For frequent travelers of U.S. 31 between Thorsby and Jemison, a sign might have caught your eye in recent weeks and perhaps brought a smile to your face.

The sign reads that Vertillo Pizza & Grill is coming to Thorsby and is planning to open Sept. 2.

It will be located in the former location of Side Traxx Café.

Any new business is a welcome site, but especially when that business is a restaurant.

It never hurts to have more restaurants and the addition of Vertillo Pizza & Grill will provide Thorsby’s residents with another dining option.

Once Vertillo’s opens, there will be Italian, Mexican (Daddy’s Kitchen), burgers and chicken (Dari Delite) and country cooking (Farmhouse Café) all within a short drive from the center of town.

What makes the situation even more unique is that each of the places resonate a true hometown feel and are not the typical “chain” restaurants.

This abundance of variety is something that should create quite the interesting conversations as a family decides where they should go to eat on a particular night.

The time old question of “what’s for dinner?” will not be as simple to answer as it once was when Vertillo Pizza & Grill opens its doors.

People seem to get almost giddy when the thought of a new place to eat becomes a reality.

At the end of the day everyone has to eat and an eating establishment can be an excellent place for members of the community to gather after a long hard workweek and share in a sense of pride.

If you think back on the vacations that you have taken, the places that you ate at will most likely be near the top of what you remember from those moments.

That is the reason why restaurants are often highlighted in tourism guides of a certain location or region.

Soon enough Thorsby will have yet another food haven to call their own.