There wasn’t a pizza restaurant in Gray. She changed that, and her business is still growing.

When you arrive at Chevy’s Pizza in Gray the thing that stands out is the large building in the middle of this small town. It wasn’t always like this though. At one time Chevy’s was in a much smaller location. But the sheer amount of customers called for a change just a few years after its opening.

Owner Chevy Turner said that at times the old location had a two-hour wait for some trying to get inside the restaurant. They made the move to the larger location at 115 W Clinton St. in 2017. Since then they have been able to continue to grow the business into a local favorite.

Turner started the business in her early 20s. She was born and raised in Gray and has been around the food industry her whole life. Her parents once owned a Chevy’s Cafe in Gray, a small country cooking restaurant. She said she always knew she would go into the restaurant business.

“We sold the Chevy’s Cafe a long time ago. And this is what I wanted to do growing up so I dumped my college money into a restaurant myself,” Turner said. “Honestly, pizza is easy and there wasn’t a pizza place in Gray. I had an idea and its worked for me so far.”

Turner’s experience in growing up around her parent’s restaurant has helped in her transition into owning one of her own. Now it is her parents who are helping her and having been influential in getting the business up and running.

“My parents help me out a lot up here,” Turner said. “My dad does all my book work. My mama comes up here and manages for me when I am not able to be here.”

Being from Gray has also helped her get more involved in her community. Chevy’s holds benefits for those in the community that needs help and use their big patio for those events. Turner said that it is a chance to give back to a town that she was raised in.

“I wouldn’t be where I am at today without my customers,” Turner said. “I appreciate everybody that walks through that door. We try to give everybody a happy experience here.”

We took the drive to Gray to check out some good pizza at a local favorite for Foodie Friday.

Pizza:

Chevy’s offers a variety of pizza options including buffalo chicken, Philly cheesesteak and mighty meats. We ordered a small fully loaded which a typical supreme pizza with sausage, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers and pepperonis. The most impressive part was the amount of toppings. Typically, on a smaller pizza the toppings are a bit more scarce. Each bite had two or three different toppings in it. It also had the all-important cheese pull from the first bite. The crust was nice and light. The other thing was the sauce. It didn’t overpower the pizza as a whole, which is big. I tend to find that some pizza leans far too heavy on the sauce. Chevy’s strikes a perfect balance.

Other entrees:

If you aren’t in the mood for pizza then no worries because they also offer wings, pasta, salads and subs. The highlight of the meal as a whole was the chicken alfredo with a breadstick.

The bowl was loaded with penne pasta, chicken and alfredo sauce. Overall it was a great taste and quantity provided plenty of leftovers. The top layer was chicken and sometimes places tend to go overboard with pasta with very little chicken.

You will not have that problem here. This has a ton of chicken to that point that nearly every bite included a chunk of it. They also offer spaghetti with meatballs, shrimp alfredo and each can be ordered in a family-sized quantity.

Jenna opted for the meatball sub. It was three large meatballs covered in mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce. The size created quite the conundrum as it was nearly impossible to take a bite from the full sandwich. Jenna said it was like the size of her head. But the taste once cut into three sections, was well worth it. They were juicy and well-seasoned. An impressive sandwich.

We also grabbed some gold rush wings which were coated in a mustard base sauce. These wings were juicy and not oversauced. It had a nice flavor and wasn’t over powering.

Cost:

Small pizza: $5.95

Pasta: $7.99

Sub combo: $7.99

Chevy’s Pizza

Location: 115 W Clinton St, Gray, Georgia

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Price range: $5-$15

This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 12:00 AM.