Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream is on a roll. After putting the majority of its events on a two-year hiatus following the pandemic, the iconic Midwestern pizza chain team is back doing what they love best: serving their community. 2022 was a landmark year for the beloved brand. Along with celebrating 50 years of serving pizza and ice cream to families across America, it resumed its famous holiday parties.
The Story Behind ‘Happy Joe’ Whitty’s Holiday Parties
Founder “Happy Joe” Whitty was always a kid at heart. And as such, he loved giving back to the youngest members of his community. Since the company started in 1972, Happy Joe’s has been putting on special holiday pizza parties for children and young adults with special needs. These events are a true yearly highlight, drawing massive crowds of excited kids, families, and volunteers.
These iconic parties got their start well before Happy Joe’s even existed, though. In a true testament to Whitty’s character, they began while he was an employee elsewhere. As the story goes, Whitty worked at Shakey’s Pizza, another beloved restaurant where he began honing his pizza-making skills.
One day during his shift, a mother came in, asking permission to bring her young son into the restaurant. Her son had special needs and wasn’t always welcome in establishments around town. Whitty welcomed them both with open arms and showed them to a private table to enjoy their meal. Feeling grateful for the warm welcome, they quickly became regulars at the restaurant, and Whitty enjoyed showing the young boy the inner workings of the kitchen — he even taught the child how to make his own pizza.
Seeing a need in the community, Whitty organized a holiday party at Shakey’s for area kids with disabilities. It was a raging success, but Whitty didn’t notify his boss beforehand, which got him into hot water. Fortunately, there were no hard feelings once the story made headlines in the local paper. Since that fateful party, bringing pizza and fun to kids with special needs and their families became a hallmark of Whitty’s life mission — and a hallmark of the Happy Joe’s brand.
Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream was founded in 1972 by Whitty. His dream was to create a restaurant where everyone would feel welcome, including kids and their families. He took his passion for creating delicious pizza and ice cream recipes and created the first Happy Joe’s restaurant in Bettendorf, Iowa. With his love for fun and building intentional community, his restaurant concept quickly took off. Today, Happy Joe’s is one of America’s most loved quick-service chains, with patrons enjoying creative recipes like the first-ever taco pizza, pioneered by the restaurant. A fan favorite, the company has locations spanning across the Midwest and Florida, with international locations in Egypt. In 2022, the company was recognized and named a FastCasual Top 200 concept, a Franchise Times Top 400 business, and a Nation’s Restaurant News Top 500 restaurant.
A Special Day at the Vibrant Arena
On Dec. 6 and 7, 2022, Happy Joe’s ended a two-year hiatus for its epic annual event celebrating children with special needs in the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois. Continuing a 50-year tradition of bringing fun-filled events to kids who need it most, the pizza chain brought its holiday party experience to the Vibrant Arena in Moline, Illinois.
In partnership with the Happy Joe’s Kids Foundation, Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream brought back its iconic holiday bash in an unforgettable two-day event. With four parties scheduled over two days, the beloved company served pizza, ice cream, and holiday magic to over 1,500 kids and their teachers, parents, and caregivers. Kate Holsen, a Moline resident with Down syndrome, started off the holiday festivities with the national anthem. A community advocate for special needs, Holsen is a board member of Gigi’s Playhouse Quad Cities. This organization supports children with special needs, with a focus on Down syndrome, and is a longtime supporter of Happy Joe’s annual holiday parties.
After the patriotic opener, guests were served a tasty lunch of pizza, soft drinks, and ice cream. Throughout the event, attendees enjoyed performances from company mascot Happy the Dog, along with the Happy Joe’s hip-hop dance team and even a visit from Santa Claus himself. To bring a bit of extra holiday magic and cheer, Santa delivered a special message and posed for photos with the children.
From start to end, each party was an event attendees wouldn’t soon forget. Marketing VP Kristel Whitty-Ersan was particularly excited to bring the community back together. “After a two-year hiatus, everybody was ready to party hard today,” she exclaimed. “You gotta practice your moves before you come because we bust a move.”
Upon leaving the party, every child received a special present from Happy Joe’s. Along with a piece of company swag in the form of a hat, each attendee received a book to enjoy over the holidays.
For chief happiness officer and CEO Tom Sacco, the goal of these parties is to bring fun-filled experiences to every child in the Quad Cities, where the company is located. Additionally, Happy Joe’s franchise owners throughout the U.S. are encouraged to host parties for local children with disabilities.
“The holiday season is the most important time of year to give back, and nobody deserves to have a more festive time than children with special needs,” Sacco explained. “Happy Joe’s strives to be the top choice for great food and a fun time together. These parties have been designed to ensure these wonderful children feel appreciated and included in our community. We’ve been told that for many of these kids, this is the highlight of their holidays, and their teachers and parents are thrilled these parties are making a comeback.”
And a highlight they’ve been indeed, not only for the kids but for the company as well.
“This is one of our favorite events to host each year, and we’re happy to have it back and plan on making it better than ever,” Sacco said.
The Happy Joe’s Kids Foundation
A longtime partner to Happy Joe’s Pizza, the Happy Joe’s Kids Foundation is a nonprofit striving to assist children with special needs and their families across the country. For years, the foundation has helped the pizza chain bring charitable funding and events to kids in need. This past fall, it teamed up with the restaurant to launch a new program to bring financial assistance to these children and their families. Launched on founder Joe Whitty’s birthday, the program sought to celebrate not only the incredible community it serves but the company’s 50th anniversary.
The program awarded $50,000 to 50 families across the country. Each family received a donation of $1,000 to help bridge the financial gap families of children with special needs often face. With these funds, families can better support their children’s medical expenses and mobility needs, as well as cover any educational and therapeutic programs in which they’re enrolled.
In true Happy Joe’s fashion, the program was launched with a companywide collaborative approach. General managers and franchisees of Happy Joe’s 41 pizza restaurants participated in the program, with each location helping to nominate local families in need of financial assistance.
Whitty-Ersan, who is also Happy Joe’s daughter, explained that giving back is simply what Happy Joe’s does. “My family and I are honored to make this gift and continue our father’s mission of giving back to the communities that helped him achieve his dream.”