Jimmy Peponis learned the ropes in family pizza business as a teen
Published in the Aug. 5-18, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Marty Cheek
For Jimmy Peponis, the man behind Jimmy P’s Pizzeria, food should be about fun. The owner of Morgan Hill’s newest pizza restaurant wants to create a home-town dining destination where guests come not just for a slice of hot pizza pie but to have a good time with friends and family.
Growing up in an Italian-Greek family, Peponis remembers working in the Bay Area chain of Pizza Factory restaurant owned by his parents, learning the art of making good-quality pizzas. After working for other people and owning his own business in San Jose, he learned that Morgan Hill’s Dutchman’s Pizza was for sale and thought it was the perfect place to start up Jimmy P’s.
“There was really no opportunities in San Jose like this,” Peponis said. “We were thinking of building from the ground up, but the cost just got absolutely ridiculous. We were looking for places and the (Dutchman’s) owner and I have the same CPA — he mentioned the spot and I talked to the owner and managed to make a deal.”
Over the last several months, the site has undergone a major facelift, with improvements to everything from the bathrooms, the kitchen and the dining area. New arcade games have been installed in the entertainment area including air hockey, “redemption” games (where kids try to get a doll or other prize using a mechanical crane controlled by a joystick), and classic video and pinball machines.
Jimmy P’s menu offers a variety of pizzeria options for customers. The premium pizzas (which range from $9 for a personal pizza to $30 for an extra-large) include the Morgan Hill Special, which includes mushrooms, salami, olives, garlic, sausage, bacon and artichoke hearts. The Mexican is a tongue-scorching concoction of red onions, beef, hot sausage, jalapeños, chorizo and Tabasco sauce. The Gilroy Chicken Garlic uses white sauce covered with garlic, garlic chicken, sliced tomatoes, pineapple and bacon.
Jimmy P’s also expanded the menu to offer burgers including the triple-stack bacon burger ($11). Other options include chicken wings and salads, fries and onion rings.
The bar includes various red and white wines from local wine-maker Kirgin Cellars and six varieties of craft beers that will be changed periodically depending on customer demand.
“Crafts have become really popular and more and more people are looking for those types of craft beers,” Peponis said. “So after talking to our distributor, we said let’s put in a line of craft beers.”
For a frozen treat, Jimmy P’s also sells ice cream from the Wonder Ice Cream Company.
“The kids around here come in when it’s hot. They have a pizza and after that they want an ice cream,” he said.
In the near future, the restaurant will host a weekly hot-rod night — either on Mondays or Wednesdays — to attract fender fanatics who want to show off their cars on the adjoining parking lot.
“I’m a hot-rod guy from way back and several people I know and several spots in San Jose are always looking for a place to hang out,” Peponis said. “One of the things that my folks had at their pizza parlor once a week was car shows, and they turned out to be really good at bringing families and people who wanted to hang out. I grew up in that environment, and I think there’s not a lot of that going on any more so we’d kind of like to bring that back.”
Specials of the week are designed to attract pizza-loving patrons and bring them back to Jimmy P’s. On Mondays, it’s buy a pizza and get 10 wings for free. Tuesdays customers who buy a large or extra large pizza get a small single topping pizza. Wednesdays offer half off on large and extra large pizzas. Thursdays is all you can eat from 5 to 8 p.m. And Fridays offer a happy hour starting at 4:30 p.m. where domestic beers cost $2.50 and imported beers are $3.50.
“My passion for Jimmy P’s is that I love pizza,” Peponis said. “I want people to have a good time and feel like we want them here.”
