Universal Pizza to open in January
Universal Pizza will open in this space in late January, and will offer 36 varieties of craft beer, along with pizza and sandwiches. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
The Clinton Beer Board on Nov. 29 granted a beer permit for the new restaurant, which plans to offer 36 craft beer varieties, Burleson said.
Burleson, who owns the Aubrey’s restaurant group in the Knoxville area, said Universal Pizza will be patterned after two other area restaurants he owns – Stefano’s Pizza in Hardin Valley and the Blue Tick Tavern in Maryville.
“We will be combining those two concepts into one in the Clinton location,” Burleson told The Courier News.
The restaurant will have table service, and will feature pizza and sandwiches, along with the beer choices.
Hiring will begin “during the first full week of January,” with the goal to be open by the end of the month, he said.
The location is on the east end of the new four-unit Clinton Shopping Center, which is between Sonic Drive-In and Wendy’s.
Burleson said Universal Pizza will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
Three other businesses have already opened in the center, the most recent of which is US Cellular, which is on the west end of the center. It opened in mid-November.
Also in the center is a Penn Station East Coast Subs location, which opened last April, and the Fifth Nail Lounge, a nail salon, which opened in August.
Christopoulos & Kennedy Construction of Knoxville is building the interior of Universal Pizza, which will have 3,178 square feet of space.
The US Cellular store held its grand opening celebration on Saturday, Dec. 9.
Assistant Manager Berina Edmond and sales consultant Dani Wright are the fulltime employees in the store, which is an authorized retailer for US Cellular, and is operated by Knoxville-based ProComm Services, owned by Forrest Stover.
US Cellular offers pre- and post-paid cellphone plans. It operates on its own towers and roams on towers of AT&T where necessary.
Penn Station subs owner Melissa Greene of Louisville, who was on hand for the April opening, said it is the fourth Penn Station sandwich shop in the Greater Knoxville area. The others are in Sevierville, Fountain City and North Peters Road in Knoxville.
She said Penn Station’s most-popular sub is the Philly Cheesesteak, but that customers also like the fresh made-to-order French fries and the hand-squeezed lemonade. Menu items include cold and grilled subs, sandwich wraps and salads.
As for the center overall, the city of Clinton issued a building permit in May 2022 for the nearly $1 million, 7,000-square-foot shell building at the site. The contractor was listed as Creative Structures, Inc.
The site is less than a mile from Interstate 75, Exit 122. It has about 75 parking spaces, according to documents filed with the city.
The 1.2-acre site was previously owned by LKM Properties, the holding company for Weigel’s convenience stores properties.
City Manager Roger Houck said Weigel’s had plans earlier to put a second Clinton store on that site, but gave up on the idea when the Tennessee Department of Transportation declined Weigel’s request for a cut through the median on Seivers Boulevard so traffic could access the store from both sides of the highway.