DETROIT LAKES — For more than 55 years, Zorbaz’s flagship location in Detroit Lakes has been an iconic hangout in Minnesota’s lakeside countryside and now has 10 branches scattered across the state, but it recently gained national recognition after being featured in a July 5 New York Times feature called “Readers’ Choice Top 15 Pizza Places in the World.”
“We were so excited to see it,” said Tate Jansen, owner of Zorba’s, who added that he didn’t know the New York Times reader who posted the review, Connor Rayl of Las Vegas.
Reil, who recommended “The Loden” pizza, called Zorba’s “the best Mexican-Italian pizza place in the world” in his article.
“This place is right on the lake,” he added.
The Loden is a peanut butter based pizza with pepperoni, cheese and jalapeño.
On the left, current Zorbaz owner Tate Jansen and his father Rick Jansen, a former owner who became a business partner with founder Tom Hanson shortly after the restaurant opened in 1969, show off a freshly baked “Loden” pizza. This unique pizza was featured in the July 5, 2024 New York Times article on “The 15 Best Pizza Places in the World, According to Readers.” The peanut butter-based pizza, topped with pepperoni, cheese and jalapeño, has been on the Zorbaz menu since the late 1980s.
Vicki Gerdes/Detroit Lakes Tribune
The pizza was first added to the Zorbaz menu in the late 1980s and was named in honor of its creator, Kenny Rhoden, said former Zorbaz co-owner Rick Jansen (Tate’s father).
“At that time, Kenny liked a lot of different things, so we were doing some experimentation (with flavors),” he recalled.
One of Rhoden’s favorite foods was peanut butter, which Rick Jansen confirmed was his favorite too.
“I like to put peanut butter on burgers, hot dogs, and toast,” he says. “I also like to mix Sriracha sauce into it.”
A Zorba’s staff member sprinkles cheese on a freshly made Roden pizza, a peanut butter based pizza with pepperoni and jalapeño toppings. This pizza was featured in the July 5, 2024 New York Times article “The 15 Best Pizza Places in the World, According to Readers,” which also included Zorba’s in Detroit Lakes.
Vicki Gerdes/Detroit Lakes Tribune
Tate Jansen said the loden has been popular enough to remain on Zorbaz’s permanent menu since it was first introduced, but acknowledged that the unusual flavor combination “made some customers a little hesitant to order it.”
“I ask people, ‘Do you like peanut butter toast?'” he said, adding that if they answer in the affirmative, he encourages them “to give it a try.”
“This is pretty unique,” he added.
A few years after “The Rhoden” was first introduced as part of Zorbaz’s “word of mouth” menu and, a little later, as a permanent menu item, Kenny Rhoden moved from Zorbaz in Detroit Lakes to Zorbaz in Perham, where he introduced a slight variation on the original by adding pizza sauce to the peanut butter base.
“In Detroit Lakes, we’re sticking to the original recipe,” Rick Jansen said, although whether or not they add pizza sauce varies by location.
Jansen admitted that sometimes he “tweaks things a little” by asking the server for extra anchovies when he orders. Though he’s been retired for nearly two decades, Jansen is still a frequent late- to early-evening visitor to Zorba’s in Detroit Lakes, and jokes that “we have to do quality control on craft beer.”
He has no regrets about selling the business to his son and daughter-in-law. “He’s doing a good job,” Rick said.
The facade of Zorba’s Restaurant that customers see when they walk through the door was part of the original building that opened in the summer of 1969, but the building has been expanded and renovated several times since then.
Vicki Gerdes/Detroit Lakes Tribune
“This is our 19th summer here,” Tate said, adding that he and his wife, Devon, are owners and partners in the store, which began in the summer of 1969 in a Detroit Lakes location that was once a candy store.
At the time, founder Tom Hanson was a 23-year-old drama and debate teacher and coach, and Zorbaz was only open during the summer when school was out.
As the business grew and became a year-round operation, Hanson brought on his first partner, Rick Jansen, and under their leadership, Zorba’s has grown to 11 locations on various lakes in Minnesota, most of which are now open year-round.
Hanson, who was also Tate Jansen’s uncle, died in August 2015 at the age of 70 after a nine-year battle with cancer.
Tom Hanson, founder of the Zorba’s restaurant chain, is seen inside a Zorba’s on the Lake location in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, in this 2013 file photo. Hanson died in August 2015 after a nine-year battle with cancer.
Detroit Lakes Tribune file photo
Detroit Lakes Zorba’s has undergone numerous additions and renovations over the years, Tate said, noting that the most recent addition was a picnic shelter completed in the restaurant’s backyard just in time for Memorial Day this past weekend.
“It provides shade when needed and protection from the rain,” he said.
However, the original structure remains intact and is the first thing customers see when they walk in. For more information about Zorbaz, including a list of other locations, visit zorbaz.com, or check out their Facebook page at facebook.com/ZorbazOnTheLake for updates on live music and other events planned for this summer.
A reporter for Detroit Lakes Newspapers since moving to the community in October 2000, Vicki was promoted to community news lead for the Detroit Lakes Tribune and Parham Focus on January 1, 2022. She has covered just about every “area” a reporter can be assigned to, from County Commission and City Council meetings to entertainment, crime and sports. Born and raised in Madelia, Minnesota, she graduated from Hamline University with a Bachelor’s in English Literature (Majoring in Writing). She can be reached at 218-844-1454 or vgerdes@dlnewspapers.com.
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