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 Adam Acs aacs@iowainformation.com Jun 20, 2026 Updated  Jun 22, 2026

The secret to making a great pizza is simple, according to Sibley Pizza Hut manager Suzi Lingle.

Be consistent, bake a good pizza and help make people happy.

“We make it with love, that’s what I always say,” Lingle said.

Lingle should know. She’s the manager of the best Pizza Hut in the company and has earned back-to-back manager of the year recognitions.

Sibley boasts the number one overall ranked Pizza Hut out of 86 locations under the Staab Management Co. based in Grand Island, NE.

Originally working at a Pizza Hut/Taco Bell in Fairmont, MN, for 11 years, Lingle found herself stuck working at the drive-through for six months and wanted to move up the ladder. When she was told about an opening from her area coach to become a manager in Sibley, Lingle jumped at the opportunity.

Since 2012, the Sibley location has been under Lingle’s leadership and has undergone many improvements since then. While initially the restaurant suffered from poor numbers and training, Lingle stepped in and put her heart and soul into the restaurant, making it a must-stop destination for many people inside and outside of Sibley.

“We have these two couples from Pipestone, MN, that drive all the way here to eat, and then drive all the way back home,” Lingle said. “We have people who just drive through any time anyone’s going to the lakes. Anytime we have certain towns playing at the school, sometimes we just get bombarded. Depends on what town it is, because a lot of towns around here don’t have Pizza Huts anymore.

“But we do have a lot of people who just drive here, even when they have Pizza Huts close to them, to eat here instead, because they say it’s better.”

Throughout the years, the restaurant at 525 Second Ave. has been through it all: broken air conditioner, faulty cooking equipment and COVID-19 partially shutting down the dine-in portion. But through support from the community, setting high standards and a determined attitude, Lingle and her team have survived it all and made the restaurant a cornerstone of quality service and a welcoming atmosphere.

“Yeah, there’s no real secret,” Lingle said. “People don’t believe me when they ask me, because that is my answer. Give a great pizza with a smile, it’s easy, it’s simple, just do that. They just look at me like I’m lying, but that’s honest to God truth.”

Lingle has seen many people work at the restaurant, including her own children. Her oldest son Sebastian, who is 19 years old, used to work at the restaurant before graduating from the Sibley-Ocheyedan School District to work at Maintainer in Sheldon. Her two daughters, Violet, 17, and Gwen, 15, work at the Pizza Hut with their mother, making the restaurant almost something like a family business to Lingle.

“I love the people that I get to work with,” Lingle said. “I’ve seen so many kids grow. I’ve seen so many families grow. I love being able to be part of their story. And a lot of them just are family to me forever. I was just at one of my past employees’ weddings last year, and a couple of them are having babies, and you know it’s just crazy to me. At my son’s graduation, a good percentage of the people who came were past generations of my employees, and it just humbles me.”

Recently, Lingle went to Nebraska with all of the other managers, area coaches and higher-ups from Staab to network with other staff, learn from other locations and participate in the awards ceremony. Last year, the location won second best overall in 2024 with employee retention, customer feedback and the new retro look — remodeled in 2022 — playing in their favor.

During this ceremony, Lingle’s location won six different awards, with the main two being number one overall Pizza Hut in 2025 under Staab and manager of the year for the second year in a row for Lingle. This recognition has greatly motivated Lingle and her team to keep doing what they’re doing right, while always looking for more ways to improve the restaurant.

With Fridays and the weekends being the restaurant’s busiest days with most people choosing to dine in, Lingle hopes to expand the restaurant by tearing down the wall on its northern side to make more room for customers and pizza ovens. Lingle would have to work closely with Staab management to make such a change, but given the location’s success, nothing is impossible.

Lingle said the hopeful change for the customers and the recent awards are all thanks to the community.

“Thank you for showing up for us. Thank you for supporting us. We’ve had a lot of fundraisers this year, and we would love to do more. When we had them, people showed up,” Lingle said. “They showed up for the community, and that made me proud to be part of this community. I hope they just keep loving us. I want to thank my employees because they are just killing it. My team is just amazing, and I love them, past and present.”

Sibley's Lingle named Pizza Hut Manager of the Year

Sandra Jenson sjenson@iowainformation.com

SIBLEY—Dedication to a job well done earned Suzi Lingle Manager of the Year honors at Sibley Pizza Hut.

Staab Management Co. of Grand Island, NE, oversees the Sibley location as well as nearly 100 other Pizza Huts in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska.

“I’ve been with the company, in September, it will be 24 years,” Lingle said.

She spent the first 11 years in Fairmont, MN, starting at a combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell just before turning 17.

“I went and got the job and pretty much never left,” Lingle said.

Showing initiative by learning all aspects of the job, she eventually earned the management position in Sibley that she has held for 13 years. Her longevity and the franchise’s success contributed to Lingle’s selection for the Manager of the Year award.

“Our store in the company got second for the whole company in 2024,” Lingle said. “We’ve been just doing really well, and we’ve had a lot of new managers in the company.”

Employee retention, prompt service and customer feedback also factored into the decision.

“I can’t believe that our tiny town does as well as it does. They say we have the busiest dining room in our whole company,” Lingle said. “So, we’re getting more tables and chairs because we don’t have enough room most times. A lot of people are waiting or leaving, and I don’t like that.”

The recent replacement of the hanging light fixtures allows more flexibility in table placement to make space for extra seating.

Lingle is quick to credit her staff for the continued growth of sales at the restaurant.

“They do such a great job,” she said. “I’m definitely blessed to have the group of employees that I have.”

