Ohio natives Jennifer and Jimmy Page are bringing their years of experience as business owners and franchisees to Southwest Florida. From owning Cleveland’s Grayton Road Tavern to franchising Crumbl Cookies locations in Ohio and Toronto, their newest endeavor will bring Medina, Ohio-based Romeo’s Pizza to Estero and the Naples area.
Both pizzerias will take the place of Clean Juice locations, which closed earlier this year. The first location will be at 6270 Naples Blvd., Unit 6, in North Naples, while the second will be at 19527 Highland Oaks Drive, Suite 205, in Estero. The Naples location is anticipated to open at the end of November, and the Estero location is expected to open in mid-December.
“It’s just basically that feel good pizza,” Jennifer Page said. “It’s like that comfort food, that no matter what’s going on in your day, pizza is always going to be the answer.”
Page has been visiting the region for more than 30 years. She said she’s never found a good pizza that’s her go-to or that reminds her of a family night or a sporting event.
“Romeo’s Pizza has always been a family favorite of ours,” she said. Hoping her family favorite becomes many others’ family favorite, Romeo’s will be serving a variety of pizzas, baked wings, subs, salads and calzones.
There will be something for everyone thanks to the build your own pizza portion of the menu.
Crust options range from traditional, thin, mozzarella-filled to gluten free and cauliflower, although some crust options are limited to certain pizza sizes. All dough is made fresh daily and can be topped with Romeo’s original sauce, garlic butter, ranch bacon or barbecue. Choices of cheese include Wisconsin blend, fresh mozzarella or cheddar, with fresh veggie and meat options to top off the pies.
Specialty pizzas, such as The Butcher Shop, New York White and Italiano Deep Dish, are also offered.
Page recommends the deep-dish pizza, which is filled with layers of Wisconsin cheese blend, up to two toppings and covered with Romeo’s original sauce and a sprinkle of fresh seasonings.
The secret is in the sauce, Page said, emphasizing the quality of tomatoes used at Romeo’s. “The tomatoes are actually grown in their own fields in California, and from the time that they’re picked until the time that they’re canned is a 10-hour process,” she said. “They’re super fresh and they go through a rigorous quality assurance.”
Not only are the Pages opening the first two Romeo’s Pizza locations in Southwest Florida, but they’re also working on an agreement with Romeo’s to be an area representative. “Basically, we buy an actual area of Romeo’s and then we ended up having like 15 stores in it,” she said. “Then we either own and operate our own stores or we could find people who want to franchise out and then we help them get their stores up and running and basically be their mentor for the business. That’s essentially what my husband and I like to do.”
The Pages didn’t just choose Romeo’s for its award-winning pizza, but for how the franchise aligned with their focus of business and values.
Their Cleveland business, Grayton Road Tavern, has a nationally known Queen of Hearts Game that won the largest jackpot in the nation, Page said.
“Because of the game, we started doing a Year of Giving in 2019, and every year since then, between the winners of the game and all of the charities that we give to, we’ve ended up giving over $17 million back to the community from 2017 to the end of 2022,” she said. “So, Romeo’s is a perfect fit because they do a lot of charitable work as well.”
Each location will be for pickup, takeout or delivery, which primarily will be through third-party services, such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.
The locations are already fully staffed and will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
“We’re just ready to open the doors and start testing, training and serving great food,” Page said.
