As one of the newest dining options to open in Kyle, Tony C’s Pizza & Beer Garden aims to offer a local, family-friendly space for families and friend groups to gather and enjoy authentic Italian food and New York-style pizza.

Meet the owners

Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden opened at Kohler's Crossing in November. Owners and Austin natives Tony Ciola and Creed Ford met in the 2000's when Ciola was working at his family’s Italian restaurant in Lakeway. Ciola’s, now a location of The League Kitchen & Tavern, was an ode to the family’s first restaurant in Virginia Beach in 1949, Ciola said.
Tony Ciola (left) and Creed Ford founded their restaurant group Tc4 & Co. in 2011. (Courtesy Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden)
Tony Ciola (left) and Creed Ford founded their restaurant group Tc4 & Co. in 2011. (Courtesy Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden)
Ciola and Ford opened their first joint venture, Tony C's Coal Fired Pizza, in Bee Cave in 2009. Two years later, they founded their restaurant group Tc4 & Co., combining their shared restaurant industry experience.

“We had a mutual passion for the restaurant business but had grown up at opposite ends of the spectrum where I was in the family-owned and operated side of business and Creed had been running finance and marketing on the national restaurant chain side of the business,” Ciola said.

Tc4 & Co.’s brands include Mighty Fine Burgers, Fries & Shakes; The League Kitchen & Tavern; Tony C's Coal Fired Pizza, Tony C’s Pizza & Beer Garden and the newly opened Cousin Louie’s in Dripping Springs. Ford and his family also opened Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q in Kyle last year.


What they offer

Ford said Tony C’s Pizza & Beer Garden concept came from a trend they saw in fast-casual counter service restaurants.
Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden features an open-concept group-oriented dining room, a bar and a patio. (Courtesy Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden)
Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden features an open-concept group-oriented dining room, a bar and a patio. (Courtesy Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden)
“You can have a business meeting there in business casual or you could bring your kids in after a game in their soccer uniforms,” Ford said.

They also looked to model the space after outdoor dining spaces in New York City. Ciola said they hit about 20 pizza joints there to get menu inspiration.

“When we opened Tony C’s [Coal Fired Pizza], we leveraged a lot of the Italian-American recipes that our family grew up making, but we never really grew up making pizza,” Ciola said. “So that's when we went to New York and discovered that what we felt was the best representation of New York-style pizza.”
The Chicken Parmesan pizza ($18.99/$26.99) includes chicken parmesan, marinara, mozzarella and basil. (Courtesy Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden)
The Chicken Parmesan pizza ($18.99/$26.99) includes chicken parmesan, marinara, mozzarella and basil. (Courtesy Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden)
The beer garden menu focuses more on handmade coal-fired pizza with fresh ingredients. It also offers appetizers, wings, salads and Italian sub sandwiches. Tony C’s in Kyle, the brand’s first standalone location, features communal picnic-style tables, TVs, a covered patio and beer and wine on tap.


Staying local

With multiple Tc4 & Co. restaurants now open in Kyle, Ciola and Ford said they look forward to growing with the community.

“We've got a nice corner on I-35 and Kohler’s Crossing, where we put two of our brands, Tony C’s and Mighty Fine...” Ciola said. “So just seeing the opportunity that, if we didn't take it, someone else would, and just having that pride of being local and wanting to expand our brands as Austin expands.”