Couple hopes for a June opening of Big D?s Pizza
It is a belief in downtown Rogers City that was a major factor in Darrin and Milanne Darga?s decision to purchase another building on Third Street. The Dargas negotiated an offer made by owner Val Vogelheim to purchase the building on the corner of Third Street and Michigan Avenue, and were waiting to officially close on the deal. Spicy Bob?s Pizza was in operation in Rogers City through Saturday night. By Monday morning, moving trucks pulled alongside the building and nearly every piece of equipment was loaded and hauled away to make room for Big D?s Pizza and Milanne Baking. The Dargas are optimistic about opening their doors on the second anniversary of their original opening on South Third Street. Fire completely destroyed their business February 12. Since the fire the couple has been exploring their opportunities, but during that time, there was one important factor that Darrin said had to be weighed heavily in the final decision: the business would have to be located somewhere downtown.
?IT WOULD have broken our hearts to leave downtown,? said Darga from his dining room table Monday morning. ?There are only a handful of people willing to commit to downtowns anymore. It takes even more to do it a second time around. I would not do it if I didn?t believe so much in it.? The cost of new construction was one of the reasons Darrin said they decided not to rebuild on the site between the former Advance building and The Painted Lady. An agreement has been reached for Painted Lady owners to purchase the parcel. A local excavator started to fill the site early Monday. ?We did not want to leave ourselves short with our operating capitol,? said Darga. ?New construction costs exceeded what we had in our operating budget. We are really going to miss being there. I think this new location is going to work real well for us.? While there was a lot of activity at the old location, the Third Street/Michigan Avenue corner is usually a buzz of activity, Darga said, with the Post Office, courthouse, city hall, harbor, and a bank, all visible from the front porch. The only restaurant equipment to be left behind by Spicy Bob?s owner Nick Aune will be an oven vent, a walk in cooler, and industrial sinks.
WHILE SPICY BOB?S had to close its doors in Rogers City, Aune said there were four franchise locations still open, including the Alpena store. Aune said unused coupons will be accepted at other locations. Spicy Bob?s had been open in Rogers City since November. Aune would like to have continued the operation for at least a year, before making any decisions about the future of t
MILANNE SAID: ?I will be excited to see all of my customers again. I am hearing word around town that people are excited to get my bread again. It is bigger, so I think that there will be more room for me. I was kind of stuck in a corner baking. I would like to try a few different things and make a better schedule about what is being baked on what days and try a few different items. I baked a bread over Easter that I may introduce to the store.? Along with introducing new breads, Milanne would like to double the variety of cookies offered. Darrin?s parents were expected to return from their home in Arizona to help get the operation off the ground. One of the next important steps will be to submit a plan to the health department to explain where all of the equipment is going to be. From there, the only questions the Dargas hope to answer are ?what topping do you want on that??