Stoner’s Pizza Joint, a millennial-focused, quick-service pizza franchise, announced today the opening of its newest corporate-owned location in Valdosta, Georgia. Located at 1211 Bay St., the new restaurant marks the brand’s first drive-thru location, and will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, February 2 from 1-3 p.m. with the help of The Panda, one of Valdosta State University’s mascots, who will be handing out free slices of pizza and wings, as well as a gift card giveaway. In addition, the first 100 people will receive a free T-shirt and one grand prize winner will receive free pizza for a year.
Stoner’s Pizza Joint considers itself to be a delivery-focused concept, with delivery and off-premises dining accounting for approximately 51-percent of total sales. Committed to providing customers with a best in class experience, the brand has invested its resources into developing state-of-the-art delivery and logistics software, which helps to streamline operational efficiency and provides customers with the best product, faster. The new Valdosta location has been equipped with this software and will be the prototype for future drive-thru locations. Valdosta native and foodservice industry veteran, Ashley Gilbert, will be managing the day-today operations at the new location.
“It’s been a wonderful journey rebirthing the brand and insulating it with everything it needs to be the leader in this space, and the Valdosta location is no exception,” says Nick Bergelt, chief concept officer of Stoner’s Pizza Joint. “We’re energized to bring Stoner’s back to this area with our fresh, new look and customer experience, and look forward to being part of the Valdosta community once again.”
Founded in 2013, Stoner’s Pizza Joint was purchased by HospitalityX, a holding company with a current brand roster that includes Charbar Co., Whiskey Room, ¡Holy Tequila! and Healthy Habit. Experienced restaurateurs and partners behind HospitalityX, Drew Ciccarelli and Nick Bergelt, developed and launched Stoner’s Pizza Joint’s franchising program in 2018 with the goal of growing the brand’s footprint to 100 locations by 2023. Since the launch, Stoner’s has continued to identify the Southeast region as a key market for expansion. The company just celebrated the grand opening of their restaurant prototype in Columbia, South Carolina and recently signed a franchise agreement in Floridato develop two new restaurants. Additionally, the company will be opening a new restaurant in Nacogdoches, Texas with franchisee the DhaMir Group, in early Q1.
Stoner’s Pizza Joint Valdosta is open Sunday—Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday—Saturday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.