"Pizza Inn Opens In
Shade"
-The Item- Thursday, August 2, 1979
Sumter's new
Pizza Inn on Broad Street might well be the only restaurant around that was built with
difference to a tree. The Pizza Inn, which opened July 9th and begins it's grand opening
celebration Monday, is slightly smaller and has fewer parking spaces than it would have if
Billy Lane, manager and owner, hadn't taken a fancy to the tall live oak tree.
Lane, a 37-year-old Sumter native who has 5 years experience with Pizza Inns
in Shreveport, La. said he spared the tree after realizing it held local appeal, a quality
he wants the pizza parlor to keep.
"We want to blend in with Sumter and not be a fast-food
operation," Lane said, describing himself as a Sumter boy, born and bred. I'm from
Sumter, been in Sumter most of my life and I'm going to stay in Sumter."
The tree, roughly 65 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter, shades part of the
restaurant. Lane said the tree appears in a painting by the late Elizabeth White, a well
known Sumter artist. However, Lane hasn't been able to locate the painting to either buy
it or a have a print made. Along with the painting, Lane plans to display scenic
photographs of old Sumter, including shots of the Sumter County Courthouse before it was
remodeled and the old Sumter Hotel.
To keep the oak, Lane had to design the restaurant's porch several feet
shorter and had to omit about five planned parking spaces. "I wouldn't take a million
dollars for it now. There's not a whole lot of them around," Lane said
Construction on the restaurant began this past February. Lane said the
3,000-square-foot Pizza Inn, which accommodates about 166 patrons, "depending on how
friendly they are," is a full service restaurant.
Lane said he has invited Mayor W.M. Hodge to take part in ribbon-cutting ceremonies
at 11 a.m. Monday.