By RYAN CHRISTNER

rchristner@dailynews.net

NESS CITY -- Just the night before his restaurant opened in February 1985, Pat Vavricka still was tinkering with his pizza sauce recipe, hoping to bring out a flavor that would register with customers and ensure the success of his new venture.

Nearly 25 years later, the finished product has become what is likely a contributing factor to Pizza Plus being named one of the 8 Wonders of Northwest Kansas Cuisine in a Hays Daily News contest.

Located at 108 S. Pennsylvania, inside an unassuming wood and brick building along Ness City's modest business district, Pizza Plus was established in order to fill the city's pizza vacancy.

"There wasn't any pizza in town, so we thought it was a good deal to do," said Vavricka, who owns the business with his wife, Rita.

The restaurant is so named because it offers pizza, plus an extensive list of other dishes, primarily Mexican and Italian in nature.

Of course, pizza sales make up the bulk of the revenue.

The savory, circular dish is so good, Vavricka said many former residents now living in larger, metropolitan areas have returned and told him that the quality at his restaurant is far superior to what can be found elsewhere.

One such customer, Teresa Erb of Kansas City, validated that claim while enjoying a meal last month.

"I love their pizza," Erb said, "it's just consistently good. The sauce is very good."

Erb, who grew up in Bazine, continued to say the prices were "very reasonable" and the service was "very fast, even when they got busy."

Also dining in that day was Erb's cousin, Mark Traxler, his wife, Nettie, and their three children, Austyn, Brett and Tanner.

The Traxlers live in Montana and said Erb didn't hesitate to suggest Pizza Plus when asked where to meet for lunch.

They too found the food above their expectations.

"He doesn't eat much of anything, and he ate almost his whole pizza," Nettie Traxler said of her son, Brett.

For Vavricka, his foray into the world of restaurant ownership came about in a bit of a roundabout way.

After graduating from Fort Hays State University with a degree in biological sciences, the Oakley native went to work in Hays.

Later, his employer told him of another possible job opportunity, opening a convenience store in Ness City.

Vavricka said his brother already was living in the area at the time, so he was willing to give it a try.

That was around 1980, and the realization about the poor accessibility of the popular comfort food came soon afterward.

"It's been a pretty wild ride ever since," Vavricka said.

News of the restaurant's inclusion on the 8 Wonders list took a while to reach Pat's ears and was a complete surprise when he learned just how highly respected and appreciated his food must be to people.

Since being named a contest finalist, he's heard several comments from patrons who had read about Pizza Plus making the cut.

He even received a phone call from a woman just a few days after the final votes were tallied, asking if he was the one who made the "award-winning pizza."

Vavricka might not have a shiny trophy to show for it, but that's OK with him. Getting recognition wasn't really the reason why he formed the business or why he gets up every morning to continue what he started.

There's a much simpler answer for that.

"It's fun," he said.