One of the country’s oldest and best-known pizza restaurants — Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, of New Haven, Connecticut — plans to open a new location in Bethesda, Maryland at Westfield Montgomery Mall in 2020, WTOP has learned.

With a thin, crunchy, charred crust, Pepe’s — as it’s known in New Haven — was founded in 1925 by the Italian immigrant. The char comes from coal-fired brick ovens.

For decades, Frank Pepe’s has ranked atop countless best pizza lists. Apizza is pronounced “ah-beetz” in New Haven.

A source familiar with negotiations tells WTOP the exact location in Montgomery County’s Westfield Montgomery Mall will be announced soon, but a late 2020 opening is anticipated.