BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT — CIRCLE AND STARS PIZZA

BRIAN COIL — CO-OWNER OF CIRCLE AND STARS PIZZA

Circle and Stars Pizza — Midwestern Tavern Style Thin Crust Pizza

There are so many different kinds of pizza to entice the palate of a pizza connoisseur. It comes in many shapes and sizes and individuals can be quite picky as to what style they prefer.

Whether it is Chicago or New Yorkstyle pizza or Detroit or Californiastyle pizza, there is something about pizza everyone loves: let’s be real!

The deep dish pan with its thick crust, the stuffed pizza filled with your favorite meats and vegetables, or the tavern-style which is thin crust cut into squares all give the foodie hundreds of pizza options to choose from.

For Circle and Stars Pizza owners, Brian and Tonya Coil, it was all about the Midwest tavern-style thin-crust pizza. After Brian graduated from Bradley University in Illinois he moved to Georgia and quickly realized he couldn’t find any tavern-style pizza, like there was in Indiana and Illinois, so he started experimenting on the weekends to see what pizza he could create. It took Brian about five years to perfect his recipe, but his family and friends liked his pizza so much that they encouraged him to get a concessions trailer to sell his pizza.

After moving the family in 2015 to Spring Hill, Tennessee, Brian decided to explore the trailer concept and by 2017 he moved forward and ordered a concessions trailer. However, plans were put on hold due to manufacturing delays. Fast forward to 2021 when Tonya visited The Factory at Columbia in September and encouraged Brian to consider opening a pizzeria there. About a year later, Brian quit his job as a civil engineer project manager and opened Circle and Stars Pizza at The Factory on October 3, 2022. The tangy tomato sauce and a special mix of herbs and spices Brian had perfected made those thin-crust pizzas very popular at the soft opening. In fact, it was so popular that they ran out of pizza dough and had to close early.

The name Circle and Stars Pizza is a tribute to the Tennessee state flag and Coil’s love for pizza. As patrons walk into the pizzeria, they are greeted by a friendly staff and an old-school Pac-Man arcade game reminiscent of Midwest taverns. The delicious Midwestern tavern-style thin-crust pizza is available in 8” and 12” sizes and are similar to the pizzas found in taverns in Illinois and Indiana with the sauce and sausage flavors akin to the pizzas found in Southwest Chicago. There are also individual salads on the menu and in the spring, Coil hopes to add sub sandwiches to the menu.

Stop by Circle and Stars Pizza at The Factory at Columbia and experience an authentic Midwestern tavern-style thin-crust pizza. There’s plenty of parking and space to dine in, but if you are in a hurry, call (931) 548-2149 and order takeout. Either way, you won’t be disappointed!