People have been talking about a big change on Sheridan Avenue that’s happened in the last couple of weeks. No, it’s not a new traffic signal or a historic building being torn down. There’s a new restaurant on Main Street, but that’s deceiving. Tossers is now the new name of Pizza On the Run, a Cody staple for decades.
Erynne Selk wants you to know one thing: Nothing but the name has changed at the former Pizza On the Run restaurant.
Tossers, formerly Pizza On the Run, from the outside on Sheridan Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Mac Watson.)
In fact, when Erynne and her husband Ryan, bought the restaurant from the previous owner a couple of months ago at 1302 Sheridan Avenue, they made sure that they weren’t going to overhaul the menu, the location, or the reputation of the previous Pizza On the Run. So they decided to only add to the menu but keep the same famous sauce that was developed by the founder of POTR back in the 80’s.
Tossers Pizza staff in Cody, Wyoming. (Photo courtesy of Erynne Selk).
Being in the real estate business and being the co-owner of Rev Real Estate has been a passion for Erynne before she opened her own realty business in 2019. She says she never thought of buying another business or branching out into the food industry until she and her husband were approached with an opportunity to buy Pizza On the Run. “Ryan, my husband, and I both grew up in Cody. We both grew up with Pizza On the Run, like so many [people in Cody] have. It’s an institution, it’s nostalgic. It reminds a lot of who live here of our childhood,” Erynne explains.
But if there is so much history, so many good memories for both Erynne and Ryan, why change the name? Changing a brand that has almost immediate recognition is usually a big no-no in business. Some companies change their name because of a bad reputation and they want to start fresh, or they rebrand in order to diversify their business model and accelerate their success. “We were presented with the opportunity to buy [Pizza On the Run], we decided to go for it,” but because of the Pizza On the Run location in Powell was going to still be in existence, a name change was in order. “It wasn’t our decision,” Erynne says. “We had to.”
Tossers Pizza new interior in Cody, Wyoming. (Photo courtesy of Erynne Selk).
But they did keep the pizza, the sauce, and the menu. Why fix something when it isn’t broken? Erynne says the only thing that will change is the interior décor of the Cody establishment and one big addition to the menu. “We’ve repainted, put in new flooring, and we’ve added beer [to the menu].” Another amenity the Selks have added are televisions so customers can watch their favorite sports teams when dining in the newly re-furbished inside.
The other reason Erynne and Ryan decided to take the plunge and purchase Tossers was because they “researched and tested out the staff” and were so impressed by their knowledge and dedication to the place, that it made sense to NOT radically change, but to add to their new endeavor. “The manager has been there for over four years and was trained by Harold Kaiser.” (Harold is the original owner who started Pizza On the Run back in 1984.)
When they had to choose a new name for the pizzeria, the name had to reflect Cody, says Erynne. “[The name ‘Tossers’] is just a play off of the Yellowstone National Park logo where the bison has the poor person that got too close to the wildlife, didn’t follow instructions.” Subsequently park-goers have been unfortunately “tossed” into the air and some visitors have been “tossed” and “de-pantsed” because they didn’t heed the warning of staying a safe distance from the wildlife. “If you’ve seen our logo, it will click,” Erynne laughs as she describes the logo. For people who haven’t seen the logo that adorns the restaurant, “it’s a picture a pizza guy with a pizza while being ‘tossed’ by a bison.”
Tossers is open seven days a week and has take-out, dine-in and pick-up options.
