After Overwhelming Start, Pizza Crew Gains Experience

WATER VALLEY – The owners of Hometown Pizza had planned a soft opening last September when they opened the doors to a new pizza restaurant in town. Greg Segroves and Penneye Holder worked for weeks on the building, hidden behind newspapers covering the front windows.

            Little did they realize that many Vallians were experiencing pizza withdrawal and the anticipation of a new restaurant in town was slowly building as the opening day approached. On Sept. 26, they simply pulled the papers off the windows signaling their opening and the crew started serving pizza. The customers started coming and kept coming, literally hundreds a day for weeks.

            “Each night every seat was filled,” Segroves said about the rocky start that initially overwhelmed the crew.

            “I wanted people to come in and enjoy their experience, not be frustrated,” Segroves added. Slowly the surge of customers leveled off and the crew gained experience as they put pizza after pizza on the tables.

            Another hurdle came in December when Segroves underwent surgery for a heart valve replacement that kept him out of action for almost a month. Although he is still recuperating from the surgery, Segroves reports the things are running much smoother.

            “We have experienced staff now,” Segroves said.  “We really appreciate the people in Water Valley being patient with us, our goal is to provide quality food and service for our loyal customers.”

 

Building The Business

            The idea of opening a Hometown Pizza franchise came from Penneye’s sister and father, who operate a successful one in Baldwyn. After identifying the potential franchise they wanted, the search began for the right location in the right town. That hunt took almost a year, looking in Oxford where they both live and other surrounding towns.

            “We considered Oxford, but with the rent and competition and the fact that we had never been in the restaurant business – it was kind of scary,” Segroves explained. When they learned a pizza place in Water Valley was considering closing, they approached the owners about opening a new pizza place in the same location.

            “We bought most of the existing equipment,” Segroves explained. They also added a new oven and walk-in freezers.

            With the equipment in place, the next step was to stock the restaurant with ingredients including the tasty Hometown Pizza products.

            “We like the food and the arrangement,” Segroves explained.  “The franchise uses real cheese, nothing artificial. All of the ingredients are fresh.” Plus the franchise does not restrict the menu items, and they serve different meals alongside the traditional pies, sandwiches and pasta dishes. The daily specials vary and include chili, rotel chicken spaghetti, dough burgers or various soups.

            Soon after opening they added pizza delivery for the customers’ convenience. The restaurant offers a variety of beer including the local brew from Yalobusha Brewing Company, but Segroves reports the primary focus is a family-friendly environment.

            “A lot of customers like a beer with their pizza so we wanted to have that option,” Segroves explained.

 

Looking Ahead

Segroves has several ideas to add to the dining experience in the coming months and years including entertainment, more menu items and quality service.

            Ideas for the menu could include steaks and comfort food, but the emphasis will always be on pizza.

              “If you have a pizza place, you got to concentrate on pizza,” Segroves explained.

            As for the entertainment, ideas include live music, karaoke and “maybe a talent contest where the winners would receive free pizza.”

            Segroves even plans to take the stage at times as an Elvis impersonator.

            “I have done some Christmas banquets at churches, some karaoke, stuff like that,” he said.

            Hometown Pizza opens each day at 11 a.m. During week days the restaurant closes at 9 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday they are open an hour later. Hours on Sunday are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.