New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Pepe’s plans Va. location
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana is planning another location in greater Washington, D.C., as the New Haven-based legacy restaurant continues its expansion beyond Connecticut.
An affiliate of the company signed a lease for a new pizzeria in Alexandria, Va. at the Alexandria Commons shopping center, the Washington Business Journal reported Monday. Pepe’s is also opening a Bethesda, Md. location in the Westfield Montgomery mall, and held a job fair for new employees in late August to staff that restaurant.
Representatives for Pepe’s did not immediately return request for comment, but the company confirmed plans for the Virginia restaurant in a statement to the Washington publication.
The Washington-area locations will be the first Pepe’s restaurants outside of the Northeast. The famed pizzeria, which opened in 1925, has expanded across Connecticut to open outposts in Danbury, Fairfield, Manchester, Waterbury, West Hartford and the Mohegan Sun casino. Out of state, there are Pepe’s pizzerias in Yonkers, N.Y., Warwick, R.I. and three in Massachusetts: Burlington, Chestnut Hill and Watertown.
Other iconic Connecticut pizza names have announced recent expansion plans. Colony Grill, which opened its own Alexandria location in fall 2020, is debuting a St. Petersburg, Fla. restaurant in November, with plans for another in Tampa next year.
Sally’s Apizza is planning its first restaurants beyond New Haven’s Wooster Street, with new locations coming to Stamford and Wethersfield. A Sally’s representative also confirmed potential expansion to greater Boston.