Run up the Hill & Holler: One of Lewisburg’s favorite restaurants is returning soon
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
For neapolitan pizza lovers in southern West Virginia, October 31, 2024, was a downer. It was the day Hill & Holler closed the doors on the log cabin they’d called home since 2016.
But they weren’t closing for good; they were moving locations.
The new space
“We wanted our own spot,” explains Jody Wooton, who owns Hill & Holler with his wife, Kate. They leased the previous space, which lacked the capacity to fulfill their vision for the restaurant.
“We always loved this building,” Jody said as he stood inside Hill & Holler’s new location. “We’d actually looked at it years ago. Then Aaron and Monica (who ran Harmony Ridge in the building) decided to sell and it was the right time for us to move.”
Jody says construction has taken longer than expected, but he’s excited for Hill & Holler’s new space. Features include:
- Almost double the space
- A custom bar made of African mahogany, which includes built-in chargers. You just set your phone on the bar, and it charges while you dine.
- Two “living room” areas with couches, fireplaces, and big screen televisions.
- A stage for live music with lighting.
- Direct from Italy, a custom pizza oven.
- A private dining room in the back for parties, meetings, and special events.
The food & drink you’ve always loved
While the space is changing, the food & drink are not.
“Our goal is to get the doors open with the same menu as before,” Jody says.
The menu includes a variety of neapolitan pizzas, smoked wings, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, local brews, and more. But once they settle into the new space, they plan to expand the menu.
“The new pizza oven is five times the size of the last one,” Jody explains. “It gets up to 900 degrees and can bake 250 pizzas per hour.”
While he doesn’t anticipate putting out that volume regularly, he says it expands their capacity to prepare more food to meet demand.
“We didn’t do sandwiches for dinner before because we were limited by the size of the oven,” he says. “That’s not a problem anymore. We can also do large pizza orders for parties now.”
The backstory
Jody is an attorney. Kate is a dentist. Both run successful practices serving clients across southern West Virginia. How did they get into the restaurant business?
“I started in restaurants in college and in law school,” Jody remembers. “We just love to cook! Our family will cook all day, all weekend when we have time. That’s where it came from.”
He says thanks to good partners at work, he and Kate are able to split their time between their jobs and their passion.
“We don’t golf,” he jokes. “We like to try new recipes and entertain. This just fits our personalities.”
Jody says the other restaurants and businesses in downtown Lewisburg have all been very supportive of their move, as they all agree that a rising tide lifts all boats.
Coming soon
Hill & Holler will reopen soon. They expect to be open later hours than previously. Specific days and hours will be announced soon.
“We’re ready to get back to eating here like everybody else,” Jody confesses. “We’ve had a good run and are excited for the future.”
Hill & Holler is located at 886 Washington Street in Lewisburg, WV. They plan to open in February 2025. Visit their social media and stay tuned to RealWV for updates.
