A business’s success can often be judged by its longevity, and the Wilton House of Pizza is no exception. It has been a fixture in Wilton since 1986 and is still going strong. The WHOP, as it is informally and affectionately known in Wilton, was purchased from its former owners in 1998 by DJ Garcia’s family, and 15 years later, he and his wife, Amy, took the plunge into ownership of the restaurant when his parents decided to retire. This was not an easy decision for the young couple, but they both knew the business and decided to give it a try.
DJ started working at the Wilton House of Pizza at the age of 13 and continued while he was still in college. This was where he got to know Amy while she was employed there as the manager. They decided that for the business to continue to succeed, they needed to make a strong commitment to training, quality and consistency, and that is how they have run the Wilton House of Pizza ever since. This focus has made the WHOP so well-functioning that DJ is able to take time to explore other business ventures but can still be found on duty there most weekends.
The same is true for Amy, who has also expanded her professional life. She has recently opened an antiques and collectibles business in the former Intervale Hardware building, a building they also recently purchased. It is currently only open by appointment, with most of the business being run online under the name VM Madden Collection.
This is the third parcel in Wilton that the family now owns. The other is the building at 15 Main St. DJ’s business education gave him the incentive to delve into commercial real estate ownership and business consulting in the community he loves. There are now four successful businesses housed in that location.
When we spoke, DJ said the driving force behind his business dealings is facing the challenges he must overcome. He continued, “It’s not so much making money as achieving success and seeing businesses thrive.” He explained most of his decisions are based upon his trust in and understanding of numbers and the law of averages. He added, “I love and dream for the best for this little town and hope to do things that will help. What I want to do is to continually add value to Wilton and hope others will see what’s possible and try to do the same.”
To do this, he has not only invested in the town but has been both a selectman and a voice for Wilton in other capacities. Yet trying to help sometimes means speaking directly about things that need to be considered for the future of Wilton — things that are not on immediate agendas, nor easy to voice but need to be. As DJ expressed, “I’m willing to have those difficult conversations and offer difficult solutions that will help generate long-term planning, the very type of planning that has been back-burnered for far too long. This means discussions on infrastructural repairs and upgrades that have been easier to avoid than act upon.” He sees this from the perspective of safely maintaining the infrastructure in place while maximizing commercial options for the town without destroying its rural character. As he explained to me,
“We need new businesses to offset our tax base and allow us to make the repairs necessary to maintain our infrastructure. A bonus is that commercial enterprises don’t add children to our school system, they just add to the tax base. Main Street offers limited opportunities for the type of business that will help Wilton prosper financially. Wilton’s other 52 square miles should be considered when thinking about the town’s future.
“If we don’t do something, we will still need to deal with the town’s infrastructure that is aging and in need of repair or replacement.
“We have one area on 101 that is prime real estate and a natural setting for major businesses to grab, except for a couple of large drawbacks, the lack of sewer and the zoning restrictions due to the land’s location on top of our town aquifer. Water would be relatively easy to pipe to our designated industrial setting, but needing to rely on a septic system for any large business is undesirable and a deal-killer, particularly when a good portion of the town’s water supply would come from directly beneath it. So far, this is why that piece of prime real estate has remained unoccupied.
“I don’t want to be another Nashua, but I would like to see businesses that will add value and bring people into Wilton. If you’re not growing, you’re dying.
“If one business can be enticed to occupy that spot with sewer promised, with its location on 101, Wilton would be sitting on a gold mine. I hope Wilton citizens buy into this vision and I believe the money generated from a greatly increased tax base would be well worth the investment and would help offset the costs.”
By the end of this conversation, I was envisioning what this would mean for Wilton and decided to speak to Jennifer Beck, chair of Wilton’s Economic Development Team. I was glad I did and could report to DJ that she assured me, “Efforts are afoot to find a way to safely and thoughtfully develop that portion of land. We just need to do it carefully since it is in an environmentally sensitive location and we don’t want to change the appeal of Wilton in its beautiful, rural setting.”
She added, “And we’d love to have him join us at Eco-Dev meetings. For that matter, let others know that we always welcome people to our meetings. And people with a vision are assets to be appreciated.”
Note: The Economic Development Committee meets once a month, with the days and times found on the Town of Wilton website.
