(Photo | Courtesy of Pinky G’s)
Guy Fieri Approved Pizza Joint Arriving in the Old Sargent’s Building
A new pizza restaurant will be moving into the old Sargent’s Cafe location on SE Third Street in Bend. Generations of Bendites have enjoyed Sargents for their calm atmosphere, quality food and friendly service. Adam Hoff, owner and general manager of the new restaurant Pinky G’s, hopes to live up to the Sargent’s legacy and maintain the location as a family friendly restaurant with quality food and service.
“We are excited to bring a new life to that building that so many people in the community know and love,” Hoff said. “We want to maintain a nice, relaxed atmosphere where people can be comfortable.”
Pinky G’s is an established brand run by Adam and his business partner, Tom Fay. In 2011, Fay founded the first Pinky G’s in Jackson Hole, Wyoming after noticing that the outdoorsy town lacked two main qualities: high quality pizza and late night dining options. Fay hired Hoff as the general manager of this location, and the two have since had plenty of success; so much so that they were able to expand the business to Big Sky, Montana in 2019 and Victor, Idaho in 2021.
The idea to move to Bend first came to fruition when Hoff and his wife moved to Bend in 2016. “Bend is a beautiful place to live with a growing economy, and it fits our theme of outdoorsy towns,” Hoff said. “The expansion here just made sense, and it was just a matter of time until we got all the pieces together.”
Pinky G’s will fill a somewhat missing niche in Bend for late night dining and local pizza. Specifically, the hand tossed, New York style pizza will be rather unique in the community, where the only competition based on style is Cibelli’s, a location known for their giant pies.
Hoff and Fay’s venture has garnered the acclaim of a celebrity chef who is as well known for his culinary skills as he is for his frosted tips. The team at Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, one of Guy Fieri’s long-standing TV shows featuring local restaurants across the nation, reached out to Fay to film an episode.
“We saw the email and jumped at the chance,” Hoff said.
Guy came to the Wyoming location in 2014 to try several different menu items, including the Abe Froman sausage pie and the Funky Chicken, a basil pesto and artichoke heart chicken pizza. Guy loved the place so much that he came back for a second episode in 2018 where he helped create a permanent menu item: Guy’s Pie, a buffalo chicken pizza with a few twists. All of these pizzas and more will be available at the Bend location.
Guy reached out for a third time, this time during the pandemic. On this occasion the Pinky G’s team and Guy collaborated on a special virtual episode where Guy and his son Hunter prepared Pinky G’s stromboli recipe with ingredients provided by the restaurant.
For Guy Fieri to reach out at all to a restaurant is a big honor, but filming for three episodes over the years is even more impressive. Pinky G’s will undoubtedly be a welcome addition to the Bend culinary scene, offering casual fare along with local brews on draft and a full bar.
In terms of renovations, Hoff wants to preserve the old Sargent’s building as much as possible. “We want to keep that old diner charm,” Hoff said. “We’re keeping things very similar but essentially just adding a fresh new look on top. The building has great bones, and we’re excited to give it an upgrade.”
Pinky G’s has plans to open their Bend location by early 2023. Hoff mentioned the possibility of expanding with a food truck, but not too soon. “Expansion is always on my mind, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Hoff said. “Expansion might be in our five year plan, but our primary focus is on making this new launch as smooth and successful as possible.”
Pinky G’s will be looking for employees in the near future, and more information can be found about the restaurant at their website.
