Hogansville, Lagrange & Nenan, Georgia
Concept:
We are bringing back the hometown pizzeria, one downtown location at a time. We try to feature one-of-a-kind delicious food, in a one-of-a-kind atmosphere: from our music selection to our local artists featured on our walls; we curate an incredible experience.
Pizza Style:
Our pizza is served one size and without substitution or additions. We make a straight up classic dough, which we age for three days. The recipe started on Long Island and was adjusted to our Georgia humidity. We bake our skins straight on a gas-fired Bakers Pride deck.
How has Karvelas been able to weather the COVID-19 pandemic and look to 2021?
With the pandemic, how we serve our customers has changed completely. We had to develop our curbside pickup in a matter of days and we have updated as time has passed in order to maintain the service level we want to offer our customers. This new system, which included using handheld technology for payment, is now our new business model for how we want to operate post-pandemic.
What are some the challenges that you’ve encountered with opening the new location and how have you been able to overcome them?
With opening our new location, we knew curbside was going to be a major facet to the business. Our downtown building, which we have completely renovated, sits on a square. Logistically speaking, how cars pull in and out was a big concern. The city of Newnan has been wonderful, along with the DDA, in allocating space for our business to use specifically for curbside.
Your social is dynamite. Tell us more about your personal communication approach?
My role in the business has changed as our team has grown and I wanted to find ways to stay in touch with our customers. Honestly, I found that recording myself was much easier and quicker than writing out lengthy captions. From my small videos grew an idea about showing behind the scenes moments in our ‘Katching up with Karvelas’ series. As our little goofy videos caught more and more traction with our customers, we saw that dedicating consistent time to consistent content was as important to our success as hand tossing our famous dough.
Catch Karvela’s on Instagram @karvelaspizzaco.
