Colony Grill to bring New England-style spicy pizza to the 600 block
/Colony Grill will be opening this October at 670 Central Avenue in downtown St. pete
“Fly ball, deep left field!” the television announcer shouts on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. And then the outfielder in left field secures the fly ball. “It’s over! Trumbull wins it!”
No one expected a team from a small town in Connecticut to upset the defending World Champions from Taiwan to win the 1989 Little League World Series. But this group of 12-year-olds led by Chris Drury pulled out the win.
The team became one of the most celebrated Little League teams of all time. They went to the White House. They met President Bush. They even threw out the first pitch at the MLB World Series that year.
The 1989 Little League World Series Champions from Trumbull, CT.
Chris Drury, who had already won a 14-and-under hockey championship, went on to play in the NHL for 13 years before beginning a career in NHL management. Four months ago, he was promoted to President and General Manager for the New York Rangers.
At the 20-year reunion of Trumbull’s big win, four teammates decided to go into business together. In 2010, Ken Martin, Paul Coniglio, Cody Lee, and Chris Drury secured the rights to the decades-old Colony Grill in Stamford, Connecticut. Now, the teammates are planning to open a location in St. Pete.
“The Colony Grill concept is really simple. It’s literally just pizza and drinks,” said Ken Martin, who is Colony’s chief brand officer. “Beyond that, it’s a place for the community to gather. A place to eat after work, watch the game on TV, or catch up with friends and family around the holidays.”
The only item on the menu is pizza. No side salads, garlic knots, or buffalo wings. Colony Grill’s pizza is your typical New England bar pie. The cheese goes right to the end; there’s no NY-style crust. It’s very thin, brittle, and has a slight chewiness.
Owners of Colony Grill. Paul Coniglio, Cody Lee, Chris Drury, and Ken Martin.
Twelve toppings are available, most of which you’re familiar with, such as sausage, pepperoni, meatball, mushrooms, and onions.
However, the most popular topping by far, and one you probably have never heard of, is Colony Grill’s famous hot oil.
“It’s a pepper-infused olive oil. If you just get a hot oil pie, you get one little stinger pepper in the middle of the pizza,” said Martin. “There’s certainly a spice to it, but it really just kicks it up a couple notches in terms of flavor.”
As for the beer selection, expect to see twelve taps pouring a mixture of bigger beer brands, like Miller Lite and Blue Moon, as well as several local breweries. There may also be a beer or two from Connecticut from time to time.
After finding success early on, the group decided to expand the brand within Connecticut. First to Fairfield, then to Milford and Norwalk. In 2018, Colony Grill jumped the New York-Connecticut border to debut in Port Chester, NY. Last year a location opened in Arlington, VA. With six successful locations in New England, the next stop for Colony Grill will be over 1,000 miles away in downtown St. Petersburg, FL.
Colony Grill’s pizza is your typical New England bar pie. The cheese goes right to the end; there’s no NY-style crust. It’s very thin, brittle, and has a slight chewiness.
Colony Grill’s St. Petersburg spot will be located at 670 Central Avenue in a 5,000 square foot space previously home to Rocket Fizz Soda Pop & Candy Shop (which moved two doors down to 658 Central Avenue) and Peregrine Construction Group.
“We’ve received tons of emails over the years asking us to come to Tampa-St. Pete. In the last three to four years, we started to look closer at the market,” said Martin. “Despite the geographic difference, there are a lot of similarities in the demographics. In many ways, St. Pete mirrors Fairfield County’s young, vibrant, and eclectic culture.”
Additionally, one of the owners of Colony Grill, Paul Coniglio, is a Tampa Bay resident. He moved to Florida to work for IBM before eventually shifting full-time to Colony as its chief executive.
“We cannot wait to be part of the St. Pete community,” said Martin. “We’re going to spend a lot of time, energy, and money to support the local sports teams, school communities, and art scene.”
The original Colony Grill was established in 1935 in Stamford, CT. The Colony was the nickname for the Irish neighborhood there. At the time, it was a watering hole serving sandwiches and some other neighborhood fare. Noticeably absent from the menu was pizza.
There’s a little bit of mythology to the history, but as soldiers were coming back from World War II, they brought with them an Eastern European influence that served a very thin-crust pizza. They started experimenting with that at the Colony and it became the bar pie.
The front elevation of Colony Grill in downtown St. Petersburg
The side elevation of Colony Grill in Downtown St. Petersburg
As time went on, the sandwiches started to fall off the menu, the other items got kicked aside, and the pizza became the focal point. Eventually, by the 80s, everything had been removed from the menu except for the pizza. That’s been the history ever since.
“I guess the name ‘Colony Grill’ is a little bit counter-intuitive,” laughs Martin. “But there once was a grill and it’s an ode to our history.”
Colony Grill plans to open before Halloween at 670 Central Avenue in downtown St. Pete. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date.
Also, for those that live across the bay, Colony Grill recently secured a space at Midtown Tampa, a 22-acre $500 million mixed-use neighborhood currently under construction. Colony Grill hopes to open that location in the first half of 2022, joining other tenants such as Shake Shack, Whole Foods, and True Food Kitchen.
