NANTICOKE, Pa. — Brick House Pizza on Ridge Street in Nanticoke has been open for about a week, but the lunch rush would make you think the place had been around for years.
"There's a lot of pizza places in Nanticoke, but ours is different. We have different things that people haven't had before in Pennsylvania," says co-owner Debbie Hillman. "I am originally from New Jersey, we brought in the Italian hot dog, which is a deep-fried hot dog with peppers, onions, potatoes, on the pizza bread."
"I love it, it's a good thing," said customer Linda Topper of Nanticoke. "It's a good thing for Nanticoke and the people of Nanticoke, it's good."
For owners Ken and Debbie Hillman, this new restaurant is something they dreamed about.
"We saw this place we were passing by, and it was barren, and we checked it out. It was stripped empty," says Ken Hillman. "We thought this was something that we could develop and help the city out with people and new business and getting things coming into the city."
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Customers tell Newswatch 16 it's nice to see a new restaurant pop up in a neighborhood.
"That's a good thing too like it's not up the mall, or somewhere far you gotta go, this is great," added Topper.
"Yes, for sure 'cause you know Nanticoke gets a bad rap, and this is a really nice place to liven things up," says Sarah Setzer, a customer from West Nanticoke.
The owners say they owe their new customers a lot of thanks, but they couldn't have made this possible without the support of the city.
"If you're willing to start a business, people are willing to come up step up and help you," said Ken Hillman.
"Yeah, Nanticoke really helped us tremendously when we were opening, you know? Whatever they could do for us, they were right there, and we really appreciate all their assistance," added Debbie Hillman.