by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Taste buds on 14th Street are sure to catch fire with the opening of the brand new location for Matchbox Vintage Pizza Bistro on Friday.
The newest location for the restaurant group can be found at 14th and T Streets and the location is anything but ordinary.
The restaurant now occupies a building originally erected in 1907 to be a bowling alley and billiard parlor. The brick facade opens inside to reveal high ceilings and a cavernous space, and it seems fitting to learn that the building also served as a car dealership in the 1920’s and in the 1940’s became the Club Bali, a jazz club that hosted the likes of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald in its heyday.
The transformation into Matchbox added signature brick, wood and exposed metal fixtures to accent a large open kitchen and large brick oven, exact for crisping up the perfect pizza pie.
The top floor features an area set aside for large private parties, and a 60-person patio will surely be a hit when springtime rolls in. The location is the largest of the three within the District, seating nearly 60 more people than the Chinatown location and more than 100 seats over the Capitol Hill version. The group also hosts its largest spot in Rockville.
The opening Friday throws opens to the doors to an eager public who are already clamoring to get inside for a taste of cheesy pizza like the spicy ‘Fire and Smoke’ or the restaurant’s signature mini burgers (served in combos of 3,6, and 9). The restaurant will likely open for lunch come the top of 2013, but is excited to serve 14th St. with their famous brunch on weekends.
Looking for homemade doughnuts for dessert? They’ve got that. House-infused cocktails like jalapeno margaritas? They’ve got that. An array of kitschy matchbooks laid into each table…that was a given.
Come one. Come all. Come hungry. Trust us.
