It’s Good To Be The King
Pizza Del Re Celebrates 50 years of timeless service for generations of locals in the Chippewa Valley
David Hodorowski, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
Picture it. Eau Claire 1992. Four kids tumble out of the sliding door of our Dodge Minivan and bolt through the side door. The scent of freshly baked pizza wafts over us like a warm blanket of mozzarella cheese.
It’s “Widow’s Weekend” and we’re meeting my mom’s friend Julie and her girls. The eight of us were led to the back of the restaurant and sat in a large, warm wooden booth. (Mom prefers it that way – far away from other diners. She knows better.)
Impatience gets the best of us and we dash to the salad bar to fill our wooden parquet salad bowls with lettuce, cheddar cheese and a reckless amount of electric-hued French dressing. We’re careful not to overdo it.
The main event is already visible on the horizon. Soon we’re marveling over the freshly baked array of square cut pizzas and garlic cheese bread, stacking our tawny colored stoneware plates to max-capacity. Thin-crust sausage. Pepperoni. Another slice. And another.
After devouring the first round of heavenly squares, we lumber back for round two… and three… until we eventually end where we began: the salad bar, for one last triumphant bowl of butterscotch pudding.
Then comes the sound we’ve been waiting for: the clink of quarters sliding from mom’s purse onto the table so we can play the arcade games. Our moms lean back in the booth, catching up and enjoying a rare stretch of adult time.
We feel like royalty. Pizza fit for a king.
“Many told us stories about coming here as kids and now bringing their own children or even grandchildren.”
Vangjel Kapbardhi
owner, pizza del re
This regal event has played out weekly for many families at the legendary North Side pizza shop, Pizza Del Re (911 N. Hastings Way, Eau Claire), which celebrates its 50th anniversary this month.
I, for one, am very happy this nostalgic piece of Eau Claire’s booming past is still slinging slices well into the new millennium.
It all began in 1976, when Keith Carlson became enamored with Eau Claire while traveling back and forth from Rochester, Minn. for an adult hockey league. The town made an impression on him and before long he and his family decided to take a chance and open a pizza restaurant.
The original shop opened on London Road. Five years later, it moved to a new location on Hastings Way, in the former Bartosh Dry Cleaners building.
When it came time to name the restaurant, Carlson first suggested “Pizza King.” The name, however, was already taken.
His wife, Sally, offered an alternative – the Italian translation: del re, meaning “of the king.”
And so Pizza Del Re was born.
Carlson ran the restaurant for 45 years before finally deciding to hang up his apron in 2021. When the business was put on the market, Jeff Theisen, owner of the listing agency RE/MAX Real Estate Group in Eau Claire, noticed a clear theme in the community’s reaction.
“Most of the comments I’ve seen online so far are people hoping a new owner will take over and not change anything – they love it just the way it is,” Theisen said.
Enter Vangjel Kapbardhi.
As the owner of Dhimiters, a local Mediterranean-style food truck, Kapbardhi saw an opportunity to pick up the torch and keep it burning.
Kapbardhi immigrated to the United States from Albania with his family in 2001. They settled on Eau Claire’s North Side – just two blocks from the restaurant that had already become a local institution.
“(I am) from a country that was just coming out of communism where food was often rationed,” Kapbardhi said. “One of my earliest memories when I was maybe eight or nine walked into Pizza Del Re and saw tables full of food, people laughing, families gathering, and an all-you-can-eat buffet.
“As a kid, I remember thinking, all restaurants in America must be like this,” he continued.
20 years later, those deep-seated recollections manifested into Kapbardhi taking over the reins.
“My hope is that in 2026 Pizza Del Re is still doing what it’s done for the last 50 years, bringing people together. Restaurants like this become part of people’s lives.“
Vangjel Kapbardhi
owner, pizza del re
“When the opportunity came to buy Pizza Del Re, I wanted to keep that same place alive so other families could make the same memories I did,” Kapbardhi said.
Quality and consistency mattered most. It was very important to keep the methods uniform and collaborated with the original owner to show him the ropes, Kapbardhi shared.
“For the first few months, Keith was in the kitchen with us almost every day,” Kapbardhi said. “They were very open about sharing their recipes and the preparation techniques that made Pizza Del Re what it is.”
When the restaurant re-opened in 2023, regulars streamed back in, and according to Kapbardhi, “Many told us stories about coming here as kids and now bringing their own children or even grandchildren.”
The Carlsons made sure to stop in regularly; “It was really important for me that he could walk in and see that the restaurant he built was still going and that we were doing our best to stay true to what he created.”
Much of the original menu has stayed the same, however, Kapbardhi has introduced new items seasonally to keep it fresh which now includes offering a Sunday brunch buffet.
When asked what his hopes for Pizza Del Re in 2076 are, his response was more focused on the present.
“My hope is that in 2026 Pizza Del Re is still doing what it’s done for the last 50 years, bringing people together,” Kapbardhi said. “Restaurants like this become part of people’s lives. If 50 years from now people are still gathering here to celebrate birthdays, meet friends, and enjoy a good thin-crust pizza, that would mean we did our job right.”
Long Live the King!
Pizza Del Re (911 N. Hastings Way, Eau Claire) is closed Mondays and open Tuesday through Thursday, 11am-7pm; Friday and Saturday, 11am-7:30pm; Sundays from 11am-6pm. Visit www.delre.pizza to view the complete restaurant menu and offerings.
