Express Pizza has existed for 27 years and is centrally located in inviting premises in Apotekergata. The restaurant has been closed due to the bankruptcy of the company Express Pizza Royal. On Friday, however, a brand new restaurant will open in the same premises.
Behind the counter is a new driver and owner in Aamro Qendah. He has also changed the name to Express Pizza & Grill.
– I don’t know the previous owner who went bankrupt twice, but I think this was a fantastic venue, so I contacted the landlord since the venue became vacant. I could change the name, but then I know that Express Pizza has a strong brand name in the city, so I chose to keep it, says Qendah.
Many new flavors
It is mostly only the name he has kept. He has changed the menu and, not least, invested in completely new equipment in the kitchen.
– The equipment was old, worn and almost nothing worked. I have invested NOK 400,000 in equipment, including a proper pizza oven from Sweden. So everything in the kitchen is new.
– We have changed the menu to make room for new flavours. There will be many different pizzas, burgers, kebabs and grilled food. We make the sauces from scratch and they just have to be tried. Because they are very good, he adds with a smile.
Qendah has also done something with the prices.
– I think it was too expensive here, so I have lowered the prices on our menu compared to what was here before.
He has also bought a car so that it will be possible to order take away and that the restaurant has a cooperation agreement with Fodora and Volt.
– The best pizza in town
Qendah has extensive experience from the restaurant industry.
– For many years I ran the place Castillo Fried Chicken in Kristiansund and it went very well. But then my wife wanted to study engineering at NTNU, so we moved to Ålesund in 2019. Here I have driven a bus for many years, but I have missed running a restaurant. Because I had a good reputation for cooking good food and had many customers in Kristiansund.
And he has big ambitions.
– I have two goals. One is that I want to get many of the old customers back. The second is to make the best pizza in town.
– I am looking forward to getting started. I am sociable so I really look forward to meeting our customers. The only concern is if people think the name is too associated with what was. But it is not, because everything is new and we will serve food of very good quality. That’s what I’m most concerned about.
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