CHESAPEAKE - The bygone era of restaurant curbside service is not a distant memory for one unique pizza parlor - one where a carhop can be seen and the menu offers more than traditional pizzeria entrees.

Peparoni's opened its doors three years ago when the well-known Stewart's Hot Dogs closed. Rodney Perry became the owner in February.

Although the restaurant always offered curbside service, advertising recently began. Employee Mary Ferguson is one of the carhops and counter workers. The veteran employee approaches her work with dedication and enthusiasm.

"It's a great place - (the) food is made fresh. You meet a lot of new people here and I intend to stay as long as they'll keep me," Ferguson said.

"We get a lot of daily customers. I miss them if they don't pop in - you wonder where they're at. One customer asks for custom-made pizza, and that's not a problem."

A sign outside the restaurant clearly states

"This is not a fast-food restaurant."

The wait is worth the trip, judging by the restaurant's patronage. They also offer almost a dozen flavors of hand-dipped ice-cream, milk shakes, shrimp, mushrooms, homemade barbeque sandwiches, homemade (by Perry himself) pork rinds and even a low-carb pizza.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

The Dart is a weekly feature in which a reporter throws a dart at a map of Lawrence County and finds a story where it hits.