Pizza Hut coming in spite of roundabout

Construction crews have already stripped down the old building for the new Pizza Hut at 920 S. Pahrump Valley Blvd. at the junction of Highway 372.

The Pizza Hut is located at the site of what was formerly Romero’s Express, American Diner and lastly, Burger Paradise, which closed suddenly over two years ago. Since then, the building has remained vacant.

Plumbing work was going on early this week. Rod Luker, superintendent for R.T. Construction from Salem, Utah, said the concrete will then be poured and the frame will be going up later this week.

“They’re actually shooting for some time around Christmas to start pumping pizza out of here. That’s the goal, let’s put it that way,” Luker said.

Pahrump Senior Building Inspector Brent Steed said originally the company just requested a tenant improvement to the existing building, but now the plans call for an expansion to the small structure.

Luker said he expects the new building will have a 60-foot extension to the north and 17 feet to the west.

“We’re putting up a drive-through window, it will also be come and sit down. We’ll have a salad bar, you can order a salad bar and a pizza, or you can come in and order it and take it out. As far as I know there’s going to be a delivery service hooked up to it too,” Luker said. The old dining room only had space for two booths.

The “Pizza Hut Coming Soon” sign was posted at that location for months. Plans were held up while awaiting word on the proposed roundabout at Highway 372 and Pahrump Valley Boulevard.

County planners said Pizza Hut was agreeable to revised plans from the Nevada Department of Transportation. Luker said NDOT came up with a different plan that enabled the Pizza Hut to proceed.

Prospective employees need to apply online for jobs. Pizza Hut advertised for a general manager, assistant manager, shift manager, team member and delivery driver and key position interviews have already been scheduled.

Luker said his company has been hiring local subcontractors like Plumbco to do the plumbing, Ganda Concrete, Serenity Homes to oversee the framing and D &J Electrical Service. He expects more local subcontractors to get jobs.

The pace of building activity is beginning to pick up in the Pahrump area from the housing slump that began in 2008 with $46,045 in building permit fees paid in October, according to the monthly report from the Pahrump Building and Safety Department.

William Lyon Homes took out building permits for four more homes on Volterra Street in Mountain Falls. Shadow Mountain Construction has a permit to build a storage facility at 781 Lola Lane near Desert View Hospital.

Glencoe Property Management is constructing tenant improvements to the Burger King restaurant at 667 S. Highway 160.

NV Restaurant Services is planning tenant improvements to commercial property where the third Dotty’s Casino is planned in the old Benderz Sports Bar and Lounge at 3610 Highway 160.