It’s dinnertime at Colington Pizza

by Philip S. Ruckle Jr.

One of the biggest problems with running a restaurant is that almost everybody gets hungry and wants to eat at around the same time.

As one of the new Colington Pizza owners, located at the corner of Colingwood Lane and Colington Road, Matthew Broughton doesn’t really see that as a problem. Cooking since he was 12, Broughton also owns Cosmo’s Pizza in Corolla.

“It only takes 8 to 9 minutes to make a small 12 inch or large 16 inch pizza,” said Broughton. “That’s from start to finish.”

That rivals the wait time for some fast food chain restaurants.

Surprised to learn that there are at least 1,800 home sites in the immediate nearby area, Broughton said the aim was to make it a community place.

After buying the property along with partners Beau Spivey and Matthew Wyatt this past November, a near full renovation took place in order to provide the right community atmosphere.

“We took our time to reopen and most of the building was renovated,” said front manager Josh Lundy. “We redid the floors, the tables, chairs and all the walls. We left the bar top, that was from the previous set up.”

With everything in place, and room outside the 3000 sq. ft. building for a possible stage and tables for outdoor dining area, the doors opened for the community.

“Vacationers help pay the bills,” offered Broughton. “But we want this to be a more community-based operation.”

Should not be hard to do since most of the staff live nearby, including several high school students.

Averaging 100 to 150 pizzas a day, Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest. Lundy said they just started offering lunch and are open Wednesday through Sunday from 3 to 9, although they may add more days later.

Broughton said the community reception has been amazing.

And why not? With dine in and pick up available, patrons have the best of both worlds. And with delivery to be added later, it only gets better.

Lundy went on to say another plus was that the cafe just got its alcohol permit.

“But we don’t want to be a bar,” Lundy added. “That’s one reason why we shut down at 9 p.m.”

So what do the customers want?

“We’re still building our menu,” Lundy explained. “So far ‘The Bubba’ is a top seller. That is a carryover from the previous owner. But then nothing trumps pepperoni – that and a beer are a perfect meal.”