Fresh dough, fresh opportunity
Still, in operation for three years, “we’ve been very fortunate” Rowe said. “Business is good — it could always be better.
“The people who come in are faithful,” he said. “They enjoy themselves … great pizza tied with Southern hospitality.
“We’ve got exceptional pizza,” Rowe said. “They are fresh made. We make each one to order. You can put pretty much whatever you want on it.”
Corner Pizza offers regular, thin, cauliflower and gluten-free crusts and, as of a week ago, deep-dish crust.
On top, customers can choose pepperoni, banana peppers, tomatoes, Italian sausage, jalapeno peppers, black olives, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, pineapple, ground beef, green olives, bacon, ham or pork sausage. Specialty toppings, which count as two toppings, include meatballs, salami, feta cheese, anchovies, artichokes or chicken.
There also are selections such as cheese, supreme, meat lovers, Mexican and taco pizzas, among many others.
But there is more to Corner Pizza than pizza. It also offers a menagerie of salads — from garden side to Greek and Caesar tortellini salads, among the many options; munchies, wings, spaghetti, lasagna, ravioli, baked ziti, chicken alfredo, chicken or eggplant parmesan, several types of calzones, sandwiches and several chicken entrees.
The restaurant at 19668 E. U.S. Highway 11 E, Lenoir City, is open from 11 am. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday; from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
It offers dine-in, carry out or delivery.
“We deliver all the way to Tellico Village, and there’s Door Dash,” Rowe said.
To order ahead or for more information, call 865-816-3237.
Along with being in health care most of his life, “back in the ’90s, I was in the restaurant business in the Old City [Knoxville],” Rowe said. “It was Amigos Café, a Mexican restaurant, and there’s one at Walker Springs. That was before the Mexican food craze.
He spent close to seven years at that location, but with the city’s renovations of downtown Knoxville, “it took out several restaurants.
“So it was either sell it or put a lot more money into [the business],” Rowe recalled. “We decided it was not good business [to invest further].”
So, Rowe looked for another venture. But since he still is in healthcare, “I needed a good, knowledgeable partner” and he found Munjan.
“I’m fortunate the guy I work with is very knowledgeable of the business and good with numbers,” Rowe said of Munjan.
About the reason for locating at Dixie Lee Junction, “all you have to do is look around,” he said.
“I used to drive by here quite a bit when I lived in Lenoir City,” Rowe said. “You see the apartments coming up and the condos, the houses all through this area.
“It reminds me of Farragut’s growth back in the late ’80s, ’90s, when basically suddenly in pasture fields and big, open land, you wound up with subdivisions and significant growth,” he said. “We felt like we could do [a pizza restaurant] and do it well.”
