After a year and a half of renovations, E-Town Pizza Shop, a local family-owned and -operated pickup and delivery restaurant, opened its doors Monday at 1435 W. G St.
“We’ve gotten a lot of good reviews already,” co-owner James Worthley said. “People are very pleased, so that’s really exciting.”
Co-owners James and his uncle, Dale Worthley, with the help of their family, rebuilt the entire building before opening and releasing their hand-tossed, made-from-scratch pizza to the public.
“We believe we bake a higher-quality pizza and that people will be able to taste the difference,” James said.
The new eatery is almost entirely a family project, he said. The renovation team was composed almost entirely of one family working together.
“We were really lucky,” James said. “We had family who did sheetrock, plumbing, painting and electric.” On top of that, many have a service-industry background making pizza or sandwiches.
Edwin Skinner, James’ brother-in-law, replaced the sheetrock and did carpentry; James’ lifelong friend Travis Miller did the electrical repairs, and Johnny Worthley, James’ brother, did the plumbing.
On Monday, James’ stepson, James Smotherman, was completing the freehand mural and E-Town logo above the entrance.
The food preparation crew includes James’ mother Ruby Worthley, Dale and his wife Gloria, who prepare the hamburger, sausage and pizza dough from family recipes.
With an emphasis on using high-quality cheese and fresh ingredients, E-Town will offer a variety of competitively priced build-your-own, specialty and take-and-bake pizzas, as well as calzones, sandwiches, spaghetti, salads, wings and cheesebreads. There will even be a “crustless” pizza available for those who are on low-carb diets, James said.
Another item on the menu, the BIG E Special sandwich, is named in honor of Brandon Estep, the late husband of Cindy Worthley, James’ sister and E-Town front end manager.
“We give all credit to God for bringing it together,” said Cindy. “We work for Him.”
James has lived in Elizabethton since 1989 and has over 25 years of experience in the pizza industry. Now he is setting out on his own and he says E-Town Pizza “is made by and for the community of Elizabethton.”
Additionally, E-Town will also host a weekly coloring competition to see who can color the logo most like the one painted above the door, and the winner will receive a free cheesebread.
For more information, call 423-518-1555 or visit their page, E-Town Pizza, on Facebook.