Park Pizza devotees once again will have the chance to grace their palates with the long-overdue taste of the revered pizza. The shop will re-open its doors in late August or early September, according to owner Scott Robinson.
"I figured if we were going to open in six months that would be really quick for what we had to do. It's going to be right around there," Robinson said.
Flames engulfed the pizza shop in late February, ravaging the building's interior and causing considerable damage to the exterior of the building.
"It was total rebuilding. We went from the ground up. We demolished the house that was here and the pizza shop, obviously. We just had a bunch of really good help and I had good contractors. Everybody was quick. We were able to keep the project moving along once we got it going," Robinson said.
The rebuilding is in the finishing stages. Interior work, painting, heating and air conditioning and equipment delivery is all that stands in the way of the landmark pizzeria opening its doors.
Some changes many will notice is the expanded menu and seating in the shop. From the beginning stages, following the fire, Robinson said he intended to rebuild while expanding both the menu and building space.
"The building is going to be a lot different. There is going to be a bigger dining area. We expanded the menu a little bit, just to cover wings. I put a lot more room into storage and room in the back and bigger prep areas," Robinson said.
Expansion was something Robinson always wanted to do; the fire presented an opportunity to make that dream a reality.
"We just never had the room. Now that we have the room, we figured it is the best time to do it. The new menu will be pizza, wings and strombolis," Robinson said.
There will be seating to accommodate about 45 patrons.
There also will be a couple of televisions, central air and the premises will be handicapped-accessible.
Robinson didn't want to change Park Pizza, just enhance upon what they have built over the years.
According to Robinson, the community showed him how much the business was missed.
"Once the shop was over, there was so much encouragement from the customers that we knew we had to bounce back, get it rebuilt as soon as possible. I miss the interaction with all of the customers and people I see and talk to," Robinson said.
Robinson anticipates all staff returning when the shop reopens. Due to the expansion, he plans to hire two or three more part-time workers as well.
For the grand opening, Robinson is looking into a charity function to auction off the first 10 pizzas with the money donated to a charity. Robinson still is ironing out the details.
More information will follow once the details are in order.
