Giovanna’s Pizzaria lives on in Phenix City with new owner — and new business next door
A popular Phenix City pizza shop is getting new life thanks to the vision of a Phenix City hair stylist.
Christina Williams has lived in the area for about 10 years, she told the Ledger-Enquirer Wednesday. She’s cut hair for years and worked in a private barber shop for the last 18 months, but wanted to branch out and start her own shop.
She stumbled upon Giovanna’s Pizzaria when she learned that the restaurant’s previous owners were ready to retire. When she went by the store to check it out, she noticed an entire space next door for a barber shop.
Thus, the pizza shop at 1600A Broad St. in Phenix City lived on. And Barber Saloon, 614 14th St., was born.
“Everything kind of fell into place,” Williams said. “Like it was meant to be. I just came up with a pizza shop and barber shop all-in-one.”
Step back into ‘Sin City’
Barber Saloon pays homage to the 1954 declaration of martial law in Russell County.
The city’s reputation for being a haven of organized crime, prostitution and gambling earned it the unofficial title of “Sin City” in the national press. On June 18, 1954, mob assassins gunned down Albert Patterson in an attempt to preclude the gambling cleanup the attorney-general nominee had campaigned on.
The murder had the opposite effect: The governor declared martial law and sent in the National Guard, which raided the gambling joints and ousted corrupt public officials, including the police chief and the sheriff.
Phenix City was clean in a year, named a National Civic League “All-American City” in 1955.
References to the time period cover the walls of Barber Saloon, including photos of Patterson, the National Guard blocking streets and fingerprints belonging to Patterson’s killer.
“On the barber shop side, we have a step back in time where there’s a bunch of pictures on the wall of the ‘Sin City’ era, so we wanted to keep that historical on that side,” Williams said.
Barber Saloon services men, women and children. It offers haircuts, manicures, deluxe steam facials, beard detailing and more. A private room in the back of the shop can be curtained off for a full back wax, chest wax or shoulder wax.
Both businesses offer a discount to military, law enforcement, first responders and firefighters.
Longtime staple gets new life
Located in downtown Phenix City since 2011, Giovanna’s had a reputation for great pizza. It was known for its meaty calzones, strombolis and fresh New York style pizza.
None of that has changed, the new owner says.
While the next-door barber shop is a blast from the past, Williams opted to keep the restaurant a more Italian feel.
“I wanted to keep it in the community,” Williams said. “ ... A lot of people really love this place, so we decided to keep the name and just add ‘and restaurant’ onto it.”
Giovanna’s doesn’t just serve pizza. It has Philly cheesesteaks, sandwiches (the Cuban sandwich is a customer favorite) and salads.
The restaurant also serves rack of lamb, mussels, clams and pork loin. All sauces are made in-house, as are most of the dressings.
“Everything’s made with a touch of love,” Williams said. “We don’t buy it out of a jar. ... And our dough is made fresh daily.”
A catalyst for change
In addition to the restaurant’s history, Williams said the location is perfect: Just over five blocks from the Chattahoochee River in the center of what soon could become a bustling downtown.
Williams saw what happened to downtown Columbus just across the river. Now she hopes the development fever spreads to east Alabama.
“The goal is to have Phenix City, this area, be like Uptown Columbus,” Williams said. “. . . I feel like it’s going that way, and this is going to be a great location to grow Phenix City.”
Steps are being taken that show promise: The Phenix City Council in November 2020 approved an $850,000 property purchase to use in their long-term plan for downtown development.
Chattahoochee Brewing, at 505 13th St., is just across the 13th Street bridge and tucked in next to the Chattahoochee River. For a while, it was one of the only breweries in the area. It’s also one of the top rated places to grab a drink and offers locally crafted drinks.
An unnamed brewery in Phenix City is also in the works near the Chattahoochee River. It’ll be located at the former site of Phenix Saw Works, Economic Development Manager Shaun Culligan told attendees at a Nov. 18 Phenix City Downtown Redevelopment Authority meeting.
“I know for a fact that some of these spaces (downtown) are available for sale,” Williams said. “If you can get in this area, we can grow Phenix City. We can definitely grow Phenix City, and then it will help to have two options on the river.
“There’s many options to have an entire area of the river, on both sides, thriving.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 9:46 AM.
