Think Brazilian Steakhouse, but substitute pizza for mouth watering racks of meat.
That’s the concept longtime restaurant manager John Foster and a partner are bringing to the former space of Jiffy Shoppes at 4924 St Elmo Ave.
Foster’s restaurant will be called PizzaPass, and will offer a salad bar, pasta bar and constant table-side service that will allow customers to try different types of pizzas rotating throughout the dining room.
“Every time we sit down to have pizza, the first thing we do is compromise,” Foster said. “We have to figure out what everyone likes and doesn’t like. We always seem to settle on pepperoni. This gives you a chance to try some pizza without wasting $11 on something you might not like.”
Foster, who has managed P.F. Chang’s in White Flint and the Founding Farmers in D.C., said he came up with the concept while managing the Chima Brazilian Steakhouse in Tysons Corner.
He hopes to have it open by the second week of December.
When customers sit down, a server will ask about favorite pizzas. The idea is to track the favorites and keep them rotating. There will be some unique pizzas — taco and barbecue pulled pork for instance.
Foster is going for what he described as a New York style-Chicago style hyrbid, slow cooked at 550 degrees so the ingredients bake in to the pie. Pictured above is a sausage, pepperoni and banana pepper pizza.
He thinks there’s a big market for it, especially with the trend of fast-cook Neapolitan-style pizzas taking over the pizza market.
“To me, personally, there are two great styles, New York and Chicago. This will be like New York style with the high-gluten flour and thin crust but with the Chicago style of a real pie, with the ingredients underneath the cheese,” Foster said. “You never see guys spinning the dough or just throwing it up into the air anymore. It’s a lost art.”
The pizzas, salad bar and pasta will be priced at $14 for lunch and $18 for dinner, half price for kids 6-10 and free for kids younger than 6.
Photo via PizzaPass
