If you’ve been downtown lately, then you’ve seen that sign hanging above the last empty storefront on East Reynolds Street.
“Coming Soon, City Pizza and MJ Cakes.”
Then, you might have done a quick count in your head — this will be Plant City’s 13th pizzeria. What’s going to make this one stick out from the rest?
Besides the cupcakes, of course, it’ll be the atmosphere.
“One of the things when we moved here — we saw a lot of great pizza places, but we didn’t see that kind of old-school, mainstream pizzeria that we grew up with,” CEO Jason Burroughs says. “That was one of my favorite things about being a kid.”
Burroughs and his wife, Tanya, are native New Yorkers who have lived in Plant City for the last seven years. Opening a pizzeria was originally a post-retirement goal of his, but he saw the opportunity present itself and decided to jump in with business partner Mike Mylam.
The vision for City Pizza is to make it as close to an authentic New York pizzeria as possible. This has much to do with the style of cooking, but also it affects what customers see when they walk through the door.
“The one thing in Florida that they’ve been missing — that kind of downtown pizzeria where you can see the dough being tossed and spend less than $25 to have a great dinner,” Burroughs says.
In fact, the dough-tossing figures to become the restaurant’s signature. In addition to hand-tossing the dough in clear view of the customers, Burroughs plans to have professionals demonstrate their tricks on Tuesday nights.
“We want it to be a place where you can go with two or three kids and have them be entertained, have dough they can toss,” Burroughs says.
The other half of the store, though, may be even more intriguing. MJ Cakes, an operation started by Tanya Burroughs and the couple’s daughter, Kylee, will be readily available to satisfy any sweet tooth a cannoli can’t cure.
“They’ve been doing it for longer than we have decided to open the pizza place,” Jason Burroughs says. “Since they have the space there, they thought it would be great to have a place where people can come and see them, instead of working out of the house.”
MJ Cakes has kept fairly busy while working out of the family home, making baked goods for corporate events, birthday parties and more — working anywhere from 10 to15 events each month. Now, in the business’s third year, it’s upgrading to a real storefront.
“People see these shows where they do custom cakes and stuff, and that’s kind of a big thing,” Burroughs says. “In New York, that’s always been happening. I don’t think there’s anyone else in Plant City with that kind of business.”
The Burroughs women will have their own section of the store, which includes a separate kitchen — so, no need for anyone to worry about the cupcakes being baked in an oven with the pizzas.
If you ask the family, they’ll tell you that Plant City is ready for such a restaurant — even with so many other pizzerias already established.
“It’s one of those things where it seems like the right time to do it,” Jason Burroughs says. “It’s the perfect timing.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
WHET YOUR APPETITE
Although the pizzeria won’t be open until mid-September at the earliest, its full menu already has been posted online. It’s chock full of the classics, and can be viewed at citypizza-plantcity.com.
If you’re craving the baked goods, though, you don’t have to wait until September — MJ Cakes is still in business. Visit eatmjcakes.com for more information.