'Local legacy' to change hands

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Mr. P's Pizza and Sports Grill new owners, Joe and Bobbie Sitzmann, are preparing to take the wheel of the local favorite from current owners Maria and Marty Pippett. The change of ownership will be July 1, but the Sitzmanns say little will actually change about the restaurant. [Click to enlarge]

While the owners are changing July 1, the restaurant's legacy will carry on, according to Marty and Maria Pippett, owners, and owners-to-be, Joe and Bobbi Sitzmann.

Currently, the Sitzmanns live in Omaha, but they're planning to move to Le Mars, where they were born and raised.

The Sitzmanns have been thinking about buying Mr. P's since Marty Pippett, Mr. P's founder, gave them a call in December.

"It was very important to us to find the right individuals to take over P's," Marty said. "I see a lot of the same qualities in them that Maria and I share."

He heard of the Sitzmanns' possible interest in restaurant ownership through a mutual friend.

Marty said he was ready for change and to move on to other adventures.

For the Sitzmanns, the offer was a perfect fit.

Joe, 28, has worked as a restaurant manager for nearly five years in Omaha and Kansas City.

"And he'll be teaching me a lot about the food industry," added Bobbie, 27.

Joe said the Sitzmanns have been trying to get back to Le Mars for a few years.

"We're starting a family now, and Le Mars is a great place to raise a family," he said.

While the ownership is transitioning, little else about Mr. P's will be different, Joe said.

"P's has become a local legacy," Joe said. "There's no reason to change anything."

"P's is going to be P's," Marty said.

The restaurant has been going strong for about 14 years, Joe pointed out.

"We hope, with the support of the community and friends, that it will go on forever," he said.

The Sitzmanns, Joe said, are excited first and foremost to take care of the people.

"And it's invigorating," he said of owning a place like Mr. P's. "The atmosphere in itself is vibrant. It changes. Every day is not like the day before."

Joe and Bobbie are looking forward to being connected to the community they grew up in through ownership of Mr. P's.

"Mr. P's has become a local icon. People want to hang out here," Joe said.

"It was always my favorite place to go on college breaks," Bobbie said.

Marty said he couldn't be happier for the new owners. Still, he admitted it will be hard to step away from the business he started right out of high school.

"Bittersweet," Maria said, describing the changes ahead. "It'll be emotional."

"I'll probably be a sobbing baby at some point," Marty said with a laugh. "I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time. In a way, it's like sending a child to college."

They're planning a welcome and good-bye party for June 29 to invite people to meet the new owners and share memories of the years under the Pippetts' ownership.

Marty plans to stay on at Mr. P's until the end of August, giving two months for him to help the Sitzmanns adjust to the day-to-day life of owning Mr. P's.

Joe will bring his restaurant experience, and said he and Bobbie work well together.

"We communicate well," he said. "She'll be a big part of making this a success."

As for Marty, once he turns the keys to Mr. P's over, he plans to help Maria out with the coffee and sandwich shop Bellissimo Coffee Works, spend quality time with friends and family and watch for opportunities to present themselves.

"We'll see what comes knocking at our door," Marty said.

While Marty started the original Mr. P's downtown in Le Mars in 1995, the same year he graduated from high school, then moved to the current location in April 2000, the pizza parlor had been a long-time dream.

He saved an assignment from when he was in third grade and had to write what he wanted to be when he grew up. His answer: "I'm going to open a pizza parlor."

"It was the same thing every year after that," Marty said, then laughed. "Now I've got to go back and see what's next on the list."