The future is looking up for Matt Winjum and Arron Hendricks, owners of Rhombus Guys pizza on Kittson Avenue in Grand Forks.
"We're going to renovate the apartment upstairs into seating, then open up a rooftop bar with outdoor seating," Hendricks said. "The stairwell in the back corner will extend all the way to the roof."
Winjum said the target date for completion is mid to late August.
Both Hendricks and Winjum recently were recognized as the 2009 Small Business Administration Young Entrepreneurs for Region VIII, which includes Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. Hendricks said the two were nominated by the UND Center for Innovation.
"We're just really thrilled that after 10 years, things really start to pay off when you work hard and do your best," Hendricks said.
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Rhombus Guys was named Grand Forks' Best Pizza in 2007 and again in 2008.
"The Grand Forks location has been so well-received by the community," Winjum said. "I never fathomed in just over two years we'd be doing as well as we are."
The Thief River Falls natives, both 28, started their first venture to earn money for college--- a mobile smoothie stand they could take around to area county fairs, festivals and special events. When it was finished, it wasn't exactly square and looked more like a rhombus. So, the first name was Smoothie Rhombus.
In spring 2002, Winjum and Hendricks opened Rhombus House of Pizza in Mentor, Minn., just a mile off of Maple Lake.
In the fall of 2004, they opened Cafe Rhombus, a full service restaurant in Thief River Falls. They took on a partner, Levi Kraft, and formed Rhombus House of Pizza LLC as the parent company.
In 2006, they were named Small Businessmen of the Year by the city of Thief River Falls. About that time, they acquired the old Sanders 1907 building in downtown Grand Forks. By the spring of 2007, Rhombus Guys opened.
All has not gone smoothly. Smoothie Rhombus was destroyed by fire in 2005 and Cafe Rhombus closed at the end of May 2008 because of high rent, a poor labor market and decreasing revenues. Kraft married and left the partnership.
Reach Johnson at (701) 780-1262; (800) 477-6572, ext. 262; or send e-mail to jjohnson2@gfherald.com .
