In a city with no shortage of options for a hot pie, the team behind Colony Club is almost ready to unveil their twist on the Italian favorite. Sonny’s Pizza and adjoining bar No Kisses are slated to open next door to the Park View coffee shop in early January, adding square pizzas, an attached speakeasy, and an outdoor patio to the block.

Owners Ben Heller and Max Zuckerman are no strangers to the D.C. pizza scene. They grew up in the area and have their favorite childhood spots for slices, including Vace Italian Deli in Cleveland Park. Both also come from a long line of local family businesses: Relatives have owned flower and gift shops.

But pizza was always central in Heller’s family. His parents used to own a small deli, Ciao, downtown and his sister has her own pizza shop in New Orleans. When Heller and Zuckerman opened Colony Club in 2015, they were already dreaming of pizza. To cement the idea, they promised their contractor Sonny that their next venture would bear his name.

“There’s a lot of good pizza in the city, but it tends to be on the fancier side,” says Zuckerman. “It’s either Neapolitan or Jumbo Slice. We want this to be more of an old-fashioned slice shop, not just drunk pizza.”

Now, Sonny’s is almost reality. Décor is heavy on repurposed materials: old school desks for tables, some booths from an old bowling alley, and antique photos of Italian soccer teams.

Heller will be slinging Italian-American recipes with an even crust—not too thick, not too thin—available by the slice or as square-shaped pies. Diners can order slices at the counter, including classic cheese, tomato and basil, pepperoni, and white pizza with ricotta cream and kale. Whole pans will go heavier on the toppings, adding caramelized onions and roasted mushrooms to the white pizza, spicing up tomato and mozzarella with sausage and hot pepper. There will also be make-your-own options and gluten-free crust.

Outside the pizza realm, salads, garlic knots, and homemade focaccia sandwiches stuffed with meatballs or eggplant parm or soppressata and spicy cherry butter round out the lineup. Drinks include wine, beer, and cider on tap or by the bottle. The team is also experimenting with cannoli and tiramisu. They eventually plan to work in brunch and happy hour.

The shop’s oven will also supply a more extensive sandwich and pastry menu for Colony Club—something the coffee shop couldn’t offer before because of limited space.

No Kisses, tucked between pizza and cafe entrances, is a cozy den outfitted with velvet booths, dark wood, and ceiling tiles that light up in multicolored hues. On the back patio between picnic tables and string lights, a 1974 French Citroën—which the owners say was once a milk and bread delivery truck—has been repurposed as an outdoor bar.

Bar manager Cody Hochheiser, who previously crafted cocktails for Pineapple and Pearls and has pizza roots at 2 Amys, is creating a menu of drinks ($9-14) with a “slight Euro bend,” using spritzers, rose geranium and white sage herbal syrups from California-based producer June Taylor, and Lindera Farms’ vinegars from Virginia. The wine list will be “wine bar” quality but “not as stuffy,” Hochheiser says. The bar will also serve a handful of Italian snacks—except pizza. Patrons who want pies can go next door for Sonny’s late-night menu.

A restaurant from coffee shop aficionados does beg the question: Will there be caffeine?

“We might do a little bit of coffee on the weekends,” Heller says. “But if we do, we’re not stepping on Colony Club’s toes.”

Sonny’s is located at 3120 Georgia Avenue NW in Park View. Hours forthcoming.