VIENNA - The city of Vienna might be east of Chicago, but it hasn't had the pizza to back up its geographical status until now.

 

East of Chicago, a pizza company that claims to have the best pies this side of the Windy City, will open a restaurant along Grand Central Avenue in early December, said Tim Myers, owner of the local franchise. Myers operates an East of Chicago in Marietta. The shop there has been open since 1992 and Myers has owned it since 1994.

 

The new restaurant will be located at 2200 Grand Central Ave. It will consist mainly of pickup and delivery service, but some seating will be available in the dining room and outside during the spring and summer, Myers said. He said East of Chicago is known for a variety of pizza, excellent crust and toppings and sandwiches.

 

"We make our dough fresh daily. It's not frozen. I don't think there's any other crust out there like our crust," he said.

 

Myers said he has wanted to open a pizzeria in the Parkersburg/Vienna area for years. The last major flood to hit Marietta flooded the restaurant, taking priority away from opening a new location.

 

"We've been trying on and off for the last five years, ever since the flood. Before that happened, we were pursuing it hard. The flood kind of put a damper on it. We had to rebuild the Marietta store from the ground up," Myers said.

 

The opportunity became available when Rite Aid vacated its building for a newer store farther north on Grand Central Avenue. Myers said he contacted the PM Company, the owner of the building.

 

"Basically, we found the building through PMC and Pat Minnite Sr. I've talked to him several times in the past. At the time, it just wasn't feasible to do so because of the flood. I noticed, driving by, the place was for lease. We contacted them. He showed me the designs and we thought it would be a perfect place to put a pickup/delivery pizza place," he said.

 

Myers said the new restaurant is in the early stages of remodeling the building. He's hoping to open the store in early December.

 

"The people who are doing the construction just finished up the call center. The walls are up. Plumbing is being put in, along with heating and air conditioning," he said. "We were wanting to be open by Thanksgiving initially. Now were looking at maybe the first week of December."

 

Myers said he loves the facility and its location.

 

"I think what the PMC has done with the building is great. Whenever you open a new business the main concern is always location, location, location. For me, the traffic count and ease of access is great."

 

The pizzeria will have 1,600 square feet of space and will employ 12 to 20 people.

 

Courtesy of The Parkersburg News