Homegrown Pizza — Restaurant in West Virginia

First of all, the pizza is some of the best in Morgantown, and the staff are certainly friendly. However, I consistently have bad experiences regarding how long it takes to for them to make the pizza.

Perhaps it is just my bad luck, but the three times I have called in and ordered pickup it has taken them twice as long as the time they quote me when I called and ordered. Several months ago I called and ordered as I was leaving the Mountaineer Mall after my daughters dance class (about 10 minutes away) at about 8:05 PM and was told it would be ready in 20-25 minutes. I arrived and waited till it had been 20 minutes since I had ordered before going in. We (myself and my two elementary school aged children) waited for 30 minutes inside (total of 50 minutes since I ordered). At this point I told them to just cancel my order because I had to leave so my kids could see their mother before she left for work, plus it was pretty much their bedtime. I was told one of my two pizzas were ready, so I took it and they told me to let them know they owed me a pizza (because I had already paid for it and was not offered a refund) the next time I ordered.

It was a month or so before I ordered again, so I didn't bring up the pizza they owed me because it had been so long I didn't want to come off as someone just trying to get something for free. This time it took about 35 minutes to get the order.

Tonight I ordered once again... same scenario... ordered at 8:15ish as I was living the Mountaineer Mall... told it would be about 25 minutes... arrived and waited till it had been 20 minutes before going in. Went in and paid and was told it would "be a few more minutes". I went back to my truck for 5 minutes or so (I had my kids in the truck and didn't want to leave them out there by themselves) then went back in and waited... and waited... and waited.

I finally got my pizza 43 minutes after I had ordered. When I brought up the fact that I seem to have bad luck and should start calling my order in sooner... explaining that I had even paid for a pizza I didn't get previously because of the crazy amount of time I had to wait... I was told that when they get eat in customers it slows them down because they focus on getting their food out first. Im not exactly sure how I feel about this excuse. My money and time as a pickup customer is just as important as someone eating in.

I wouldn't have nearly as much of an issue with this if they would tell me on the phone that it was going to take 45 minutes to an hour, but they don't.

It is unfortunate because it is very likely that I will not be ordering from here again. I pass Milanos and Pizza Al's when traveling home from the Mountaineer Mall and I have never had this issue with either of those places. I love the pizza at homegrown, but I don't have time to waste waiting around, especially on school nights when I have two young kids...

Atmosphere- 4 stars- would be so easy to pass this place up if you weren’t looking. Very nondescript- just a very basic building in the side of the road. However!! The inside is very cool. Not very big but packs alot of WV creativity. There are some tables and a few bar back stools. Very clean. You have to look around to see some interesting things. My favorite were the cheese grater lights hanging from the barn like ceiling. This is a local pizza restaurant that you can tell takes pride in their business.

Service- 4 stars- very friendly staff. We were taken care of by at least three different employees- each making sure we had what we needed.

Food- 4 stars- started off with the Home Grown Potato Chips- these came in an assortment of flavors- we got the basic sea salt and they were sooo good!! Freshly made- not oily at all- just crispy goodness- came with a couple sides of ranch for dipping. We also got a medium Pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and banana peppers- not the best pizza I had ever had but still good- I prefer a more NY style this is more of what I describe as a Neapolitan style pizza- not thin or thick just in between. It was very filling. They also have a display case of different deserts that looked awesome. From German chocolate cake to different cheese cakes and even a strawberry pretzel salad which I don’t see in restaurants too often. Wanted to try something but was stuffed. Definitely recommend...

My recent pizza there had less flavor than when I used to get pizzas there, and the proce quite high for a plain pizza with olives. But, I also don't appreciate them asking me on the phone when I order, if I want to leave a 15%, 18% or 20% tip. Well, the tips not going to break me, but I never recall people who aren't actually waiting on you, asking for a tip until the last few years. I always leave a 20% tip when I have a waitress or waiter taking my order, bringing my food, etc, but if I'm paying way more than a pizza is even worth, and coming into the restaurant to get it, what is the tip for? And, a few years ago when I ordered a pizza, and the owner asked if I wanted to leave a tip, and I said no, she said snottily "We have to make a living too!" I tried again today because I had to come right by there, but that was the last time. The pizza had zero flavor! I'll stick with my favorite Pizza Al's. I wouldn't mind a tip jar, but to put people on the spot feels aggressive, or at least coercive. It makes me not want to go there. By the way, the last Pizza Al's to open in Morgantown, called Pizza Al's and Bar, just past the Colliseum, on Saratoga Ave., has a special for a 20" pizza for only $9.99! I'd call before ordering to make sure they still have...