&pizza, a D.C.-based pizza chain, recently set up its 33rd store in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) couldn’t have been happier.
“We would like to thank you for coming to the People’s House,” Norton told a gathering of about 20 in the Rayburn cafeteria on Feb. 6. “Often when I’m in a hearing, … the question members are asking privately is, ‘What’s for lunch?’
“By locating here, you’ve made it a much better place,” she said
&pizza currently operates in the District, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Miami, with plans for a joint venture in Cambridge, Mass.
The House location will also welcome visitors and tourists.
House members and staff have largely relied over the years on the cafeterias located in the office buildings to eat. In recent years, there has been a move by the House administrative leaders of operations to expand culinary choices for when the cafeterias are closed and the House hasn’t yet adjourned for the day.
“Members and staff work hard here,” said Phil Kiko, the chief administrative officer of the House. “They arrive early and stay late.”
A Subway sandwich shop also operates in the Rayburn Building and a Dunkin’ Donuts sits in the Longworth Building. These restaurants operate in conjunction with Sodexo, a food and facilities management company.
Kiko said that on the HouseNet website, the second-most frequent query happens to be the featured dishes on the weekly menu.
Andy Hooper, the chief people officer of &pizza, expressed excitement about having a store on Capitol Hill.
“We wanted to have a presence in the middle of the action,” he said.
Hooper said &pizza would also like to have a presence on the U.S. Senate.
“We would welcome the opportunity,” he said.