Students and teachers across Western North Carolina are continuing to adjust to the new school year. Macon, Swain, and Jackson Counties are among the few counties in the state who have sent kids back to school for a hybrid model of in-person and remote instruction, braving the task of new regulations and requirements for the classroom.
Students aren’t allowed to share supplies, so there are no more community crayons or glue. There isn’t a pencil box for shared erasers and while teachers struggled to get the supplies they needed before, now it is even more difficult.
That is why the owners of Pie Times Pizza Company in Sylva decided to host a “Back to School” event this weekend to not only show teachers in Swain, Jackson, and Macon Counties how much they are appreciated, but also as a way to help local classrooms.
“As a way to say thank you, we are going to be offering a 20% discount to any teacher who dines with us Friday through Sunday,” said Cory Coleman, owner of Pie Times. “And then we are also going to have a huge school supply basket with everything they need to stock their classroom. We also want to throw in a $100 gift card for the teacher to be able to spend any way they need.”
Coleman said that the public is invited to visit Pie Times anytime between this Friday, August 28 and next Friday, September 4 to nominate a teacher to win the basket for their classroom. Pie Times will have raffle tickets available for students, teachers, parents, anyone at all to nominate their favorite teacher to win the basket and a $100 gift card.
“We know times are really hard right now and this is just a small way we can give back to the communities who support us throughout the year,” said Coleman.
Pie times has been opened in Jackson County right at the end of Main Street for the last three years. Coleman purchased the restaurant about a year ago. They craft Neapolitan style pizza using quality sourdough for every crust.
“We have been using the same yeast starter from the day the restaurant was opened,” said Coleman. The yeast’s name is Seymour. We feed him every night and he gifts us with the foundation of our own unique sourdough.”
Pie Times cooks each pizza in a wood fired brick oven imported directly from Italy. The restaurant enlisted the talents of local artist, Lindsay McCardle to design all of the tile work on the oven.
“The oven is 750-850 degrees and a pizza cooks in 90 seconds,” said Coleman. “In the morning, the oven is still hot and we roast all of our veggies and other pizza toppings in the oven.”
Pie Times prides itself on quality and looks to locally source all of the vegetables every chance they get. “We don’t own a freezer, so you’re always getting fresh ingredients,” said Coleman. “Most of our ingredients are made in house –from our dough to our sauce and even our mozzarella cheese.”
Pie Times offers vegan and vegetarian menu options, even making their own vegan cheese and vegan bacon. They also serve up farm fresh salads, soups and dessert.
The covered outdoor patio is a nice place to relax or you can order a pie to be delivered next door to Innovation Brewing while you snag some locally brewed craft beer.
Pie Times Pizza Company is located at 414 West Main St Sylva, NC and is open 7 days a week until 9 p.m.
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