A History of Coz's Pizza and Pub

Transcription

1 A History of Coz's Pizza and Pub There are numerous pizza places in Springfield, IL. Many are nationwide chains, while others are family-owned restaurants. All of them claim to be the best. To those with discriminating tastes, there is only one pizza place in Springfield, Coz s Pizza and Pub, currently at 4441 Ash Grove in the Pleasant Park Commercial Center. 1 In 1996, John T. Costello opened his first restaurant offering real Chicago-style pizza. 2 In business for only eight years, Coz s Pizza and Pub, with a large number of dedicated customers, has already surpassed many pizzerias that have been around much longer. Coz s Pizza and Pub first opened on June 15, 1996, at 6545 Wabash Avenue in Curran, Illinois. 3 It was located in a small building, about four hundred square feet in size, and could hold a maximum of thirty-five people. 2 When you entered the restaurant, you immediately noticed a unique decor. The floors were simple hardwood and the walls a dark wood paneling illuminated by dim lighting. 2 Covering many of the walls were sports memorabilia. 2 Looking up, you could see the rafters. 2 To the left of the doorway were three wooden booths and in the center of the dining area were four wooden tables. 2 In the back was a bar with five stools. On every table was a bowl of peanuts in the shell. 3 Diners would eat the peanuts and, as in many taverns in the past, throw the peanut shells on the floor. 3 Three televisions were tuned to the most popular sporting events. 2 The original Coz s Pizza and Pub was so small that it took only one waitress, one bartender, and two cooks to run the business. 2 For the most part, Coz s was a family-oriented establishment. There was only one instance when there was a near fight. One evening, two men began arguing. 2 When the argument appeared ready to turn into a fight, Costello, the bartender at the time, asked the men to leave. 2 When they refused to do so, Costello was forced to threaten them with a

2 baseball bat he kept behind the bar. 2 Fortunately the men left without incident. After four years in Curran, in June of 2000, Coz s Pizza and Pub moved. Costello made the decision to move because there were so many customers and so little seating. 1 He searched for a building site on the west side of Springfield. 2 Originally, he was to build a new building behind Quality Lighting on Wabash Avenue in Pleasant Park, but the builders informed him that there were too many trees and it would be expensive to remove them. 2 He consulted his architect, and a different location in Pleasant Park was suggested. 2 At the time, Pleasant Park was a fledgling commercial center housing only a few offices. The new Coz s was built in a period of six months at the new Pleasant Park location at 4441 Ash Grove Drive. The building is about three thousand nine hundred square feet in size and has a maximum capacity of one hundred eight people, approximately three times the previous building s capacity. 2 It requires about ten people to run the business at any time. On July 15, 2000, Costello held the grand opening. 2 The Ash Grove Coz s has a similar look and feel to the old building, dim lights, dark wood paneled walls, and ten televisions tuned to sporting events. The walls are decorated with sports themes, beer signs, and goofy stuff. 2 The corner booths are decorated using team themes, each booth decorated with team memorabilia. The teams include the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and University of Illinois in Champaign Basketball. Beer signs and mirrors cover the walls of the small loft used mostly for parties. When Costello and his wife decorated the front booths, they collected unusual signs and maps to make people think and laugh. 2 One such decoration features a mouse trap with the text: Complaint Department: for service press here. The environment of any restaurant is important to a customer s decision to return. Food and atmosphere are equally important to a restaurant s longevity.

3 The most notable event in the Ash Grove building s history so far has been a power outage that lasted more than two days. 5 At five o clock on July 23, 2001 a thunderstorm hit Springfield, knocking down some power lines. 5 Because the downed lines blocked roads, Costello couldn t get anywhere near his restaurant, and a manager had to walk half of a mile through a farmer s field to reach work. 5 While his restaurant was without power, Costello lost thousands of dollars in business and inventory. 5 The power loss affected thirty businesses and one thousand five hundred residences. 5 Green Toyota, about three quarters of a mile from Coz s, was forced to distribute cigarette lighters to customers so the customers could navigate the darkened, cavernous dealership. 5 The owner, John T. Costello, was born in Jacksonville, Illinois in At the age of eighteen, he entered the United States Army. 2 While he was in the Army, he did some cooking and servile kitchen work. 2 It was from his cooking experience in the Army that he learned the techniques used to prepare large quantities of food. 2 While in the Army, he was stationed in Guam, Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Taiwan. 2 Experiencing the food from different cultures can make one better appreciate good food in general. 2 In 1962 Costello returned to the United States and, under the G.I. bill, received a technical engineering degree from Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. 2 He worked at a number of educational establishments beginning at Schaumburg School District #54 in He also worked as the Director of Physical Plant at the Capitol Area Career Center beginning in 1977, and then at Lincoln Land Community College beginning in The Director of Physical Plant s duties consisted of coordinating electricians, carpenters, plumbers, heating/cooling technicians, and security. 2 In 1995, Costello retired from Lincoln Land Community College. 3 He felt, however, that it was not time to stop working. 3 He decided to pursue his dream of opening a restaurant. After his retirement, Dohn Campbell, former chief

