Hanger Hits The Road: Biwabik, Minn.

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In this latest edition of Hanger Hits the Road, FOX 21’s Dan Hanger heads to Biwabik, Minn., that has a one-of-a-kind feeling from overseas and a loyal pizza place like no other.

The strip of Main Street in Biwabik looks more like a piece of Germany.

“They’ve tried to pull in this Bavarian theme with the Ridge,” explained Kim Mattson, a longtime resident and owner of Vi’s Pizza.

Biwabik is known as the gateway to the popular Giant’s Ridge Golf and Ski Resort.

The resort has become the center attraction for the community of nearly a thousand people.

“We have people from all over the world, because they’ve been up here – whether they’re doing Pepsi cup races,” Mattson explained.

Mattson and her husband, Jeffrey, own one of the area’s most notable and respected businesses in town — Vi’s Pizza.

It’s been family owned since 1959 when her grandmother, Vi, started the business out of her Biwabik home.

“She saw the future in the pizza and she would have been a force to reckon with if she was alive now. This is all due to her,” Mattson explained.

Vi’s recently opened up a brand new location on Main Street in the heart of the city with double the occupancy and a kitchen built for a future expanded menu.

“It’s the quality. It’s the pizza. It’s the family,” Mattson said.

Mattson and her kids invested in the new building to keep the legacy of Vi’s alive as the fifth generation of family members who start working this summer.

“We’ve never wanted to leave. My kids have never wanted to leave. The people that work here don’t want to leave. And they still come back and say, this is one of the best jobs I ever had in my life, and that means a lot,” Mattson said.