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Published: Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 / Updated: Friday, Jan. 18, 2013 03:12 PM

The original Pizza Village in Fort Mill is reopening in February

FORT MILL -- 

At church one Sunday morning, Ginny Myers felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around and was asked a question she’s hearing several times a day lately.

“I heard Village Pizza is opening again. Is it you? I hope it’s you that’s coming back.”

Ginny smiled and nodded.

The rumors are true, and now a sign in front of the former Village Pizza proudly announces it: “Ginny is back!”

Myers plans to reopen in late February in the iconic pizzeria’s former location in Crossroads Plaza near Tega Cay.

Ginny Myers opened Village Pizza in 1989. She owned and operated it for 18 years, when she sold it to two of her employees, who later sold it to Market Street Pizza. Market Street lasted approximately one year before closing its doors.

Calls to Market Street for comment were not immediately returned.

When Market Street left, Myers got a call from the property managers asking if she had any interest in coming back.

Myers said she had been enjoying retirement for five years. She is active within her church and several charitable organizations, and she was also “enjoying being a grandma,” she said.

But she had been thinking about doing something new when this opportunity came up. She and her husband, Bob Myers, a local realtor, decided to jump on it.

“There are so many good memories here,” she said.

When it reopens in February, Village Pizza will be much like it was before it closed, she said. They’ll be delivering pizzas, and offering a daily lunch buffet and table service at night. The food will be the same pizza, pastas, calzones and Stromboli that people remember.

“It’s the same ovens, the same mixer, the same cheeses. The only things we couldn’t get back were the old black-and-white pictures that used to be on the walls. (Market Street) threw them out,” said Bob Myers.

For some, the value of Village Pizza lay in more than just the food. The business also made a contribution to the community by hiring local students.

In the 18 years Village Pizza was open, Bob Myers estimates, the business hired and trained more than 1,000 high school students. Before the restaurant closed, some of its first hires were returning with their own children.

“They’d say, ‘Teach my kid what you taught me,’ ” said Bob Myers.

Hiring for the restaurant will begin in January, he said.

Ginny and Bob Myers are in the restaurant most days now, preparing for opening day. They’re making changes that most people won’t notice: moving ovens around to make the kitchen more efficient and making room for more tables in the dining area.

They’re considering getting rid of Market Street’s high-tech point-of-sale system and going back to the way Village Pizza always kept track of customer orders – with handwritten tickets.

While they work at the restaurant, they’ve learned to leave the door open for the five or more people each day that walk in to confirm what the sign says – that the original Village Pizza is coming back.

Former customers light up when they hear it’s true.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Ginny Myers said.