‘Gourmet ... Right Away!’

Fresh-packed sauces, 100 percent whole-milk mozzarella, fresh dough and gourmet toppings combine to create a mouth-watering dish offered at Silverdale’s newest pizza shop.

Garlic Jim’s Famous Gourmet Pizza opened for business yesterday. Operations Manager Ted Fry opened Washington’s 26th Garlic Jim’s location on Northwest Bucklin Hill Road in Silverdale.

Fry also operates the Garlic Jim’s location in Bremerton and said the Garlic Jim’s franchise plans to open five locations in Kitsap County.

“This is following our planned growth,” he said. “They plan on having five restaurants in Kitsap County.”

Fry said the company originally planned to open a new store every six months, but the plan changed and Garlic Jim’s intends to open a new location in Kitsap County every year-and-a-half to two years.

“That (opening every six months) was a little bit too aggressive,” Fry chuckled.

Construction on Garlic Jim’s in Silverdale began in February and the business was originally scheduled to open June 26, but county tie-ups delayed the opening process a couple of months.

“The county really held us up,” Fry said. “It was a challenge.”

Fry, a retired Navy man, worked in the healthcare field for years and avidly searched for a franchise to work with. A friend invited him to the Maple Valley Garlic Jim’s location to sample the pizza and, shortly after, Fry became a franchisee.

“The restaurant business was the last thing on my mind,” he said with a smile.

Fry has operated Garlic Jim’s in Bremerton for about two years and will be the operations manager of all Kitsap County locations. He has high hopes for the Silverdale pizza shop location.

“We’re looking to do three to four times the business Bremerton does,” Fry said.

Garlic Jim’s offers two crust choices, four cheese options, seven different sauces, a variety of meats and gourmet toppings.

“We have the premium ingredients,” Fry said. “It all adds up to making a better tasting pizza.”

Garlic Jim’s has 12 speciality pizzas including Nutty Chipotle, Chicken Bacon Ranch and Garlic Jim’s Ultimate. For those garlic lovers, Jim’s Gourmet Garlic is topped with basil pesto sauce, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions and feta cheese. To curb the effects of consuming delicious, garlic-topped pizza, Garlic Jim’s includes mints in every pizza box.

Garlic Jim’s has a smaller delivery radius than its competitors, but that aids in delivering a better quality pizza, according to Fry.

“We really run a smaller delivery area than our competitors,” Fry said. “Our goal is to get a fresh, hot pizza in our customers’ hands.”

Fry said he has even had customers call and complain that their pizza was too hot upon arrival to their home.

“It’s just something customers aren’t used to is having a fresh, hot pizza,” he said.

Fry promoted yesterday’s grand opening by sending out 15,500 “Meet the Manager” coupons for a free medium specialty pizza for pick up. A mock rush also occurred Monday to help Garlic Jim’s staff become oriented with their delivery areas. Several lucky people and businesses received coupons for free, large pizzas if ordered and picked up during a designated time while others had large pizzas delivered to their homes free of charge. Fry, Central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown, members of the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the Garlic Jim’s corporation hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Silverdale location Monday afternoon.

Garlic Jim’s in Silverdale currently employs about 20 people, but Fry said he is still hiring delivery drivers.

“We pay the best around for drivers,” he said.

Garlic Jim’s currently has 43 open stores and 104 franchises sold in Oregon, Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, Washington, New Jersey, Colorado, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. For more information on Garlic Jim’s pizza and franchise opportunities, visit the Web site www.garlicjims.com.

Garlic Jim’s Famous Gourmet Pizza

3381 NW Bucklin Hill Road,

Unit D

Silverdale

(360) 698-TOGO (8646)

Hours:

Daily

11 a.m.-11 p.m.

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