WAITE PARK - Dick Blitvich has owned the St. Cloud area's  "Sammy's Pizza" restaurant for nearly 60 years - and now, he's ready to pass the torch.

The restaurant will close on Saturday to undergo renovations, and will reopen under new ownership in about a month.

The sale comes at the end of a long tenure for Blitvich. After getting out the army, he met franchise founder Sam Perrella and opened Sammy's in downtown St. Cloud in 1956. That location shuttered it's doors in 1975, shifting to the corner of 5th and Division.

9 years later, Blitvich again moved the restaurant, this time out to Division Street in Waite Park, where it's been ever since.

All in all, Blitvich says he's ready to retire from the pizza business - but he'll always be grateful for the memories.

Blitvich says the menu and much of the staff, including his daughter, will stay the same after the remodeling is completed.

The Sammy's Pizza chain includes 15 other locations throughout Minnesota and North Dakota.

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