HUMBOLDT — The creation of Humboldt's Swan Pizza began when Pratik Vaviya was visiting Kiran Dudhagara and wanted something to eat.
"At nighttime he was hungry so we talked and he really wanted to get pizza," Dudhagara said.
Yet there was only one pizza place open that evening in March 2018.
"He [Vaviya] realized that this town really needed a pizza store because when you are hungry at nighttime, there's nothing to eat,” Dudhagara said.
So Vaviya came up with an idea. He asked Dudhagara why couldn't he start his own.
“I said, ‘It’s a good thought. I can help you out as much as I can because I live in Humboldt and have a business in Humboldt. Whatever help you need, I can basically provide you.’”
Vaviya agreed and the hunt for a pizza franchise to bring to Humboldt began. After looking at the options, they chose Swan Pizza. They liked how the dough and sauce was made in store, that everything was fresh and that the franchise had won a few awards.
Yet the franchise had never opened a store in a place as small as Humboldt, something that concerned the franchise's owner. After Vaviya committed to invest his money, the owner gave the go ahead.
As a result of the smaller than usual market, Humboldt's Red Swan Pizza is different than all of the other locations.
“Pratik’s dad and myself, we designed this store,” Dudhagara said.
Ashok Vaviya is trained as a civil engineer.
Red Swan Pizza had its soft opening in April.
“We were busy. The waiting time was like an hour at that time,” Dudhagara said.
Dudhagara served as the manager to get the pizza place off the ground, a role that's being transferred to another.
The grand opening was held Sept. 17. Pratik Vaviya couldn't be there, as his wife was going through her Canadian citizenship ceremony, so his father spoke for him.
"[I'm thankful] this many people would support us and would like to present here and make this occasion auspicious," Ashok Vaviya said. "It was really good to meet all of the people and they are very encouraging and helpful.”
Rob Muench, Humboldt's mayor, said the grand opening was a joyous occasion.
"I always tell people that grand openings are the best thing I have to do in my job as mayor because it shows that we have a vibrant business community, vibrant Chamber of Commerce, that we're attracting new business and investment into our community.”
Brent Fitzpatrick, the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce's executive director, said he was pleased Vaviya had enough confidence in Humboldt to invest in the city.
"I love the story of how these guys came up with the idea to bring Red Swan to Humboldt. That is exactly the entrepreneurial spirit that we want here.”
