Pepe’s Pizza, a neighborhood hangout in Mount Washington for 34 years, is undergoing a $1.5 million expansion and renovation that will wrap up in August.
The makeover will include an expanded dining area with new wood floors, a new kitchen, bathroom heating, and second floor storage and an office for the restaurant’s catering business, Owner Andy Makris says. The 6,000-square-foot addition will bring 124 seats to the establishment and an outdoor patio. It currently seats 50.
Makris says he hopes to open a second location within the next five years.
The Pepe's Pizza building is run down, and the time is right for a new look, especially as more competition enters the market, Makris says.
The Mt. Washington Tavern unveiled a $4 million renovation in the fall.
Makris says he is also renovating for his father, who was murdered in the restaurant 12 years ago. Two brothers are serving life in prison for the crime.
“This is something my dad and I planned,” he says.
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Pepe’s attracts neighborhood residents, construction workers and parents and kids from the Gilman School.
Regulars include Sinclair Broadcasting Vice President Duncan Smith, who’s been known to grab a towel and clean his own table.
Makris is expanding the menu with more coffee selections, bagels, and Danish for the morning crowds. Makris says he is adding fried chicken for the construction crews, and more salads for female patrons.
“Thai salad. My wife says that’s what she eats when she goes out.”
Pepe’s employs 23. Makris says he isn’t sure if he will add staff.
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Andy Makris, Owner, Pepe’s Pizza