A&G Pizza
Franklin: 44 Millard Drive (937) 746-2869
Springboro: 282 W. Central Ave. (937) 550-9960
SPRINGBORO — In a crummy economy, Steve and Debbie Fouts decided to use their dough to make pizza.
It all started when Debbie Fouts, after a rough day at work, had stopped at the A&G Pizza in Franklin to pick up sandwiches and lamented to the staff that rather than continue on the corporate route “what I ought to do is buy a place like this.”
That’s when the owners, George and Melinda Brown, told her it was for sale.
A&G Pizza — named for its original owners 40 years ago — was an established store, which meant they wouldn’t have to start the business from scratch, she said. And with Steve Fouts having to quit his job working on circuit boards due to vision issues, he was looking for something to keep him busy in retirement.
After some negotiations, the couple bought the restaurant and re-opened in September 2008 — a week before the Hurricane Ike windstorm swept through and knocked out power to most of the area.
While the storm made the Fouts frantic at first, their plaza’s power was restored within a day and a half, making them one of the only open eateries.
“I tell you as bad as that thing was it was one of the best things that ever happened to us,” Debbie Fouts said. “We had people lined outside the door. It helped fuel our business.”
The popularity of the local shop helped convince the Fouts to open a new location in Springboro on April 15.
“We wanted to take away some business from our competitors,” Debbie Fouts said.
While it only offers carry-out and delivery options — the Franklin location has dine-in space — it still sports the same traditional thin crust pies cooked on old fashioned deck oven stones rather than the conveyor ovens. The sauce is a 40-year-old recipe tweaked to perfection to complement the fresh ingredients the restaurants use. The sausage is freshly ground and hand-pulled into little raw chunks on the pizza before baking. A&G can only make about eight to 10 pizzas at a time this way, but the Fouts said it’s what gives their food its flavor.
“We are not the chains. We don’t have fast food, we have good food,” Debbie Fouts said.
For more information on A&G Pizza, check out their fan page at
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