Georgee’s Pizza to be rebuilt

The familiar face of Foothill Boulevard’s Georgee’s Pizza will take on a whole new look in the coming months. The city has approved plans for demolition of the pizza restaurant and construction of a completely new structure. The new facility will replace the current 1,300-square-foot building with a 5,500-square-foot structure that accommodates a 2,000-square-foot pizza restaurant, an additional retail space, and underground parking.

“It’s going to be a beautiful building,” said George Jacobs, restaurant and property owner, of the project he calls, “the dream for my future.”

All of the engineering and architectural approval is complete, so now it’s just a matter of waiting for the colors and signage approval, Jacobs said, adding that he’s ready to start building as soon as he finds a temporary location to move his kitchen. Then he plans to operate a “to go” pizza kitchen for the interim of about one year while the new facility is being built.

“I want to close down one day and re-open the next. I can do that as soon as I find the right location to (temporarily) relocate,” he added.

Building a new structure was a necessity, Jacobs said. “My building is really old and the time had come.”

Jacobs opened Georgee’s Pizza in 1980, right after he graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Jacobs is a homegrown business owner and graduated from St. Francis High School, where his youngest son, George, is currently a freshman. He and his wife, Lynn have four children: George; Michelle, who was the 2001 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Rose Queen; Jeff, 22, and Kelly, a 7th grader at St. Bede the Venerable Catholic School.

Jacobs is proud of being the first landowner on Foothill Boulevard to develop his own property in connection with the new Town Center vision. Because the property is his own, he said, he has the convenience of working on his own timetable and, eventually, choosing the tenant who will occupy the future retail spot. However, he doesn’t have any idea what kind of retail business he’d like to see rent there. “That’s the glory of being your own landlord,” he joked. “I can choose whoever pays the most.”

Robert Stanley, La Cañada Flintridge’s community development director, said Jacob’s development project is “a big thing for the city and the community,” and will be a continuation of the “downtown business process.”

“This is another big step in progress in updating Foothill Boulevard,” Stanley said. “It’s definitely a desirable project for the city.”