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Photo by Jon Anderson
Marlene Vargas pulls a pizza out of the coal-fired brick oven at the Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, shows off some of its menu offerings on a preview night on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, the day before opening day.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Customers dine at the Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024 — a preview night the day before opening.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, shows off some of its menu offerings on a preview night on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, the day before opening day.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Partners at the Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, pose for a photo on a preview night on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. From left are Arnold and Kinjal Soni, Zeel Zaveri, Joshua Sullivan, Ryan Kelner and Madeline Sullivan.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
A pizza fresh out of the oven at Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Customers dine at the Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024 — a preview night the day before opening to the public.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, shows off some of its pizzas and salads during a preview night on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, the day before opening day.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Customers dine at the Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024 — a preview night the day before opening.
Alabama’s second location of Grimaldi’s Pizzeria opens its doors to the public today (Wednesday, Aug. 28) in Stadium Trace Village.
The 4,000-square-foot New York-style pizza restaurant is at 5225 Peridot Place, Suite 121, right next to Alabama Goods and across from the Cajun Roux Bar & Grill.
It is owned by the Power Brands Hospitality Group, which became Grimaldi’s first franchisee when it opened its Huntsville location of Grimaldi’s in 2022, said Arnold Soni, one of many partners in the group.
Grimaldi’s cooks its pizzas in coal-fired brick ovens at temperatures ranging from 600 to 650 degrees, helping make the pizzas crispy, owner-operator and partner Joshua Sullivan said. The high temperatures allow the pizzas to be cooked in seven to eight minutes, he said.
The restaurant uses fresh tomatoes imported from Italy, fresh-sliced mozzarella cheese and hand-tossed dough made in house, Sullivan said.
The pizzeria also uses a special water filter for the water used in its dough that ensures the dough has the same mineral content as the water in New York, giving the pizza that same taste as is served in New York, the partners said. “It’s probably the cleanest water in the United States,” Sullivan said.
Grimaldi’s first location started more than 100 years ago under the Brooklyn Bridge. The chain now maintains its corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has 46 locations across the United States and one in the United Arab Emirates, according to its website.
Soni said he first ran across Grimaldi’s in Las Vegas about five years ago, fell in love with it and ate there three days in a row. He introduced one of his partners, Zeel Zaveri, to Grimaldi’s in Destin in November 2020, and they decided to inquire about a franchise.
Grimaldi’s had just started offering franchises, so the Power Brands Hospitality Group became the chain’s first franchisee, Soni said. The Huntsville location is doing very well, and he and his partners felt Grimaldi’s would be a good fit for Hoover as well, he said.
“The market needed a New York-style pizza,” he said.
Michael Flaum, chief operating officer for Grimaldi’s, said in a written statement that after Grimaldi’s warm welcome in Huntsville and the excitement from the Hoover community, the company could not be more pleased to support Power Brands Hospitality Group’s latest opening in Hoover.
“Their expertise in curating dining options that are wholeheartedly supported by the community is an excellent match to Grimaldi’s commitment to authentic pizza-making techniques and memorable guest experience,” Flaum said. “We are looking forward to working together to serve both new fans and dedicated customers.”
In addition to pizzas, Grimaldi’s serves calzones, a variety of salads, starters and desserts that include Oreo cheesecake, tiramisu, New York cheesecake and chocolate and traditional cannolis. The restaurant also has a full bar that serves handcrafted cocktails, premium and local craft beers and a wine list that includes Grimaldi’s own bottlings of Mille Gradi wines.
The dining area, which includes indoor and outdoor seating in Hoover has 40 tables, red and white checkered tablecloths, black and white photos of New York landmarks and Grimaldi’s signature handcrafted wine bottle chandeliers. The dining area seats 150 to 180 people, the partners said.
The Power Brands Hospitality Group now has 10 restaurants in Hoover, five of which are in Stadium Trace Village (Grimaldi’s, MELT, Super Chix, Taco Mama and Five Guys). In total, the group has about 70 restaurants of 17 brands in the Birmingham-Hoover area, Huntsville, Charlotte and Atlanta, with more on the way.
Sullivan, who will be Grimaldi’s lead operator at Stadium Trace Village, said he got his start in the food business seven to eight years ago at the Spare Time bowling alley in Trussville. He served as general manager for the Power Brands Hospitality Group’s franchise of Taziki’s Mediterranean Café in Gardendale and also served as assistant general manager at the Taco Mama in Gardendale.
Hours at the Grimaldi’s in Stadium Trace Village will be 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Carry-out or delivery orders can be placed at grimaldispizzeria.com, and delivery also is offered through DoorDash, GrubHub and UberEats.
