Laramie Landmark The Alibi, Made Famous By Guy Fieri, On The Market For $3 Million

A Laramie institution since 1953 known for its wood-fired pizza and made famous by Guy Fieri on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in 2022 is on the market.

Alibi Wood Fire Pizzeria & Bakery is listed for $2.985 million, which includes the full business — even the custom-made wood-fired oven and catering trailer.

It will be ready to continue as the Alibi, if that’s what the buyer of the property at 404 S. Fourth St. in downtown Laramie wants to do, said Niffy Bube of C21 Bell Real Estate.

“That’s the hope,” said Bube, who has a connection to the Alibi that goes back nearly 40 years.

Bube said that she and Alibi owners Kerri and Ethan Smith “went to college together, and we watched that thing bloom. It would be really, really cool if it continues, because it’s such a beloved institution.

“It would be pretty amazing, and that would be the dream, wouldn’t it?”

The sale includes the downtown property, the Stefano Ferrara wood-fired pizza oven imported from Italy, a full commercial bakery, cooking line, draft beer system and modern point-of-sale equipment, parking, and a liquor license.

The listing just posted Wednesday, and Bube said she’s already getting calls not only from potential buyers, but from people reminiscing about the Alibi.

“It went live yesterday, and I knew there would be an emotional response,” she said. “Back in the day, that was the favorite dive bar and liquor store. Now look at what they’ve turned it into.

“What they’ve done with it is to turn it into something really special. This isn’t just real estate for me, this is family and friendship and legacy.”

Whoever ends up with Alibi Wood Fire Pizzeria & Bakery will have a ready-to-go revenue machine, Bube said.

“They’re ready to retire, and it hasn’t been an easy decision,” she said. “They’ve worked so hard and have created an incredibly successful business. This is nowhere near a hardship thing — at all.”

‘Never Sits Still’

While the Alibi has been in the national spotlight since it was on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in April 2022, the landmark has been a favorite watering hole for locals since it first opened in 1953.

It was still Alibi Bar and Package Liquor when Smith bought the place in 1990, and the business really evolved about 15 years later when he and Kerri decided to add pizza and other baked goods.

That began with a mobile wood-fired oven on a trailer, then became a full pizza restaurant and bakery, along with the bar.

It went through a growth spurt from 2014-2021 when the couple remodeled the place and added lunch and dinner menus.

“The Alibi never sits still,” Kerri told the Laramie Boomerang in 2022. “We are always trying to find new offerings, new processes (and) new ideas to make things better.”

Food Network host Fieri remarked on “DDD” that along with the Alibi’s signature beef brisket pizza, Kerri and Ethan crank out “shut-the-front-door sandwiches.”

Fieri liked Kerri so much he brought her to his studios to compete on another of his Food Network shows, “Guy’s Grocery Games,” in an episode dedicated to pizza.

She finished third, but the show brought more exposure for the Laramie bar and restaurant.

‘I Love That Place’

When he learned the Alibi is for sale, Joshua Woeber said he was sad, then hopeful that whoever buys it will continue the legacy — especially the wood-fired pizzas.

“I really like those the wood-fired pizza, there’s just something about it,” the Cheyenne resident said. “I like their Reuben, too. That’s what I get if I’m not getting the pizza.”

Whenever he’s in Laramie, the Alibi is usually where he stops, Woeber said.

“Yeah, I’ve gone there quite a bit,” he said. “My oldest daughter is going to school up there, and it’s always a place we like to go.”

That the Alibi lives on “is what I’m hoping for, that somebody buys it and keeps it the way it is,” Woeber said. “I love that place.”

He said Ethan and Kerri Smith have “really built that up over the years into one of the wonderful and unique restaurants in a college town.”

Trey Sherwood, a state legislator and executive director of the Laramie Main Street Alliance, noted that the Alibi is one of two local restaurants on the market. The Library bar and grill at 201 E. Custer St. also is for sale.

“Running a restaurant is a labor of love and margins are super tight,” she said in a text message to Cowboy State Daily.

Growth Spurt

For the Smiths, that love showed in their commitment to creating elevated bar food.

After doing a bit of homework, the Smiths decided not to go with fried bar food. Instead, they bought a mobile, wood-fired pizza oven to set up in Alibi’s backyard, a grassy area with fire pits and tables.

There was a bit of a learning curve, figuring out how to make wood-fired pizza. 

“For probably the first year, year and a half, it was just my husband and I cooking lunch and dinner,” Kerri told Cowboy State Daily in 2024. “Then we started to get a little more popular. People started finding out about us.

“Then we had to hire staff, and we cooked outside pretty much rain, shine, snow, wind, for a long time.”

Eventually, Alibi had a strong enough customer base and track record to get a loan to remodel the business. The Smiths extended the kitchen space for a new wood oven inside. They also added baking ovens for breads and pastries. 

They still have that old mobile wood-fired oven and use it to cater weddings and parties. It’s included in the sale.

“What makes Alibi special, I think, is the combination of everything that we offer, from the craft cocktails to the wood-fired pizzeria to the custom sandwiches,” Kerri said.

Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.