Glenn Yarnal, owner, Round Table Pizza in Hanford

Hanford, CA (Jan. 13, 2009) – It is evident right from the moment one walks through the doors of Glenn Yarnal’s Round Table Pizza restaurant in Hanford that he is a huge sports fan.  Covering the walls of the establishment are sports memorabilia that he has collected over the years.

He played sports throughout all his childhood, and was involved in swimming, football, wrestling and water polo.  Yarnal inherited his love of sports from his father, Max.  Max Yarnal would get tickets to sporting events from his job at Upjohn Pharmaceuticals.  Father and son took every opportunity to see the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland Raiders, the Golden State Warriors, the San Francisco 49ers and the former California Seals hockey team in Oakland.

“I love sports,” Yarnal said.  “I’d do it as right now, in fact I just retired as a high school umpire for two different counties after about 15 years.”

He also mentioned that his favorite teams have been the Giants and the 49ers.

“I’m one of those guys that always stick with the same team,” he said.  “I don’t care how many times they lose or whatever, I still say we’re gonna win that World Series one of these days.”

One of Yarnal’s biggest moments in life was playing golf in a fund-raiser with professional baseball players such as Willie Mays and Tito Fuentes.

A young Yarnal was always more interested in sports rather than academics.  His father once pulled him out of Little League because he got a D grade on his report card.

“I had to tell my coach that I couldn’t play baseball that summer, and that was hard, so I never got a D again,” he said.

Yarnal received a scholarship to Modesto Junior College as a running back, but eventually lost it when he blew out his shoulder due to swimming and playing football.  Since then, he’s had several surgeries, and even had his right shoulder rebuilt this past July.

“My body’s been taking a beating through my years, and it’s finally said enough’s enough, I’ve got to slow down a bit,” he said.

After his time in college in 1973, Yarnal began working at the Round Table Pizza in Modesto.  He met his wife, Marsha, there after having been a classmate with her years prior.  One month later, they were married.

“It’s been a match made in heaven,” Yarnal said.

He worked his way up the ladder at Round Table, beginning as a dishwasher.  Over time, more Round Table restaurants were opened, in Modesto, Dinuba, Visalia and Selma.  He ultimately became a small partner in these ventures.  20 years ago, both of his partners were getting divorced, so he bought the Hanford location, which had its 20th anniversary last August.

Yarnal loves the food at Round Table, and cooking and preparing food in general.  He also appreciates the fact that the restaurant is family-oriented.  Yarnal has noticed that in recent times less people have been eating inside the establishment, and have preferred to make their orders for pick-up or delivery.  Also, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has stated that no one under 18 may be hired as an employee there; they are no longer allowed to work anything mechanical, such as an oven.

“When things get tight and workmen’s comp has gotten so expensive, you can’t just hire a kid to wash dishes,” Yarnal said.  “You have to hire somebody who’s multi-tasked, they’ve got to be able to work the oven, be able to cut a pizza, be able to work anything mechanical, from a dough roller to a mixer.”

He has a program with his college employees to where he pays for their textbooks if they work for him more than 30 hours a week.  Some of Yarnal’s past employees have become doctors, accountants, police officers, and employees of the city of Hanford.

Yarnal has been heavily involved in the community throughout the years.  The Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club, the Hanford Community Hospital Foundation, the March of Dimes, and the Heart Association have all benefited from his generosity.  That has also spilled over into children’s sports teams, including Little League and soccer teams.

“Anything that will help promote, or to make a youngster enrich themselves, I’m right there to help them,” Yarnal said.

He has also received numerous awards, which may be found on the walls of Round Table.  One is a “Business of the Year” award,” signed by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.  Another is a Melvin Jones Fellowship award, presented for humanitarian service by the Lions Foundation International.  One that is dear to his heart, though, is the Dr. Bridwell award, which is a humanitarian award.  He was a friend of Dr. Bridwell; both of them were on the board of the Hanford Community Hospital Foundation.

“He was what you called your old-town country doctor,” Yarnal said.  “He would do anything for anybody, he was a super individual.”

In the back of the Round Table is a banquet room, which seats 70-100 patrons.  One customer met his wife at the restaurant, so they appropriately got married there.

“They converted this room into a party room,” Yarnal said.

He and Marsha have two grown children, Kenny and Kelly.  Kenny is working toward his master’s in economics and finance, and Kelly is a manager for a credit union.  She and her husband, Josh, have two children.

A heart attack that struck Yarnal right after Thanksgiving has forced him to slow down slightly.  He had eight arteries that were 90 percent closed, and he just recently returned to work.  He is adamant, however, on continuing his philanthropic ways.

“Money’s not everything,” he said.  “You’ve got to do something with it, so why not help people with it?”



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