&pizza

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&pizza
Founded Washington, DC (2012 (2012))
Number of locations
 14
Website www.andpizza.com

&pizza is a fast-casual pizza brand headquartered in Washington, D.C. According to their mission statement, the brand is known for their gourmet handmade pizza pies, trademark ampersand, inventive flavor combinations, localized store design and dedication to the communities they serve.[1] Founded in July 2012 by Michael Lastoria and Steve Salis, &pizza opened its first store in the H Street Corridor of Washington, D.C.[2] In February 2015, the company announced it had received a $10-million investment for growth and expansion.[3] &pizza has 300+ employees referred to as tribe members.[1]

The brand’s pizzas are made with traditional or ancient grain dough, with toppings that vary from tomato sauce and veggies to the more unusual fig marsala, 39-Day Aged Pepperoni, and a strawberry-balsamic finishing vinegar.[4]

&pizza introduced gluten-free dough in their shops in 2015.[5] &pizza also serves house-made craft sodas. &WINE, proprietary red and white wines, were introduced in 2015.[6] Most recently, &pizza has introduced &TEA, small batch, handcrafted teas with organic sugar and &SNACKS, grab-and-go snack items including Salted Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chili cookies.[7]

Operation and distribution

All &pizza locations are company-owned, rather than franchised. As of March 2016, &pizza will own and operate 14 locations in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia.[8] Co-Founder Michael Lastoria serves as the CEO of the company.[9]

Corporate management

The &pizza team includes a residing corporate office of managers and its board of directors. The top management team consists the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. Six individuals currently sit on the board of directors including: Sandy Beall, founder and former longtime CEO of Ruby Tuesday; Joe Farina, former partner at Fireman Capital Partners; Edward Albertian, former CEO of City Sports Inc.; and John Barton, operating partner with the private equity group LNK Partners.[10]

Culture

Since its founding &pizza has focused on supporting the local community through &CHARITY, its multi-faceted philanthropic arm. &CHARITY’s very first sponsorship was the Gallaudet University all-deaf rugby team.[11] Through &CHARITY, &pizza has donated $20,000 to Martha’s Table and DC Central Kitchen, and hosted a mozzarella-making class for Brainfood and a pizza-making party with DC Autism Parents. All together &CHARITY have supported over 500 local causes.[12]

&pizza has been recognized for their rewards program. This program is run through their app where customers can earn swag and unlock new levels of loyalty. A customer reaches the highest level, "Maverick," by spending $1,500. At this point, &pizza will pay for a tattoo at British Ink Tattoo on H Street NE, which is ideally an ampersand tattoo, but &pizza will pay for anything that can be completed in a three-hour session.[11] To date 6 employees, which &pizza refers to as “tribe members” have already received the ampersand tattoo.[13]

Design

&pizza has been noted for their unique store design that incorporates the culture and characteristics of the surrounding neighborhood.[14] For example, the K Street location located near the White House features three black-and-white images of John F. Kennedy in sunglasses and the U Street location has an enormous brass ampersand, emblematic of that area’s rich jazz history.[14]

Awards

&pizza has received numerous awards for their pizza including Washington Post Express, Best place to grab a quick lunch (2015) Best Vegetarian (2015,2014),[15] Bethesda Magazine, Best New Fast Casual [16] Buzzfeed, 21 Delicious DC Eats that Won’t Break the Bank[17] and The Next Chipotle, 11 Chains about to blow up in 2015 [18]

References

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External links

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  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Hayes, Laurel (2015-01-22). 10 Things You Didn't Know About &Pizza. Thrillist.com.
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