Old Laundromat Near Tech Repurposed To Pizza

The old laundromat next to the Tennessee Tech campus will offer up a different kind of heat this week.

Cookeville Pizza and Pub is under its final inspection and ownership hopes to be serving slices in the next few days. Matt Twidle said opening the restaurant fulfills a lifelong dream of entering the food industry, fueled by his love for hospitality and entertainment. He said the pub will be a laid-back, unpolished venue for Tech students and Cookeville residents to come together and enjoy craft pizza and craft beer. He said opening next to campus was a no-brainer.

“We’ve got tons of great pizza places here locally, but there’s so many different styles of pizza,” Twidle said. “You know, we just want to add to what’s going on here in Cookeville because there’s a huge pizza boom going on.”

Twidle said all that remains from the laundromat are the concrete slab the building stands on and the four exterior walls.

“I choose pizza because, who doesn’t love pizza,” Twidle said. “I love pizza and it’s just something that most people love. I chose this place, we are actually franchising from an existing franchise out of Gallatin, Tennessee called Prince Street Pizza and they are a fantastic place.”

He said the pub will have 24 Tennessee beers on tap, giving the establishment a sense of state pride. He said keeping the pub walkable for Tennessee Tech students was a priority as well. He said whether someone is a passionate beer enthusiast, looking for a welcoming environment to spend time with friends, or just plain hungry, the restaurant will have something for everyone.

“Price Street Pizza, it always had kind of a college vibe,” Twidle said. “More of a hand-crafted, unpolished, rough around the edges, dive-bar kind of college pizzeria type place, but it was nowhere near any kind of college universities or anything.”