About 10 million people live in Michigan, making it the tenth most-populated state in the country. Cities like Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing are teaming with people. Yet when Michiganders search for the best pizza in the state, some look to the tiny West Michigan village of Hopkins, population 611 and home to CD’s Quik Mart.

“A couple of years ago a local radio station did a best mom and pop pizza contest. We won two years in a row,” said co-owner Chris Kerber. That got people talking. Then, in fall 2020, a local news outlet set out to find the best doughnuts in the Great Lakes State. “MLive was doing a best doughnut contest, and they were going to check out the bakery next door to us. They were told you’re missing out on some of the best pizza. They came in and were blown away,” Kerber said. Word spread pretty fast.

“People say gas station pizza can’t be good, but they eat our pizza and can’t believe it comes from a gas station,” Kerber said. “People come in from 40 miles away” for one of the store’s award-winning pizzas. “I can go to Florida with my CD’s t-shirt, and people come up to me and say, ‘Isn’t that the pizza place in Hopkins?’”

They eat our pizza and can’t believe it comes from a gas station.

Humble Beginnings

Dallas Kerber, Chris’ father, purchased the station in 1993. “There was very little inventory and only a single pizza oven. Not much was there. I had one employee and a friend who helped me. The first year was pretty rough. I was sitting there wondering what I did wrong when I had no customers and no traffic,” recalled Dallas, who didn’t take a salary then so he could put all earnings back into the business.

He decided to focus on pizza, starting with the sauce. He experimented until he found just what he wanted. Then, he changed the dough and used a better quality meat.

Dallas knew he had great pizza, but the challenge was getting locals to give his new pie a try. Then it hit him: Give it to kids. “I gave the pizza away to kids from high school and young people in their 20s,” he said. They loved it! “We couldn’t keep up with demand.”

Pizza and Subs

When it comes to pizza, customers have their favorites. “The most popular pizza is our deluxe pizza. Even if you don’t like everything that’s on it, you like it because it’s so pretty,” said Heather Baier, kitchen manager. “On a Friday and Saturday we go through 200 to 230 pizzas.”

Customers love CD’s fresh-made sandwiches, too. “Our pizza sub is the most popular,” said Baier. It’s made with the same unique sauce as the c-store’s pizza. “It also has ham, pepperoni, mozzarella, provolone cheese—and anything else you can add to a pizza. Once people discover our subs, it’s hard to walk away,” she said. Hamburgers and cheeseburgers, salads, garlic cheese sticks, mozzarella sticks and cinnamon sticks also are on the menu.

Ninety percent of the customers are regulars. “If you’re not a regular, you will be after your first order,” Baier said.

The store has no dining area, but it’s still a place where people of all ages gather. “We are date night for a lot of families, older couples and younger ones. They’ll come in, order pizza and hang in their pickup trucks, and we bring it out when it’s ready,” Baier said.

And for beer lovers, CD’s touts its beer cave as having “the coldest beer in West Michigan.” The store stocks a variety of beer, microbrews and ciders and promises to order customer favorites if they don’t see it in the beer cave. Wine and package liquor also are for sale.

Family and Community

CD’s Quik Mart has decades’ long roots in Hopkins and gives back to the community in support of nonprofits, churches, the local fire department and Hopkins High School.

Giving high schoolers a chance at their first job is important to the Kerber family. “In 1994, I hired a high school student to work in the cooler and gradually hired more, and we’re up to 10 now. We got support from the parents and community. This is usually their first job,” said Dallas Kerber.

Kerber reflects back to when he couldn’t take a paycheck and borrowed money from a friend to buy a used pizza oven. The store has grown, its pizza is a local favorite, and two of his granddaughters are on staff.

“I never imagined that it would turn into what it is today,” he said.