The spirit of Tony’s, the old Knox Abbott Drive staple for Italian food, lunch sandwiches and pizza, will return when Original Tony’s opens on Charleston Highway in the near future.
Tony’s was sold and became Tony’s Pizzalicious in 2011 under new management. But in November 2018, Johnny Anderson, who was part of the restaurant until it was sold, asked Facebook friends if they wanted to order homemade Tony’s sauce for the holidays.
After 300 orders, he had to put a stop to it, and put a start to another thought — bringing Tony’s back, the original version.
“We are keeping a kind eye on our past and are laser-focused on our future,” said Anderson, who will exclusively use his family’s recipes. With some encouragement from the late Charlie Brown, who owned Granby Village Shopping Center, Anderson decided to embark upon this journey once a space came open following a short-lived Greek-Italian operation’s closure. In addition to favorite recipes, Anderson plans to bring back themed days and nights, like turkey sandwich Thursday (because Thanksgiving is on a Thursday) and Friday night lasagnas. He also said the hand-rolled meatballs and roast beef, which he says are the most asked about menu items, will return. Hot dogs and burgers will be a new addition.
Original Tony’s will be located at 1505 Charleston Highway in West Columbia. Find the restaurant on Facebook for updates.
