Good Company Pizza settles into Swannanoa
New neighborhood diner serves up classic hand-tossed pies, subs and salads
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 21, 2024
George Peyton, left, and Casey Conner launch take-out service at Good Company Pizza in Swannanoa. The pizzeria plans to open a dining room in the fall. Photo by Fred McCormick
Cooking up the quintessential pizza has been a frequent topic of conversation between brothers Casey Conner and George Peyton for at least a decade.
“It was always kind of a dream of ours to open a pizza restaurant,” Conner said. “We ate a lot of pizza, but it has really been fascinating to learn all the little aspects that go into making a really good pizza.”
The attention to detail is a key ingredient at Good Company Pizza, which is serving up savory hand-tossed pies, fresh subs and salads in Swannanoa. The restaurant, located at 2336 U.S. 70, is offering pick-up service from 4 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m., Sunday. A dining room with counter service is scheduled to open at the pizzeria this fall.
Conner, a Swannanoa real estate broker, and Peyton, who holds a culinary degree with more than 20 years of experience in the kitchen, began operating a catering business 10 years ago. They considered opening a restaurant for years, before establishing one in their hometown.
“It wasn’t really feasible in the past few years, so we focused instead on figuring out what we liked with pizza, and tasted all different kinds of styles and toppings,” Conner said. “We just sort of perfected it to our tastes.”
The process is something Peyton has been passionate about since childhood.
“I’ve never actually worked in a pizzeria, but making pizza is a thing we used to do all the time as a family, with our mother,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of other types of food, but making pizza from scratch is something I’ve been learning forever.”
Good Company Pizza offers six specialty pies, ranging from the Don Ho with bacon, pineapple and hot cherry peppers, to the Tony, with pepperoni, hot sausage and bacon. Fresh ingredients add a flavorful element to the recipe, according to Peyton.
“It’s a puffy, dippable crust, with a mozzarella and provolone cheese,” he said. “We use a premium cupped pepperoni, which has a little bit of spice to it. To me, it’s like the pepperoni I think of when I think of pizza from my childhood.”
The concept of the diner, according to Peyton, is a simple family-friendly neighborhood pizza shop with good food at a reasonable price. The menu includes house-made garlic bread and cheese sticks, chicken Philly subs and salads topped with house dressings.
“We thought about a bunch of different names, but I kept going back to ‘eat in good company, enjoy good company,’ and that felt so wholesome,” he said. “It describes exactly what we’re trying to do here.”
The owners plan to open the adjacent dining room, former site of Jimmy’s on the River, in the coming weeks.
“This space really turned out to be a perfect fit for what we’re doing,” Conner said. “We want it to feel like a community gathering space where families can come grab a pizza and hang out.”
Good Company Pizza will launch a website and online ordering option soon, the owners said, but take-out orders can be placed at 828-581-0132.