Update, 3/14: Sonny’s is officially opening up shop on Pi Day, according to its Instagram.
Original: After months-long delay, the Park View “old-fashioned” pizza shop Sonny’s is close to opening, following a series of invitation-only soft openings this weekend.
“We definitely had some construction and permitting delays along the way, but these last few weeks we’ve really just been tweaking recipes and training up staff,” co-owner Max Zuckerman tells DCist over email. “We know it’s frustrating for people that are waiting patiently, but we’re intent on putting our best foot forward when we open.”
It seems those recipes have been tweaked to satisfaction. As a recent Sonny’s Instagram post says: “Slice is right. Price is right.”
Zuckerman says his team will see how the soft opening goes, and that he hopes to open Sonny’s within a week.
Sonny’s voicemail (recorded in what the DCist team, after some back and forth, decided was a caricature of a New York accent) says the Georgia Ave NW shop will open at 5 p.m. and be closed on Tuesdays. “Come share a square!” says the mysterious voice, though it sounds more like “She-ah a squa-ah.” Zuckerman says Sonny’s will open for lunch “as soon as we can.”
Sonny’s is operated by owners Zuckerman and Ben Heller, the same team behind neighboring Colony Club. When the duo opened their coffee shop in 2015, pizza was a distant twinkle in their eyes. As they told DCist in a December preview of the restaurant, they promised their contractor, Sonny, they’d name their then-a-dream pizza joint after him.
“There’s a lot of good pizza in the city, but it tends to be on the fancier side,” Zuckerman told DCist at the time. “It’s either Neapolitan or Jumbo Slice. We want this to be more of an old-fashioned slice shop, not just drunk pizza.”
Heller, at the menu helm, will be serving up even-crusted pizzas available by the slice or as square-shaped pies. Options will include classic cheese, tomato and basil, pepperoni, and white pizza with ricotta cream and kale. Also available are salads, garlic knots, and homemade focaccia sandwiches stuffed with meatballs or eggplant parm or soppressata. Behind the shop is No Kisses, a cozy cocktail spot from bar manager Cody Hochheiser, outfitted with velvet booths and light-up ceiling tiles. On the back patio, drinks will be served from a repurposed vintage van.
The restaurant and its attached speakeasy were originally slated to open in early January. “We’re going to give Sonny’s a couple weeks to get into a good rhythm before we open No Kisses– there’s overlap in staff so we’re kind of all-hands-on-deck for the pizza spot at the moment,” Zuckerman says.
Sonny’s is located at 3120 Georgia Avenue NW in Park View. Open 5 p.m.-12 a.m. Friday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, closed Tuesdays.
This post has been updated with additional comment from Sonny’s co-owner Max Zuckerman.
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Slice is right. Price is right. Something cheesy is coming to Georgia Ave NW.
