Andy’s Pizza

5 Washington, DC Units 

Concept:

Andy’s Pizza is a simple New York slice shop with six pizzas available by the slice and a few specialty whole pies. We focus on the quality of our ingredients and craftsmanship over everything else. We often partner up with others who benefit from pizza —a storefront with a brewery, inside a local market, as well as our standalone carryout locations. 

Pizza & Dough:

A 72-hour cold ferment on every dough ball makes an incredible difference in our pizza, as well as authentic stone deck ovens. Our dough is a very high hydration, and while it is difficult to handle on a busy Friday night, we think it makes all the difference in the crispiness and texture of our finished pizzas.  

The Washington, DC area is an intensely competitive market. What has been key to your success and growing in that market?

Quality, consistency and customer service. The pizzas speak for themselves, but we face an uphill battle utilizing third-party services for delivery. We hired two people whose sole job it is to reach out to customers and make sure they had a fantastic experience, and to make it right if they didn’t.  

You took home the top Traditional Division prize at the International Pizza Challenge. How will you capitalize on the designation?

We have seen a tremendous amount of support from our hometown for bringing home the win. Our loyal customers were saying “I told you so!” all over the Internet! New customers have been delighted and the shops have been busier than ever. We sent out a press release as soon as we got home, and much to my surprise, every local outlet picked it up! We have some TV spots coming up with local news stations that will undoubtedly help keep the ball rolling. We updated everything, pizza boxes, shirts, hats — it all touts the win! 

What are your plans for growth at Andy’s Pizza?

We plan on doing 10 stores and being available for delivery in every corner of our home city. After that, who knows!