Owner Nick Virk stands in the alley next to his restaurant, with the mural he had painted on the alley wall.

by Yuliya Panfil

In 2019, Nick Virk, a former sniper turned restaurant owner, bought an investment property on the 200 block of Upshur Street, adjacent to Gordy’s Pickle Jar. The building’s ground floor was a storefront, and tenants lived upstairs. Virk, meanwhile, was gearing up to open a pizzeria and wine bar in Georgetown.

223 Upshur Street may well have remained a residential investment property. But a deadly shooting in the building’s alley nearly two years ago set in motion a series of events that will culminate later this month with the opening of Nick’s Pizza. The pizzeria and sandwich shop will be an addition to a block that’s suffered from years of disinvestment despite being zoned commercial. Virk says he has his permits in place and will open once he passes inspection, ideally mid–February.

“This builds on momentum with the Wake Me, Shake Me’s planned opening and complements the long-time establishments in the area,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Eric Heller (ANC 4C07). “We have historically seen what a great, but untapped part of Petworth this area is, where establishments that have opened thankfully have seen less turnover than elsewhere in the city.”

Before commerce can take off, Virk told me from his apartment above the pizzeria, crime must come down. “This block has to be a destination, but before it does any of that, it has to get less violent.”

Owner Nick Virk next to his wood-fire oven.

Despite being “no stranger to bullets” – he did two tours in Iraq and Kosovo as a sniper with the US Marines, and then three tours in Afghanistan with private military company Blackwater – the 2022 murder rattled Virk. A tenant told him that her daughter no longer felt safe in the neighborhood. As a property owner he felt a sense of responsibility to the block and thought he could apply the deterrence tactics he learned in the military to make it safer.

“I knew that if I put a presence here, with commerce, that this block would get safer,” he said. “Commerce brings good things. It brings foot traffic. It brings attention. It can be a deterrent.”

Virk moved into the Upshur Street property, installed floodlights in the alley and got to work on his newest business venture. He had previously operated a Sbarros Pizza and a Subway sandwich shop franchise, as well as multiple pizza parlors in Ohio, and knew a thing or two about what to do (and not to do) when it came to pizza and sandwiches.

The interior of the restaurant is coming into shape.

“The key is premium ingredients,” he says. “Food’s not expensive, at wholesale prices the difference for good ingredients is just a few cents. You can’t go cheap.”

Nick’s Pizza will sell just three things: wood-fired pizza, sandwiches and French fries. But within those categories, Virk hopes to offer a diverse array of choices for an affordable price.

The pies will come with a choice of traditional red sauce, alfredo sauce, a ranch and olive oil sauce, and a curry base – a hat tip to Virk’s Indian heritage. A large pizza, enough to feed 3 to 4 people, will cost $25.

Pizza from Virk’s former restaurant in Georgetown, Cafe Vino: “The Pablo, the Mother Clucker, and the Heavy Hitter—three of our most interesting, and most delish pizzas!!” (Instagram)

Sandwiches will include New York-style heroes, steak and cheese sandwiches, BLTs and other classics made with hand-sliced meats and fresh bread from a local bakery. Virk aims for his sandwiches to cost $12 to $13 and be a full meal.

The pizzeria will primarily cater to take-out orders but will have three indoor booths and seating for 12 on the patio. It’ll also stay open late – until midnight on weekdays, and as late as 4am on weekends.

Why the late nights, particularly in a bedroom community that doesn’t get much foot traffic?

Virk says it comes back to deterrence. He plans to hire an evening security guard and will advertise discounts for police and first responders. His hope is that when police finish their shift in the wee hours and stop by for a slice, the presence of squad cars will act as a deterrent for neighborhood crews.

Nick outside the new restaurant at 223 Upshur Street NW

While this will be Virk’s first brick-and-mortar venture in Petworth, he’s sold pizza in and around the neighborhood before from his mobile brick oven. After slinging pizza at nearby breweries (Hellbender Brewery in Manor Park and Astro Lab Brewery, now Third Hill Brewing, in Silver Spring), Virk said he set up his brick oven at last year’s Petworth Porchfest and sold out immediately. The warm response gave him the confidence to open Nick’s Pizza.

“Our goal was to inject a business into this community, that keeps the block safe and where a family can eat for under $30,” Virk says. “People like what we do, so let's see what the response will be.”

Nick’s Pizza will be open for dinner seven nights a week, plus lunchtime on weekends.

Nick’s Pizza
223 Upshur Street NW
Opening Soon