GRAVETTE — Gravette starts the new year with one more eating place than it had in 2016. Mandy Culp, owner and manager of the Simple Simon's Pizza at 602 First Ave., S.W., opened her Gravette location on Thursday, Dec. 20. She also owns Simple Simon's restaurants in Granby and Neosho, Mo.
Culp, a Granby native, is not new to the pizza business. She has been in the business more than 10 years and has owned Simple Simon's franchises in Montana territory, in Monett and twice in Joplin, Mo. She became interested in the Gravette store when corporate headquarters called and asked if she was interested in a new territory. When she inquired about what was open and learned that Gravette was available, she readily accepted. She was familiar with Gravette because she had come through town on trips taking her children to Wild Wilderness Safari at Gentry.
Culp says she likes the people and the small-town atmosphere in Gravette. "It's a feel you get," she says.
The new store has been pretty busy in its first couple of weeks, Culp says, and she is pleased with the customers' response to her opening. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner seven days a week. Open hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 12 noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The location seats 39 and a separate room adjoining the main dining area is available for large groups. Customers may call 479-344-6200 to place orders or make reservations for parties.
The Simple Simon's menu offers over a dozen specialty pizzas. Culp says the Big 10, which features six meats and four vegetables in its toppings, is one of the most popular. Other choices include bacon chicken ranch, cheeseburger, taco and barbecue pizzas. Calizones, both the original featuring pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella cheese and Simple Simon's signature alpine sauce inside a golden crust and eight specialty calizones, are another popular menu selection.
Other menu choices include two kinds of spaghetti and fettuccine alfredo, stromboli, barbecue and hot and spicy chicken wings and several varieties of oven-baked sandwiches.
Pizzas can be built on a choice of thin, thick and chewy or stuffed crusts. Additional toppings can be placed on any pizza, and dipping sauces are available for pizzas and sandwiches. They can be accompanied by side salads or a variety of cheese sticks. Drinks and desserts (a 12-inch chocolate chip cookie cake and cinnamon bread) are also served. All food is available for dine-in or to carry out.
Culp is in the Gravette store several days a week. She is assisted in the business by her daughter Gracie, 11, who plays softball and volleyball and does competitive tumbling. Other employees include an aunt, Tammy Gordon, who works in the Granby store; Laura Porter, from Neosho, who also has 10 years in the business; and Laurel Sexton, whose father owns the Neosho News Dispatch and the River Hills Traveler. Interviews are still being conducted with persons interested in employment.
Culp is a graduate of the East Newton (Mo.) School District, where Gracie now attends school. She has taken classes in marketing at Crowder College in Neosho. She is vice-president of the East Newton School Board, is president of the Granby Parents Association and coaches softball and volleyball. She is also a licensed real estate agent and a cosmetologist but now only does hair and nails for family members and friends. She has an older daughter, Lauren Bray, 20, who is married and also lives in Granby, and a two-year-old grandson, Channing.
The Culp family and employees extend an invitation to all in the area to come in and get acquainted, stay to sample one of Simple Simon's pizzas or other dishes or purchase one to take home.
General News on 01/04/2017