Thursday is National Pizza Day, a perfect excuse to enjoy a slice or a few.
Chef Chucks in Elk Rapids isn’t just making some of the best pizza around but also carrying on the legacy of someone so special to the community.
Charles Egler opened Chef Charles 27 years ago in downtown Elk Rapids.
“He’d give us free sodas and stuff like that. He’s just a great guy. He’d run us tabs every once in a while if we were short on cash,” said Daniel Rowe Co-Owner of Chef Chucks.
Egler died unexpectedly in November of 2021.
“It was unfortunate when we lost Charles. They had vigils out front, and it hit me at that point how much Charles impacted Elk Rapids. It was so much more than pizza, so much more than his restaurant. It’s how he treated people,” explained John Conrad, Co-Owner of Chef Chucks.
That’s when John Conrad and Daniel Rowe bought the pizza joint changing the name to Chef Chucks.
“Charles went by Chuck, and it was always going to Chuck’s to get a slice,” explained Conrad.
But everything else in the small-town staple has stayed the same.
Elger’s brother gave the new owners all of Elger’s handwritten recipes.
Rowe says they are upholding the recipes 100%.
“Without the recipes, then it would be just another pizza place,” said Conrad.
Now Elger’s legacy continues through each pizza that’s served.
“I think the biggest thing I can take away from the time I knew Charles was just how he treated people,” said Conrad. “We always talk about the golden rule in life and business: treating others how you want to be treated, and that’s how Charles lived his life.”
“I really do think he would be very proud. I think he’s looking down and smiling,” said Rowe
The new owners, Conrad and Rowe, say the restaurant is still the after-school hangout spot, just as it was for them back in the day.