Bonney Lake residents planning to go out to a familiar pizza place could be in for a surprise.

The familiar sign of the Godfather’s Pizza on state Route 410 has been covered by a banner with a new name: All-Star Pizza Factory.

The pizzeria is owned and managed by Darren Larson, a Pierce County native returning from more than a decade living in Texas.

All-Star will be Larson’s third pizzeria, the first two located in Sealy and Fort Jackson, Texas.

One is an 11,000-square-foot family entertainment center.

He continues to co-own those businesses with Texas-based partners, and he installed career managers before relocating to the south sound.

“All my family – my aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins – live in Pierce County,” Larson said. “I didn’t leave the state until I was 25. I’ve been trying to move back for a while now, and I’ve finally had the chance to do it.”

Larson found the Bonney Lake location for sale while he was visiting the area searching for business opportunities. There was no need to renovate, as the transition was from one pizza buffet to another.

All the cooks and servers from Godfather’s have been retained.

Even the All-Star sign is just a banner draped over the previous restaurant’s sign, for now.

The changes are slight and mainly in the content of the menu. Offerings include calzones and oven-toasted submarine sandwiches. Tex-Mex flavors are present in some of the menu items.

Larson’s orders through food-supplier Food Services of America frequently require special shipments from out of state. This allows the restaurant to incorporate higher quality ingredients into their foods, he said.

“Most big corporate franchisers are only concerned with how much the home office makes, so they choose cheaper ingredients that will bring bigger profit margins for what they sell,” he said. “I had the opportunity to use the same thing, but I chose to upgrade to quality meats, to quality dough and quality sauce. We can also meet special requests for customers. If somebody wants something extra that they don’t already see at the salad bar, we’ll provide it at no charge, which is something they couldn’t get before.

“Being independent allows me to meet customers’ needs a lot easier.”

In keeping with the All-Star sports-themed model, Larson has draped banners for the University of Washington Huskies, the Washington State University Cougars and the White River High School Hornets.

Two big-screen televisions will be brought into the restaurant to show games, one in the main dining area and one in the private party room.

Larson hopes to add more decorative sports memorabilia, he said.

All-Star is at 20625 state Route 410 E.