After a construction delay, Pupatella Neapolitan Pizza is still planning to open in Old Town North before the end of this year, the company tells ALXnow.
Construction started and then stopped at the building at 700 Slaters Lane, and will resume again in the next few weeks, according to Natasha Neely, a vice president for marketing for the company. Neely did not comment on the delay.
“We are planning to begin construction in the next few weeks and the goal is to have it open by 2024,” Neely said. “Alexandria will be our fourth new location this year.”
The location is the former longtime home to Sam’s Custom Cleaners, which shut down soon after the death of owner Tony Tran in 2022. The property is now managed by Tran’s nephew, Thien Ung, who said that Pupatella has been paying rent for the space throughout the year.
The company has 12 locations throughout the area.
Enzo Algarme, a native of Naples, Italy, founded Pupatella Neapolitan Pizza in a food truck in Ballston in 2007. Pupatella is his grandmother’s nickname and it means “little doll.”
