The Station 34 Pizza Pub, 34 S. Main St. (southwest across the street from Village Hall), offered family pizza meal kits to customers locked up during the various COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. They were the brainchild and invention of Station 34 owner Joe Irick who had actually started working on the idea before the pandemic hit.
“I wanted to bring home from the restaurant a fun activity for my kids,” Irick recalled. “So, I started to experiment to find the perfect recipe for a dough ball that would work well in a regular oven. When the pandemic hit, it just made sense to make these kits available for everyone to buy so that they could have a fun experience while stuck at home. It was also another way to bring in revenue while the restaurant was closed for dining.”
“So, we added them to our menu and promoted them on local Facebook groups. Quickly, customers started to promote the product to their friends, and it became popular, so I created a separate website for more direct marketing of the Pizza Meal Kits, and it continues to grow to this day,” he explained.
“Customers love that they have a fun activity to do at home and that the pizza was truly the same quality as restaurant-style pizza. They’ve been a hit!” Irick added.
At the beginning of the pandemic when many were afraid to make a trip to the grocery store, Station 34 even offered delivery of produce, meats, cheeses and toilet paper via their website. They also partnered with Capannari’s Ice Cream to deliver their ever-so-popular pints during the winter months when their storefront is closed. Station 34 has also expanded on the food kits idea and now offers hamburger kits (during grilling season) and taco kits, too. They can all be purchased at station34pizzapub.com.