Three of those staff members are her children, who will be a senior, junior and freshman at Sibley-Ocheyedan High School in Sibley this fall. She is thankful for the upbringing they have had in the Sibley community, made possible through her employment with Pizza Hut.

“I love it. It’s nice that I get to do that,” Lingle said. “Most people don’t get to do that with their kids. And I love all the kids that I have here, too. They call me ‘Work Mom.’”

She said their customer base comes from a wide region, stretching to Sioux Falls, SD, and Sioux City, and they welcome repeat customers. Staff often hear that the food tastes better in Sibley and it’s worth the wait.

“I just like to make sure everyone’s happy, the customers and employees. I hate when people are disappointed. We try to fix it right away,” Lingle said. “I try my best. We just do what we can.”

By Suzi Nelson         

WAHOO – Christmas came a few months early for Becky Lacey this year.

The  Wahoo woman received a prestigious national honor for her work as the  restaurant general manager at Pizza Hut in Wahoo for over 40 years.

On  Sept. 21, Lacey was awarded the Folino Life Unboxed Award from Pizza  Hut, which is given to one restaurant general manager per year by the  company.

The award is granted  to someone who is a true leader in their community and their restaurant  and is making an impact on their customers and employees as well as the  community where the restaurant is located.

With  over 6,000 Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States, it is a major  achievement to receive this award, according to Dave Staab, who owns 68  restaurants in five states including the Wahoo store.

“This  is about culture and their involvement in the community and what  they’ve done in the community,” he said during the presentation  ceremony.

Staub applauded Lacey’s involvement with diners and staff as well as the time she has spent working at community events.

“She’s just so connected with her team and just all around a great individual,” he said.

Because  of the COVID-19 pandemic, the award ceremony was low key. But a few  individuals were there to cheer Lacey on, including her daughter, Jay  Woita, and son, Kreig Lacey. Both worked for their mother as they were  growing up. here.

“I was fired six times,” Kreig Lacey said with a laugh.

Working for her mother was always fun, but there was also a serious side when it came to taking care of customers, Woita said.

“She’s a great example of what a boss should be,” she added.

Woita now uses what she learned from her mother in her own business, DJ’s Hair Design in Wahoo.

“As the owner of a salon, everything that I learned, I learned from her,” she said.

Mary Taylor was also on hand to witness Lacey’s achievement. Taylor had been on the first crew Lacey oversaw as manager.

“She never asked us to do anything she wouldn’t do herself,” Taylor said. “To me, that says a lot about being a boss.”

Taylor also used her experience working with Lacey later in her career.

“Whenever  I worked in a managerial position I would draw upon what I learned from  her and what it was like to work for her as a manager,” she said.

Taylor  moved back to Wahoo about five years ago and started looking for a job  right away. When she was not successful, she turned to her old friend  and boss, who hired her back as a cook. She has since moved on to  another job, but she continues to work at the Wahoo store on a part-time  basis.

Taylor said Lacey’s involvement in the community really stands out from her time as a Pizza Hut employee.

“What she does for the community is just amazing,” she said.

Theresa  Klein, executive director for the Wahoo Chamber of Commerce and the  Greater Wahoo Development Foundation, said every community should have  someone like Lacey, who takes care of their customers and serves the  community at the same time.

“Becky is that rock that every community needs,” she said.

Lacey’s  impact is felt in small, but important ways, Klein added. Like when she  hands out coupons to local kids for helping others.

“It’s just those little things that have big ripples in our community,” she said.

Helping others comes naturally to Lacey.

“I just love to help people,” she said.

She  came to Wahoo in the early 1970s to attend John F. Kennedy College on a  track scholarship. She is on the record books there as a member of the  fastest 4x100 relay team in school history.

Lacey started working at Pizza Hut in 1973 as a part-time job to help pay for college.

“I came from a big family so I had to work,” she said.

When  the college closed in 1975, Lacey stayed in Wahoo and continued to work  at Pizza Hut. She was offered a position as assistant manager and she  took it, making a decision that would impact the rest of her life.

“I’m so happy I did it,” she said. “It’s just been a rewarding job for me.”

Lacey  had been studying physical education and psychology in college. She  never dreamed of a career in business. But fate had intervened and in  1979, she was promoted to restaurant general manager and has carried  that title ever since.

“That’s how I ended up carrying on the Pizza Hut tradition,” she said.

Lacey  forged her own path when it came to how she ran the restaurant. She was  the first in Wahoo to hire intellectually challenged people from Region  V in Wahoo, starting the program in the 1980s. Since then, several  other area businesses have followed suit.

“Back then, that was a big thing,” she said.

Lacey sees the program as a learning opportunity for both the Region V clients and the rest of her staff.

“It’s good for them to experience working side by side,” she said.

Klein said early on Lacey recognized the benefits of having people of all abilities working together.

“She’s teaching the kids in the community how to work,” Klein added.

Lacey  is also teaching that doing good things for others does not always  require recognition. There are days when Lacey will pay for a family’s  meal for no reason other than she wants to. Their protests always fall  on deaf ears.

“I tell them, ‘You can’t argue with me, I’m the boss,’” she said with a laugh.

Lacey would rather do good deeds like this without people knowing. She just likes to make people feel good.

“If I can have a reason to surprise somebody to make their day a little better, I’ll do it,” she said.

As a Pizza Hut restaurant general manager, Lacey has never turned down a request to donate to the community.

“People in Wahoo are just the greatest people,” she said.

After  nearly five decades working at Pizza Hut, Lacey doesn’t plan to retire  soon. She said she envisions herself rolling through the store on a  motorized scooter, much like Mrs. B did at Nebraska Furniture Mart.

“When I don’t love my job, I’ll retire,” she added.

That probably won’t be any time soon.