Enjoy tasty pies with a “glass half full” atmosphere at the Hill City’s newest pizzeria
Bringing Mellow Mushroom to Lynchburg was a four-year labor of love for father-and-son team Gary and Brit Campbell, along with Tyler Dotson, with much of the hard work taking place in the height of a historic pandemic. But the uproarious response to the pizza restaurant since its grand opening in January has made it all worth it, showing them a lot about the Lynchburg community, the power of food, and our collective desire to be with others.
“It’s been a vision of ours to do something together for quite a while now,” Brit said. “We’ve been to a few Mellow Mushrooms in the past, and we love the atmosphere, the eclectic vibe… Mellow Mushroom fit all of the criteria that we were looking for and was something we wanted to bring to Lynchburg.”
The building off Greenview Drive in the Cornerstone community was renovated to fit a Roaring Twenties theme that includes stained glass windows and a quote from Charlie Chaplin inscribed on a side wall that says, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.”
“The Roaring Twenties theme, it kind of aligns with our theme of today where it’s about enjoyment, glass is always half full—it’s positivity, inclusion, acceptance, all these kinds of things, especially in today’s climate,” Gary said.
Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers was founded in 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Each restaurant is locally owned and operated, specializing in stone-baked pizzas—from the “Great White” with an olive oil and garlic base to the “Mighty Meaty” and the “Funky Q. Chicken.” Customers can also order munchies such as wings and spinach artichoke dip or choose from a nice list of “Liquid Karma” cocktails and other libations.
Brit says his number one meal has always been pizza—and that he is a lover of food in general. However, he also loves serving people. Now, he has a career where he feels he can do both.
“We created a restaurant where we felt like everybody can come together and enjoy some good food.
Have a good time,” he says.
“The financials are important. You’ve got to make money to make it work. But that certainly isn’t the lone motivator. The best motivator is truly to see people smile, and look around and see the happiness that comes as a result of something—a little piece of commitment to this community that we’ve been able to make.”
By Ashley Turner
Photos by Lucas Moore
