Karah-Leigh Hancock
The Valdosta Daily Times
QUITMAN — J.P.’s Pizza and Ice Cream is just one of the latest openings in Downtown Quitman.
The restaurant, which opened last April, is owned by J.P. and Chrissy Azevedo. The couple moved to Quitman from the Tampa area after Christy fell in love with a house she saw and they bought it.
The couple both worked in Tallahassee for a long time, but needed a change.
“We thought, what’s one thing we can do in Quitman that they don’t have,” J.P. Azevedo, owner, said. “The pizza place had closed down and there was no place to get ice cream.”
And with that, the couple bought a space on East Screven Street in Downtown Quitman that was a former real-estate office. They designed it in a ’50s motif with a checkered pattern, records, and even a photo of Audrey Hepburn on the wall.
“Our biggest advantage is that we own everything in (there),” Azevedo said. “There’s no big payment at the end of the month.”
Q: How did you come up with the theme of the restaurant?
A: I always tell (my wife) that I should have been born in those times or grew up in those times. I love the music. I love the cars. I love everything about the ’50s and ’60s. I have a ’67 Camaro. (The theme) just went in with the theme of this town, an older town.
Q: How has business been since you opened last April?
A: It’s been better than I had anticipated. I figured we’d do OK. It’s been really good.
Q: How did you come up with the menu?
A: We went with a really simple menu to start with because neither one of us knew anything about the restaurant business. Everything was very basic. We are just now starting to add things like fettuccine alfredo. A lot of people (around here) didn’t know a lot of Italian staple foods. They had no idea what a calzone was. They had no idea what a cannoli was.
Q: What seems to be the most popular pizza topping among your customers?
A: Pepperoni. We’ve had a lot of people add pineapple with pepperoni, pineapple with ham. Pineapple for me is kind of odd for pizza but a lot of people like it.
Q: What is your most popular item on the menu besides pizza?
A: Philly cheese steak.
Q: What kind of changes are you planning for the future?
A: We just got kegorator so we’ll have draft beer. I’m bringing a TV in here, even though it doesn’t really go with the times.
J.P.’s Pizza and Ice Cream
113 East Screven Street
Quitman, Georgia 31643
Phone: (229) 263-4989
Hours: Monday – Thursday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday – 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
