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Last week saw Suffolk welcome a brand new dining addition to Downtown’s Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront.

Crust and Cork, a gourmet pizza and winery restaurant located at the hotel, celebrated its grand opening on Wednesday, Sept. 25 with locals and dignitaries stopping by to celebrate with a delicious slice and a drink. Joining Downtown Suffolk’s list of additions, the restaurant aims to bring “a slice of Italy” to the city with brick oven pizzas, pasta, and desserts alongside wine, hand-crafted cocktails, bottled beers and more. Giving remarks during the grand opening, Mayor Michael Duman says there’s “no doubt in my mind” that the restaurant will develop into a destination spot.

“It’s just not going to be something inside a hotel; And that’s normally what you, if there’s an eatery in a hotel, lots of times it’s just there to accommodate the folks that are actually renting rooms. But in this case, I honestly believe it’s going to be a destination where our citizens and folks from out of town say, ‘What are we going to do tonight? Let’s go to Crust and Cork …,” Duman said. “But once again, thank you very much for your investment. It is a welcome addition to everything we have going on in Downtown, and we have a lot going on in Downtown …”

Following the ribbon cutting, Landmark Hotel President Akhil Jain and Landmark Hotel Group and Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront Director of Sales and Catering Lisa Burrell both had a chance to talk about the new restaurant. Jain thanked Burrell and staff while detailing Crust and Cork started as an idea over a year ago, with the last six months seeing the restaurant in construction. 

“Of course, we demolished our old restaurant and completely re-engineered and reimagined what the new restaurant could be – taking advantage of the beautiful views here on the creek and really opening up the restaurant to the hotel as well, and we’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished here today,” Jain said.

Burrell called it “an exciting day” to bring a destination location for Downtown Suffolk.

“Everybody loves the hotel already, but now to come and have gourmet pizza and maybe a glass of wine, it’s really, really good …,” Burrell said.

On what they hope Suffolk residents will take away from Crust and Cork as they discover it, Burrell noted the atmosphere, the staff and of course, the pizza.

“Yes, we had the big celebration today, but a lot of the Downtown Suffolk people have already been here: from judges, councilmen, entrepreneurs, they’ve already been here. They were like, ‘Man, that was the best pizza I’ve ever tasted!’ And just hearing that, before today, has been so amazing,” Burrell said. “It just makes it so much easier as a salesperson to be able to say, ‘You got to come in and try Crust and Cork.’ It’s a one-stop shop here. So we have it all.”

Jain says to Suffolk residents that “This is your restaurant.”

“This is a place for you to gather, this is a place for you to enjoy with your friends and your family, and we’re going to take great care of you,” Jain ended.

For more information, go to crustandcork.com.