Our Story – Accessibility – Policies & More

Whata Lotta Pizza is a TRUE American Dream Story

Wayne LaVigne first got involved in the pizza business in 1965 at the age of 16, working at Northland Pizza in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

His pay? Ham and Cheese Submarine Sandwiches, and the tips from making deliveries. (Wayne wasn’t crazy about pizza then because he never found a pie he liked).

Pizza boxes weren’t even around then. The pizza, back then, would be placed on a cardboard disk, and slipped inside a paper bag. The bag would be puffed up at the top, stapled closed and then put in a metal propane heated box within the trunk of a ’56 Chevy with the trunk lid removed.

“We would drive as far as 12 miles on dirt roads at something over 60mph for a $.50 delivery charge and maybe a quarter tip,” said Wayne. Wayne also worked for the railroad. When he got laid off from the railroad in ’79, he took a job delivering pizzas for a buck a pizza, and still had trouble getting more than a quarter tip. “I don’t know what it was, maybe it was my fancy $400 Volkswagon that I bought with all my Chrysler stock I sold that made the statement I didn’t need the money,” he said.

After saving his money from delivering pizza and attending an occasional poker game, along with his good credit, he bought two new 1980 AMC Spirits; one for himself, and the other for his brother which were used to escort trucks all over the country.

After about four years of driving with the escort business he founded, Wayne gave the business to his brother and became a full time house dad taking care of his two sons, Michael and Brian and two nieces, Jennifer and Shannon (both girls have been here in Orange County, with Jennifer working in our pizza business off and on for over 20-years!). Additionally, Wayne’s wife, Bonnie and her sister, Lila worked at Merril Lynch at this time.

Wayne augmented their income by playing Black Jack all over the Continent. He would drive and stay two weeks at a time in places like Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Atlantic City applying his trade. The trouble was Wayne could never build up enough bankroll due to all the expenses of the trips and various needs back home. That conclusion led to forming a partnership with a backer and a line of credit for $10,000 so that he could make money with minimum bets of $100. And so with all that he attained gambling (comps for all the rooms, meals, shows, air fair and at the end, an all-expense paid trip for Wayne and Bonnie, and eight other couples aboard the Trump Princess for a high rollers afternoon cruise) he decided this was not what he was supposed to be doing.

“One day, like many others, I would sit at the $5 table with people just like me, only I was playing two hands of $100 each or more wearing a suit and borrowed jewelry,” remembers Wayne. “It amazes me still, the character of people, would willingly sacrifice their $5 hand if they thought it would help a PLAYER like me. That’s when I decided I’m in the wrong profession. After all, who was benefitting from my labors? And what kind of an example was I being to my sons and nieces,”

Right about that time – the summer of ’89 – is when our family took a three week, 20 state visit out west to see their friend in California who tried earlier to convince the LaVigne’s to partner up and go into the pizza business. So while the friend was taking Bonnie and the kids to exotic places like Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, Wayne stayed back and worked twelve hour days in his friend’s pizzeria learning everything he could.

So, Wayne, Bonnie, Michael and Brian decided to sell their house in Michigan, cash in their insurance and retirement, max out their credit cards and start a pizza business 2,600 miles away in Newport Beach called, Valentino’s. The trip coming back to California was almost a covered wagon-type story that Wayne remembers:

“We came out in the only transportation we had that fit everything we had…a 1966 Chevy step van that only went 50 miles per hour. It had no heater. It had no air conditioning, and had to stop every 100 miles for gas and oil. We couldn’t afford a U-Haul truck.” After three weeks of traveling and many repair stops, the family finally arrived in Socal.

They arrived. But just after nine months of partnering in Valentino’s, the partnership dissolved. “I had trouble with the fact the other fellow wanted to use ingredients like soy bean instead of using real sausage,” says LaVigne. “I couldn’t go any further with the continued disagreements over a basic concept called the truth.”

It was Wayne’s turn now. The family decided to go at it alone with a goal of making the best pizza possible at the lowest price, using only the finest ingredients and making them taste consistently the same every time.


EQUALWEB Premium plan: Fully-managed Accessibility Statement for: www.whatalottapizza.com

EqualWeb is committed to promoting digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for all site visitors and applying the relevant accessibility standards. EqualWeb has taken careful measure to ensure an excellent user experience, regardless of the assistive technology being used to access this site.

