Piece Out, a Virginia-based Italian restaurant that opened in Del Ray in the midst of the pandemic, is expanding its space to elevate the dining experience for customers. Piece Out owners Larry Ponzi and his wife Christine are temporarily closing up their restaurant for a few months for renovations as they reimagine their concept and vision of casual dining.
Restaurant owners were among many others in the food service industry who faced a number of challenges to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Ponzis were confident that they could weather the storm when they opened Piece Out in 2020.
“We jumped on the opportunity to walk into a restaurant space where we could hit the ground running, with modest improvements, in the popular Del Ray neighborhood. The location was a dream of ours, so there was no looking back!” Larry said.
When Piece Out opened at the time it worked “perfectly” for take-out service during the pandemic, according to Larry, but the layout and size of the kitchen prevented any expansion plans and limited the ability of staff to meet a demand for dine-in, carry-out, and delivery.
Larry says the restaurant’s new layout will feature a larger U-shaped bar, a bigger kitchen, and a designated carry-out station. By the time it reopens, customers will find Piece Out featuring a new look of its own. Larry also said that a carry-out and a patio service will open once the kitchen is completed.
“Now more than ever, as all costs have risen so sharply, we find our type of restaurant needs the ability to have multiple revenue streams, and the current facility was holding us back, especially with our under-sized kitchen,” he said.
The Ponzis, who also own St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub and Café Pizzaiolo, worked with the same restaurant look and build-out that was left from their previous location in Shirlington, but renovations have always been on the cards since the first day they opened, according to Piece Out Marketing Director Julie Smith.
“The original plan was to renovate the restaurant before they opened in 2020, but then when COVID hit, everybody’s plans changed,” said Smith. “They decided it was better not to renovate and just open as quickly as possible so that they could start doing takeout and build brand awareness. The renovation was more along the lines of the original plan.”
After the renovations are completed, Piece Out guests will be able to enjoy an expanded seating capacity at the new bar, a defined carry-out counter, and a third garage door window that helps expand the restaurant space, according to Larry. Customers will also find a space for a few additional interactive bar games and multiple well-placed screens for sports viewing.
Smith said that customers will also see new furnishings the next time they visit Piece Out after the renovations are completed and will have the choice to sit at the bar, the dining area, or the lounge. Bigger chairs and coffee tables will be added to the seating area. She added that the restaurant will expand its outreach to include communities living beyond the Del Ray area since the restaurant will be able to accommodate more guests when it reopens.
Piece Out, which is known for its homemade pasta and specialty pizzas, will also see a few “interesting” changes made to its menu, said Smith. Larry is currently experimenting with a few recipes, but steak and pork chops options might be added to the menu, she said.
“We felt fortunate that we specialized in cuisine and concepts that were both dining-in and carry-out friendly, which was by no mistake in our business model,” said Larry. “We feel these changes set us up to be better at both, ultimately offering our guests a better experience and sustaining the restaurant for many years ahead.”