4 of security at Lincoln Land Community College, joined Costello. 2 The food of Coz s Pizza and Pub is inspired mostly by Costello s tastes. Most importantly, when Costello moved from Chicago to Springfield in 1977, he missed good Chicago-style pizza. 2 He also felt that Springfield was missing a good Italian Beef Sandwich and Chicago-style Italian sausage. 3 Other foods on the menu are Costello s favorites: southern fried chicken wings, charbroiled burgers, and hot wings. 2 Most of the recipes used at Coz s are Costello s own. 2 He and his brother worked for three months developing a recipe for hot wings. 2 The hot wings are very popular, especially during major sporting events, and are free on Monday nights. 6 Michael Romero, a manager and cook at Coz s has also developed some recipes including the Sunday pasta special and a fried cinnamon desert. 7 Coz s Pizza and Pub has been influenced greatly by Costello s family history. His grandparents owned a pub in County Cork, Ireland called Crotty s Pub. 2 Both of his brothers own restaurants in Illinois. His brother, John, owns JJ-Twigs in Lake Zurich, and his brother Frank owns Costello s Tavern and Grill in Fox Lake. 3 JJ-Twigs is renowned principally for Pizza and Costello s Tavern and Grill for its charbroiled burgers. 2 When Costello opened at his new Ash Grove location, he also began selling take and bake pizzas. As the name implies, customers pick up their pizzas then bake them at home. Take and bake pizzas were a result of complaints from customers that they loved the pizza, but it was cold by the time they arrived at home in Petersburg, Jacksonville, or Waverly. 2 Costello took a month to experiment and come up with a good take and bake product, precooking the crust so that the pizza wouldn t fall through an oven grate, and using precooked sausage. 2 In the end, the take and bake pizzas were well received. 2 There have been serious inquiries about freezing and shipping Coz s pizza overseas. 2 While Costello hasn t entered the foreign market, he has begun distributing frozen pizza locally.

5 In January of 2003, Costello completed six months of prototypes for frozen pizza. 8 Coz s now has a small frozen pizza plant in Curran, Illinois that produces pizzas to freeze and sell to fifty business customers in Sangamon County. Coz s frozen pizzas are heated up for sale at golf courses, swimming pools, taverns, and private clubs. 9 Coz s frozen pizza is also sold at Springfield area grocery stores. Many Coz s customers will purchase a frozen pizza instead of going to the restaurant, but most eat both, coming back for the friendly environment. 2 Costello has shown that he is very creative, developing Take and Bake pizzas, producing his frozen pizza line, and now selling his own wine. About a year ago, Costello was in El Paso, Illinois, the home of Furrow Vineyards. 2 While there, he tried a bottle of Furrow s red wine. 2 Because he liked he liked it, he brought a case back to Springfield. He and his friends liked the wine so well that he revisited El Paso and asked about getting a private label made. 2 Now Coz s sells its own wine, called Coz s Red. 2 It has been fairly popular, especially with women. 2 Coz s Pizza and Pub has been in existence for only eight years, but its business has already exceeded that of many restaurants and pizzerias that have been around for much longer. Coz s Pizza and Pub is a winner of many prizes including the Illinois Times Best Pizza, the People s Choice Awards at a recent cook-off for Hot Wings, and the best rated pizza parlor by Springfield High School students. 6, 10, 11 While he hasn t revealed any plans for the future, there is not doubt that Coz s Pizza will soon expand beyond Sangamon County s market.

6 Endnotes 1 Coz s Pizza Moving to Pleasant Park, Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 27 February 2000, John T. Costello, Matthew T. Hagaman, 14 September Coz s Pizza Opens in Curran, Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 28 June 1996, 4 Coz s Pizza to Open New Location in Springfield, Springfield (IL) State Journal- Register, 26 December 1999, Businesses Still Dark After Storm, Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 25 July 2001, 1. 6 Saucy Secrets, Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 27 April Red Coach Inn Returning Soon, Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 28 September 2003, Bernie and Betty s Under New Ownership, Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 25 May 2003, Coz s Pizza Hitting the Road, Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 23 March 2003, Best of Springfield, Illinois Times, 26 June The Senator reviews Pizza: Local Favorites: Which Comes Out on Top?, The Senator, December 1998.

7 Bibliography Bernie and Betty s Under New Ownership. Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 25 May 2003, 46. Best of Springfield. Illinois Times, 26 June Businesses Still Dark After Storm. Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 25 July 2001, 1. Coz s Pizza Hitting the Road. Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 23 March 2003, 56. Coz s Pizza Moving to Pleasant Park. Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 27 February 2000, 50. Coz s Pizza Opens in Curran. Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 28 June 1996, 44. Coz s Pizza to Open New Location in Springfield. Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 26 December 1999, 25. Red Coach Inn Returning Soon. Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 28 September 2003, 51. Saucy Secrets. Springfield (IL) State Journal-Register, 27 April The Senator reviews Pizza: Local Favorites: Which Comes Out on Top?. The Senator, December John T. Costello. Matthew T. Hagaman. 14 September 2003.