Lorri Zinn is shown making pizzas.

It’s been a great 40 years – and Vince Funk says they couldn’t have done it without the people of Tifton.

“Wow. Thank you,” he said. “We’ve gotten so much positive feedback from Tifton over the years. I’m thankful every day that I can make a living making so many people smile.”

In 1974, Vince’s dad, Roy Funk, purchased Pasquale’s Pizza in Tifton, which was located across from Prince Chevrolet on Highway 82. He had previously owned and operated a Pasquale’s in Orlando, but that restaurant didn’t survive a harsh economic climate. Roy left the restaurant business for a period of time, returning to it after hearing the Tifton Pasquale’s location was available. He traveled to Tifton to check the location out, and decided, “Yeah, I can make this work,” Vince said.

The Tifton restaurant did well for many years, but Vince says in the mid-80s times were still hard, and they were busier than they could handle – but just on Friday nights. Roy decided a new location was in order. So in 1986, the moved the original Pasquale’s building from Highway 82 to its current location, on Virginia Avenue, across from the Tifton Mall. Roy shut the restaurant down for a while and gave the building a bit of a facelift, including adding a drive-thru.

“The day we opened our doors, we doubled our business from over there (the Highway 82 location),” Vince said. “It’s just been getting incrementally better since then.”

Shortly after that move, the youth from Northside Baptist went on a mission trip to Pennsylvania, and came back raving about the delicious strombolis they had tasted while there. They told “Mr. Roy” about them, and he made several attempts to recreate that taste, which the kids rejected, saying they’re just weren’t quite right.

Eventually, Roy contacted the owner of the Pennsylvania restaurant, who sent him a frozen stromboli, and from that Roy was able to dissect the dish and create his own version, which he stamped the Pizzaroli. His creation not only got approval from the kids at Northside’s, but it became a favorite of Tifton residents for generations.

“We sell more Pizzarolis than Coca-Cola,” Vince said.

In 1990, Pasquale’s corporate was bought out, Vince said, and corporate officials came calling to see the Tifton operation first-hand. They weren’t happy with what they saw, because it was different than their other locations. Roy was told to “put it back the way it’s supposed to be,” Vince recalled.

Vince said this stemmed from a time in the early 1980s when the owner of the Moultrie location of Pasquale’s retired, and his dad purchased that location, which he shut down immediately, and reopened under the name Chicago Pizza & Pasta. That was the first location, Vince said, adding that his dad used it to work on his recipes. He developed his own style and recipes at that time.

But eventually, Roy told Pasquale’s corporate guys, “I’ve tried to do things your way, and it just doesn’t work. So I’m going to do it my way.” He changed the name of the Tifton restaurant to Chicago Pizza & Pasta, continuing to offer the lunchtime buffet, which had been offered at the restaurant since 1974 – it was the area’s first lunch buffet.

Vince was able to purchase the restaurant from his dad in 2006, and has since then continued to offer the same great service and food favorites, along with a few menu additions.

Vince holds fast to traditions, including keeping the original building, which he admits is difficult.

“I spend more money keeping it up that I would buying a new one,” he joked. He says his plans for the business over the past 10 years have been brought to fruition, and included work on structural repairs, plumbing and air conditioning repairs.

“We’re 90 percent through most of that now,” he said. “The next 10 years, I plan to finish that up.”

He hopes that one of his own children will step up and want to carry on the family tradition.

“We’re two generations deep now, and I’d love to keep it for a third generation,” he said. “My primary goal is to preserve what I’ve got and make it stable enough that whenever it’s time for me to pass the reins to the next person, I’m able to sell them something that’s really worth having. Not just a thriving business, but also a stable building to have a business in.”

As for new menu items in the coming years, Vince says he’s not a chef and doesn’t have “much of an imagination,” but even so, he’s already added about 15 percent of the current menu in the past eight to 10 years.

“That hasn’t been by design. Half the kids menu is the inspiration of my daughter,” he said, smiling. “When she was a little girl, she’d say what she wanted, and I’d put it on the menu. Other things on the menu, employees would make something for themselves, and I’d think that was really good. It dawned on me, customers might enjoy this too.”

Vince says he misses his dad when it comes to product development.

“He’s the one that came up with the super sub, the Philly, the Greek salad,” Vince said. “He was always my R&D man.”

He added that there will soon be a new menu, and it will feature some new food items.

But the sauce isn’t the only magical ingredient at Chicago Pizza & Pasta – it’s also the employees, and many have been there for years. Vince says the restaurant employs about 15 people – some have been there as little as a year, while others have been there for decades.

“I’ve got a lot of good, faithful employees who make this place run,” he said.

When asked why his employees hang in there for so many years, Vince said he believes it’s because he treats people right and gives them respect.

“I try to treat them the way I’d want to be treated,” he said. “I try to pay them a little bit more than the average restaurant. I try to hire people that blend in with the personality of the place. I let people know when they’ve done a good job when they do it, and people stick around for that.”

He says the signature flavor at Chicago Pizza & Pasta is also key.

“We’ve been around for a long time. A lot of people grew up eating inside these walls, and they’ve had their first dates here, so there’s nostalgia. But we have our own special flavor that people like, so there’s more than just ‘remember when.’ There’s also, ‘Hey, you’ve got to try this!’ “

But his favorite tradition happens on a daily basis, when he steps out into the dining area, and sees people eating, talking, laughing and smiling.

“I get to hear small conversations here and there, saying, ‘Man that’s good!’ I love doing that. I grew up doing it, and I can’t imagine what this town would be like without Chicago Pizza. It just seems like there would be a big, vacant hole.”

To contact editor Angye Morrison, call 382-4321.