GROTON, Conn. (WTNH) - Among the pictures of famous faces covering the walls of Pizza Today, there are also images of submarines, and they may be the most valuable to the Groton business.

Many of the early orders come from Electric Boat workers wanting to pick up a pizza or sandwich for lunch.

"All the morning is pretty much EB, and it's not only EB," owner Martha Gkountouva. "It's EB, but with the growth of EB, it's the growth of whole Groton. So, we get more business because of that."

Gkountouva has owned Pizza Today for fifteen years.

"The previous years were like rocky years for all the businesses."

But more recently, they are riding a wave of success as EB secures more Navy contracts. The most recent brings maintenance work on the Virginia Class submarine USS John Warner to the Groton shipyard.

"It's definitely good to have more work. I'm in management, so I like to have my employee workflow to be fairly constant so I keep them employed, obviously," said Electric Boat employee Matt Christopher.

Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy said the more than $23-million maintenance contract will provide enough work to maintain 150 jobs while Congressman Joe Courtney said the Navy's decision is a strong vote of confidence in Groton's skilled workforce capability.

"We're always focussed on making sure the quality is where it needs to be, to make sure the quality is good," said Christopher.

"It was tough. But now, it's getting better. They're hiring more people, so more business for me, more business for everybody," said Gkountouva.

During tougher times, Gkountouva said some surrounding businesses had to lay off staff. She never did. She always kept the people who worked for her, but she said it's a lot easier now.

In fact, because EB is doing so well, she actually needs to hire more people.