A new family-owned, halal pizza shop is looking to open next month on Columbia Pike.
Papa Deeno’s Pizza at 4109 Columbia Pike was initially supposed to open at the end of last year, but a family health emergency and supply chain challenges has pushed the opening by a few months.
The plan is now to open mid to late February, says co-owner Roxanne Mannan.
Mannan is opening the restaurant with her husband, Sapon Rahman, who’s been in the pizza business for more than 15 years. Owning their own pizza place is a fulfillment of a family goal.
“My daughter always wanted to have a pizza restaurant,” Mannan says. “She tells me ‘Mommy, my dream is to own a pizza shop.'”
So much so, that the 8-year-old designed the business’s logo, a slice dripping with cheese.
What also makes the shop unique is that it will be all halal, similar to the taco shop La Tingeria in Falls Church.
“We are Muslim and eating out can be a challenge,” Mannan explains. “We thought it would be good to have some place that’s purely halal so people could have [that] choice.”
While the family doesn’t currently live in Arlington, Mannan attended Wakefield High School and grew up in the county. In fact, on Columbia Pike and in Quebec Apartments which is almost exactly across the street from where Papa Deeno’s will be.
“It really is a dream to find a place where I have a lot of memories,” she says.
Papa Deeno’s is expecting to do a brisk delivery business, with about 225 pizza deliveries over a course of a week, according to an October Arlington County staff report. That would potentially account for 30% to 40% of the business’s sales.
The menu consists of typical fare – pizzas, salads, pastas, sandwiches and chicken wings. The website also lists a second location in Chantilly that’s coming soon.
It’s moving into a space formerly occupied by Columbia Pike Cleaners.
Mannan notes that they understand it is a bit risky opening a restaurant during a pandemic, but believes this is the right time for her and her family.
She says, “When [customers] taste our product, I hope they can tell…the quality we can give to the community.”