Pizza Inn Tops $300,000 in Local Fundraising

If you've ever been to Pizza Inn on Joe Clifton Drive on a Monday night, you've probably heard of their weekly "Dough Raiser" events, and the totals from those events just passed a milestone.

Since Larry Rust purchased the Pizza Inn franchise 25 years ago, he's worked to share success with local folks, and over the last ten years "Dough Raisers" have generated over $300,000 for local non-profits.

"We live in good, caring community. We've got more than our share of restaurants but a lot of people are loyal to us. We've been blessed over the years and it's just our opportunity to give back," Rust said.

At each "Dough Raiser," volunteers from the organization serve as wait staff at the restaurant from 4-8 pm, and Pizza Inn gives all of the tips received and 10 percent of that night's sales to the non-profit group. The average event raises about $1,000. 

The events are so popular that signing up for a Monday has become pretty competitive. Each year on the last Monday of October, organizations can reserve a date for their "Dough Raiser," so Rust said he expects a crowd on the morning of October 30.

"We start taking them at 8 am on that last Monday, and there's usually about 50 people in line when I get there at 7 o'clock that morning. A lot of them are camping out like they're waiting for Black Friday to open, or something." Rust said.

Rust said that morning is great chance to visit with others who are community-minded, and it's a whole lot of fun. 

He said, "I’m proud of the money we have helped raise for dozens of outstanding organizations in this area, and I’m hopeful we’ll break our records this year and in 2018.”

Pizza Inn is located at 1001 Joe Clifton Drive.