On the last days of its 30th anniversary, Amici pizza, wings and brewery are set to open their second Covington location. Store No. 2 will be a part of the Covington Town Center.

The opening festivities began on Nov. 30 when the restaurant opened for “family night” and proceeded into Dec. 1 when they opened for “friends night.” On Dec. 4, they officially opened for the general public.

CEO and partner Mike Torino said that this new location will be a place for the entire family to enjoy.

“This is a destination where people can come in with their friends and their family and enjoy an evening of relaxation,” Mike said. “We have an environment for people to enjoy themselves.”

Founded in 1993, Amici has served millions across the state of Georgia. The first location opened up in Madison and has since found homes in places like Conyers, Monroe and Milledgeville.

The fast-growing restaurant is known for its “comfort food” feel, offering pizzas, pastas, wings and calzones, just to name a few items on the menu. They are also known for their hand-crafted and brewed beer which includes a number of fresh brewed IPA and draft beers.

One of those homes for Amici has been Covington, with the first location opening in 2004 on the Square. 

But with the Covington area growing at a rapid pace, Mike and company were invited to look at the town center as a way to maximize the impact the restaurant can provide to the growing customer base. That led to the team deciding on opening its second location.

“We opened the downtown location many years ago and we were invited to look at this development,” Mike said. “We kept saying, ‘Gee wiz we have all these great customers over there, what is this going to do?’ We felt the area was growing so rapidly that we could sustain two locations in the Covington area.”

One member of that team that decided to open the second Covington location is the founder of Amici, Chris Torino – the son of Mike Torino. Chris seconded his father’s belief that the community’s beliefs and Amici’s beliefs are in line with each other.

“This community has been really good to us over the past 20 years,” Chris said. “It’s a great community environment and that's where our kind of concept lies and lives.”

Aiming to fall in line with the modern aesthetics of the Covington Town Center, the ownership sought a new visual direction, separating itself from the area’s first location.

“We wanted to upscale a little bit [on the design] and I think without being ostentatious at all, we’ve done that,” Mike said. 

Members of the community got its first taste of the new restaurant on Dec. 1 when the restaurant opened for its “friends night.” Elected officials and invited guests were in attendance where the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, according to Mike.

“So far the comments we’ve gotten from the community are very positive, and I think it’s going to continue to grow,” Mike said.

Now, the restaurant is currently open for all to enjoy. The symbolic ribbon cutting is set for Monday, Dec. 11.

Chris is thankful to the support that he and his team has received from the large part of the community.

“The support by not only the city of Covington and all the officials, but by the people that live here has just been fantastic,” Chris said. “We’re comfortable in towns like that and towns like this receive us well. 

“It’s a great symbiotic relationship.”