It’s a thought many a late-night partier in Revelstoke has surely had while stumbling into 7-11 in search of something to eat for the walk home: “Man, do I crave pizza.”
Well, your cravings have been answered with the opening of Nico’s Pizzaria (they spell it with and ‘a’), the creation of friends Nico Caron and Brad Garbutt.
“I think everyone in this town has said we need a pizza/donair shop that’s open late,” said Garbutt last week, two days after the restaurant opened.
He and Caron were taking care of some loose ends after enduring a busy lunch rush. It didn’t take long for word to spread about the new place, even though they didn’t advertise the opening.
Nico’s Pizzaria is the creation of Caron, who’d been encouraged by his friends to open a restaurant since he started cooking pizza for them years ago. He was involved with Revelstoke Pizza to mixed success and started working on the menu for his own place in March.
“That’s my menu, that’s my concept, that’s my food,” he said, referring to the mix of pizzas, calzones, pastas, subs, donairs, wraps and salads that he devised over the course of spring and summer with the help of a chef in Vernon.
There are 28 varieties of pizza on the menu, with toppings ranging from pepperoni to bison and onions to fresh spinach; the menu lists 13 kinds of meat and 18 vegetables. The dough comes in thin, extra thin or neapolitan crust.
Each pizza is named for a run at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, while the calzones are named after mountain biking areas and the subs and wraps after places in town.
“The food speaks for itself,” said Garbutt, who came in as Caron’s business partner and brings two decades of restaurant experience to the place. “I think you have to take some time to put together a good product and that’s what Nick has done.”
What separates Nico’s from the other pizza places in town? For one, they serve up slices for a mere $2.50 and have a lunch special of a medium pepperoni pizza and a soda for only $5. For another, they will be open until 3 a.m. on weekends and will deliver during all opening hours. Not to mention its the only donair place in town.
The interior of Nico’s, which was designed by Areaworx is sparse, with only a few tables for sitting down at. A counter stretches down the room, with pizza located behind a glass guard. In behind is a view into the kitchen area, where Caron and Garbutt will be sharing the cooking duties. “Now I’m getting put through pizza boot camp,” Garbutt joked.
Nico’s Pizzaria is located at 204 First St. East. It is open Sunday through Thursday fro 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 3 a.m. It is closed on Monday.