PaPPo’s plans to launch restaurant in Nixa

Nixa is targeted to be the 12th location for a pizza chain that originated in the Queen City and has since spread to three states.

PaPPo’s Pizzeria & Pub owner Chris Galloway said renovations started last week on a 3,800-square-foot space at 701 N. McCroskey St., Ste. 1. He said plans call for soon opening his newest restaurant in Village Marketplace.

“The term ‘soon’ means different things to different people,” Galloway said. “For me, soon is in the next 90 days. That’s our goal, is in the next 90 days. I would love to get it open just around Thanksgiving.”

Galloway said Nixa was on the list of cities where the company wanted to open but added he’s very picky about locations. The space in Village Marketplace was appealing, in part, because it wasn’t going to require extensive interior work.

“We’re doing redecorating, but we only have to move a couple walls,” he said of the suite formerly occupied by Bair’s Sports Grill. “It’s got a lot of wood and stone and it’s just a beautiful space.”

He said the Nixa shop is largely a product of demand from longtime fans of the restaurant.

“We’re all excited about Nixa because we have so many followers and fans that have been eating at PaPPo’s for years living in Nixa,” he said. “This was an ideal situation.”

Startup costs will be around $500,000, Galloway said.

“It’s on the lower end of what we typically spend,” he said, adding he signed a 10-year lease with two five-year options for an undisclosed rate with Jared Commercial & Management LLC.

The roughly 50-employee staff will be led by General Manager Josh Carlew, who has experience with the company working at the south Springfield shop on Battlefield Road, Galloway said.

The Nixa location is one of five that are coming soon for PaPPo’s, which Galloway launched in Springfield in 2012, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. Lee’s Summit and Fairview Heights, Illinois, are the lone PaPPo’s restaurants currently run by franchisees, he said, noting the others are corporate-owned. However, two other franchise locations are in development in Overland Park, Kansas, and Washington, Missouri. Additionally, the company is planning to open its second Huntsville, Alabama, shop as well as one in O’Fallon.