February 10, 2005

Employee purchases Ha Ha Pizza

By Diane Chiddister

There are a few secrets swirling around Ha Ha Pizza. There’s the recipe for the homemade dough that B.J. Walters makes fresh each day, which only he knows and he’s not telling. And he’s certainly not telling how to make the restaurant’s tomato sauce. In fact, the previous owner passed that secret on to Walters verbally — and you won’t find it written down anywhere.

But it’s no secret that Walters is thrilled to be Ha Ha’s new owner. As of Feb. 3, when he purchased the pizzeria from Larry Lookabaugh, Walters is now in charge of the Yellow Springs restaurant that has been located at Corry Street and Xenia Avenue for the past 30 years.

“When a customer comes away happy because he just ate the best pizza in his life, that makes me feel good,” Walters said.

Walters, who has worked full-time at the restaurant for the past five years, plans to change a few things at Ha Ha, but not immediately. First he’ll focus on making sure the business is managed right, he said, then he’ll initiate some decorative changes. He wants to paint over what he called the pizzeria’s “tired green” walls with something bright and warm, and he would also like to start exhibiting the work of local artists.

“I plan to revamp the image of Ha Ha,” he said. “I want it to be more updated.”

And Walters is open to adding to Ha Ha’s extensive list of pizza ingredients, if customers request new toppings. But he has no plans to change Ha Ha’s tradition of using fresh and healthy ingredients. In fact, he’s working on a deal with a local organic gardener to buy her basil and vegetables come summertime.

Ha Ha’s emphasis on quality ingredients sets it apart from other pizzerias, Walters believes, and it’s also what brings in customers year after year. People often come to Yellow Springs just to order a Ha Ha pie and take a walk in the Glen, he said.

People eat at Ha Ha not just because they like the pizzas’ freshness but also their variety, Walters said. It’s not every restaurant that offers a pepperoni and banana pie, which is, in fact, a popular Ha Ha favorite. Along with the traditional pepperoni and sausage, Ha Ha customers can load up their pie with, among other things, falafel, tempeh, soy cheese, artichokes, spinach, eggplant, broccoli, zucchini and pineapple.

Customers may also continue to visit the restaurant’s 21-item salad bar, order a variety of calzones or choose from several subs. The restaurant will stick with its beverage choices as well.

Walters also has no plans to change the restaurant’s memorable name. The original owners of Ha Ha, a group of Antioch College students who opened the restaurant in the early 1970s, wanted to remind themselves to keep their sense of humor even while running a business, said Walters, who doesn’t give credence to old rumors that linked Ha Ha’s name to after-hours parties and psychedelic mushrooms.

Walters reigns over his pizza kingdom with a benevolent presence and he’s happy to be called “the pizza guy” by some who stop him on the street. Buying Ha Ha fulfills his lifelong dream of owning his own business, he said, and he’s especially happy to own a restaurant.

“For some reason I have this love of creating food, this love of working with food,” he said. “I can express myself with what I created.”

Walters is grateful that Lookabaugh wanted to sell the restaurant to him, and passed up other offers to do so. Raised in foster homes, Walters had a close relationship with Lookabaugh, whom he calls a surrogate father. After Walters had worked at Ha Ha a few years, he mentioned to Lookabaugh that he’d like to buy the restaurant someday, and the older man told Walters to tell him when he was ready. That time finally came about a year and a half ago, and the two men have been working on the deal since then.

Walters has lived in Yellow Springs since 1996, and shares a home with his wife, Victoria, a Pilates instructor, and his year-old son, Leif. Most days, he can be found at Ha Ha, where he’s happy to serve pepperoni and banana pizzas or whatever else his customers desire. He’ll do his best to please them, but he won’t tell them what’s in the sauce.