Relief is coming next month when a new restaurant opens on Decatur’s north side.

Val Potts is the daughter of the owners of the popular pizza restaurant that was destroyed in an arson fire in September 2016. She will be opening Del Carmen’s Pizza at 2855 N. Water St., Decatur, in mid-November.

“It will have the same great pizza everyone is asking for,” Potts said.

The menu will also consist of salad choices, Italian beef, bread sticks and individual lunch portions. Pizza will come in 8-inch, 12-inch, 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. Potts is hoping to add a gluten-free crust option for 10-inch pizzas.

The restaurant will feature carry-out for the customers. Dine-in seating is limited to 20 customers. “It is a small location to start,” Potts said.

The restaurant owner will be hiring staff through online applications at delcarmenspizza.com or during open interviews from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 3 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Decatur Civic Center.

In February, Larry and Martha Stanley, the owners of the former Del Carmen’s East, had appealed to the Decatur City Council for rezoning the previous restaurant on 22nd Street.

The Stanleys had plans to rebuild, but Martha Stanley said recently they have postponed any rebuilding plans for at least two years.

Potts has received advice and assistance from her parents in opening her restaurant. “Quality ingredients to get best pizza results,” Potts said. “So, you can’t change anything on the pizzas.”

Potts has added a New York style brick oven to the kitchen. “I think it makes a crispier crust,” she said.

Del Carmen’s Pizza may expand to other locations, but for now Potts is hoping the northside restaurant will satisfy the appetites of pizza lovers.

“Others will hopefully try it who haven’t in the past,” she said.

Decatur-area business openings and closings