Dudley Flodeen opened Dudley's Pizza and Sandwich Shop in Cannon Falls in February 1992. Donita helped him start it. The two of them had met working at a pizza shop in town, and this one became the family place. They raised their boys here. A friend told Dudley the shop was like a farm, because of how much sweat went into it. For thirty years it was where Cannon Falls got its pizza, and where a lot of kids got a first job.
He started as an assistant wrestling coach at Cannon Falls in the late 1990s and took over the program soon after. He is still the head coach. In 2022 he was inducted into the Region 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame at the Mayo Civic Center. That citation notes the wrestlers and teams he has turned out, the freestyle and Greco teams he coaches in the spring and summer, and his work with Minnesota USA Wrestling's juniors. When he left for a tournament, the shop stayed open. Beth and Justin, who had nearly fifty years at Dudley's between them, covered those nights. He is a pillar of this community, on the mat and on Mill Street.
Nolan Hartl bought the shop on October 1, 2022. I got my first job here, graduated from Cannon Falls High School, worked here while attending college, stepped away, and came back because this is the work I wanted. I have grown more fond of the place every day. Lately I have been learning dough hydration percentages, trying to serve the best pizza I can.
I've grown up here in Cannon Falls, and I am going to stay here. Dudley built this business, on the best ingredients, and that's going to stay.
Dudley was always comitted to making the best pizza he could, and I share that same commitment. I still bring him in on decisions that involve the food to this day.
The name stayed the same
The purpose stayed the same
The standard stayed the same
And I will keep it the same.
-Nolan