Hell Pizza owner in Levin wants to create a vibe in an empty space

Hell Pizza owner Jordon Ritson, 26, just wants people to utilise what was an empty space.

Hell has popped up in a derelict Levin town space where a pizza van owner wants to create a slice of heaven.

Hell Pizza caravan owner Jordan Ritson, 26, said he wants to jazz up a site where his pizza caravan was in Levin by creating a vibe in what was previously an unused area.

Ritson was from Wellington originally where themed social areas were commonplace. He now lives in Levin and saw no reason why he couldn't bring a slice of city vibe to Levin.

"Levin is my adopted home. My second home," he said.

"As cheesy as it sounds, I want to improve the vibe here and I saw an opportunity."

Ritson said he was approached with the idea of beautifying the area and came up with an idea for a games space with bean bags, tables and chairs, with even designs for a candlelit corner.

He planned to use a shipping container to store tables and chairs and games equipment, and also pictured raised garden beds and an Addam's Family-style theme for the courtyard.

An unused container owned by Horowhenua District Council that was used during the Transforming Taitoko-Levin public consultation campaign recently would be perfect to store the beanbags, tables, chairs, games and toys, he said.

There were concerns from some quarters at a recent council meeting that council might be seen to be setting a precedent in enhancing a surrounding area of a business that had competition from other food providers.

But Ritson said any assets purchased by council would remain council-owned and could be used for other projects in future.

He said he just wanted to see the space made into a usable area and welcomed signage that showed the space was for wider community use.

The site was once home to Levin Tender Centre that burnt down in a 2012. Since then it was empty and used by traffic to cut through from a service lane to the State Highway.

Ritson said Hell Pizza was 100 per cent New Zealand owned, and when setting up the business he made it a rule that local people were given jobs and training rather than bringing in trained staff from Wellington.