For the first time in its 79-year history, Buddy’s Pizza, the renowned brand that gave Detroit-style pizza to a grateful world, is circling the square—pretty much literally.
In a surprising twist on a hallowed tradition, customers at the chain’s locations in Grand Rapids and Portage, Michigan, are now finding round pies on the menu. Buddy’s started testing the Rendezvous Rounds on February 17 and gave away a free 10” round cheese pizza to the first 46 customers at both stores. (For those who don’t know, Buddy’s Pizza started out as Buddy’s Rendezvous before shortening its name.)
According to Buddy’s CEO Joe Dominiak, it’s all about embracing change and meeting customer demand for something a little less angular, even as pizza lovers keep going crazy for Detroit-style squares in other cities across the U.S.
“Pizza should make people happy, and we were hearing and seeing in the feedback from our customers in West Michigan, many of whom may not have grown up with our Detroit-style square pizza, that they would enjoy more style options, sizes and price points in their pizza experience with us at Buddy’s,” Dominiak said.
“We are responding to that input,” he went on, “and we hope the addition of the Rendezvous Rounds menu is giving people just that: more to love about dining at Buddy’s Pizza.”
Just like the squares, the round pies feature Buddy’s signature sauce, three-cheese blend and Sicilian spices. They’re offered in 10” and 14” sizes (priced at $10.49 and $13.99 respectively) for specialty rounds like the Supreme, the Meat Lovers and the Napoli. Customers can also build their own 10” round pizza for $8.49 plus $1 per topping or a 14” for $11.49 plus $1.50 per topping.
There’s even a 7” kids option, called the Lil’ Rendezvous, for $4.99. That special includes a round cheese pizza, Buddy bread and a choice of fries, fruit or steamed veggie.
Between February 17 and February 23, the two Buddy’s locations will randomly select a customer every day to receive a voucher for free Buddy’s food for a year. And on February 26, the Portage store will bring in mascot Porter the Growler of the Kalamazoo Growlers baseball team to pose for pictures with the 2024 Northwoods League Championship trophy.
“Buddy’s Pizza has been bringing people together for nearly 80 years, and we want to keep doing that, in as many neighborhoods as possible, for as long as we can,” Dominiak said. “In order to do that, and to continue to grow successfully in the future beyond Detroit, we are going to have to try some new things and embrace some changes, all for the better…both for our customers and our company.”
