A recent article in the La Crosse Tribune highlighted Tristen Landers from our Pizza Ranch there. It tells the amazing story of how she overcame addiction, and a felony record to make something better of her life as well as the lives of those around her every day.

Her experience mirrors that of many former convicts, who say finding and growing within a job is one of the most difficult tasks upon re-entering society.

“I worked my way up through the ranks, and then last year, I bought in as an owner at this location,” said Landers.

The opportunity gave her hope – and helped her stay sober after three years of homelessness and over a decade of drug abuse.

“I was given the opportunity, so I try to pay it forward and give other people opportunities,” said Landers.

Since becoming a manager and, later, an owner-operator, she has built a team of leaders and staff members who largely have been or are currently in addiction recovery and those who were formerly incarcerated.

Benjamin Wiese lived on the streets for eight years. He was in and out of jail, and through drug court after nearly 15 years of drug use, starting with marijuana, and eventually working up to heroin. He is now one of the assistant general managers at Pizza Ranch.

“Seeing Tristen go from a pizza maker to a multi-unit owner is fabulous,” said Weise. “I see the footpath in front of me, and I am just trying to step in all of her steps because that is what success looks like to me — and that is what I want to be.”

Landers has built something like a family at Pizza Ranch, a place where recovering addicts can depend on one another and hold each other accountable, but also offer flexibility to ensure the needs of the staff, especially those early in recovery, can be met.

This shows how our La Crosse Pizza Ranch is building a legacy of creating Stories of Impact every day.

-Article from the La Crosse Tribue written by Gavin Michaelson.