Hostetter puts name on new pizzeria

With plans to bring the area a fantastic pizza, strombolis the way they are supposed to be made, and delicious pasta dishes, Nick and Angela Hostetter will be opening Hosty’s across the street from Azura Café in about a month.

Hosty’s, named after the Hostetters, will open in the former Villa Pizzeria building on Third Avenue. Nick’s family has owned it since 2009.

Nick and Angela have been operating Azura for about 15 years and the entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to expand his offerings as well as take on some new challenges.

“We’ve been renovating the building for a couple of months now,” Nick said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m hoping to open in about a month.”

The location still has the original Druther’s Restaurant floor — anyone remember Burger Queen — Nick commented.

“It will be a bit different when we open,” he explained adding that with the building being owned by his family, he saw it as a great opportunity for a fantastic location.

In regards to food, Nick wants Hosty’s to be on most people’s shortlist for best pizza places in Dubois County. The secret to a great pizza in his opinion comes down to a great, homemade, hand-tossed crust and a perfect sauce. According to Nick, he’s got both.

“I’ve been working on it for six to eight months,” he explained. “I think great pizza starts with a good crust. You’ve got to have a good crust.”

A signature pie he has planned for the menu — the Hosty with the Mosty — will be filled with premium ingredients.

He also wants to bring in a stromboli unlike anything else in the area. Again, working on that homemade pizza crust will be an important ingredient for that as well.

“Most places that do stromboli put it on a slice of french bread,” Nick said. “We are going to wrap ours in pizza dough like the authentic way.”

Beer goes well with pizza and wine is a great partner with pasta so he also plans on having a bar at Hosty’s but is still working on the liquor license.

Hosty’s will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays — Nick’s taking Sunday and Monday off for his sanity — from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week and extended hours of 9 or 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Fortunately, with the somewhat staggered hours between Azura and Hosty’s, some of the great staff he has at Azura have already said they would like to work at both restaurants. Anyone who would like to apply for a position at Hosty’s is welcome to stop into Azura for an application.

Nick is looking forward to a new challenge. “I’ve been doing the same thing for 15 years, and I wanted to do something a little bit different,” he said adding that it was something he had been considering for a while. “It was something always in the back of mind and since the lease (for Villa Pizza) wasn’t renewed, I decided now was the time.”