Hague estimated that the project would end up costing about $250,000.
“It’s slow,” Hague said. “We’re far from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Springfield Chamber of Commerce President Mike McDorman said a slow process was normal for a restaurant relocating.
“That’s pretty common in construction, especially when you’re taking an old building and retrofitting it into a restaurant space,” McDorman said.
Bada Bing! opened in 2012 at 406 Harding Rd, but has outgrown the space, Hague said. The company signed a five-year lease in January for a 2,800-square-foot location at 40 N. Fountain Ave., which Hague said will allow his restaurant to provide more room and better customer service.
“Every week it’s just crazy, stupid busy in here,” Hague said. “That’s the main motivation to move downtown.”
The new location will be a fast casual pizzeria where customers can pick their own crust and toppings, and watch the pizza cook in 2-3 minutes.
He said if Chipotle and Bada Bing! were to have a child, it would be the new restaurant.
“It’s not like anything you’ve seen in the Miami Valley,” Hague said.
The restaurant won second place and a $1,000 prize in the “traditional” category of the 16th Annual 2014 “Pizza Pizzazz” regional competition in Columbus in February.
The new space was originally a sporting goods store, so almost everything on the inside needed renovation, Hague said. The restaurant will have a large pizza oven which is being custom-built in Italy and will be sent to Springfield soon.
Hague estimated the renovation project was about 60 percent complete.
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