THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410210352
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
HOPING TO MAKE IT easier for pizza lovers to find them, Pizza Hut officials are building a new restaurant on North Main Street.
The new site, a parcel in front of Wal-Mart, faces Main Street with entrances from the discount chain store's parking lot. The restaurant will be a separate building similar to the other Pizza Huts in Hampton Roads, said Bill Byrd, the company's market manager.
``It will be a typical prototype with a `Pizza Hut red roof,' '' he said.
The present location in the Suffolk Plaza Shopping Center just south of the new site is difficult to find, Byrd said, because the restaurant, a storefront in the strip shopping center, is not easily recognizable.
``It's hidden. We miss a lot of business because of the location. You've got to know we're back there. Unfortunately, a lot of people couldn't find it. That's why we're relocating.''
But Pizza Hut has been in Suffolk for more than 20 years and wants to stay in the area that is targeted for future growth, he said.
``We're finally giving the people of Suffolk a nice, new restaurant,'' he said.
Suffolk's current Pizza Hut is the company's only restaurant in Hampton Roads in a shopping center, Byrd said.
``We've had a couple before and we've always moved them out,'' he said.
Originally, the company had targeted the first of November for opening the new facility but delays have postponed that until mid-December, Byrd said.
``We wanted to capture the Thanksgiving shopping traffic,'' he said. ``Wal-Mart is drawing from 20 to 30 miles out.''
By relocating, the company is investing nearly $750,000 in Suffolk to purchase the site and build the new facility, he said.
The new restaurant will be about 2,500 square feet - about 1,100 square feet larger than the current one, Byrd said. At least 10 additional employees will be needed at the new restaurant, he said.
``We hope we will be picking up business by moving,'' he said.
When the new building opens, the company will close the leased facility at Suffolk Plaza. A separate Pizza Hut facility in the Suffolk West Shopping Center on Constance Road will continue to offer takeout and delivery service.
The new restaurant will offer only eat-in or takeout service at first.
``We have a design where we can add a drive-through if we find that's a necessity,'' Byrd said. ``After we get the dinette going, we will revisit whether to add a drive-through on the side.''
The new restaurant will look much like the one in Smithfield, with the distinctive, red roof and similar architecture of most Pizza Hut restaurants, Byrd said. But the company's new heritage decor, with window boxes and more outside trim, will update the structure.
Stan Choate, president of J.D. Choate Inc. of Chesapeake, is overseeing the construction, which is scheduled to take about 60 days. His crews tried to break ground on Oct. 14 but bad weather delayed the work until last Monday.
About six mature trees, including several pecans, will be saved and incorporated into the landscaping, Choate said.
The location in front of Wal-Mart should attract more customers to Pizza Hut, he said.
``They make a good anchor,'' Choate said. ``I'm sure Pizza Hut will do well here.''
Byrd, the market manager, also believes the location is excellent, although there will not be a direct entrance from Main Street. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Pizza Hut's present storefront location in the Suffolk Plaza
Shopping Center, above, is difficult to find. The new site, at
right, in front of Wal-Mart, will be a separate building similar to
the other Pizza Huts.
by CNB