By Rhodes Sinnott

Decades ago, in 1994, my dad Ned Sinnott (‘86), and childhood friend Arch Wallace started the famous restaurant Superstars Pizza on Patterson Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. 

Many of us in the Collegiate community and throughout Richmond love Superstars Pizza and its amazing food, as well as the take-and-bake concept. However, not many truly know the process it took to create such an iconic restaurant. 

Growing up the youngest of three, Sinnott attended the University of Virginia after Collegiate and received a bachelor’s degree in history. After college, Sinnott moved out to Aspen, Colorado for three years. He had many jobs while living in Aspen, including a bellman and driver for the high-end condominiums Aspen Alps, a waiter at Pour La France, a bouncer for Red Onion bar, and a cook at Little Annie’s and Lucci’s. Colorado is where Sinnott started to develop his income and business ideas.

After moving from Aspen, Sinnott lived in California, working in medical equipment sales for Owens & Minor. Although he enjoyed this job, Sinnott wanted something new. So the idea of starting a pizza restaurant popped into my dad and his friends’ minds. “It was a good opportunity for me to try something entrepreneurial,” Sinnott stated. “We did a lot of research on bringing the Superstars pizza concept to life, so we did it.”

Photo credit: Yelp user Maria T.

Sinnott and Wallace traveled around the country to different pizza places in the Southeast, West, and mountain states of Colorado and Wyoming, jotting down ideas that they liked. “We spoke to different entrepreneurs across the country to get some of their advice and expertise.” After traveling and getting a feel for the industry, they began to develop a menu. “We had to get the recipes right, so there was a lot of trial and error,” he said.  It took Sinnott and Wallace several months to get the whole concept put together before they could open the doors to their restaurant. As one can imagine, they were faced with many different challenges.

“When you are a small business owner, challenges are the name of the game,” said Sinnott. Many things go into making a business like Superstars. First, finding the right staff was key in order to make a successful business for Sinnott and Wallace. Finding the right people to work at Superstars was a challenge, especially training these employees in customer service and how to treat customers. Sinnott shared that “We wanted our employees to treat customers how they would want to be treated at another restaurant.” Not only was it difficult to train their employees, but building something new from the ground up was obviously another challenge Sinnott and Wallace faced: “Being brand new to something and introducing a new concept to the area was another conflict.” People questioned the idea of a take-and-bake pizza, and many people said to Sinnott, “What do you mean you don’t cook the pizzas?!” He had to educate the people in the city of Richmond on the concept of quick and easy food dining.

Although Sinnott and Wallace faced a variety of challenges, there was plenty of good that came along with starting a business. “There is a great deal of freedom working for yourself,” said Sinnott. He was his own boss and enjoyed the power he acquired from it. Not only this, but Sinnott met many great people. “We met some really fantastic people, both on the customer side and the employee side, and made some lifelong friends.” Furthermore, Sinnott got to know his customers on a personal level, as many would get food once or twice a week to get their weekly fixings. He said, “We got to know our customers very very well.”

However, working in this industry took a toll on Sinnott, as he also worked full-time as a Managing Director of Equity Investments and Real Estate for Sandpiper, LLC. He said, “I wasn’t enjoying the day-to-day operations of the restaurant business, as I was working elsewhere on a full-time basis.” It was difficult for Sinnott to manage both Superstars as well as work for Sandpiper. It even got to the point where Sinnott was not enjoying the role as owner of Superstars. “After a while, that style of management really took its toll on me and my partner, who was managing the day-to-day operations, to where I felt disconnected from the business.” With this in mind, Sinnott’s partner Taylor Antonelli bought into the business, and eventually bought the rest of his shares in the business so that Sinnott “could go on and do more things of my interest at the time.” Sinnott proceeded to say, “It was a hard decision, but it was the right decision for me personally and for my family.” Sinnott stepped down as owner in the fall of 2016.

Sinnott’s creation of Superstars Pizza will forever be a great accomplishment for not only himself but the city of Richmond. It is one of the best pizza and sub restaurants in Virginia and has been a family favorite since the 90s. 

Featured image courtesy of Superstars Pizza.