YORK COUNTY, Va. - At "The Pizza Shop" in Grafton, there's a new slogan: "Under Old Management."
You'll find it on t-shirts the servers are wearing and all around the four-decade-old joint...because it's true — the old management is now the new management.
“It's been kind of a life-long journey kind of thing," Brian Betts told News 3 while making a pizza during the September grand opening of what's now known as "Uncle B's Pizza Shop."
Betts first rolled the dough of his pizza career in the late 90s when we began working as a driver for George Washington Memorial Highway business, but he quickly worked his way inside making pizzas.
By 2001, Betts was the owner at just 22 years old; a title he held until 2017 when he sold the business to open a thrift store that would become a toys and collectibles business.
“It was just a different venture and a new challenge and I loved learning about the history of the toys and putting them back together and everything about it, but I guess my first love was always the kitchen," said Betts.
And after he learned The Pizza Shop had closed late last year, Betts decided to jump back in, closing his toy shop and taking back ownership.
“I just felt like it was my responsibility to reopen it for the county. I’ve always felt like it was a very special place," he said.
It was a move celebrated by the Chair of the York County Board of Supervisors, Sheila Noll, who attended the ribbon cutting for the new-and-improved shop.
“He has a following and has had a following for so many years here in the county," she told News 3 of Betts, who grew up in York County. "The county is full of small businesses and we want to keep small businesses thriving.”
Betts says he's upgraded what he could of the inside, while keeping the tradition of the place alive. The pizza recipe he's using? From the original owner who opened The Pizza Shop 40 years ago.
Though he is getting help from friends and family, especially with social media...
"They have been diligent with the Facebook and starting us an Instagram account, a TikTok," he said.
But it all comes back to the pizza...and the guy making it.
