A newly remodeled Columbia County pizzeria has re-opened in time for its busiest week of the year.
Mellow Mushroom, located at 4348 Washington Road in Evans, closed for renovations on Monday, Feb. 27, and re-opened on Wednesday, March 15, according to Ally Bauer, the restaurant’s area manager. Those renovations included adding new murals and creating a separate section in the kitchen for making gluten-free and vegan pizzas.
“We have a designated to-go area,” said Bauer, who also oversees the downtown Augusta and Aiken locations. “We train our servers really well; we wanted our servers and food to match the atmosphere.”
Those three locations are owned by Shawn Ledford. The exterior of the Evans location, which opened in 2008, won’t look like the one at 1102 Broad St.
The previous murals featured cartoonish images of mushrooms, but they’ve been replaced with colorful images, such as chess boards and playing cards, based on the novel, “Alice in Wonderland”.
But she said more changes are to come.
“We were supposed to get all new furniture,” Bauer said. “It’s just taking a little longer than expected.”
She said the furniture is expected to arrive next month, and they plan to cover the section of tables in front of the restaurant. Once the renovations are completed, they plan to host a grand re-opening celebration. Bauer doesn’t know how much Ledford has invested in this project.
Bauer said in the two weeks the Evans location was closed, business at the Augusta and Aiken locations skyrocketed. She was initially worried that by being closed, they would lose some of their regular diners, but that hasn’t been the case.
“We’re just glad they’re coming back; we’ve been very busy since we re-opened,” Bauer said. “We’re ready for everyone to come in and check it out.”
She said they continued to pay their employees while the restaurant was closed. For more information about Mellow Mushroom, visit mellowmushroom.com/location/ga-evans-4348-washington-rd-30809/.
