About 22 years ago, DJ Garcia and Amy Garcia met as co-workers at the Wilton House of Pizza, affectionately known by customers as “the WHOP.”

“We met here. Everything we have, it’s because of here,” Amy said.

DJ remembers when he asked Amy to buy the business from his parents in 2013.

“After about five ‘no’s, it finally became yes,” he said. “We’ve been grinding away in here ever since.”

With about 14 years of ownership behind them, Amy and DJ are ready to move on from tossing pizzas.

“I’ve been here since 1998. I touched my first pizza in 1998, and there just comes a point in your life when you just say, ‘You know what? It’s time for something else,'” DJ said.

Starting at the beginning of August, Samantha and Brice Towles will be the new owners of the beloved establishment.

“We are really, really glad that they’re buying the restaurant,” Amy said.

‘Weird Southern mirror of us’

With decades of time and energy dedicated to the WHOP, DJ and Amy want to leave while they’re still on top.

“I’m super excited to see it transform into new energy, new life, because that’s what it deserves, and we can’t give that anymore,” Amy said.

That’s where the Towles come in. Samantha is originally from Texas, and Brice grew up in Florida.

Brice said he has always wanted to own a restaurant and promises no one ever leaves his house hungry.

“Ain’t nothing more Southern than feeding people,” he said.

Samantha said she can’t wait to decorate the place and loves to focus on community.

“They’re already super involved in the community, and we want to keep that going,” she said.

Amy explained that she and DJ are similar to the Towles, in that each partner in the couple enjoys different parts of running the business.

“They’re really the perfect couple for this. They’re like a weird Southern mirror of us,” Amy joked.

New ownership

Moving to New England for the first time, Samantha and Brice and their family have moved around the South for Brice’s job with an engineering company. Most recently, they were living in “the middle of nowhere” in Missouri and decided to move to Wilton.

While looking for a home, the couple stopped at the WHOP for a slice of pizza and to check out the local businesses. Before returning to Missouri, they put in a bid on the restaurant.

“We ate here, and nobody knew who we were,” Samantha said. “Everybody here is just so nice and sweet, and we actually picked it because of the employees.”

Both couples were initially nervous about the transition, worried about how the staff and community would react.

“We view ourselves as the city center,” DJ explained.

When the Garcias broke the news to their employees, the team was emotional — but when they introduced Samantha and Brice, the staff welcomed them with applause.

“It’ll stick with me forever,” DJ said.

The new owners said they have no plans to change the business, though Brice said they might expand into catering and add some Southern barbecue items to the menu down the road.

The Towles also plan to continue all the WHOP’s traditions, including its annual scholarship for graduating seniors at Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative High School.

Throughout the transition, the Garcias have folded the Towles family into the business — their 13-year-old daughter worked a day at the restaurant, and their youngest son has claimed the role of taste-tester.

DJ said they plan to help the new owners navigate the business and community but don’t expect it to be difficult.

Emotional transition

With Brice’s 12 notebooks full of menu ideas and Samantha’s plans for decorating, the couple said they’re ready to get started.

“I’m just ready to go,” Brice said.

DJ and Amy have no plans to leave the Wilton community or stop going to the WHOP.

“It’s the best pizza around, for sure,” DJ said.

Amy has been working on expanding her consignment business in Wilton, VM Madden Collections, and said she’s looking forward to giving it more of her time.

“I just couldn’t put my all into this anymore, and I couldn’t put my all into that,” she said.

DJ has worked at the WHOP for three decades, first under his parents and then as owner. Having also dedicated 11 years to public service in the town of Wilton, he said leaving the business is an emotional decision.

“For me, it honestly feels like holding sand, and it’s like falling through your fingers,” he said. “I’ve only ever been on the inside. I’ve only ever looked out, so it’ll be interesting to be on the other side and look toward it. I’m most excited for that part.”

The Garcias reflected on what the business has meant to them as a family and to the community.

“We’re definitely ready for a new chapter, but it’s just going to be the biggest change we’ve ever gone through, because it’s our whole life,” Amy said.

DJ said they are grateful to the Wilton community and customers over the years.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” he said.