By HANNAH HOLLIDAY

hannah.holliday@leaderpub.com

DOWAGIAC — As a young boy, Jamie Saylor would visit his uncle Walter’s Saylor’s Pizza location in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From there, Jamie developed a dream to run his own pizza joint someday.

Jamie’s dream turned into a reality after he purchased Saylor’s Front Street Pizzeria, 128 S. Front St., Dowagiac, from his parents, Boyd and Alice Saylor, in 1997. Now, the location celebrates 25 years as a multi-generational, family-focused business. 

The love story between the Saylor family and pizza goes back to the 1960s in Chicago. Back then, the family business was under the name Vito’s Pizza.

A couple of Jamie’s uncles, Henry and Alfred, moved the pizza places to Fort Wayne in the 1970s to work with Jamie’s uncle Walter.

“In 1985, my father, [Boyd], was injured in a motorcycle accident, and he couldn’t do the industrial style work that he was used to because of a back injury,” Jamie said. “From there, he joined with my uncle Walter in business.”

The pair ended up splitting up the partnership in 1990, with Boyd deciding to take Saylor’s Pizza to Mishawaka, Indiana. The location in Mishawaka still stands.

In 1994, Boyd started another location in Dowagiac, becoming one of the first new businesses in the city after its streetscape construction. Boyd, working alongside the city and Larry Seurynck, the property owner, rehabbed the building. The building dates back to the 1800s, Jamie said.

In the early 2000s, Jamie and his wife, Danielle, officially bought the building from Larry Seurynck.

“Even before we were in business, it was kind of a little dream in my heart derived from my uncle Walter,” Jamie said. “That’s where it spawned from.”

Just like how Jamie was involved in the pizza making process from a young age, his own three sons have grown up working at Saylor’s.

“It started off by force, but it’s more of a choice now,” Jamie said with a laugh. “We’ve raised our family alongside running the business here, so the time has gone quickly.”

Jamie’s sons, ages 20, 15 and 13, all currently work at the pizza joint. Alec, the oldest of the three, is in college.

“Alec is biting at the bit to kind of go at it,” the couple said. “We hope to pass the baton to him as well.”

Being in a downtown location for 25 years, the Saylors have gotten to develop relationships with their customers, other merchants, Dowagiac Union Schools and Southwestern Michigan College.

“We’ve met a lot of nice folks and seen a lot of good changes downtown,” Jamie said. “The city has been fun to work with. The merchants downtown, there have been some here as long as we have been here. Then there have been some that have turned over and come and gone.”

Running a business in a building from the 1800s has had its challenges and included some complete renovations.

While ownership has changed hands, the same suppliers and distributers have stayed consistent. The pizza’s recipe has also remained true to the family tradition.

The larger, extended family continues to operate eight Saylor’s locations, Jamie said, which requires communication between members.

“We always communicate different competitive numbers and trends through the market and where we buy our food,” he said. “Mainly, it’s pretty easy going, but we have a lot of fun communicating.”

At the Front Street pizzeria, Jamie said the family has made friendships with many people and plans to continue to do so.

“We’ve watched [children] as middle schoolers coming down on their half days,” Jamie said. “Now, they are grown with their own children, and their children are coming in.”

The couple does not see much changing in the future — except for the possibility of additional locations as their sons grow older.

“In reference to our character and style, things will probably remain the same,” the couple said.