Godfather’s Pizza, the once-renowned chain that featured a menacing Don Corleone character, returns to San Antonio this summer under the financial stewardship of a decorated military veteran.
Thirty five years after 20 local franchises closed, war hero and real estate executive Levi Rodgers is bringing Godfather’s back.
Rodgers, 47, grew up tossing pies at a Godfather’s in Sacramento, California.
As CEO of the Levi Rodgers Real Estate Group, Rodgers thinks big. He’s not opening one or two locations. He plans to open eight or nine and expand to Austin and Killeen.
“I’m excited to bring Godfather’s back to San Antonio,” said Rodgers, whose real estate company serves Central and South Texas. “I worked at Godfather’s when I was a teenager. I thought that’s what I was going to do. Then I talked to an Army recruiter who said, ‘Dude, there’s always time for pizza. Join the Army.’ Thank God I did.”
The first Godfather’s is set to open in late June or early July at Loop 410 and State Highway 151. Expect a blast of nostalgia: the return of the taco pizza, the classic combo, “piled high ingredients” and throwback video games in the rear of the eatery.
“We’re going to have the same menu and shoot for the same feeling, the same environment,” said operations manager Juan Cuellar. “We’re not just serving pizza. We’re building a team, a community and memories – just like the ones many of us grew up with at Godfather’s.”
According to corporate history, Godfather’s was the nation’s fastest growing restaurant chain in the late 1970s, peaking in 1984 with 911 franchise locations across the U.S. Trouble soon followed. Competition intensified, sales declined and franchise owners filed a flurry of lawsuits.
Pillsbury bought Godfather’s, then sold it. By the late 1980s, hundreds of franchise locations had shuttered, including all 20 in San Antonio (although a new location would open later).
In the early 1990s, a 14-year-old boy began work at Godfather’s in Sacramento. The kid grew into the job and was offered an assistant manager’s position. Levi Rodgers thought he’d make pizza a career until a U.S. Army recruiter presented a better offer.
Rodgers enlisted as a combat engineer, rose to special forces Green Beret and was deployed all over the world. During a 2009 mission in Afghanistan, a Humvee in which he was riding hit an improvised explosive device. The blast killed everyone in the vehicle except Rodgers, leaving him with broken legs, a broken back and burns over 40 percent of his body.
Flown to the Brooke Army Medical Center burn unit, he was placed in a medically-induced coma for six weeks. Rehabilitation took two years. After recovery, the veteran who earned one Purple Heart and four Bronze Stars, studied real estate and launched his own company.
“The biggest injuries were not the physical ones,” Rodgers said. “Four men died under my direction and I lived. The guy that pulled me from the burning vehicle, Pedro Solis, is still by my side. He works with me at my real estate company.”
Two years ago, while driving through Oregon with his fiancee, a Godfather’s sign caught his eye. Rodgers blinked in disbelief. He thought the company had gone bankrupt. He turned his car around, pulled into the restaurant and looked around.
“All this nostalgia from when i was 17 came back,” he said. “The same smell, everything all hit me at once. I messaged my assistant: ‘I need to know who owns Godfather’s and I need to bring it to San Antonio.’”
Meetings with Godfather’s corporate followed. Rodgers hired Cuellar, a longtime friend with decades of experience in the hospitality industry. Corporate sent a crew to help build the first restaurant.
“I am investing a tremendous amount of money in San Antonio,” Rodgers said. “I remember when my family would go to eat pizza. It was a family treat, maybe once a month. It wasn’t something we did every week. We couldn’t afford it.”
The first Godfather’s will open with a flagpole in front of the restaurant and a “fallen heroes” table inside. Dedicated to those who lost their lives, the table seats will remain empty.
“The space is reserved for KIA (Killed in Action) POWS that never made it home who served from San Antonio,” Rodgers said. “The flagpole raising will be special as we are putting a razor blade, bullet and match in the truck of the pole, in accordance with military tradition.”
The opening promises to tug at hearts and stir memories. The last Godfather’s in San Antonio, located at Lackland Air Force Base, opened in 2004 and closed in 2016. Cuellar says he will ask customers to bring pictures from their youth at Godfathers. The images, he hopes, will build a bridge, forming a connection from one generation to the next.
Godfather’s marketing team started building that connection months ago with a series of social media posts. In December, the team brought back the 60ish-looking gentleman in the pinstripe suit and fedora hat, the mustachioed-face of the Godfather franchise.
In a post that generated significant buzz, the Don Corleone character announced the return of the franchise to San Antonio. He explained that it would be veteran owned and would serve favorite pies from yesteryear. He urged listeners to follow updates on social media.
Then, with a two-word snarl that hasn’t been heard in years, the Godfather uttered a familiar command: “Do it!”
That’s what the Army recruiter told Rodgers in Sacramento. Years later, the two reconnected. Now living in Schertz, the retired recruiter, Michael Morrow, will attend the grand opening to support a fellow veteran.
“Sgt. Morrow said, ‘You gotta join the Army. It will take you places,” Rodgers recalled. “I can’t imagine where my life would be if I hadn’t trusted him.”
