Vace, 2Amys, Italian Store, Pizzeria Paradiso, Matchbox, and Radius. Finally, Washingtonians have a choice as to where to go for good pizza. Some old-school residents haven’t needed a new place though, since their pizza craving has been satiated for the past 50 years by A.V. Ristorante Italiano. Rarely, however, is it nominated as the city’s best pizza, nor is it mentioned as the place to go for authentic red sauce Italian fare.

Except, of course, when you ask Supreme Court Justice and foodie Antonin Scalia. “I realize it’s not the best restaurant in town, but I’ve been going there for nearly 50 years, so I have a special connection to the place,” he said, when asked about A.V. on January 9th at a private reception. “And it has the best pizza in town.” He should know. Having grown up in New Jersey and Queens, he honed his taste for the perfect slice in a region with more pizza joints than anywhere in the United States.

Rumor has it that its days are numbered. According to a September article in the Washington Business Journal, A.V. owner August Vasiao was “given an offer that we would be absolutely nuts to refuse.” In its place, real estate developer Trammell Crow would build a 14-story condo building with ground-floor retail. Vasiao also notes that this had been the fourth offer on his property and that, “the three other offers had died.” After a half century of work, he’s clearly ready to unburden himself of the landmark and take some well-earned time off.

How many days do we have to savor “the best pizza in town?” When we called the restaurant on Thursday morning, a manager replied, “no comment” to our question as to whether the Trammell Crow deal went through, though he said they’ll be open for “a year, or slightly more at this point.” Haven’t sampled a pie from A.V.? You have some time to find out. Make the pilgrimage before it turns into more of the same.

Know anything more on the sale of A.V.? Do you agree with Scalia on its rank as the best pizza in town? Let us know in the comments.