A taste of Ohio is coming to Knoxville when DiCarlo's Pizza opens its first Tennessee location this year. The Ohio-based pizza restaurant is planning to open at 524 S. Gay St. where KoPita was before it moved across the street in the Embassy Suites hotel. The pizza shop submitted its application to the Design Review Board for neon signs, which will be discussed at a meeting Wednesday.

The owners of the Knoxville location, Kaz and Michele Kaczmarek, hope to open it in 2023, with Kaz saying in a phone call with Knox News that "May or June is our target." There's also a possibility for more locations in Knoxville and Tennessee, according to company owner David DiCarlo. He mentioned a takeout only shop in Farragut and another DiCarlo's Pizza in Nashville as next steps if this first Knoxville location performs well.