Pop music pulsed from the speakers, and television personalities Dr. Oz and Colin Cowherd played on side-by-side televisions. The TV’s, two of the restaurant's 12, were flanked to the top and bottom by a green, glowing DRUGS sign and fully stocked bar.

Such was the scene at Schmizza Public House just after 11 a.m. on a recent Monday. The Public House is "an evolution of Schmizza," Pizza Schmizza founder André Jehan said, and offers a wide-ranging selection of drinks and dishes.

The Public House has been "extremely busy," especially in the after-work hours, since opening on Sept. 30, Jehan said.

Unlike the Pizza Schmizza "Pub & Grub" concept, which features pizza by the slice, the Public House menu touts two-to-three-slice pizzas, appetizers, burgers, salads and veggies, among other options. It also has a wider beer selection than other "Pub & Grubs," Jehan said.And, he said, "I believe we make the best fish and chips in town."The Public House, which Jehan said is 2,000 square feet, is in the mixed-use Hub 9 building in the heart of Orenco's Platform District — and close to the new Orenco Station Plaza.

"It really is a neighbourhood corner gastropub," Jehan said. "The kind of place you can go every day."

Jehan said Pizza Schmizza opened its original location in downtown Hillsboro in 1992 and moved from that location five or six years later. Pizza Schmizza has "Pub & Grub" operations in Tanasbourne and the Hillsboro Airport, as well.

Jehan said the Public House will begin delivering within a one-mile radius in November and will have kiosks from which customers can order in the nearby Orenco Taphouse and Renaissance Premium Wines & Cigars. Customers can also order online or over the phone.

Both kiosks are within walking distance of the Public House, which he said is the "hippest spot in Orenco."

"And I say that informationally, not egotistically," Jehan said. "There aren't that many cool little places that are neighbourhood hangouts, and we're definitely that."

Published: 4 November 2015

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