MANCHESTER, Iowa—The campaign trail here is strewn with the quadrennial clichés: candidates making appearances with the butter cow at the Iowa State Fair and holding town halls in factories that produce farm equipment.

Add to the list an Old West-themed pizza chain with cowboy paintings, an all-you-can-eat buffet for less than $10 and free party rooms that can hold as many as 70 would-be voters.

Some of the Republican presidential candidates have chosen to do their up-close politicking this election at Pizza Ranch, a Midwest chain. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (two visits) was there Monday, speaking on the need to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, while standing in front of the restaurant's covered-wagon logo. On Thursday, Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has made more stops at the chain than all her rivals combined, visited one for lunch and two for dinner.

"We eat it all the time," Mrs. Bachmann said as she boarded her campaign bus. "Everybody loves the chicken."

Pizza Ranch stops per candidate is one sign of his or her designs on Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses, though it can also be a reverse indicator. Because the rooms are free, the chain tends to be favored by contenders low on cash.