Ask Chuck McMillen what he would like for dinner tonight and the answer is apt to be pizza. Query the 24 year veteran what he would like for lunch tomorrow and you are likely to get the same response. "I could eat the stuff three meals a day, seven days a week," laughs the boisterous, self proclaimed pizza guru.Meet the man who has devoted a life time to the magical, round, Italian product.

Celebrating two plus decades this June in the industry, you could say that Chuck McMillen was born with a "red thumb." His tale is a modern day Horatio Alger epic starting as a young teenager in Uncle Bill Prosperi's West Virginia pizza shop and culminating in his current collaboration as a founding partner in the 220 unit Pizzas of Eight program chain.

The date still stands out—June 7th, 1976 - the first day on the job in the small Weirton, West VA shop. Following a routine that would become all too familiar, McMillen worked from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. every day making dough, cooking sauce, slicing pepperoni, grating cheese and baking inthe baker's oven. Earning $10 dollars a day for his efforts, the work ethic learned at Uncle Bill's would last him a life time. "I guess that was before the time of child labor laws," jokes Chuck. "Honestly, you couldn't get me out of the place, I loved being in that environment.

Years later, the business would be sold as Chuck found himself balancing a paper route and continuing his career at Di Carlo's Pizza and also running the concession stand at high school. The first thing he did, of course, was add pizza to the menu. Through a series of events, he would return to team with his Uncle in 1980 on a new pizza venture, however, due to the property being sold, the business was forced to shut down. Give up on pizza? Not McMillen. "I figured you have to continue to do what you love and love what you do," he said. "Luckily I found a local entrepreneur opening up several stored who was in need of a help.Now married and with a new daughter, Donna, career decisions had to be made and salary considered.

The year was 1982 and like many pizza enthusiast, Chuck was recruited by industry giant Pizza Hut. For the next four years, he would rise in the ranks from cook to store manager to regional trainer. " They are a great organization," commented McMillen. " I definitely learned a lot from my experiences with that company and owe a great deal to my time spent at Pizza Hut." However, remembering his days in the family business, the entrepreneurial itch would be too great for Chuck to ignore. In 1986, he would venture out to start his own restaurant in West Virginia dubbed The Runabout. Working morning to night, and caring for his second daughter Jacklynn, the venture proved fruitful. " It wasn't easy in those early days, but we made a good business of it." Traditional classic family dining, the menu offered a variety of dishes, however, true to his roots, Chuck made sure that pizza was the cornerstone. " Every Wednesday was all you can eat pizza, soup and salad. We packed them in!," he remembers.

Ultimately, family considerations would force a change of life right around the same time that an opportunity in the world of retail developed. The new environment seemed like a welcomed change at first, however, in time he found the work to be unrewarding as he missed the excitement of the pizza industry. As luck would have it, a pilgrimage to Tampa would again put him back on track to the world he new best.

Spotting a building sitting empty just one block down from the street from Busch Gardens, lightning struck. Contacting the real estate agent that day, papers were quickly signed as McMillen hastily brought all of his belongings down to Florida and set up a s Pizza Man Pizza, one of the first double drive thru pizza parlors. Chuck was so excited to be back in the business that he forgot one little detail—to find a place to live! Given the amount of time devoted to the building his new found restaurant, the back room seemed as good a place as any. Slowly but surely, he established a strong client base and was back on his feet.

In the year to come, an encounter with a wealthy, restaurant supply owner would prove to be a fateful meeting. Dan Beltram—owner of Beltram supply and a nontraditional pizza chain - was looking for an operations manager to help grow his business. As opportunity presented itself, McMillen was eventually convinced to come to work for Beltram and help build the business. Selling Pizza Man Pizza, Chuck was to find his niche in the non traditional pizza market place. "I loved the idea of bringing pizza to the customer and creating small turnkey pizza kiosks." Once again, vision and convergence met as the opportunity to develop his own company came years later after a chance encounter with a dough manufacturer from St. Louis.

Combining his extensive pizza experience with the baking background of a national producer of dough was a dream come true. "When I formed the partnership with Jerry Shapiro and Bob Petrofsky, I knew we had the foundation to build something special." Hence the creation of Pizzas of Eight. With a year and a half devoted to research and development, and more than a million dollars spent to home the program, 1994 marked the year Pizzas of Eight opened its first in-store outlet. Designed exclusively as a business within a business opportunity, the small pizza parlors produce an oven fresh baked product quickly and easily. Like a franchise, McMillen personally designed the treasure island theme branded image, structured the training program, formulated the recipes and developed the operational procedures. Bypassing royalties, franchise fees and restrictions, the Pizzas of Eight program was created to offer operators greater flexibility and maximized revenues. The result is a streamlined system that can now be found in amusement parks, convenience stores, truck stops, retail operations, schools and other such setups around the country. With plans for almost 500 outlets, McMillen is on top of a growing pizza empire.

"I am most proud of Pizzas of Eight because it truly represents the culmination of all of my years of experience. I really put everything I have into this concept and am thrilled to see the results thus far. There is no doubt in my mind that we will become leaders in our field and help shape the direction of pizza in non traditional settings." Establishing new recipes and recently introducing the first 110 volt counter top conveyor belt oven able to cook a pizza from the raw dough state, McMillen keeps pushing for new innovation and excellence. When talking about his Pizzas of Eight, conversation always comes back to the basics—the superiority of his ingredients and the fantastic taste he can now offer in these non-conventional settings.

Today, with Pizzas of Eight in 40 states and 5 countries, McMillen often reflects on the long road he traveled to get him to where he is today. "I never lost faith in the pizza business, it's in my blood. Some things you can't shake and this industry has captured my soul. I just love it," he gushed.

This Pizza Man has finally reached his pie in the sky.