When Audrey Anderson took over ownership of the shop that became Audrey’s Pizza Oven in 1960, the Bozeman, Montana, pizzeria was already around 25 years old. She renamed it after herself and proceeded to become a local legend, beloved for her generosity, strength of character and motherly warmth as well as for her cracker-thin crusts.
Audrey’s Pizza Oven closed down for nearly two decades after Anderson retired in 1990 (she passed away six years later at the age of 88). But it’s a tribute to her reputation and legacy—Bozeman Magazine has named her one of the “Top 10 Iconic Women in Bozeman History”—that when Steve Schlegel revived the brand, along with Anderson’s original recipes, in 2009, it was a hit all over again.
So who will step up to keep Audrey’s Pizza Oven alive now that Schlegel can’t run it anymore?
According to KXLF, Schlegel has a separate business obligation that will prevent him from running the pizza shop in the future. “We made a commitment for another project a while ago, and we just can’t keep putting it off,” he told KXLF. He plans to close the restaurant down on May 30, but he’s still hoping to find a buyer. “We had some folks that were going to take over the business…we were going to mentor them and help them through it, and then at the last minute they weren’t able to do it.”
Audrey’s Pizza is a storied brand like few others, especially in a state like Montana, not exactly renowned for its long-running pizza shops. Anderson herself presided over the operation with a firm but loving hand, hiring—and inspiring—countless young people and serving Montana State students for decades. All these years later, folks keep coming back to relive memories and to continue the tradition of playing The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” on the jukebox repeatedly.
One story goes that Anderson fired a certain young employee in 1968 because she thought he had the potential to do more with his life than make pizza. Today, that man is an executive at Microsoft.
“You could make a go of this place just serving former employees,” one former Audrey’s employee, attorney Kayle Jackson, told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle in 2010. “She maintained a relationship with anyone who worked with her,” another former employee, Chuck Wyman, said. “She remembered everyone’s name and wanted to visit with you when you returned. A lot of us were college students when we worked for her. She was like a home away [from home].”
Schlegel was a little boy when he first met Anderson and was blown away by her dough-spinning skills and the attention she paid to him. As an older man, he decided to convert a former gas station into a restaurant and was determined to honor Anderson with it. However, he admitted in the Daily Chronicle interview, “The thought of being able to name it Audrey’s was more of a fantasy.”
Even so, he bought and installed the brick pizza ovens Anderson had used in her original location and set about trying to get his hands on her recipes. He eventually succeeded, then brought in former Audrey’s Pizza Oven employees, some of whom were in their 80s, to test out the pizzas he was making.
Schlegel finally brought Audrey’s Pizza Oven to life again in 2009 to great success. “It was embraced by the community so much, we needed a bigger spot,” he told KXLF. He eventually closed the operation down for a while before re-opening in a larger, extensively renovated building in 2021, along with Freefall Brewery. Thus Anderson’s legacy stayed alive and kept thriving.
Pizzas on the menu include the Fridley (Alfredo sauce, sausage, sauerkraut, green olives, scallions and fresh tomatoes); the Lamme (red sauce, fennel sausage, bacon, black olives and fire-roasted red peppers); and the Highland (mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes, red onions, mushrooms, Gorgonzola and a Balsamic drizzle). Sandwiches, pastas and salads round out the menu.
In its article naming Anderson one of the most iconic women in Bozeman’s history, Bozeman Magazine noted that her pizzeria “provided a venue for hundreds of first dates” and her “tough-love management style made her a substitute parent for many kids.”
No one, it seems, could turn her down when she needed help, the article continued. “Loyalty to Audrey pried sleepy employees from their beds on freezing winter nights when customers needed a pizza delivered.”
So who will save Audrey’s Pizza Oven? Schlegel hasn’t given up hope that Anderson’s venerable ovens will continue to fire up pies for years to come—if only the right buyer comes along.
As he told KXLF, “We are just looking for somebody that will actually take on her legacy and continue it, and not exploit it but actually take care of it.”
