It’s all about the neighborhood
A new owner and CEO doesn’t mean Timber Pizza is changing. It may grow into more locations, but their laid back style, focus on community and tight focus on quality food.
Read MoreNow that she’s broken through, Dani Moreira gets a sense of satisfaction working alongside other immigrants and showing them that there is a way up the ladder.
“I enjoy seeing all these women next to me and showing them there is a future,” Moreira says. “As an immigrant, showing other immigrants that they don’t have to be stuck washing dishes.”
Read MoreA "Member Jam" party at REI's flagship store in Northeast DC on March 30th is featuring a ton of Petworth restaurants and retail to celebrate their Co-Op. The Jam "party" is free to attend. Himitsu, Timber Pizza and Lulabelle's Sweet Shop will all be offering free food and treats to attendees. The party is March 30th, 5:30pm until 8:30pm at the REI store located at 201 M Street NE.
Read MoreBon Appétit magazine has a really awesome write-up of Timber Pizza chef Daniela Moreira, looking back at growing up in her native Argentina to how she ended up taking a chance and becoming a pizza chef at Timber.
Read MoreWTOP is running a Best of DC poll to pick the best pizza joint, best bookstore, best rooftop view and a few other key topics. Our own Upshur Street Books and Timber Pizza are in the running, so head over and give them a vote to support Petworth businesses! Voting ends on September 9th at 5pm.
Both Slim's Diner and Timber Pizza Co opened on Wednesday on Upshur Street. Details...
Read More
Upshur Street along the 800 block is becoming restaurant row. We already have the critically and customer acclaimed Crane & Turtle, the long-standing neighborhood favorite Domku, and the local hangout Petworth Citizen. There's Dannie's and Cuzzin's for quicker take-out, and on the non-food side, Town & Country convenience store, Bentley's Antiques, Phillips Shoe Repair, Willow Fashion, Fia's Fabulous Finds and the hair care storefronts.
Coming in late Spring and early Summer 2016, Upshur Street will see the opening of four new restaurants. Read more about the new restaurants, after the break:
Read MoreYou know Summer is coming to an end when the Petworth Jazz Project has its season finale show. But don't frown, this show sounds like it'll be awesome.
It's also a combo show with the Petworth Dance Project, which was rained out a couple of weeks back. Between Baba Ras D for the kids (and c'mon, you like him too), Dance, Jazz and some tasty Timber Pizza, Petworth Park is going to be THE place to be on Saturday night, September 26th.
Read MoreCourtesy of Corey Wallace
Update: Tonight's Jazz Project is cancelled due to the rain. Next month!
I highly recommend you go to the Petworth Jazz Project at the Petworth Park (8th & Taylor St NW) on Saturday, June 27th from 6-9pm if you:
a) like jazz
b) have kids
c) like good pizza
d) wanna hang with neighbors
e) all the above
Courtesy of Baba Ras D
Baba Ras D will perform at 6pm for kids (if you don't know Baba, he's like the Bob Marley for 3 and 4 year olds, they love / are obsessed with him). He's also an incredibly nice guy.
The Corey Wallace DUBtet will perform at 7pm for everyone, and should offer a great show. From listening to some of Corey's music, we're in for a treat.
And lastly, Timber Pizza Co will be onhand with their portable brick-oven and will be making outstanding pizzas.
Here's hoping the weather cooperates!
Timber Pizza Co. is organizing a community meeting with ANC 4C07 Commissioner John-Paul Hayworth to discuss their plans to open a restaurant at 809 Upshur Street NW. The meeting is Wednesday, June 30th from 7:30-8:30pm in the Petworth Library large meeting room (basement level).
Come by and meet the owners, Andrew Dana and Chris Brady, and discuss the restaurant concept, help shape their ANC / community agreement, discuss any noise concerns (they're planning on outdoor seating), and so on. I think this is a great idea, and kudos to Timber Pizza for being proactive!
No RSVP needed. (h/t JP Hayworth)
Timber Pizza Co. had their portable brick oven set up at the Kennedy Street Festival on Saturday, and getting a pizza from them was high on my list of to-do's for the day. By the time I got there, there were only three pizza doughs left -- they clearly had a good day, and I clearly was lucky to get there in time.
I finally got the chance to meet owners Andrew Dana and Chris Brady in person, after doing a phone interview with Andrew a few weeks back. Both are very excited about opening up the restaurant on Upshur Street later in the winter (though with the amount of work 809 Upshur St needs, I'm thinking this might be an early 2016 opening).
Owner Andrew Dana making me a pizza with two kinds of cheese and pepperoni.
Then we got down to the business at hand, and I ordered a half-pepperoni, half-cheese pizza (a small one to split with the family). I watched Andrew stretch the dough, put the sauce on, then the two kinds of cheese (low-moisture mozzarella/provolone, fresh mozzarella), then a couple of thin pepperoni slices.
Into the brick oven it goes...
Into the brick oven it went with the long-handled pizza spatula. Before I knew it, "Pizza coming out!" was shouted and the pizza came back out of the oven, steaming and bubbling. After walking around the festival for a few hours, at this moment my growling stomach and I were both very focused on the pizza.
