IRMO, S.C. — All aboard: There's a new pizza spot in Irmo with a historic twist.
The idea behind the construction of this new business is to make Irmo prettier.
"We worked very hard and went with the owner and found a tenant and came up with a concept to get rid of that old ugly building and build something as a gift to Irmo," the property's managing director Brent Chitwood said.
This location on Lake Murray Boulevard near the Woodrow Street intersection is one that locals who've been around for decades know well. But now, four years after all the construction, an idea has taken shape.
"The train station concept is what we came up with," Chitwood said.
He said this railroad-themed Domino's means a lot to him and others. It's an ode to Irmo heritage - the town formed by the railroad.
It's a town Ron Dula, who owns the property, grew up in with his mom and dad. The two were well-known in the area.
"He used to sit me down in here at 13 years old and him and my mom would take a vacation and I had to run the store," Dula said.
The location was originally home to a furniture store. The building had been in Dula's family for over 70 years before it was demolished in 2021.
"The hard part about this property is it's real steep," he said. "It's only 85 feet wide and 310 feet long and so there was definitely a hard way to find anything to put on here because of the narrow width we had."
Now, it'll be a pizza shop.
Even though tearing down the original 10,000-square-foot building required moving powerlines, sketch approvals by the town and highway department, and higher material costs, the hope is that it will be a new focal point of beauty and history in the town.
The organizers of this project said they hope this business will inspire future historically-themed developments.
The new pizza shop will open next week.