Marie & Hanie Nasri Open PJ’S Pasta, Pizza, Ice Cream & Catering

Restaurateurs Hanie and Marie Nasri have come full circle in their quest for cooking, serving, and satisfying their loyal customers in SoWal.

A couple of decades ago, they opened their first restaurant (Hanie’s) in Destin and then followed up with Marie’s Bistro in Blue Mountain Beach. Now, they have returned to Miramar Beach with their PJ’s Pasta, Pizza, Ice Cream & Catering eatery. While they have only been open a few weeks (they opened July 1), they are already getting repeat customers who can’t say enough about their tasty food and great prices.

“We wanted to open a family-style, delicious food place offered at a reasonable cost…a place  that people can frequent,” explains Hanie. We’ve had some of the same people come in here 6 or 8 times in the past two weeks!”

The Small (10”) or large (14”) pizzas are made to order with only the freshest of ingredients. The pizza sauce is made daily and the toppings are numerous and additional specialty toppings are also featured including anchovies, shrimp, chicken, meatballs and artichoke hearts.

Pasta dishes  include a very popular 4-cheese Lasagna for only $7.95 ($9.95 with beef), Chicken Penne Alfredo or Spaghetti & Meatball ($8.95) or a unique “Create Your Own Pasta Bowl (served with hot bread) for only $6.95. The add-ons include Linguini or Penne, Marinara, Alfredo or Garlic Butter, and your favorite toppings ranging from $2.25-$7.

Appetizers & Salads include the Soup of The Day, PJ’s Side Salad, Mediterranean Salad, Bread & Cheese Sticks, Peperoni Cheese Rolls, and PJ’s Meatballs. Wraps & Subs are featured and include Chicken Feta Wraps, Marie’s Cuban, PJ’s Italian Sub or Panini, the Eden(vegetables) the Meatball Sub, and Shrimp. Currently, beverages offered include sweet or unsweet tea, coffee or sodas, but PJ’s will soon be adding beer and wine to their menu.

PJ’s specials include 1 large one-topping Pizza for $7.77, 2 medium one-topping pizzas for $11.50, and a daily lunch special (11 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Saturday for only $7 (includes drink).

Marie is very excited to soon be offering their awesome catering service which was a HUGE part of their business at Marie’s Bistro.

“We will be able to cater to anywhere from 20-500 people just like we did at Marie’s,” explains Marie. “Keep an eye out on our expanding website (www.pjsppc.com ) for full details. We will have a breakfast, lunch, or dinner catering menu and folks can either pick up here or we are able to deliver.”

Apart from their take-home, eating-in, or catering service, PJ’s also offers a Family Style Dinner available with a 24-hour notice. “These are designed for busy businesspeople who want to take a meal home that is fresh and prepared for them….all they have to do is put it in the oven for 15 minutes. These are designed in multiples of 4 and the Family Style Dinners will have a separate menu featuring our delicious offerings.”

The subject of Ice Cream HAD to come up and, as it turns out, Marie has come full circle in this arena as well…”My first job in the United States (back in 1982) was working in an ice cream place in Houston that offered 50-60 flavors. So, I decided to end my career with ice cream! I have 5 grandbabies under the age of 5 and they love to visit Grandma here! We offer Hershey’s delicious ice cream (about 20 flavors) at a very reasonable price. We have ‘$6 Banana-Split” day every Wednesday for only $6…we were selling them for this price in Houston back in the 80’s!”

Ice Cream is sold by the scoop, and by the pint, or have a Brownie a la mode, float, milkshake, or ice cream sandwich with a multitude of toppings available to enhance these fabulous desserts.

One of their grandchildren, whom they call “PJ”, now has a Miramar Beach eatery named after him! He’s only two-and-a-half years old now but knows where to get the best ice cream in town, and will no doubt carry on the Nasri tradition of excellent food at a great price all offered up with the best TLC in town!

For more information, call 850-842-2294: Open: 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Tue-Sat., 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday and Monday, closed daily from 3-4:30 p.m. Location: 10859 U.S. Hwy. 98 W, Miramar Beach (behind the IHOP, across from Silver Sands Outlet Mall. Visit online at www.pjsppc.com.