Giulio Adriani, the Neapolitan native behind the acclaimed Slice & Pie in the U Street corridor, will soon open a second location on the outskirts of the city in the Parks at Walter Reed (1155 Dahlia Street NW).

The new Slice Shop in the Upper Northwest will open in the next three months with an expanded menu of panini sandwiches. Look for a chicken pesto with Italian vegetable giardiniera, an Italian hero with cold cuts and red pepper cream, and a Parma ham and burrata sandwich. Lasagna, smash burgers and house-made gelato are also part of the new offerings. And it wouldn’t be Slice & Pie without Adriani’s popular New York and Detroit pies and slices. The experienced pizzaiolo swears by Italian flour to develop the perfect crust, as well as sauce made from Italian tomatoes and handmade mozzarella.

Adriani sees the second Slice & Pie, which seats 26 guests, as a neighborhood spot to sit and linger. While his first location offers 12 high chairs for people who want to grab a slice inside, it’s a small space that mostly serves eaters on the run. The pink pizzeria also shares a kitchen with Lucy’s, Adriani’s adjacent cocktail bar and Italian restaurant.

Slice & Pie’s second location comes shortly after 50 Top Pizza named Slice & Pie the second-best slice shop in the country, a massive jump from 41st place in 2023. Slice & Pie remains the only DC slice shop on the esteemed list, and New York pizzerias continue to dominate, with 17 restaurants rated.

Adriani says sales have doubled since the latest award. Next month, he will hear how Slice & Pie fares around the world at the Top 100 World awards ceremony in his hometown of Naples, the birthplace of pizza.

“To go to Naples and receive an award as one of the 100 best pizzerias in the world, of which probably 50 to 60 will be Italian, is an honor and something that makes me proud as an American,” says Adriani, who became a U.S. citizen last year.

Slice & Pie is the latest Washington eatery to gain national recognition. Earlier this year, the James Beard Foundation gave Perry’s Masako Morishita and Albi’s Michael Rafidi Top Chef awards, and Service Bar and Allegory landed on the list of North America’s 50 Best Bars for 2024.

“Look, this is DC’s year,” says Adriani.

Growing up in Rome, he learned the art of dough-making from his Neapolitan grandmother, whom he affectionately called Nonna Maria. He later refined his technique in Naples under Italian pizza masters Gaetano Fazio and Antonio Starita.

The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana and the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani have certified Adriani as an authentic Neapolitan pizza master. He has 30 years of cooking experience and imparts his knowledge to aspiring pizza makers at Pizza University in Beltsville, Maryland. One of his former students is Matteo Venini, co-owner of the “neo-Neapolitan” pizza chain Stellina Pizzeria in Washington, DC

Maria Luster Rebrikova

Adriani opened Slice & Pie in 2022, and a significant portion of his business comes from late-night revelers at the corner of 14th and U. He recently hired a bouncer and could close the restaurant an hour earlier at 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. On August 10, he claims, a large group of teenagers jumped over the counter, stole some slices and attempted to steal cash and alcohol from the office.

“All in all, it was just a frightening experience,” says Adriani, a former lieutenant in the Italian National Police.

His next challenge is to continue strategic expansion and he is about to announce the opening of a third Slice & Pie location.

“We are growing in the right direction and we will not grow too much because I don’t want to compromise on quality,” he says. “We will always make our pizza by hand, we will never use frozen dough.”

Its future home in the Parks at Walter Reed has been adding more and more dining options lately. Whole Foods and Jinya Ramen Bar were among the first to open on the redeveloped historic campus last year, and Midlands Beer Garden and Ivy and Coney are teaming up to open a full-service restaurant and bar in an old auto repair shop.

—Contribution from Tierney Plumb