New York-style pizza chain Sbarro is coming to the Texarkana area with at least two locations this summer. GPM Investments, which owns E-Z Mart, originally announced a partnership with Sbarro in December.
The famed Sbarro pizza chain was founded in 1956 in Brooklyn when "Mama" Sbarro began selling her delicious slices to Brooklyn factory workers from her Italian deli. The brand later gained nationwide fame in malls across America for its "pizza by the slice" - just like Mama used to make.
Of course, the chain also sells whole pizzas, including five versions of its famous "XL NY." Other menu items include stromboli, pasta, and salad.
Convenient pizza destinations
The Texarkana Sbarro will be located in E-Z Mart at 6424 Richmond Road, near Pleasant Grove Elementary School. A business listing showed the restaurant had been scheduled to open on June 6, 2022. However, the tentative date is now set for the coming weeks, according to an E-Z Mart employee who spoke with Texarkana News.
Another company employee told us the new Wake Village location has also been scheduled for an early summer opening. It will be located within E-Z Mart at 700 N Kings Hwy. However, Google Maps lists the new Sbarro at the address 102 Redwater Rd in Wake Village - which is adjacent to E-Z Mart.
Both locations are hiring for all positions. Sign-on bonuses are being offered, which include $500 for most new employees and $2,500 for management. Click here to learn more.
Change of direction
During the pandemic, Sbarro decided to branch out from mall locations that received less foot traffic in 2020 and 2021. That's why the company decided to open over 100 franchise and company stores to add to its existing 630 worldwide locations.
CEO David Karam said Sbarro is a leader in "impulse pizza" within the QSR (quick-service restaurant) category. Because of this, he said travel centers and convenience stores were a logical choice for the well-known brand.
E-Z Mart's parent company, GPM Investments, committed to opening 50 franchise restaurants, which began with Sbarro restaurants in Indiana within its Village Pantry brand. Now, it is bringing the New York-style pizza to some of Texarkana's homegrown E-Z Mart properties.
Hungry Texarkanians are talking
Visitors at E-Z Mart in Texarkana told us they are excited about the new Sbarro locations.
"I always wanted Texarkana to get a Sbarro pizza joint," one woman said. "You always saw them at the malls in Dallas and elsewhere. It was always a fun place to eat."
The Sbarro restaurant will replace the deli within E-Z Mart. As you might expect, employees say some "regulars" at E-Z Mart have said they will miss the deli.
"I do love pizza and have enjoyed Sbarro, so I think it will be good," one retired postal worker told us. "I have been a regular customer of the deli and will miss it. But who doesn't love pizza?"
An employee at the Wake Village E-Z Mart said excitement was building. "We are seeing some happy people who want Sbarro pizza and want it now," she said.
The secret sauce
After Mama Sbarro's slices became the talk of Brooklyn, her family decided to take their famous pies to a second location at the King's Plaza Mall in New York - which focused solely on pizza.
Sbarro's current CEO David Karam said it became the global leader in impulse pizza more than 65 years after being founded. He said each day Sbarro makes its XL Original New York pizza with "freshly prepared dough, 100% whole milk mozzarella cheese, and San Marzano-style tomatoes."
Sbarro's famous San Marzano tomato sauce is made with a specific variety of plum tomato grown in San Marzano, Italy, which gives it its distinctive red color.
Besides malls, travel plazas, and convenience stores, customers can also find Sbarro New York-style pizzas and strombolis in retail locations such as casinos, airports, and universities.
Delicious and convenient
Texas A&M Texarkana is located near the new Richmond Road Sbarro location, which will be convenient for both Pleasant Grove and A&M pizza lovers.
No doubt hungry Texarkana-area workers and students will be enjoying Sbarro pizza for years to come.
And one customer said she cannot wait: "Just give me my stromboli and a supreme slice right now, and I will be happy."
Sbarro's entrance into the Texarkana-area restaurant market gives us the perfect chance to quote the theme song from "The Jeffersons" since... "We've finally got a piece of the pie."
Editor's note: Sbarro changed its logo in 2015 from the Italian flag branding to a pizza slice. Many people who might not remember the name Sbarro will recognize the logo from the past shown below.