Many people familiar with Eugene may know about Willamette Street’s Cozmic Pizza, a gourmet, all-organic pizza shop with plenty to offer customers.
Now, it can offer twice as much with a new location at Eighth Avenue and Charnelton Street.
Cozmic Pizza shares its new, larger space with Theo’s Coffee House, and a soon-to-be Internet café. Business has been good for the newly opened pizza venue, which receives quite a bit of sidewalk traffic due to its welcoming signs and bright banners.
The first outlet opened October 1999 with hopes of helping people understand the value of organic food. Recently it took the next step in becoming a part of the University and Eugene communities by opening up the new downtown location. The goals are to attract everyone and to represent the community’s diversity.
“They’ve combined two great places, Theo’s and Cozmic Pizza,” customer Chris O’Neill said. “We’ve been coming to both for years.”
The new location is also home to a very inviting scene, with plush couches, vibrantly colored chairs and mismatched dining furniture scattered about. There are chess sets and two stages for open poetry and open mic nights, usually held once or twice a month. Sign-ups start at 6:30 p.m., and poetry goes until 8:30 p.m., followed by music till 11 p.m.
Recently, local bands, such as Rob Tobias and Friends, Asbury Park and Son Mela’s, have performed.
“The cool thing about being a performer there is that the bands receive 100 percent of the door profit,” Entertainment Manager Jules Vaughn said. “The shows usually go for between $3 and $6, but can be a little more expensive for the well-known bands in town.”
Cozmic Pizza also hosts a few clubs, such as the Never Bored Game Club on Tuesday nights, where groups of people can get together and bring in their favorite games to play. The Book Crossing club has also become popular.
“It is a worldwide game and a great way to share a favorite book with someone else. You tag and register a great book online, then leave it for someone to find, read and eventually pass on,” Vaughn said. “You can find tagged books lying around on the tables.”
Not only is there entertainment, but there’s also a variety of all-organic food. Many people associate organic food with high prices, but this is a stereotype Cozmic Pizza hopes to break, Vaughn said. It offers vegan and gluten-free dishes and takes requests for other special diets. There are beverages, fountain specialties, salads, pizzas, calzones, soups and foccacias on the menu.
Vaughn said she enjoys working at Cozmic Pizza.
“I am very supportive of organics and can spend time working with something that supports those views,” Vaughn said. “Eugene turned out to be a great place for an organic eatery, and the owners enjoy the business from the people.”
Cozmic Pizza is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is talk of changing the hours, and owner Joel Thomas hopes to get feedback from the community about staying open later. With longer hours, Thomas hopes to attract students who need a late-night place to study and have a light snack.
Thomas is excited about starting a new place, where lime green walls meet rust red, and there are murals to study and a comfortable seat for relaxing.
“It is here, and it is happening,” Thomas said.