Certificate & Conformance Status

This is to confirm that this site has been reviewed by software developers and remediated to meet standards set by the WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1) at the AA level. The WCAG 2.1 AA level covers a wide range of recommendations for making Web content more accessible. WCAG 2.1 AA level guidelines include specific details on how to develop accessible Web content. This statement certifies that specific techniques were met for the Success Criterion detailed by WCAG. As a result, this website`s content has been made more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity and combinations of thereof. By implementing and adhering to these guidelines, this website`s web content has also become more usable to users in general. Using the accessibility widget is subject to the our Terms of Service which can be found at the company`s website. 

Measures taken to make this website more accessible

Equalweb`s Automatic system, team of developers, designers and content accessibility experts has reviewed, remediated and tested this website by performing multi-layered accessibility testing and analysis of the new and updated accessibility measures and web content. As part of the process to make this website more accessible, adjustments were made which include JavaScript & CSS work. The process also included accessibility modifications for assistive technologies (e.g. NVDA, JAWS etc.). Below is a complete list of accessibility modifications and functionalities made. 

Compatibility with browsers and assistive technology

Our mission goal is to be able to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible.We have therefore invested efforts to support popular systems with high market share, including Chrome, Firefox, edge, Opera and Safari VoiceOver on a MAC. We have also addressed JAWS and NVDA assistive technologies for Windows and MAC.

In addition, the following modifications were made during the audit to make this website accessible:

  • Enables keyboard navigation
  • Enables smart navigation
  • Blinks Blocking
  • OCR Image description 
  • Fonts – Ability to increase and decrease the site font, adjust, align etc` 
  • Voice command the browser using your voice
  • Change color contrast based on dark background
  • Change color contrast based on a light background
  • Change the Site`s colors 
  • Matching and monochrome option for color blind people
  • Change the font for readability
  • Increase the cursor and change its color to black or white
  • Increase the display to 200%
  • Highlight links on the site
  • Highlighting headers on the site
  • Display an alternative description of the images
  • Increase the content chosen by the cursor, showed in a tooltip
  • Describe words by mouse selection
  • Displays the site`s contents in a new window clearly and readable
  • Enables users to type contents using the mouse

Technical specifications

Accessibility of this website relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

  • HTML
  • WAI-ARIA
  • CSS
  • JavaScript

These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used.

Limitations, alternatives and disclaimers

Despite our efforts to ensure accessibility of this website, there may be some limitations. Below is a description of known and possible limitations, and potential solutions. Please contact us if you observe an issue not listed below. Using the accessibility widget is subject to the our privacy policy which can be found at the company`s website. 

Use of Third-Party Sites & Components

When 3rd party components or websites are used on the website, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, chats and others, which are not controlled by us, may present challenges for individuals with disabilities that we are not able to remedy. 
Here are samples of Accessibility Policies provided from some 3rd party sites:
Facebook accessibility policy
YouTube accessibility policy
Instagram accessibility
Twitter Accessibility
LinkedIn Accessibility

Physical location accessibility services,

Our company considers it very important to provide quality, professional, equitable and accessible service to all our customers, including people with disabilities.

Physical accessibility In our location you can find:

List of physical Accessibility facilities:

  • Disabled parking space.
  • Accessible access way (ramp, pathway, Etc.).
  • Accessible entrees. 

Contact details of a Compliance Officer

It is our intention to resolve any complaint to your satisfaction, however, should you have any questions about our accessibility policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact our Compliance Officer….

Name: Michael La Vigne

Telephone Number: 714-848-6148

Company Email: Walabugsy8@gmail.com

Feedback

Despite our efforts to make site browsing accessible for people with disabilities, some pages may yet to be accessible, or the appropriate technological solution has not yet been found it is possible that some pages or sections on this website have Human mistakes, for a variety of reasons. We are dedicated to keep improving the accessibility features and interface of our product.
Notice something wrong? you are most welcome to reach out to us at: Walabugsy8@gmail.com or at our Facebook page.

Notes & Comments

Despite our efforts to make site browsing accessible for people with disabilities, some pages may yet to be accessible, or the appropriate technological solution has not yet been found.
We continue our efforts to improve site accessibility as much as possible, with the belief and moral commitment to enable the site to be used by the general population, including people with disabilities.
To contact Whata Lotta Pizza, you can contact us by email at…Walabugsy8@gmail.com


Policies

Thanks Alotta to our loyal customers over the last 30 years.  The highest compliment a customer can give us is a referral to their friends. Please read our policy below.

We want you to be satisfied!

Return Policy:

Satisfaction Guaranteed!  If you don’t like your pizza, return it for a full refund.  (Return must be made the day of purchase at our corporate store located at 7011 Warner Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA. 92647)

Mission Statement:

To prepare, çook and serve our best pizza every time in a pleasant clean and helpful environment.  In the shortest time possible all while maintaining the lowest prices available.

Link to Certified Fully Accessibility Statement