COEUR d'ALENE - Ron and Sandy Riggs - and their family members and friends - are back.

The Coeur d'Alene couple that operated Blondee's on Northwest Boulevard from 2000 to 2003 recently opened Sandy's Take & Bake Pizza at 1735 W. Kathleen.

They offer an array of pizzas, along with salads, all made fresh by Sandy Riggs and her staff that includes their children, relatives and close confidants.

"We're a family owned business," she said. "We're glad to be back again."

All of the Riggs' children, daughters Tracie and Brandy, and son Aaron, helped with the opening and will continue to pitch in. A nephew and great niece work there, too.

Even her granddaughter, Morgan Hodge, is on staff at Sandy's Pizza. Sandy noted that Morgan was just 6 years old when they owned Blondee's, and visited often. Ten years later, Sandy loves working with her granddaughter, this time paying her a salary.

"It's very good," she said.

The Riggs, with Sandy feeling she needed a break from the sometimes hectic pace, sold Blondee's in 2004.

"It was a big success," she said. "I just got too tired."

But she found she missed the energy of the restaurant business and missed meeting and greeting people.

With offers of support from the family, Ron and Sandy decided to enter the take-out pizza business. Sandy believes there is a demand for fresh pizza people can take home and pop in the oven when they're ready to eat.

"I wanted to put people to work," she said. "So now, we're back."

They spent about $10,000 to remodel the former Extreme Tan spot at the corner of Kathleen and Ramsey, next to Fairway Grocery and Gas, and opened April 4.

Customers order what they want, Sandy and crew build it, and the client takes it home.

Sandy's specialty pizzas run $12.99 for medium, $13.99 for large and $15.99 for family.

The menu includes "The Fiesta," "Garden Veggie," and Philly Cheese," along with the already-popular, "Sandy's Classic" that has pepperoni, Italian sausage, fresh mushroom and black olives on tomato sauce with mozzarella cheese.

The gourmet salads include Greek, Caesar, oriental and chicken.

Sandy said they prep ingredients on site by hand. The white and red sauces for pizza, as well as the dough, are also created on site to be sure everything is fresh.

"We've had nothing but good feedback," she said.

Riggs, who considers herself "very social," loves greeting customers by name and chatting when they come in to pick up an order.

"It's one of the reasons I wanted to get into this business," she said.

She especially enjoys the time spent with family and friends at the pizza shop.

"It's a lot of fun having everyone around," Riggs said.

Sandy's Take & Bake Pizza is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. It is closed Easter Sunday.

To place an order, call 765-0888