Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 3, 2007

HAY RIVER - Among his many duties at the NorthMart grocery store in Hay River, Rick Lagace occasionally makes pizza.

Rick Lagace, of the Hay River NorthMart grocery store, holds a pizza he made at The Pizza Hut Express. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

But don't expect to see him throwing pizza dough into the air and spinning it dramatically.

In his role as the fresh department manager at the store, he oversees The Pizza Hut Express and can make a pizza when needed.

"I do it when I have to," he said. "I'm hands-on, so I can do it all."

Lagace explained the Hay River NorthMart has a franchise for the Pizza Hut Express, while some other NorthMarts elsewhere have franchises for Burger King or KFC.

There are no real secrets to making the pizza, he said. "You just follow the instructions. There's an instruction guide."

The dough comes from Pizza Hut for small and medium size pizzas.

"We just add the toppings," Lagace said, adding there are a certain number of toppings available.

If people want their own unusual toppings, they can add them at home.

"It's good pizza," Lagace said, noting it has consistent quality based on the ingredients and instructions from Pizza Hut.

It is the same basic pizza that a person would find at a Pizza Hut restaurant in a larger community, he said.

"But they would have more variety at a restaurant," he added. For example, a restaurant would offer such things as a pizza with the crust stuffed with cheese.

At the Pizza Hut Express, Lagace takes a minute or two to put toppings on a pizza and it takes about seven minutes to cook in a small, conveyor-belt type oven.

Lagace said it is not hard to learn the process, explaining it takes maybe 10 minutes.

At the NorthMart, there are eight other people who know how to make the pizzas, and he has trained them all.

The number of pizzas sold varies from week to week with the total increasing when there is a sports tournament in Hay River, Lagace said, noting the NWT Track and Field Championships is a huge time for pizza sales.

"It's always busier on a pay week," he added.

Pepperoni pizza is the most popular variety in Hay River.

Aside from pizza, Lagace, who has been in the grocery business for 32 years, oversees NorthMart's meat section and bakery in his role as fresh department manager.

Lagace had never made a pizza before coming to the Hay River NorthMart eight years ago.