Local business celebrates 40 years of delicious pizza

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Looking into the front window of Roadrunner Pizza and Pasta, Marshall Motes could be found tossing fresh pizza dough into the air. This year, this neighborhood pizzeria gem is celebrating 40 years of serving the Southern Colorado community.

The pizzeria’s newest owners are Grace and Marshall Motes, who are keeping the pies to the original recipes and the signature menu items the same.

“I actually lived in the neighborhood as a child for a while, so I knew about Roadrunner,” Grace Motes said. “So when we saw it was for sale, it was like, okay, we’re going to do this. We met the owners, they were great people and so was just a new adventure for us and for our family.”

The two are in for a pizza-palooza as they are learning to navigate this small local pizza joint and the people who are the regulars. One of these loyal customers is Charles Dudock, who has been coming to this neighborhood spot since 2005.

“I’ve bought a house in the neighborhood over here,” Dudock said. “So this was local, we would came over one day, tried it, it was great. Got to know the owners, the last ones real well, and these people have kept the tradition up. It’s the same pizza, so it’s just great.”

When it comes to serving the community for decades, Dudock was not in shock as he described how delicious the food is.

“They have to have good food, otherwise, I think they’d been gone a long time ago,” Dudock said. “So, if you’re in the neighborhood, you might want to check it out.”

A fan favorite on the menu does not have any tomato sauce on it, instead it is coated with refried beans, cheddar cheese, and lots more deliciousness.

“This is our signature taco pizza,” Motes said. “It’s one of our most popular pizzas. Basically, it’s a regular hand tossed pizza dough and then we use a refried bean sauce with seasoning in it and it’s top-secret seasoning in there and then we top it with sour cream, lettuce, tomato, black olives, cheddar cheese and then we put some crushed nacho cheese Doritos on top.”

While they might be new in the pizza pie world, Motes described how they were welcomed with open arms into the community.

“It’s been kind of surreal,” Motes said. “The first year is such a learning experience, just learning how to do everything, how to run the restaurant and the staff and all of the food and ordering everything, getting to know all the customers. We have a lot of great loyal customers that come in regularly that have been coming in for 20 plus years.”

While the city of Colorado Springs expands, these mom-and-pop restaurants are leaving their mark on the people who have found comfort in these one of a kind places.

“I’d rather spend my money local than drive to Denver or something like that and maybe get something that I don’t want or didn’t like,” Dudock said. “So when I come here, I know what I’m getting and it’s reasonably priced and like I said, they really take care and pride in what they do.”

As they welcome new and old customers, there is no doubt this neighborhood pizzeria will forever hold the charm from the original opening.

“It’s a neighborhood pizzeria and we only have takeout and delivery, no place to sit, to enjoy our food,” Motes said. “We deliver to all these people that have lived in this older neighborhood for almost 40 years and their kids are now growing up and having families of their own. I think it’s just important that people support local businesses.”

The pizzeria is open Sunday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. You can also find the menu and order online at roadrunnerpizza.co.