Takeout Tuesday: Hometowne Pizza Opens in Maple Grove
Every successful business has to start somewhere, and much like making a pizza in a kitchen, Tim Babcock is trying to build up Hometowne Pizza in Maple Grove from scratch.
“Yeah, it’s been one my dreams to do,” said Babcock, owner of Hometowne Pizza.
The restaurant opened April 6 in a space formerly occupied by Rosati’s Pizza, which closed late last year.
Now Babcock is on a mission to make a name for himself in a crowded pizza market.
“It’s tough to get that customer base to come in, and there’s so many pizza options around this whole area, Twin Cities and all that stuff,” Babcock said. “If you’ve got good pie, people will like it and come back and keep going and spread the word.”
Hometowne specializes in thin-crust pizza using ingredients that are made fresh daily. Each pizza takes just under eight minutes to prepare in the restaurant’s newly revamped kitchen.
If you don’t feel like buying a whole pie, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, you can buy it by the slice for $3.25.
So far, the pizza by the slice option is already a fan favorite with customers.
“Yeah I love it,” said Jesselyn Beebe, a customer who works nearby. “It’s a great deal, for being able to just walk on over, grab a slice to eat and enjoy.”
For anyone not craving pizza, the menu has a little something for everyone.
“We have wings, bone in and boneless,” Babcock said. “And then we also have our lasagna and spaghetti, chicken alfredo. It’s all made from scratch. We do have salads and desserts.”
Yet what they’re still lacking at the moment is delivery drivers.
Starting any business comes with growing pains, but Babcock is hopeful that as word of mouth spreads, Hometowne Pizza will be Maple Grove’s hometown source to fulfill that pizza craving.
“The new customers that are coming in, they try and they say it’s pretty good pizza and they’ll be back,” Babcock said.
Hometowne Pizza also has a second location in Medina. If you go there, you can take the 30-inch pizza challenge, where three people have one hour to finish an $80, one-topping pizza. If you complete the task, you get the pizza for free.
Hometowne Pizza is located at 15511 Grove Circle N. in Maple Grove.
