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Crust & Co. to retain menu, employees as Hillers Pizza changes hands

Crust & Co. owner Ryan Dion and wife Hilary pose underneath a sign for the new business at 77 West Main Street. PHOTO/COURTESY RYAN DION

An experienced restaurateur is taking over the former Hillers Pizza location at 77 West Main Street but plans to keep much about the restaurant the same.

“We don’t want to change what works,” said Ryan Dion, the owner of Crust & Co., the restaurant that is replacing Hillers Pizza. Dion said his business will continue to serve the same Greek-style pizza and other offerings customers enjoyed from the former pizza shop.

“The menu is going to be nearly identical,” he said.

Dion and his crew have been working on cosmetic improvements to the restaurant since he took over the business from the former owners last week. Other than those improvements and the name change, he said not much about the business will change. According to him, even some of the employees of the former Hillers Pizza are sticking around. He described their attitudes as “optimistic.”

Crust & Co. is Dion’s latest venture in a long career of successful restaurant operation. According to a press release, he has over 20 years experience as a restaurateur. He co-founded 110 Grill and has opened over 60 restaurants in seven states over the past decade.

Dion left 110 Grill earlier this year and was working as a consultant when the opportunity to buy Hillers Pizza arose. He noted that Paul Mastroianni, landlord of 77 West Main Street, approached him about two weeks ago with the opportunity.

“We put it all together very quickly,” said Dion. “Everything sort of worked itself out.”

Now that the business has changed hands, Dion said he is pushing to open by next week. He is set to go in front of the Select Board tonight to get approval for a common victualer’s license.

Dion recognized the recent history of Hillers Pizza and acknowledged the town’s actions to review the Hillers Pizza license following the conviction of former owner Petros “Peter” Sismanis.

“I think [the Select Board] just wanted to see the necessary changes to move forward not only for the business but for the town of Hopkinton as well,” Dion said.

In the meantime, he is committed to getting Crust & Co. ready to open. “It’s a lot to put together, but we’re getting there,” he said.

— NICK SCHOFIELD

Latest News

The Hopkinton Cultural Council held an unveiling ceremony at EMC Park on Saturday to celebrate the addition of five new murals to the Celebration of Diversity mural project.

The Hopkinton Public Library hosted a puzzle race on Sunday, and we have photos.

This week’s Real Estate Transactions list shows four sales, two of which were over $1 million.

Town meetings tonight include the Select Board (6), Conservation Commission (7) and Historical Commission (7).

Photo of the Day

Scouts and Hopkinton Trails Club volunteers stand on a lengthy bridge they constructed Saturday at the Berry Acres conservation area off West Main Street.

PHOTO/HOPKINTON SCOUTS TROOP 4