Ground broken for restaurant

By

News

May 9, 2013 - 12:00 AM

A break in the rain Wednesday afternoon came at an opportune time for Toby Shaughnessy.
He, family members, and Iola Area Chamber of Commerce and Sam and Louie’s New York Pizzeria representatives gathered along North State Street to break ground for a new restaurant.
Shaughnessy said he wanted to go into business for himself and was delighted to be able to do so in his hometown.
He and father Bob will build the restaurant and hope to have its doors open by September.
Shaughnessy said many people had been supportive of his efforts to attract the restaurant chain to Iola and that he anticipated it providing employment opportunities for 20 to 30 people, including high school and community college students.
He lauded the support of local governing bodies that provided support through tax abatements available in Iola’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
Greg Nolan, owner of the chain, came from Omaha, with two other Sam and Louie’s employees.
He mentioned that the name, Sam and Louie’s, were those of his father, Sam, and father-in-law, Louie.
“This is our 23rd restaurant, first in Kansas, and we hope to have 30 by the end of the year,” Nolan said.
He promised full support for the restaurant’s start-up, including having seasoned personnel on board at the beginning to train employees and ensure its success.
The chain began in Omaha in 1994, with the first franchise selling in 2000.
Nolan described Sam and Louie’s as “a casual, New York style pizzeria dedicated to providing a dining experience based on tradition, good service, family and fun.”
New York style pizza started in the 1920s, Noland said, and has thin, hand-tossed crust. In addition to pizza, the restaurant here will offer pastas, hoagies, strombolis, calzones and salads.
When Shaughnessy takes the restaurant’s reins, he will bank on experience of having worked and later managed a pizza shop in Pittsburg.

Related
March 27, 2017
May 7, 2013
May 1, 2013
April 24, 2013