New Pizzeria headed to Downtown Perry in 2022

There’s no denying that Perry is in a period of growth. New businesses and points of interest come to the city almost every day. Downtown Perry alone is in an era of bustle, with new small businesses and eateries coming to take root on an ongoing basis. Walking along Commerce and Main Streets, you’ll find Morning by Morning, Bodega Brew, even the upcoming Orleans. Two dining spots are owned by Eric Schultz, namely Schultze’s, as well as Hazard on the Green. But what you haven’t seen yet when strolling the downtown area is a local pizzeria. But that is about to change.

Matt Howard has owned and operated several pizzeria’s for more than 15 years. He’s the current owner of Stoner’s Pizza Joint in Warner Robins, and he plans to bring pizza to Perry with a brand-new location, and of course, a family recipe. Schultz will be Howard’s partner in this venture and Howard hopes to have the pizza place up and running by January of 2022.

“Me and Eric got together,” Howard said, “and we thought that Perry was a good place for it. They need a pizza place.”

According to Schultz, the business will be taking the space that was once Kingdom Boxing at 742 Main Street. He said they hope to begin construction sometime in September. “I’m the secondary partner in this,” Schultz said, “Matt is the primary.” In Schultz words, “Howard is the one with the vision.”

“I really like the old school style of pizzerias,” Howard explained, “we’re gonna do pizza. You can’t tattoo mine with a name. The pizza dough I use is my great aunt’s. It is my family’s recipe. She made chicken and dumplings out of it, and we made it into pizza.”

But pizza isn’t the only thing being brought to the table. In addition to Howard’s home-recipe pizza, he also plans to put wings, sandwiches and maybe a bit of pasta on the menu. “It’s not going to be an Italian place,” Howard said. In addition to his food options, Howard even plans to bring a bit of beer into the fold. “We’ll have a little beer on tap. Back in my day, you went to a pizza place, your parents drank beer and ate pizza.

“We’re really excited about it. It’s going to be a family place. It’s going to be family owned and operated. I’m from here,” Howard said, “I’ve lived here all my life, I’m a local.”

Schultz is a local too. He’s from Syracuse, New York, but has been in middle Georgia since 2002. In March of 2020, he became an active business owner in Perry’s downtown area when he took over A Couple of Jerks and later re-opened it as Schultze’s. Later that same year, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Schultz’s helped open Hazard’s on the Green with Charlie Shimp.

“I didn’t open up a restaurant to make money or do any of that kind of stuff,” Schultz said. “I did it because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to be a part of a community; I want to be a part of other business owners. I like helping people.”

The new pizzeria – currently unnamed – is expected to finish construction in January. Howard will operate the business using his family recipe as the base for his pizza menu.

HHJ News