Travis Hermel, longtime Happy Joe’s employee is the new owner of the popular pizza place. The restaurant reopened to carry-out and delivery on June 27. Hermel said he’s happy to see everyone again.

NEW ULM – After a two-month absence, Happy Joe’s of New Ulm is back in business under new owner Travis Hermel and business is booming.

The popular pizza restaurant officially reopened for business on June 27, offering carry-out and delivery, with a plan to bring back the dine-in option later.

Hermel said the Happy Joe’s franchise office wants to make a few small interior changes to the restaurant before reopening for dine-in services, but there is one problem: Happy Joe’s is too busy.

Hermel said since the restaurant has started taking orders again, they have been extremely busy. There has not been enough time to call workers to make the changes.

“It’s a good problem to have,” Hermel said.

Hermel was unsure how many pizzas total were sold on the first day back, but he remembers there were exactly 200 large pizzas sold that day.

“We sold pizzas of all sizes, but it was weird that we ended exactly with 200 large pizzas,” he said.

Sales have not reached the height of the first day, but Hermel confirmed sales are double what they were doing before the restaurant abruptly closed in late March.

Though he is the new owner, Hermel has a long history with the restaurant. He began working at Happy Joe’s in 1998 at age 16.

“I remember in high school vowing that I would never work at a restaurant,” Hermel said. “Then my car broke down and Happy Joe’s was willing to hire me.”

Hermel is the fifth owner-operator of the New Ulm Happy Joe’s. It opened in 1979 under Gary Laundreville. Jeff Reinarts became the second owner, running the restaurant for 15 years. Reinarts sold the business in Sept. 1998 to Lee Strum. The fourth owner was Nick Fruhwirth, who ran the business for the last nine years.

Hermel began working at Happy Joe’s during Reinart’s tenure. He was hired by Reinarts in the spring of 1998. Sturm took over in the fall of that year.

Hermel said he started as a part-time employee, making deliveries. By 2001, it had become a full-time job and he’s been with the restaurant ever since, eventually becoming assistant manager.

Hermel said he stayed with Happy Joe’s for so long because he liked the employees and the customers. Even former employees who return as customers are great to see. Hermel said there is a lot of affection and loyalty among former Happy Joe’s staff.

“I think it’s really neat. I’ve seen so many kids grow up here,” Hermel said, referring to the many high school kids who have worked part-time at Happy Joe’s and years later came back as customers.

Hermel said he was thinking about buying Happy Joe’s when Sturm was planning to sell nine years ago. He decided against it at that time because he was also working on a farm and did not think he could commit to being the owner. Now, nearly a decade later he was ready to take on the challenge.

Hermel said when the restaurant closed in late March he did not want it to end, but realized the entire community was supportive of keeping Happy Joe’s going.

“The community was behind us,” he said. “That made it an easier decision.”

In May, Hermel signed the papers and became the new owner and manager of Happy Joe’s. The next month was dedicated to clearing up the necessary paperwork and getting the restaurant ready to reopen.

Happy Joe’s has currently more than 20 employees, but Hermel said because they are a restaurant, they are always looking to hire. Currently, they need extra help in the kitchen.

The current Happy Joe’s menu has 16 named pizzas on it. Hermel said they can make custom orders based on the ingredients they have. Many or of their orders are custom. This month the franchise came out with a limited menu item for July called the “Chickle Pizza.” It has pickles, jalapenos, breaded chicken, hot wing and butter sauces, mozzarella cheese and ranch.

“It has been a big hit,” he said.

Asked what their most popular pizza was, Hermel confirmed it was still the taco pizza.

“That’s the one we are known for,” he said.

Hermel said the plan is to reopen for dine-in sometime in July, but it might be delayed until August. It depends on how busy they remain.

Hermel wanted to thank the customers for being patient with them during this restart. Due to its popularity, there has been some wait time on pizza. However, the customers seem to be relieved to have their favorite restaurant back in operation.

“Some customers have already ordered from us four times since we reopened,” Hermel said. “They definitely missed us.”

Hermel also admitted he had missed many of the customers since the close.

“I am happy to see everyone again,” he said.

Happy Joe’s takes orders from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.