Are you old enough to have had a GOOD Tombstone pizza?

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snobuilder

Well-known member
As we headed up to the snomoshack and were approaching our usual stop and shop in Lakewood, I had a nostalgic thought about the great tasting Tombstone pizza we would have while snowmobiling the northwoods in the 70's and 80's. Even though I knew that big food corporate America (kraft) bought out the creators of the original Tombstone pizza in the late 80's and then burned the recipe, I convinced myself to give it another try many years after crossing it off my frozen pizza list.
In the back of my mind, I knew I was being delusional in thinking that maybe the old Tombstone recipe was somehow revived.....of course, I in fact was delusional.....absolute garbage. How can a successful corp run by the supposed best and brightest get this simple stuff so wrong? All they had to do was keep on making it the same way that inspired them to buy out the founders in the 1st place. And somewhere along the line someone probly got a big fat bonus for putting the deal together.
And now we see corps scrambling to go "woke"...where will this stupidity end?

Hey corporate America...."What do you want on YOUR Tombstone?"
 
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M

matti

Active member
I imagine I would've had my first taste of Tombstone as a kid in the 1980s. I still love it today, though; it's easily my favorite frozen pizza.
 
T

Tuck

Active member
Tombstone pizza used to be sooo good. We picked up one from Trigs last trip and it was darn good, wish I could remember more than it started with c and made in WI
 
U

united

Active member
attakman said:
Try a peps...they supposedly are the same family that began tombstone
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SB 40 years of short cuts might change the quality. AMan Yes I believe Pep's is related to the original Tombstone people, no compete clause expired. Tuck Probably Champion actually made in IL.
 
gary_in_neenah

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
I grew up in that part of Wisconsin and am familiar with the story behind Tombstone. An American Success Story, have a good product, work hard, and at the right place and time, the rest will take care of itself. Here's what I found on Wiki...

History​

Tombstone was founded in Medford, Wisconsin, by Pep Simek, his brother, Ron Simek, and two other individuals in 1962. The name came from The Tombstone Tavern, a tavern owned by the Simeks which was located across from a cemetery, hence its name.

In 1988, the Tombstone Pizza Company became a wholly owned but "freestanding" division of Kraft Foods. The employees who worked for Tombstone at the time were allowed to keep their jobs, although Pep and Ron Simek stepped aside from their roles in the business.

On January 5, 2010, Kraft Foods announced it was selling its frozen pizza division to Swiss-based Nestlé Foods as part of a plan to use the proceeds to purchase Cadbury, a maker of dairy milk chocolate.

Slogan
"What do you want on your Tombstone?" was created by the Chicago office of advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding. The slogan was typically used in Western advertising campaigns: a typical television commercial would ostensibly appear to be a public execution, but when the supposed executioner would ask "what do you want on your tombstone?" the accused would reply along the lines of "Pepperoni and cheese." A Tombstone pizza would then be summoned.
 
harski

harski

Member
Tim in Indiana said:
Try a frozen pothole meat sweats pizza from Kwik Trip. This is now our favorite frozen pizza.
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x2 on Pothole!!!! I agree with the OP that Tombstone is garbage now but have also heard Pep's is extremely similar to the original recipe. I've recently tried Vito and Nicks which I thought was pretty dang good!
 
T

Tuck

Active member
United thanks for the info of Champion, all though I thought it was made in Stevens Point. we seem to get one on every trip so a few more trys to find yet this year. Peps is going to be tried
 
M

Magnumb

Member
Costco GF frozen takes the cake for me. Crank oven to 500 and get that pizza stone nice and hot. Throw the thawed pizza on it and turn off the oven and let her cook for 5-10 minutes. Crispy/Chewy crust and bubbly gooey browned cheese.
 
O

old abe

Well-known member
snobuilder said:
As we headed up to the snomoshack and were approaching our usual stop and shop in Lakewood, I had a nostalgic thought about the great tasting Tombstone pizza we would have while snowmobiling the northwoods in the 70's and 80's. Even though I knew that big food corporate America (kraft) bought out the creators of the original Tombstone pizza in the late 80's and then burned the recipe, I convinced myself to give it another try many years after crossing it off my frozen pizza list.
In the back of y mind, I knew I was being delusional in thinking that maybe the old Tombstone recipe was somehow revived.....of course, I in fact was delusional.....absolute garbage. How can a successful corp run by the supposed best and brightest get this simple stuff so wrong? All they had to do was keep on making it the same way that inspired them to buy out the founders in the 1st place. And somewhere along the line someone probly got a big fat bonus for putting the deal together.
And now we corps scrambling to go "woke"...where will this stupidity end?

Hey corporate America...."What do you want on YOUR Tombstone?"
Click to expand...
snobuilder, I hear that, and I'm with you;)! My daughter in law is employed at Kraft Heinz, and has a very lofty position in Quality Control, and production. She deals in all kinds of their products. Perhaps this is a surprise, even to me, but for several years now, they have really been trying to improve their products, brands. Yes it is a Giant Corp, but they are trying. We get samples to taste test! I will bring this Tombstone taste issue up to her? No promises, but perhaps we, snobuilder, we'll get your wish. (y) As I too remember the good old, original tasting Tombstone pizza. Ah, yes, Medford, Sconny, eh! :)
Edit; Ahhhh, seems as we are out of luck snobuilder after reading Gary's very interesting post! I will be trying Peps pizza! Ive seen them, but never had one. Heather also says Jacks, and DiGiorno pizza are also part of Nestle Foods?
 
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