Beloved Iowa pizza franchise serves up ‘more than pizza’ for its customers

For more than 50 years, Happy Joe’s Pizza has been serving up more than just their famed pizza and ice cream, it’s found something more important: a “safe haven” for children and families, according to the company’s Chief “Happiness” Officer, Tom Sacco.

The brand, which is headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, began in 1972 and was founded by Joe Whitty. A “baker by trade,” he ended up working for Shakey’s Pizza. 

“From what I understand, he went to Shakey’s and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got an opportunity with my background, I think I can really improve our pizza dough,’” Tom Sacco, current Happy Joe’s Pizza Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief “Happiness” Officer, recalled. 

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“They said, ‘Well, if you don’t think our pizza dough is so good, why don’t you just leave and do your own pizza restaurant,’” Sacco continued.

To this day, the brand continues to use that same dough recipe, according to Sacco.

“I try to be as true, not knowing him, but understanding some of his characteristics and attributes,” Sacco told FOX Business. 

Sacco has spent his entire career in the restaurant business and grew up working in his grandfather’s kitchen at eight years old. After getting a bachelor’s and master’s degree and completing law school, he still chose to pursue a career in the industry.

After a career working with other restaurants, he joined Happy Joe’s Pizza in 2020.

“I’m very comfortable in the industry, but what really excited me was in the DNA of Happy Joe’s. It’s always about family and it revolves around children,” Sacco said.

Sacco said during a visit to Iowa before he was set to head up the company, he walked around stores asking people if they were familiar with the brand. He explained that those who he spoke with “would go on and tell [him] all these magical memories that they had.”

“I said to myself, ‘You know what? I’m gonna help them because it’s a good brand, but I’m also gonna be selfish,” Sacco shared. “I’m going to help them because I want my family, my grandchildren, to grow up with the same memories that I was told by all these people.”

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In 2025, the company reported a “milestone year” of growth and impact in the community, according to a release shared with Fox Business.

The brand re-opened a franchise in New Ulm, Minn., with “renewed development efforts” supporting planned growth across Texas and Iowa, among other states. It’s also expanding its West Coast presence, with an opening in Oro Valley, Ariz., in the spring.

“This year showed what is possible when franchisees, team members and guests believe in that mission,” Sacco said in the release. “We expanded into new markets, earned recognition from our industry and created meaningful moments for the communities we love. As we look toward 2026, we are committed to keeping that spirit at the center of everything we do.”

While the company has reported massive success over the past few years, that doesn’t go without experiencing routine inflationary pressures. Sacco shared that despite these pressures, he “resurrected” the original products that Whitty was using just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“So when everybody was taking a hit, we saw an uptick in sales,” Sacco said. “That uptick continued, really, up until the end of [2025].”

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Sacco said that this effort felt like he was “going to go against the grain.”

“It was almost like I was going to go against the grain, not because I needed to do something different, because I believed that when the long-term franchisees were saying, ‘Tom, if there’s anything we can tell you, [it’s to] follow the recipe [Whitty] had,’” said Sacco. 

The brand is also deeply involved in philanthropic work and community involvement. According to their website, the company has won numerous awards and created a variety of programs in order to “give back to the communities who have helped make [them] so successful.”

In an emotional moment, Sacco said that while the company is a business, “the calling [of Happy Joe’s Pizza] is so much more.”

The company hosts an annual event called Happy Joe’s Holiday Parties for Children with Special Needs. This year, the company reported that roughly 2,000 children were in attendance. Sacco said that these moments are what “juice him up” for the future.

“It’s so touching to me to see these kids care that much about a pizza,” Sacco said with tears in his eyes. “It’s not the pizza, it’s the magic that the pizza creates for them.”

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As the company continues growth efforts in 2026, Sacco said he plans to continue to be a “servant leader.”

“I try to be the best servant leader I can be. I try to lead by example… If you care, that’s what you do,” Sacco said. “I think bringing back caring to Happy Joe’s was one of the missing elements.”