The restaurant some called the best pizza in Billings, the Village Inn Pizza Parlor closed its doors unexpectedly over the weekend. News broke on Sunday after an employee posted on Facebook that the entire staff was laid off via text message. Unfortunately, the Village Inn seems to have become the latest small-business victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employees left "heartbroken and jobless"

Credit: Google Maps
Credit: Google Maps
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The Village Inn Pizza Parlor is not to be confused with the chain of sit-down family restaurants also called Village Inn. Rather, the Village Inn we know and love is a pizzeria that's existed in Montana since the 1970s. They also had a lunch buffet that was incredibly popular.

Posts began to circulate on Facebook on Sunday from former employees detailing the situation. Comments on these posts allege that the management of the Village Inn informed the staff of the closure via text message, and cite the closure as being the cause of a ripple effect from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other restaurants in town have unfortunately suffered the same fate

Many small businesses in Billings haven't been able to recover and have closed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Some examples of restaurants that have shuttered their doors include Cafe Zydeco, Golden Corral, Lilac, and the Oktoberfest German Restaurant.

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I attempted to reach out to the Village Inn Pizza Parlor for comment but got no response. Such an unfortunate end to an amazing local pizzeria. I wish good luck to the staff at the restaurant and hope everything turns out alright in the end for you all.

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