By J.R. Tidwell/Editor

Neighborhood Grill has been serving food in Clanton since December of 2014.

Recently, the owners of the restaurant have decided to branch out and open a new business in the city; thus, the People’s Pie Company was born.

People’s Pie will hold a grand opening at its location at Village Square in Clanton on June 15.

“I felt like we had built up a rapport with the community, and pizza is something I am passionate about and enjoy doing,” said Jason Rea, the president of Neighborhood Grill. “It gave us the opportunity to expand more in town and maybe do something a little different than what we have been. I have a background in pizza. I have worked at a handful of pizza places, including a couple of chains, I felt like I knew this business pretty well.”

The name of the restaurant came in to being with a little help from a popular professional wrestler turned actor.

“My wife came up with it,” Lea said. “We were brainstorming on ideas. We get a good kick out of [the wrestler] the Rock with the People’s Elbow, so it’s kind of a play on that. It took on a life of its own. If the people made a demand, they would say this is what we want. We want something fresh that is as consistent and as fast as the chain places. We want it to be made with better, fresher ingredients with everything made in house. That is what we are delivering; it’s for the people.”

People’s Pie opened up for business earlier this year.

“We have been open here for two or three months full time for lunch and dinner,” said assistant manager Nate Durrah. “We did a couple of soft openings back in February, March and a little bit in April. We started expanding our hours from then on. We are open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. all week except on Sundays (when the store is closed).”

Both Lea and Durrah said what sets People’s Pie apart from other pizza places in the area is the restaurant’s quality of ingredients.

“I thought we may be able to bring something to Clanton that has not been here before; scratch-made pizza made with fresh ingredients: fresh herbs and hand-prepared toppings,” Lea said.

“We make our dough every single day,” said Durrah. “All of our toppings are fresh. The [Neighborhood] Grill helps us out with that. Our meats are cooked fresh twice a week every week. We cut every single thing ourselves with our veggies. Our marinara and every other sauce is made in house except for our barbecue and hot sauce. We are a top-of-the-line pizza place.”

Lea said the company is holding the grand opening to help spread the word that locals have a new food option.

“We are holding a grand opening on June 15,” he said. “We are hoping to draw a crowd and maybe give out some samples. We want to let everybody know we are here. We will probably promote it that day during lunchtime, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m.”

People’s Pie offers carryout and delivery within the city limits of Clanton, though that area may grow, according to Durrah.

“We are trying to expand and see where we can go to fit people’s needs without hurting ourselves,” he said.

According to Durrah, the restaurant’s most popular menu items are the Carnivore and Omnivore.

“Our Omnivore is a mixture of pepperoni, ham, Conecuh County sausage, beef, bell peppers, red onions and black olives,” he said. “Our Carnivore is an all-meat pizza; the Omnivore is a supreme. Our dough is hand tossed. We are adding in a thin crust [option], and we are adding in salads and pastas.”