There’s a new pizza guy in town.
David Whapham bought Trafalgar’s Small Town Pizza and Sub Co. in late March. The pizza shop, located on 106 W. Pearl St., had been owned by resident and town council member Jeff Eisenmenger and his brother Eric Eisenmenger since 1998.
Whapham knows Kevin Eisenmenger, their older brother. He called him one day to ask if Small Town Pizza was still open, to which Kevin Eisenmenger told him “you could probably buy it if you want.”
So, that’s what Whapham did. He has been in the restaurant business his whole life, he said. He previously leased the kitchen at the former Blind Pig bar in Greenwood, where he also made pizza and wings.
“I just really love the place. I mean, I think it’s a hidden gem,” Whapham said.
With his purchase of the restaurant, Whapham also bought the small residential building behind it, which is rented out to a local resident, who is now Whapham’s tenant.
Jeff Eisenmenger did not respond to a request for comment about why he chose to sell the business. He had been trying to sell the place since at least September last year, according to a post he made about it in a “Business For Sale By Owner” Facebook group on Sept. 7, 2022.
Whapham was not intimidated taking over a business that had the same ownership for two decades, he said. He has fresh ideas to better the pizza shop, while still sticking to the classics customers have loved for 25 years.
He’s keeping the same recipes and menu items, and improving where needed. He changed the way wings are cooked, and he added fried pickles and pepper jack bites to the menu, which have been a hit.
“Monetary-wise, we’re in the best week we’ve had since I took over,” Whapham said. “We’ve had a lot of compliments that the food has changed for the better.”
Small Town Pizza is the only pizza place in Trafalgar, and it is one of few that deliver to rural areas in Johnson County and surrounding counties. Delivery drivers travel in a 15-mile radius, going as far as Nashville and Whiteland. The restaurant has a solid, dedicated customer base, Whapham said.
“It was a no-brainer to buy because it already has built-in customers … and the thing was, don’t change anything. They’re already coming for what’s here,” he said.
Around 80% of Small Town’s business is delivery and carry out, so Whapham does hope to change that and bring more people to dine in. He has several ideas to bring people into the restaurant, including selling alcohol.
Whapham applied for a liquor license to sell beer and wine. He plans to have one beer on tap and sell cans and bottles. The selection will include staples, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra, and a local favorite, Quaff ON’s Busted Knuckle, per the request of some customers.
More live music is also in the works. Before Whapham took over, Small Town Pizza had live music on the first and second Saturdays. Whapham wants to have a local artist playing every Saturday night. He went to Facebook and asked people to send him suggestions for local musicians, and received a lot of responses. Steve Hickman will kick off performances on May 27.
In addition to music and beer, Whapham wants to build a deck to add outdoor seating.
“I have high hopes, dreams. I am hoping everything I want to do happens,” Whapham said.
Whapham is dedicating much of his time to the restaurant. He works his day job at the Johnson County Highway Department, and gets off around 3 p.m. to go straight to the restaurant to open at 4 p.m.
He’s retiring from the county in four years. Once that happens, he hopes to transition full-time to working at Small Town Pizza, so he can open up for lunch. He’s excited about the future of the pizza shop.
“I’m in heaven, I really am,” Whapham said. “My wife’s like, ‘you’ve got to take it easy.’ Well, I want to make sure everything is going to the way I want it to be … I take pride in it.”
