Enzo and Anastasiya Algarme
Pupatella started as a food truck in 2007 and opened its first brick-and-mortar pizzeria in Arlington’s Bluemont neighborhood in 2010. From the beginning, founders Enzo and Anastasiya Algarme offered staff benefits, flexibility and higher-than-average pay. In 2018, the husband and wife teamed up with the folks behind Elevation Burger and raised $3.75 million to grow their pizzeria business. They now have four Pupatella locations in the D.C. area, with more in the pipeline, plus a franchise spot in Richmond. Pupatella is one of only four businesses in Virginia to hold Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN) certification, a designation awarded to restaurants that adhere to strict Neapolitan pizza-making traditions. Enzo is originally from Naples. They live in Fairfax with their two children.
We’ve opened two new locations since the pandemic started—Dupont Circle last summer and Reston in December. It was scary and uncertain, but we have been so fortunate. The neighborhood support has made it all worthwhile. We recently signed a lease in West Springfield and anticipate opening that location in late 2021 or early 2022. We have also applied for a building permit in the Mosaic District. The opening timeline there was shifted a bit later as a result of Covid, but we anticipate an early 2022 opening. We are also actively looking for our first location in Maryland, and are finalizing a lease for a second location in D.C.
With the arrival of Covid, we were forced to reduce some of our front-of-house staff, but we increased our staff in the kitchens. By adding two new locations during the pandemic, we thankfully have been able to increase our team size to the largest it’s ever been.
VPN certification requires quality ingredients, and our supply chains were significantly disrupted. We use a lot of Italian ingredients. There were a few times when we were not sure if we could even open with what we had on hand. In the spring of 2020, everything in Italy came to a standstill. We had no idea if the shipments would keep coming.
Weirdly, even though we have been distancing from each other, we feel more connected to our customers. They have shown us such incredible patience and loyalty. We are humbled by the fact that we were able to continue our business while sadly so many other eateries could not. At most of our locations, takeout orders are around 90% of sales right now.
We made some changes, but they were more to our operations than our business model. We took extra time to check in on all of our employees. They have been under tremendous stress and needed to feel our support. We wanted them to know that no matter what, we’ve got their backs. The menu stayed the same, other than our typical seasonal specials. We did change the recipe for our panini bread and that’s made a huge difference. Sandwiches have been growing in popularity ever since.
We want to keep improving the outdoor dining experience. All of our locations have outdoor seating. During the warm parts of the year, many customers enjoy pizzas on our patios. This time has taught us that no matter what, people will always love to eat together on a nice night. There are so many things we can do to make those nights more awesome and memorable.
We are honestly surprised that we fared as well as we did. Some days it was hard to keep a positive attitude. There were many close calls. We told ourselves that whatever happens, all is OK, because this is an emergency situation and health matters above all else. Money is just money.