Italian Food!
Pyramid Pizza moves, becomes full-service Italian restaurant
By Jeremy Shapiro
Originally published 04:32 p.m., October 5, 2011
Updated 03:47 p.m., October 7, 2011
While Italian restaurants have not done well of late in Emporia, Matt and Scarlett Lowery believe they have come up with a concept that will be successful.
The Lowerys are moving Pyramid Pizza two blocks away and adding Italian food to the menu. The result is The Verona Grill and Pizzeria.
“We’ve put a lot of thought into why Italian places haven’t made it,” Matt Lowery said. “We think the restaurants that have closed had operations or management issues. We believe there is a demand for Italian food here.”
The restaurant had a soft opening over the weekend at 410 Merchant St. Verona Grill is now open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays, the full menu will be served until 10 p.m. and pizza and appetizers will be available until 2:30 a.m.
The late night weekend tradition is being carried over from Pyramid. In fact, everything on Pyramid’s menu can still be ordered at Verona Grill.
The restaurant came together quickly as the Lowerys decided to move a little more than a month ago.
“We knew about the kitchen for the restaurant about five years ago,” Matt Lowery said. “We chatted with the landlord and at first we weren’t expecting to go forward with it. But we liked the building and felt our concept was a good one.”
An Italian restaurant called Sticks occupied the space about five years ago. Beer:30 used it as part of the bar for awhile but it has since sat vacant. Once the decision was made to move, it was a whirlwind 30 days as the Lowerys and their employees moved operations and got the space ready for opening.
Lowery said they created 13 new jobs. Around 20 people will be employed at the new restaurant, he said.
Delivery and carry out will still be offered and the phone number remains 343-8300. In addition to pizza and appetizers, the entire menu can be delivered. People in the mood for chicken carbonara or eggplant parmesana won’t have to leave their homes to get it.
While there is less traffic in the 400 block of Merchant Street compared to Sixth Avenue, Lowery said the place will be more of a destination than an impulse stop. Word of mouth about the place already is spreading despite minimal advertising so far.
“If we have a quality product, people will find us,” he said. “Plus, we’re still downtown, not far from Sixth.”
Lowery said he briefly considered keeping Pyramid Pizza open and starting the Italian restaurant on its own, but it made more sense from a labor and insurance perspective to have it all under one roof.
With the exception of steaks, everything on the Italian side of the menu is less than $10. All the pasta entrees, such as chicken and veggie alfredo or lasagna with meat sauce, are $8.99.
Lowery said the lasagna has been a big hit so far along with the steak bites appetizer, which are crispy, tender bites of steak hand breaded with Italian seasonings and served with ranch and honey mustard dijon dipping sauce.
Another popular menu choice is the pick your own pasta and sauce. For $6.99 diners can choose one of 10 pastas and combine it with six sauces. They can also add in grilled chicken, meatballs, Italian sausage and jumbo fried shrimp for $2 each.
There will be a full service bar and wine list. There’s also banquet space for both small and large groups, Lowery said.
He said they are excited to welcome customers this week.
“It’s been stressful but we feel this is good fit,” he said. “It will be an affordable place for families to come for a meal.”
The Gazette Staff felt that it was important to give local businesses a chance to get their feet underneath them before allowing public comment to limit their future potential so we decided to close the comments section. Many of the comments were both positive and honest and we hope Emporians will take time to visit all of our new businesses in Emporia and have their own experiences.