Owners of Pizza 2 Go love, take pride in staff
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Pizza 2 Go has been a mainstay in the Jersey Shore area for over 20 years, and with a customer base that built in, it's normal to be apprehensive when there's a change of ownership. But luckily for the clientele of the eatery, new owners, Michael and Abbie Allison quickly dispelled any anxieties when they took over in 2017.
"I'm originally from Indiana County, near Pittsburgh," Michael explained. "I started in the restaurant industry down there, and transferred up this way to attend Penn College."
Michael began his culinary career with Ruby Tuesday when he was 16 years old, and stayed with the company for about 10 years, working his way up into lower level management positions.
"I had the restaurant background, and my wife went to Lycoming College for business management and marketing, so it was a really good combination."
Owning a business was always in the cards for the Allisons, though what form that would take was a mystery until they discovered that Pizza 2 Go was for sale in 2017.
The couple purchased the business, knowing they would have to relocate, as another business was interested in purchasing the real estate.
They purchased the former Flagstone Bar with initial plans to renovate the building, but quickly discovered the building was in too poor of shape to be salvaged affordably.
"So we went back to the drawing board and we did blueprints on a brand new building."
During a two month gap between moving from its previous location to when their new building was operational, the Allisons set up shop in downtown ice cream parlor, Phil-It-Up.
"We didn't want to lose any of the staff that we had at the time, because we knew we were going to need them once we opened up in our new spot."
"Brett and Julie Bowes were gracious enough to open up their space to us, so we moved there for about eight weeks," Michael said.
Utilizing a 50 foot shipping container retrofitted with propane, water, and electricity, the business was able to thrive, while avoiding the loss of any of its staff until officially opening in their current location on April 16, 2018.
With so many unknowns in the mix, the couple didn't know what to expect, but luckily, the community welcomed them with open arms.
"We did our grand opening, and it was absolutely crazy."
Though he and his wife are the owners and operators, Michael credits their staff with much of the continued success of the business.
"We love our staff," he said. "We treat them all like family."
"We take great pride in hiring good people; in making sure they're not only going to be able to handle the job, but also be able to intermingle and work great with the team."
The couple were eager to change up the menu, but took things at a measured pace so as to not throw off those who had stuck with the restaurant.
Once they felt comfortable, a few new items were added onto the menu at a time, including a pretzel dough stromboli, beer cheese, and a variety of different flavored wings.
"We also added our saucy chicken wing pizza, so you can put our wing sauces right on a chicken wing pizza," Michael said. "It's been a wonderful addition," Michael said.
"We launched our frozen pizza line in February of 2023 last year, and it's been a whirlwind ever since," Michael said. "They're incredible, and the demand for them is amazing."
Taking over the business shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was much uncertainty in the air, but due to the relatively small size of their dining area, the business was able to remain open for takeout and delivery services.
"We were actually busier than we were when we first opened at our new location," Michael explained. "We would have folks in the parking lot call us, and we would take their order out to the car, and take payment in the parking lot. It was a wild time."
Always having an eye on community needs, the Allisons organized to fill a massive void left by the mass closures of schools and daycares.
"We provided school lunches for free to all the kids within the district," Michael said. "I think we ended up providing around 3,500 lunches during that time until the district at least had a good lunch program set up.
"We had a lot of community support for that too. A lot of folks donated to it."
"Pepsi and FritoLay got involved and a lot of wonderful customers around the area pitched in and helped make that happen. A lot of teachers actually volunteered to help deliver the lunches to these kids."
Looking forward, the couple are always looking for new ways to serve their dedicated patrons.
"We're thinking about a few different exciting options to add into our menu mix as time goes on," Michael said.
Michael describes himself and his wife as "simple people" who just want to provide a great experience for their customers.
"One of the things we try to drive home is to remain humble, stay true to yourself, and try to help others as you can," Michael stressed.
"At the end of the day, we're so thankful for our wonderful staff, and a wonderful, supportive community that's rallied around us for years now, and that gives us the drive and motivation to get up every day and go to work."
"We also have a great following on our Facebook page, which is incredible," he said. "That's been very eye opening to us, just how many people do follow our page."