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Pizza Ranch boss taps into achievers' minds |
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By Rosemary McCoy
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Tuesday, 07 August 2007 |
The Question and Answer feature helps readers learn more about prominent people in the business community. This issue’s Q&A profiles Todd Pharis president of The Pizza Ranches in Tea, Hartford, Lennox and Canton. Pharis and his partners in Tea are opening a restaurant in Sioux Falls this fall.
 Todd Pharis says he decided as a child that he would have his own business someday. (Inerrtia/for the SFBJ)
Name: Todd Pharis
Title: President of The Pizza Ranches in Tea, Hartford, Lennox, Canton and Sioux Falls; also owns Pharis Properties with his wife
Hometown: Dallas, Texas; moved to Groton when he was 12
Age: 45
Background: Graduated from Groton High School and from the University of South Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in business management with an emphasis in finance; worked for GE Capital in Los Angeles and London for 10 years doing inventory finance and leveraged buyouts; moved back to South Dakota in 1994 to be an entrepreneur and raise his family; that year he bought into The
Pizza Ranch in Brandon, opened one in Hartford and bought the one in Lennox; has owned and later sold The Pizza Ranches in Brookings and Madison
Family: Wife, Patty; two sons, Michael, 16, and Austin, 12; and
a daughter, Abbey, 13
Q: Tell me about your interests and hobbies.
A: “I enjoy spending time with my family. My hobbies are boating, snowmobiling and golf. My favorite is watching my kids participate in athletics.”
Q: How did you become interested in your field?
A: “I grew up in Dallas, Texas, and at a young age I had a passion for business and knew I would own my own business. My roommate from college – we played college football together at USD – he owned The Pizza Ranch in Brandon, and I bought 50 percent of the store in 1994.”
Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?
A: “The people part. I enjoy working with my partners and developing them into good leaders in their communities. I really enjoy knowing that we build a strong business in the communities around Sioux Falls. We provide jobs and sales tax revenue for the smaller communities, and that’s so important to them.”
Q: What advice do you have for small-business owners?
A: “The biggest mistake that any company in any industry makes is taking its best employees and customers for granted. I tell this to a lot of people. If you do this, your success is limited.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: I think the reason people go into business for themselves is so that they don’t have to work so hard in their later years. But once you understand you can do great things and achieve great things, it’s hard to quit. So it will be interesting to see if I do slow down in five to 10 years.”
Q: Pizza Ranches get involved in a lot of fundraising, right?
A: “Yes. And what we do every Monday night in addition to all the other fundraising, at each one we donate 15 percent to 20 percent of the sales to a different charity or nonprofit. That’s just the way we do business.”
Q: What’s your favorite pizza?
A: “I would have to say the Prairie, which is an all-veggie pizza. I also like the buffalo chicken. I don’t know which one is better!”
Q: How do you find time to balance your work and your family?
A: “In my role as president of the businesses that I’m involved in, I also understand that the most important role I have is to be a great husband and a father to my three children. We’re a close family; we do a lot together.”
Q: What’s your favorite getaway?
A: “Locally, it would be Lake Madison. Our favorite vacation place is Kaanapali Beach on Maui.”
Q: What kind of music is in your car or what do you listen to on the radio?
A: “It depends on if my kids are with me – probably hip-hop or rap. If it’s just me, I listen to talk radio. My favorite artist is Billy Joel.”
Q: If you could have dinner with two or three people, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?
A: “The first would be Jesus Christ. We could all learn a lot just from meeting him. I try to do this every week, to meet and visit with people I think are exceptional and try to gain some knowledge. I’ve met with Jeff Broin from Poet, Miles Beacom from Premier Bankcard and Al Spencer with Patriot Homes, just to try to learn from them and understand how they’re so successful.”
Q: What are the best and worst things about living in the Sioux Falls area?
A: “Sioux Falls and the surrounding communities are just great places to start a business and raise a family. ... I can’t think of any bad things. The problems we have are small.” |