LaRosa’s relocates, expands with new Butler County dine-in location

A LaRosa’s Pizzeria franchisee is replacing an existing delivery and carry-out location with “a full dine-in experience.”

That’s according to Pete Buscani, vice president of marketing for the family-owned, Cincinnati area pizza chain, which will open the new location at 8178 Highland Pointe Drive in West Chester Twp. near a Walmart.

The new 4,700-square-foot restaurant will open next spring, seat 120 people and include a call-ahead pick-up window, Buscani said.

It will replace a nearby delivery-and-carryout location on Fountains Boulevard that opened in May 1992, he said. That location employs about 50 people, including part-time drivers, cooks and counter-service workers.

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“When the dine-in, carry-out and delivery pizzeria opens, it will employ about 80 people,” Buscani said. “So, a net gain of about 30 folks.”

The 25-year-old Lakota pizzeria “really grew up with the community,” he said.

“The growth in the area over the past 25 years has been amazing, and we’ve been there really since it first started to happen,” he said. “It was finally time to expand and offer our guests in the area the convenience of a nice sit-down experience in our dining room.”

The new Lakota pizzeria will also feature a party room capable of accommodating up to 40 people, Buscani said.

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The pick-up window at the new location will be only the third in the entire LaRosa’s chain, he said.

“We’ve offered our guests convenient pick up service at our counter for decades but our guests have been asking for added convenience when they pick up,” Buscani said. “Many moms today have multiple kids buckled into booster seats, and it can be a real hassle to get them out and take them into our pizzeria to pick up an order. So in the new pizzeria, a guest will be able to … drive up to the pick up window, get their order and be on their way.”

LaRosa’s was founded in 1954 on Cincinnati’s West Side by Buddy LaRosa. It is now a $164 million restaurant company with 65 pizzerias serving neighborhoods in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee.

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