(Fergus Falls, Minn.) – Greater Fergus Falls (GFF) is pleased to announce that Ole & Lena’s Pizzeria has expanded its market to include corporate wholesalers such as Walmart. This account places the Ole & Lena’s Pizzeria brand in Walmart’s located in Fergus Falls, Wahpeton, Dilworth, South Fargo, and Detroit Lakes. Owner Shane Balken is actively growing his reach into the West Central ND and South Central MN markets throughout the remainder of the year.
Balken originally opened Ole & Lena’s Pizzeria in Rothsay in 2007 and within one year was well-positioned to add a food truck to the pizza business, which bolstered growth and market reach in quick fashion. After 12 years of solid restaurant experience, Balken added frozen pizza distribution to the brand. Since 2016, Balken has distributed his frozen pizza line to area stores and diversified to include a fundraising operation that has been increasingly successful among area school districts and non-profit organizations.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the amazing support I’ve received over the past 14 years from surrounding communities. I could not have expanded my business without the loyal customers, friends, and family who have helped me along the way,” Balken said.
In 2019, Balken sold his Rothsay-based restaurant and partnered with Harold Hagen to purchase the former Skyvision property in Fergus Falls. Today this property headquarters and warehouses the Ole & Lena’s frozen pizza line. After spending a year increasing distribution and quadrupling fundraising sales through an expansive market reach, Balken successfully secured a national account with the Walmart Corporation. This account allows the brand to reach new markets and customers nationwide!
Other notable markets include Service Food Market in Fergus Falls, Econo Foods in Wahpeton, and Cashwise in the Fargo-Moorhead area. He also services a long line of local grocery and convenience stores throughout the area. The fundraising operation is now available throughout North Dakota, Minnesota, and parts of South Dakota.
Balken has spent considerable time working with GFF to expand business operations through their Entrepreneur Initiative, a free and confidential one-on-one consulting program, which led to successfully leveraging signage financing and other marketing and promotional collaborations with other local businesses like Sign Guys. Additionally, the Ole & Lena’s property offers a variety of commercial warehouse storage and office suites for lease, which are marketed through GFF’s comprehensive Available Sites database. To learn how individuals and businesses can take advantage of these resources, please visit greaterfergusfalls.com.
GFF’s NeTia Bauman said, “Ole & Lena’s offers a prime example of the variety of support and services that our organization can provide to both start-ups and existing businesses. We are well-positioned to provide anything from financial packaging and assistance to commercial property marketing, and everything in between,” she continued, “Success and growth does not happen overnight, but with perseverance, businesses like Balken’s can rest assured that our organization will work to serve them the best we can.”
Stay in-the-know with Ole & Lena’s Pizzeria by visiting their new website at: www.oleandlenas.pizza.
The mission at GFF is to support and grow the area business community by retaining existing businesses, revitalizing our local economy, and recruiting new entrepreneurs and innovators. The vision is to provide support to a vibrant business community through the removal of barriers for start-ups, expansions, and ensuring the continued health of existing businesses in our area.
Press release and photo provided by Greater Fergus Falls
Pictured Shane Balken
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