Sara’s Pizza in Hudsonville is reverting to second-generation ownership, announcing a return to longtime recipes and a plan to address previous health inspection citations.
Mike Verstrate announced via social media in June that he and his wife Xhuljeta — along with their children Klea and Lucas — have taken over the business at 3114 Chicago Drive.
Verstrate is the nephew of business founder John Agrusa, who opened the pizzeria in 1987. Verstrate’s parents operated the restaurant with assistance from their children until it was sold in 2025.
Less than a year later, the family is restoring the same homemade recipes, product quality and community focus that defined the restaurant for decades.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Verstrate told The Sentinel. “For as long as I can remember, Sara’s Pizza has always been a part of my family. … It has that nostalgia.”
The restaurant is currently closed for renovations and improvements. Verstrate is planning a soft reopening toward the end of the month, followed by a grand reopening after staff training is complete.
The ownership change follows a stretch of negative attention tied to health inspection reports, including four violations in October and 10 in May.
Among the citations, officials noted the restaurant was “unable to comply with basic food safety requirements” and lacked “active managerial control and oversight.”
“There were issues with the previous owners and we decided to start fresh,” Verstrate told The Sentinel.
That includes deep-cleaning the kitchen and equipment, discarding old products and donating unopened items. The restaurant will reopen with new supplies and return to making items like pizza sauce, sausage and lasagna in-house.
Verstrate said the family is eager to welcome customers back.
“We missed you and we’re glad to have you back and to give us another chance,” he said. “We really appreciate all the love and support we’ve gotten.”
Learn more at saraspizzahudsonville.com.
— Contact reporter Austin Metz at ametz@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Sara’s Pizza reverts to original family ownership in Hudsonville
Reporting by Austin Metz, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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By Austin Metz, Holland Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
