Straw Hat Pizza Celebrates Grand Opening on Foothill Blvd.

Owners Chris and Stephanie McReynolds cut the ribbon on Straw Hat Pizza at 3463 Foothill Blvd. in La Crescenta on Tuesday. 

Dozens of local residents and community leaders attended the event, including Glendale Mayor Dave Weaver. 

Chris McReynolds told Patch that his family has long and deep ties to the Crescenta Valley.

"My family has resided here for 90 years. My grandparents built a home on Montrose Avenue in 1923," McReynolds said. "My mom, she's 82 years old, and I think she might be the longest current lifelong resident of Montrose. She was born in the house on Montrose and still lives in the same house on Montrose."

McReynolds said he attended Rosemont Jr. High School and Crescenta Valley High and has been involved in a number of interesting ventures in the area throughout the years. 

After graduating from UCLA, McReynolds said he was a bank manger for Bank of America for 10 years, and that his last assignment was the La Crescenta branch. He and his wife then opened the Montrose Christian Montessori School in 1985 and ran it for 25 years before stepping down three years ago. 

McReynolds said they spent the last three years spending time with their children and grandchildren before moving onto "the latest thing," which is Straw Hay Pizza. 

According to McReynolds, the 5500-square foot restaurant is the largest in the franchise, which has dozens of locations around the country. 

"We've got a party room over there, it seats 30 people," McReynolds said. "We've got a lot of room, which is a nice thing, and if a big group comes in we can always push a few tables together to accommodate them."