Main Street Pizza is going to be back in business

Main Street Pizza is making a comeback – just not on Main Street. The restaurant will be making its return in the newly completed West Walnut Corridor in the uninhabited section of Groovy Grovers, located at 426 W. Walnut St. Nikki Giles, owner and operator of Groovy Grovers, said the opportunity for the restaurant to make its return came from conversations with Jamie Dove, owner of Main Street Pizza, after an oven broke down. "All of this started from being good neighbors," Giles said. "We just kinda sparked conversation with that, and we're like, 'Well, Main Street Pizza would look good in here.' It was very organic." "Nikki and I have known each other for just forever and are kinda about the same things community-wise – just always trying to leave things better than we found them," Dove added. Dove said after discussing moving into the space and hearing the community share how they missed Main Street Pizza recipes, he and Giles created a partnership that would allow her to go into the "next phase" of her business while adapting Main Street Pizza into larger plans for the property. "We just, at some point, realized that this could work really well," Dove said. "If I could give her the reins a bit and let her take the recipes, and the food, and our expertise of running restaurants for so many years and morph it in a way that would fit the property, we would have this really good relationship going forward trying to figure out what would work here." Giles said the inside area of the restaurant will seat 88 people, and Dove said there are plans to add a back deck and more seating outside. Dove added he and Giles also discussed potentially having a stage area for live music. His current goal, though, is to start serving the community once again. "Right now, we're just concentrating on getting pizza in peoples' hands," he said. Giles said being able to work alongside people she considers friends to serve the people in the region has always been her dream. She added bringing more locals to the area supported the businesses and the community they serve. "I hope this to be the community hub for the Tree Streets and all of the Tri-Cities to come here and know that it's locally owned and locally supported, and that we're really trying to give something back to the community," Giles said. Dove said he hopes to have Main Street Pizza's doors open this spring, with a projected time frame for March.