guy on Friday and Saturday, and it just kind of built from that point forward.

You know, it got better and better in the early years.

And, you know, it was difficult maybe to find somebody to come out and play.

You know, maybe they're playing at some little pizza place in Marysville, Ohio.

>>> Yeah.

>>> Now, I don't even need to search.

I mean, we get all kind of people I like to play here.

It's kind of a destination place for not only Marysville, but really all of central Ohio.

>>> Of course, the primary focus in this whole thing is the pizza.

>>> Well, first of all, we have more than pizza.

>>> Okay.

>>> So we have.

>>> Yeah, you do.

>>> We do.

We have smoked meats, beef brisket.

We don't have ribs right now.

>>> Ok. >>> We're going to get them back.

We used to have those, but we have a variety of sandwiches.

We have pasta dishes.

We have some couple of fish dishes on there.

So we have a little bit of everything.

>>> This is, I would think, a community gathering spot for Marysville folks and people who come in outside from outside of Marysville.

>>> They do.

That's we'd have a big draw from Columbus.

We have a big draw from Dublin.

We have a big draw from Bellefontaine, Urbana, Marion, just all all around.

I think that, you know, we bring bands in from all those areas as well.

>>> Now, we talked about earlier that it was a drive up for people to come and get root beer on the top.

A big mug said Frost Top on there.

I noticed that it's Benny's.

But the Frost Top is still there.

What was the reason behind that?

Why did you leave it out there?

>>> Well, I was here when we bought it.

When we bought it, it was already Benny's Pizza.

It wasn't Frost Top anymore.

>>> Okay.

>>> So it just stayed there, and it's.

It's kind of a.

You know, it's it's almost kind of like a little landmark here in Marysville.

There's that root beer mug on top of the roof and just the history behind it.

And so we kept it there.

We saw no reason to take it down.

I can tell it's up there when it's where?

Windy outside.

I know that.

>>> I bet.

I bet.

I bet.

Okay.

So let's talk about the root beer.

Is not Frost Top root beer, it's your own root beer.

You all make your own root beer.

How do you do that?

And I know you have to tell me what's in it.

>>> Well, there's just a little bit of sugar in there now.

That's all I can tell you.

>>> Okay.

I had a feeling you were going to give me the whole thing.

Okay.

Okay.

>>> But no we know when we bought Benny's that that was part of the sale was the recipe to the root beer.

One of our family members actually makes it three times a week.

Good.

So we make the post-mix, and then run it through our system.

And pretty tasty.

>>> Very good.

That's very good.

I really like it.

So Fred what does it to take to run a place like this, what is what is it?

What does it take to keep it going?

>>> Well, that's a that's a tough question, but just just a lot of patience, I think.

I mean, the labor market and then the restaurant industry can, you know, be up and down.

Sometimes it's difficult to find help.

Sometimes it's not.

But it just takes a lot of hard work and a lot of consistency remaining consistent with your product.

I mean, everything on our pizzas made from scratch, from our dough to our sauce.

For me, this is my 53rd year in the restaurant business.

So I worked 17 in a restaurant in Dublin.

And so I still had a, you know, have had a following from there.

But yeah, it's just a lot of it is just word of mouth.

Yeah.

I watch people try the pizza and they enjoy it.

>>> They need to try it.

>>> Yeah,.

>>> I'll tell them now.

They need to try it.

They need to try it.

You shared with me, I think we talked earlier about being voted the best pizza, I think was the best pizza in Columbus.

And you said, but we're not.

And we're not even in Columbus.

>>> Well, right now they have a it's called the Pizza Connoisseurs of Columbus.

There is there's a fella that started that website and they have thousands of people on there.

And each year they have voting for all its members, the few thousand members and whoever to vote on the best pizza.

We've never won it, but we're not in Columbus, but we've placed in the top ten a few years ago.

So and that's coming from Marysville, not Columbus.

Actually so that kind of shows that we have a little bit of following from Columbus.

>>> A very interesting place because you've got a lot of memorabilia in here, a lot of sports memorabilia.

You like sports.

A lot of people come in like sports.

That's why you have that.

>>> That's why we have it.

We also have a lot of music, things like guitars from Eric Clapton, The Who.

I think my favorite is the actually the Pete Rose jersey, which I got that the first year we had Benny's in 96.

At that time it was the 20-year reunion of the Big Red Machine when they won the World Series in 1976.

>>> Yes.

>>> So it's autographed by the entire team.

And so that's probably my favorite piece here.

>>> Yeah.

>>> What's the future do you see, for Benny's and for yourself?

>>> Well, the future for me at Benny's is kind of winding down as I am kind of at the end of my career.

But fortunately, I have four sons that work here and it's their livelihood.

Okay.

My wife and I are hoping they remain brothers over the next 29 years.

>>> Sure.

>>> But their goal, what they want to do is they'd like to expand on Benny's more so and just the carry out locations.

So that is their plan.

And I'll probably be stepping away here, you know, in the next few years.

So I after 53 years in the restaurant business, I'll get my first Social Security check or two more.

Okay.

>>> Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

>>> So.

>>> Brett, I want to thank you f or talking with me today about that pizza.

I think a lot of people in Marysville, I'm sure I can see why they come here and see why it's a community place.

I see why a lot of people come from outside of Marysville.

So thank you.

It's very good.

>>> Well, thanks for being here.

And hopefully I see it time and time again.

>>> Yes, I think you will.

>>> Yep.