Cash infusion to bring 4 more &pizza locations to D.C. area

We reported earlier Monday on a $1.9 million investment in local pizza restaurant chain &pizza, and now we know what that funding will be used for: at least four more locations of the pizza spot in the D.C. area.

Next up for the restaurant group: Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, Chinatown and Rockville. Co-founder Steve Salis expects all of those to open by the end of 2014 or early 2015, he said.

Here’s the lowdown on the locations:

  • Dupont Circle: 1215 Connecticut Ave. NW (above Rosebar)
  • Capitol Hill: 405 8th St. SE (Next to the Starbucks at the corner of 8th and D)
  • Chinatown: 802 7th St. NW (Next to the Starbucks at the corner of 7th and H)
  • Rockville: 1626 Old Georgetown Road (Part of Pike & Rose)

Those locations are in addition to others on the way that have already been announced: Germantown, Gaithersburg, Springfield and K Street NW, as well as one each in Reagan National and Dulles International airports.

Salis hinted at additional investment that he and his partner, Michael Lastoria, could be ready to announce in the next two months.

“We brought in some sizable capital and we’re taking an aggressive stance,” Salis said. “By the end of this year and over the next 12 months, we’re going to be very well positioned in the market.”

All this growth has come over the past two years, since H &pizza first opened on H Street NE in 2012. In the interim, &pizza has gained a number of new competitors; by my count there are close to half a dozen fast-casual pizza restaurants looking for space in the D.C. market right now.

Mike Mirkil, marketing director for Pizza Studio, another pizza restaurant just entering the market place, alluded to that competition last week.

“To a certain degree, it’s a foot race to get the best real estate sites in markets across the country,” Mirkil said. Pizza Studio aims to open later this year just a few blocks from &pizza’s Dupont location, in the former Baja Fresh space at 1333 New Hampshire Ave. NW

Salis acknowledged the real estate market has become very tight, but he’s not surprised how many other pizza concepts have been making their way into D.C.

“Being what I believe to be the fastest growing restaurant in this area, and that we really pioneered this concept in the market place, it’s not surprising to me that other brands are trying to emulate the model,” Salis said.

Incidentally, &pizza turned down the space that Pizza Studio is going into, Salis said. They felt Connecticut Ave. was a better spot than New Hampshire Ave.

Salis hopes to be more than just a pizza restaurant in the neighborhoods where &pizza already has business.

“We’re very different,” he said. “We’re more of a lifestyle brand than a pizza company.”

Another item on &pizza’s agenda for the coming months is a dedicated training facility for all of the chain’s new employees. By the end of this month, &pizza will have 270 employees; by the end of the year, that could top 500, Salis said.

Part of the offerings at that training site will be for new employees, but part of it will be continuing education for employees on a whole range of topics, from financial concepts to parenting to foreign languages.

“It’s meant to be a dynamic program that focuses on mind, body and soul that helps people become better people and professionals,” Salis said.

So once the D.C. area is conquered, what about other regions? &pizza isn’t ruling out opening in other markets, Salis said, though he wouldn’t say where or when.

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