Another pizza chain is headed to Texas. Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream, which has been slinging pies for folks in Iowa for 54 years, announced Tuesday it struck a franchise agreement with BB3 Hospitality Co. in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Expect to see some Happy Joe’s sprouting up in Texas starting in late 2027.
It’s uncertain just how many locations will open in DFW, but BB3 Hospitality and Happy Joe’s struck a multi-unit deal that will impact Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Husband-and-wife duo Elizabeth and Jeremy Aune lead BB3, which looks to be a relatively new business out of Corinth.
“Seeing BB3 Hospitality Co. sign on for multiple locations across Dallas-Fort Worth is exactly the kind of momentum we hoped for when we opened up Texas for development,” said Happy Joe’s President and Chief Happiness Officer Tom Sacco, per a press release. “DFW is one of the fasted-growing markets in the country, with the population growth and family demographics we look for, and a family like the Aunes is who you want carrying that torch into a new state.”
History of Happy Joe’s
Lawrence Joseph Whitty started Happy Joe’s in 1972 in Bettendorf, Iowa, a city across the Mississippi River from Ilinois and just about halfway between Des Moines, Iowa, and Chicago. The restaurant has all the food you’d expect, including mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, salads, hot sandwiches, pasta dishes and plenty of pizza. There’s a barbecue pie, a Hawaiian with Canadian bacon and pineapple, a Happy Joe’s Special with said ham and sauerkraut, and even a Texas-smoked barbecue brisket pizza that’s topped wit pickles, onions and sauce.
And then there’s the taco pizza, which Happy Joe’s claims to have created. The Taco Joe has beef and sausage, lettuce, tomatoes and taco chips, all on a refried bean sauce. Iowans apparently love taco pizza…