Pizza is best when shared — it comes with several slices, after all — as was the case for one Williams Lake couple when Amber (née) Exley saw Jason Akeson and thought, now that’s a cute pizza delivery boy. He was delivering pizza to the Exley home.
The two both attended Columneetza together, although Jason being a few years older, the couple didn’t officially meet until they had both graduated high school and Jason found himself in Amber’s checkout line at the Real Canadian Wholesale Club. Despite the empty express checkout and Amber’s line being full, Jason patiently waited, buying supplies for Canadian 2 For 1 Pizza, where he later became a partner (to Canadian 2 For 1 and Amber).
You see, Jason was home from university for the summer, his sights set on biochemistry. After he had an opportunity to become a partner with Canadian 2 For 1, he decided not to return to school. Later, his business partner asked if Jason wanted to buy him out. He began saving; however, the deal fell through and the two business partners sold the business and parted ways.
In the meantime, Jason and Amber were dating, sharing slices of pizza and looking for their next opportunity together. The happy, young couple decided to move to the “town of opportunity,” they both chuckled, which brought them to Golden, B.C.
It was the year 2000 and Jason, then 23, opened a Canadian 2 For 1 in Golden. Opening the business was tough, he said. It took longer and cost more money than he realized, but eventually, the pizza ovens arrived and the chain thrived as the couple opened a location in Cranbrook. Amber and her mother (Gwen) managed the Cranbrook location and Jason, the store in Golden. Now long distance, they’d spend any days off together, which was hard, they said.
Still, a bond stronger than gluten and water, the couple got engaged in 2004, and Amber moved back to Golden, her mom staying behind to run the Cranbrook store. They married, and their first son, Solomon, was born in late 2005.
At this point, the Akesons yearned to be closer to their family in Williams Lake. They sold their Golden and Cranbrook locations and returned to the Cariboo (Gwen with them, too). They took a pause on pizza when their daughter, Avah, was born in 2008.
While Jason figured out what to do next (which included taking log scaling courses and unsuccessfully passing the exams), Canadian 2 For 1 in Williams Lake approached him about buying the business back. This time, the Williams Lake deal was successful; however, Jason and Amber had bigger dreams and looked to the Italian roots of pizza, one that valued quality over quantity. Instead of signing on with the existing franchise, their third child, Red Tomato Pies, was born in 2010.
To do this, they modernized the space, brought in new technology, and built a menu based on their taste buds and the feedback from customers, family, and friends over the years.
“We’re not trying to look for shortcuts,” said Jason. “We want to make sure we make the best pizza we possibly can.”
In 2016, their son Nova was born right around the time the Akesons were presented with an opportunity to buy the building Red Tomato Pies was in. Once they purchased the building, the optometrist office eventually moved in, but they still had space in the middle, leading them to open Freddo Pinguino Gelato.
The success of Red Tomato Pies exceeded the couple’s original plans with the business, and after the encouragement of their community, they decided to franchise. They now have locations in Golden, Quesnel, Kamloops (with a second location opening later this year), Dawson Creek, Prince George, Mission and Chilliwack. Three more stores are opening in the Okanagan.
Working together as a couple and as business partners is hard work—requiring the dedication and strength of hands coming together to knead flour. Though their earlier years were more challenging, the dough has had time to settle and rise.
“When he was teaching me [about pizza], there was a lot of resistance,” Amber laughed, “because I didn’t know his teaching technique, and he didn’t know how to teach the way I like to learn.” Jason’s laughter echoed.
“We do work well together,” said Amber, noting they often end up working opposite shifts so one can be with their kids. Their youngest, Nova, peaked over the counter as Amber and Jason interviewed with the Tribune at their Williams Lake location. Red Tomato Pies is their second home, said Amber, with each of the three kids knowing how to make their own pizzas and, at times, building pizza box forts.
“We’re super blown away by the response of everyone in Williams Lake and the surrounding area,” said Amber. “Everyone is just so supportive and we couldn’t be here and doing what we’re doing without those people.”