A slice of happiness for duo

Customers continue to support the Heilbronn family, who serve up thousands of pizza each week

NEW ADDITION: Jessee and Tracey Heilbronn from Pizza Plus in Raceview and North Ipswich. INSET: Jessee hard at work. Picture: David Nielsen

WHEN pizza chain Eagle Boys went into voluntary administration last year, this affected one Ipswich family who worked for the company.

Tracey Heilbronn and her son Jessee, who worked at both the Raceview and North Ipswich stores, found themselves in a situation where they weren't sure what their next step was.

"We both opened the Eagle Boys' stores back in October 2011,” Mrs Heilbronn said.

"When the 2013 floods hit, we were there giving out pizza to all the relief workers

"We were very popular in the local community. We had lots of regular customers.

"So when the news came through that Eagle Boys was closing, we didn't know what to do. Do you go bankrupt? I'm a fighter and I wasn't going to let that happen.

"We had meetings with other pizza chains but in the end we decided to do it ourselves.”

The mother and son duo formed their own business, Pizza Plus, which still operates out of the same locations.

Mrs Heilbronn runs and manages the Raceview business while Mr Heilbronn is in charge of their North Ipswich store.

Together, they have 30 staff members who work out of the two stores.

"My staff are incredible,” Mrs Heilbronn said.

"They all love working here and are happy to come to work for their shifts.

"I treat them all with respect and that goes both ways.

"They are all like my kids. Their schooling and sports are important to me as well so I make sure their interests are well balanced with their work commitments.”

Their family business has been a big success in the city of Ipswich, and is still a popular favourite among residents.

"My son Jessee has worked in pizza restaurants since he was a teenager, so he designed our menu,” Mrs Heilbronn said.

"We have a lot of quirky pizzas which our customers love.

"We have lots of really loyal customers who came to us when we were Eagle Boys, and who continue to support us as we became Pizza Plus.”

You can find Pizza Plus at at 5 63/59 Raceview St, Raceview, and 3/2 Pine St, North Ipswich.

You can also find a coupon for 25% off pizzas on the coupon page of the Ipswich Advertiser.