Tiberio's reopens on Columbus Street in former Trader's Cafe spot
LANCASTER − Local favorite Tiberio's is back after an absence of almost year.
Bob's Backyard BBQ owners Bob and Maggie Bennett have partnered with the Doghouse Tavern owners Gary and Carey Smeck and David Foraker and will operate the business in the former Trader's Cafe location at 416 N. Columbus St.
They purchased the business along with all the rights and recipes. The previous owners of Tiberio's, Woody and Luciana Schorr, retired and closed the business in April. Former owner Jerry Schorr is also helping getting the new location started.
The owners hosted on open house recently, although the business was open a few days before that.
"We're excited to offer an added dine-in experience to Tiberio's pizza," Bob Bennett said. "As soon as we can we'll have a full bar. That always takes a little time, but we will definitely get there. And we will be adding delivery service as soon as we can. We want to make sure all of our systems are right and that we can handle all that extra volume without giving anybody a bad experience."
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The Bennetts plan to also offer Tiberio's favorites like lasagna and other pasta dishes, soups and specialty sandwiches.
Tiberio's was on Main Street for a while before moving to a gas station at 2610 N. Columbus St. Another pizza business, King's Grand Central, replaced Tiberio's there last year.
The new location is housed in a newly-renovated building.
"It had been used as a restaurant for I don't know how many years," Bob Bennett said. "So it was just time for a little bit of an update. So we came in and redid all of the walls, redid the floor and put a whole new kitchen in that's designed specifically for pizzas. The bar is all handmade by a local craftsman. He did a great job on it."
The front of the building now features a garage door, which Maggie Bennett said will allow for open air dining in good weather. The Bennetts also want to eventually add outdoor patio seating in the back.
Bob Bennett said one of the reasons he and his wife took on such a task is because he always liked Tiberio's pizza.
"So when we saw that they decided to shut down it took us about 10 minutes probably to decide to go talk to them," he said.
Maggie Bennett said they didn't want to see the business die and Bob Bennett said he put himself through college working in pizza places.
"It kind of gets in your blood," he said. "So it's kind of been a dream of mine and Maggie wanted to help make that come true, as well. I always wanted to open a pizza shop, and this is just a great opportunity to jump in with something that's already pretty well established."
The new Tiberio's has about 15 to 20 employees and Maggie Bennett said more will no doubt be needed.
"Our need is in the kitchen," she said. "We've got a really good service staff. A really good service staff. They're just excited about the business. All of these folks that are with us right now are very professional and they're just so excited to be a part of the rebirth of the Tiberio's brand."
Tiberio's is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Sundays through March. The Bennetts said they will see how things are going at month's end regarding possible Sunday hours or if they need to adjust the other hours.
jbarron@gannett.com
740-681-4340
Twitter: @JeffDBarron
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Tiberio's reopens on Columbus Street in former Trader's Cafe spot
