With two new pizza joints opening in Campustown, some are starting to wonder what this will mean for other local pizza establishments.

For Iowa State, the main attraction of a late night out is Campustown. The bars located on and around Welch Avenue and Lincoln Way are the main attractions for nights out in Ames. After a long night at the bars, a pit-stop at one of the many late night food stops is a must.

Currently, the options for these stops include some local favorites like hot dogs at Super Dog; Mexican food at Mr. Burrito, Fighting Burrito or Fuzzy’s Tacos; sandwiches at Jimmy Johns or pizza at Jeff’s Pizza or Pizza Pit.

Jeff’s Pizza has been a go-to icon for quick food after a late night since its opening in Ames about nine years ago and Pizza Pit has been serving the Ames community since 1976. But with the additional pizza joints opening soon, these two may start to have some competition.

The two new joints, Blaze Pizza and Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza, are under construction just a few doors down on either side of Jeff’s Pizza on Lincoln Way.

So, why would these franchises decide to neighbor an already popular pizza joint in Campustown?

Paul McCrae, the Ames franchise partner of Blaze Pizza, said that the chosen location of the new store wasn’t about the competition of these establishments, but more of getting the student’s attention.

“It’s right across from the student union […] and we want to be on the mainstream of things and [with this location] we’re really at the corner of main and main,” McCrae said.

Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza agrees that Campustown has a great deal of business potential.

“Campustown is growing by leaps and bounds,” said Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza CEO Matt Mongoven. “It’s a great location and we’re really happy to be there.”

Despite the closeness of location to the local favorite, the managers at Jeff’s Pizza aren’t very worried about the competition. In fact, they welcome the crowd that these new stores will bring.

“In big cities, you can go to a street corner and there’s literally three pizza places right next to each other,” said Jeff’s Pizza general store manager Elliot Krueger. “It just draws a general crowd so I think it will be beneficial in the long run.”

Jeff’s Pizza is also hoping that their long standing relationship with the Ames community will benefit them.

Pizza Pit’s co-manager, Tom Norphrop, also says they are unfazed by the additions to the community due to the fact that most of their profit comes from delivery to outside of Campustown.

The four stores also have differences that will draw in different crowds.

Whereas Jeff’s Pizza and Pizza Pit offer pizza by the slice and delivery, Blaze and Smokin’ Oak have a different approach.

Blaze offers personal sized pizzas, which the customer creates with their options of 48 different toppings and then watches as their pizza is cooked in 180 seconds in their main oven.

Even quicker, Smokin’ Oak uses a wood-fired oven to make their artisan pizzas in 90 seconds.

Four pizza places within one small area may make the competition steep, but the options are sure to please the many college students that frequent the area.