ROGERS — Shane Zimmerman and David Davis didn’t want to do anything too complicated for their venture into restaurant ownership and management.
They decided on pizza.
“I’ve seen line cooks and to-order cooks at fancier places, and you’ve got to know what you’re doing,” Davis says. “Pizza is just a piece of bread that you put stuff on.”
So Davis and Zimmerman are putting stuff on pieces of bread at The Rail, a pizza, wings, beer and wine restaurant in a brick-walled storefront at 218 S. First St. in Rogers. They’ve been open two weeks and have often had standing room only in the evenings, Zimmerman says.
Zimmerman and Davis conducted what they call “extensive research and development” before decorating their restaurant and deciding on a menu.
They visited about 15 similar establishments, some good, some terrible, Davis says, andtook elements from many of them.
Their first experiments with pizza dough were in their home kitchens.
“We first destroyed my kitchen with dough and flour all over the place, and then we moved to Shane’s house and did it there,” Davis says.
The Rail’s menu grew from their experiments.
The first page is devoted to appetizers - cheese bread ($5.50) and caprese ($6.95) - along with chicken wings and salads.
There are five flavors of wings: Louisiana hot sauce,spicy alfredo, spicy barbecue, parmesan marinara and garlic parmesan, all $5.95 for six or $10.50 for 12. The wings are served with The Rail’s homemade ranch or bleu cheese dressing. Carrots and celery are optional. And The Rail serves Caesar, wedge and house salads, also with homemade dressing.
The second page is all pizza.
Build your own pizza offerings start at $8.50 for a 10-inch pie and $14.50 for a 16-inch pie.
Additional toppings are 70 cents each on the smaller pizza and $1.15 on the larger.
Then there are the specialty pizzas, which is where Zimmerman and Davis get excited. Zimmerman namedThe BSB - barbecue sauce, chicken, bacon, onion and smoked gouda - and a Thai Peanut pizza as standouts, although he and Davis says all eight are popular. The specialty pies are $11.95 for a 10-inch pizza and $18.95 for a 16-inch pizza. The Rail also serves wine along with draft and bottled beer.
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FAQ
THE RAIL
HOURS - 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (kitchen closes at 9 p.m.) Tuesday to Saturday; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday
WHERE - 218 S. First St. in Rogers
PHONE - 633-8808
Whats Up, Pages 20 on 02/18/2011