&pizza

&pizza
Private
Industry Restaurants
Founded 2012
Founder Michael Lastoria (CEO)
Steve Salis
Headquarters Washington, DC, USA
Number of locations
 26
Area served
 East Coast
Products Italian cuisine
Website andpizza.com

&pizza (pronounced "and pizza") is an American fast casual pizza restaurant chain, with 30 locations in Washington, D.C., Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Miami and Virginia.

History

&pizza was founded by Michael Lastoria and Steve Salis, with the first shop opening in July 2012 on H Street in Northeast, Washington, D.C.[1] Lastoria serves as CEO and creative director.[2] In 2016, the restaurant received a $25 million investment from AVALT, to expand into New York City,[3] opening its first location there in June 2017.[4] In July 2017, &pizza and the bakery Milk Bar announced a joint venture, to open in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[5] In October 2017, &pizza announced funding from RSE Ventures.[6][7]

The restaurant has advocated in Congress for a $15 minimum wage by 2023.[2][3][8]

Description

The restaurant sells personal and customizable oblong-shaped pizzas.[9][10] They tailor each location to its neighborhood, with local artists designing the interiors.[2][3][11] Some locations serve beer, wine, and cocktails.[12]

Reception

The Washington Post called the restaurant "the pizza shop for the 21st century", describing it as "Chipotle for pizza".[1] It was named best pizza in the Washington City Paper Best of D.C. in 2017;[13] was #12 on the Restaurant Business 2017 Future 50 list of fastest-growing small concept restaurants;[14] and was on the Fast Company World's Most Innovative Companies 2018 list.[15]

Marketing

Since 2015, the restaurant has held an annual Pi Day tradition, where they hold weddings in their pizza shops, offering free pizza, cake, alcohol, officiants and photography.[16][17] In 2018, &pizza hosted over a dozen weddings at locations in DC, Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia.[17] For employees who want it, the restaurant pays for them to get a tattoo of its ampersand logo.[16][18][19] The advocacy group Our Harvard Square has criticized &pizza for encouraging tattoos of its logo on employees and for referring to employees as "tribe members".[20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 McFarland, Matt (December 3, 2015). "Free tattoos, elixirs and hopped cola: Is this the pizza shop for the 21st century?". Washington Post.
  2. 1 2 3 Anzilotti, Eillie (October 31, 2017). "'We Want To Be The Best Neighbors': &pizza Reinvents The Pizza Parlor". Fast Company.
  3. 1 2 3 Borchardt, Debra (November 15, 2016). "&pizza Heads To NYC With A Slice Of Social Consciousness". Forbes.
  4. ↑ Wong, Venessa (June 15, 2017). "The Next Generation Of Pizza Is Descending Upon New York". BuzzFeed News.
  5. ↑ Fleming, Nicole (July 6, 2017). "A legendary NYC bakery is teaming up with a Washington, D.C. pizza chain for a local venture". Boston Globe.
  6. ↑ Dai, Serena (October 30, 2017). "Popular D.C. Chain &pizza Plots Up to Six More NYC Locations". Eater New York.
  7. ↑ Maze, Jonathan (October 25, 2017). "&pizza scores investment from firm with NFL ties". Nation's Restaurant News.
  8. ↑ Taylor, Kate (April 20, 2017). "Meet the CEO of an up-and-coming pizza chain who is actually fighting to raise the minimum wage". Business Insider.
  9. ↑ "How &pizza Is Reinventing Your Traditional Pizza Parlor". Fast Company. February 27, 2018.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Hollis (November 20, 2017). "We tried a new fast-pizza chain that's expanding across America – here's what it's like". Business Insider.
  11. ↑ Weaver, Shaye (July 7, 2017). "D.C.-Based Pizza Joint That Offers Free Tattoos Opening Second NYC Site". DNAinfo.
  12. ↑ Novikoff, Josh (October 5, 2016). "New &pizza In Chinatown Comes With Cocktails and Table Service". DCist.
  13. ↑ "Best Pizza 2017". Washington City Paper. 2017.
  14. ↑ "Future 50: &pizza". Restaurant Business. 2017.
  15. ↑ "Most Innovative Companies: &pizza". Fast Company. 2018.
  16. 1 2 Rogers, Katie (April 14, 2017). "Weddings at the Pizza Parlor? That's Amore". New York Times.
  17. 1 2 Meehan, Sarah (March 6, 2018). "&pizza will transform to a wedding chapel on Pi Day". Baltimore Sun.
  18. ↑ Bhattarai, Abha (July 9, 2016). "This local pizza chain pays for employee tattoos – of the company's logo". Washington Post.
  19. ↑ Plumb, Tierney (June 6, 2017). "&pizza CEO Dissects Expansion Plans, Winning Strategies at MCON". DC Eater.
  20. ↑ Steinbach, Alison W. (October 4, 2017). "&pizza Set to Move Forward in Harvard Square". Harvard Crimson.
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