Over it went to Chris, who offered to put on basil (and they had some very fresh-looking basil waiting) but I declined -- not sure my 4 year old would go for it. Chris then grabs a large "rocker" pizza cutter and quickly cuts the pie up into 4 large slices. The pie went onto a perfectly cut, perfectly sized round piece of cardboard and I think I mumbled a quick "thanks" as my impatient appetite pulled me over to the entryway of a closed business where my family was sitting and waiting.
Even with a bandaged hand, Chris is a master with the rocker.
This was a good pizza. The cheese was thick and melty, and there was good oil on the pizza without making a total mess everywhere. The bottom of the crust had that slight wood-burnt crunch, and the edge soft and thick. It folded up perfectly. The pepperoni was tasty -- cut thin so the flavor was there but it didn't overwhelm the slice. I was really hoping the pizza would be good, and Timber Pizza did not disappoint.
No seriously, it was delicious.
My 4-year old daughter said, chewing around her second piece, "Daddy, when they open, I want to go eat there every night." Yeah, me too.
You can try them out for yourself this upcoming weekend. Timber Pizza Co. will be at the Petworth Jazz Project on Saturday, June 27th at the Petworth Park (6pm - 9pm). I highly recommend you show up to grab a pizza -- before they run out of dough.
Find them online at TimberPizza.com.
What do you do when you and your friend don’t enjoy working at a tech start-up, but love pizza? Start a pizza company, naturally.
That’s exactly what Andrew Dana and Chris Brady did a year ago. After working at a local education tech start-up and not feeling very inspired by the job, but sharing a passion for all things pizza, the two created an original food truck: a wood-fired oven pizza truck. And they’re bringing that passion and their unique pizza stylings to Petworth.
“We just passed our first anniversary as a company on May 28th,” Andrew Dana said when I spoke to him this week. “Things have happened pretty quick this year, and we knew we wanted to expand,” Andrew said.
He and his partner Chris have spent the past year taking their 1967 baby blue pickup and mobile brick oven to farmer’s markets and other events around the DC area, selling their original pizza creations, as well as doing catering for special events.
Andrew Dana, Chris Brady and the 1967 pickup
Both Andrew and Chris are local and knew they wanted to open a restaurant somewhere in this area. Andrew grew up in Mt. Pleasant and is looking for an apartment in Petworth (“Yeah, I definitely want to move to Petworth, close by,”) and Chris lives near 15th and New Hampshire Ave.
“I’ve been falling in love with Upshur and Petworth for awhile,” Andrew said. “We were looking for a location that would work for us, and when we saw the building on Upshur Street, we got ‘that feeling’ and knew it was the place.”
The new restaurant, to be located at 809 Upshur St NW, will be called the Timber Pizza Co. Andrew said their plan is to keep the restaurant simple in design, matching their overall theme of “Vermont / campy” wood minimalist, and matching with their 1967 baby blue pickup truck.
Inside, they plan to seat 49 at small tables and larger communal tables, and hope to offer outdoor seating as well. Inside there will be a large brick oven, placed where customers can watch the pizzas being made and then fired. They plan on installing bay windows on the front of the building so that the brick oven can be seen from the street. They also plan on offering craft beer from around the city, as well as wine and cocktails.
The menu looks great (see below), and they take a lot of pride in what they offer. “We’re really into collaborating with other DC restaurants and trucks,” Andrew said. “We want to showcase other local flavors on our pizzas.”
For example, Andrew told me how they thought a BBQ chicken pizza would taste great. “But it’s hard to make a great pizza AND make a great BBQ chicken — so we found a great partner who excels at BBQ, put their chicken on the pizza and it was amazing."
Andrew and Chris decided that they will rotate their menu as they partner with restaurants like DCity Smokehouse, Indigo (Indian cuisine) and DGS Delicatessen in Dupont (Andrew’s thinking a breakfast pizza with smoked salmon and capers).
And they know the area has seen an increase in little ones: “We are definitely planning on offering items on the menu perfect for kids,” Andrew said.
Andrew said they want to connect with the Petworth Community Market to set up their pizza truck at the market a few times over the season while they work on renovating the building.
“The landlord has some work to do inside before we can take possession, and then we’re hoping to open by early winter,” he said.
I asked Andrew to let me know if they do book a spot at the Petworth Market so I can let everyone know. I’m already looking forward to a pizza place on Upshur St.
Here’s a sample of their menu:
CHEESE, PLEASE
San Marzano tomatoes, low-moisture mozzarella/provolone, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil
PRETTY IN PEPPERONI
"CHEESE, PLEASE" + pepperoni
GREEN MONSTER
Pesto, fresh mozzarella, feta, kale, zucchini
NORTH SHORE
"CHEESE, PLEASE" + fresh jalapeño, pineapple, and prosciutto
Petworth News, a neighborhood blog on local news, information & events about the Petworth area in Washington DC.
Petworth News is a news site about Petworth area neighborhoods in Washington DC, written by Drew Schneider and other amazing contributing writers. It features facts and objective reporting, as well as an occasional subjective point of view and opinion.
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