New Pioneer Pizza owners eagerly 'carry the torch' for popular establishment

PALMER — One of the most well known and popular pizza establishments in the Mat-Su Valley has new owners.

Chad and Christiana Stigen recently took over Pioneer Pizza to carry its three decade long legacy forward into the future.

Christiana said they've had a very busy start and seen a very positive reaction from the community.

"The community outpouring is really cool to watch," Christiana said.

A post announcing the change in ownership reached over 43,000 people, according to the official Pioneer Pizza Facebook page.

"We knew that people loved this place," Chad said.

Pioneer Pizza was closed for a period of time. Chad said it was his family's favorite place to order pizza from like so many other local households.

"Everybody was equally bummed it was closed for a while," Chad said.

Chad said that he grew up in Haines and helped his parents with their pizza establishment. Now, he's coming full circle with the opportunity to run a pizza place with his family. He said that all their children help out and their teenage son William is a natural in the kitchen.

"We always had the desire to get a family business. I feel like I've been smiling since the start of it because of that," Chad said.

The Mat-Su Valley has grown rapidly over the last three decades, but Pioneer Pizza has mostly stayed the same. Chad said that's one of the biggest appeals for most people, having those familiar recipes come through every order.

"I would say it's very iconic," Chad said. "People love good pizza and they love good pizza they can count on."

The previous Pioneer Pizza owners, Brian and Teresa Smith were the second set of people to run the establishment. Brian said they operated out of the same building using the same recipes that were set in place by the original owners, Greg and Nadine Simmons in 1995.

"We didn't change a thing," Brian said.

According to Brian, only a select few know the Pioneer Pizza recipes. He said it's passed down through hands-on learning and isn't written down anywhere. He said the transition to the Stigen family is going well and they'll be around to help if needed.

"I think it's going to be great," Smith said.

William said it's been really exciting having the chance to learn from Brian.

"I just like the fast pace and working," William said.

Brian said that he trained a lot of teens over the years, and for many it was their first job. He said that his children worked there as well.

"Pioneer Pizza has been a great place for us," Brian said. "It's been a long journey and we're ready to go."

Chad said they're planning to add more food options in the future that center around family pizza night, but they will always focus on the traditional recipes that made Pioneer Pizza popular to meet the public's expectations.

"We just kind of want to take it one step at a time… Right now we just want to do this very well and carry the torch," Chad said.

For more information about Pioneer Pizza, call 907-745-5400 or visit the official Facebook page. Pioneer Pizza is located at Mile 3.2 E Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com