Community Staple Thrives Under Covid-19 Restrictions

Storefront entrance to the current location of Bulldog Pizza and Grill. Picture by Lukas Lorenz

Community favorite, Bulldog Pizza and Grill, recounted their experience of adapting to the COVID-19 era, speaking on their processes and community impact, as they prepared to celebrate their upcoming 34-year anniversary this year.

The COVID-19 era ended a lot of thriving restaurant’s business as indoor dining was shut down. This severely impacted many establishments that depended on foot traffic through their storefront for much of their business. However, that never stopped Bulldog Pizza from going out of their way to feed the community.

Bulldog Pizza and Grill was founded in 1986 after Ken Wright, then a senior at UMD, dropped out to open his dream restaurant. Located conveniently down the street from the UMD campus, Bulldog Pizza has been feeding the mouths of college students and community patrons alike for several years.

Sue Wright, co-owner and manager of Bulldog Pizza and Grill is always looking to promote the restaurant through social media and daily specials, but it is the community impact that she values more than anything for their business.

“We love the local aspect of our business,” said Sue when asked about their community involvement. The restaurant survives off their regular customers and gets involved with as many community events as possible. One most notably being their partnership with the Chester Bowl Ski Resort. They often donate to the resort and cater for their events.

The secret to their success? Constant hands-on engagement and interaction with their customers. The owners are always in store to build relationships with the customers they depend on and have had both their children work for them in their teenage years, solidifying the meaning of a family restaurant.

Indoor window looking into the kitchen of Bulldog Pizza and Grill. Picture by Lukas Lorenz

The beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic hit the dine-in experience of Bulldog Pizza drastically. The restaurant stayed open throughout most of the pandemic for takeout orders and deliveries, but the situation introduced a lot of unknowns into the operation of this small family business.

“We had to reinvent the system of how we got food to people,” said Wright when she described the adaptations they had to make to continue to efficiently serve their customers. They introduced new items such as party packs and take and bake specials, giving people the opportunity to regain that restaurant experience from the comfort of their own home.

Bulldog Pizza credits their survivability through the uncertainty of the pandemic to their most loyal customers, who consistently offered feedback and item suggestions to the restaurant. Most of the menu changes they create usually start as customer feedback that they use to optimize kitchen efficiency for the community.

Bulldog Pizza and Grill continues to serve the community of Hunters Park and the UMD area, offering event space and theme nights throughout the week.

Read about the history of Bulldog Pizza and Grill, or contact them here.