Alexandria leaders were on hand Tuesday morning to cut the ribbon at Del Ray’s newest restaurant, Little Birdie.
After months of interior renovations, Matt Sloan and Eric Brannon opened the doors to their newest venture at 1504B Mount Vernon Avenue. Brannon and Sloan also own Matt & Tony’s All Day Kitchen + Bar (1501 Mount Vernon Avenue), which opened in 2022 across the street and is a finalist for a regional RAMMY Award. Sloan is a former managing partner of Alexandria Restaurant Partners, which owns The Majestic, Mia’s Italian Kitchen, Ada’s on the River and numerous other Alexandria restaurants.
Little Birdie’s space was formerly occupied by Benny DiForza’s Pizza, which opened in February 2024 and closed last October.
Sloan said he’s excited to open a new restaurant.
“The community has been awesome to us at Matt & Tony’s,” Sloan said. “It’s been a great adventure.”
Little Birdie has an open kitchen and will focus on chicken sandwiches made with Pennsylvania-sourced chicken and served on milk buns.
“We have fresh seafood, oysters from the Chesapeake, we’re getting Shlagel Farms produce, we’re getting bread baked in Virginia,” Brannon said, adding that he likes the open kitchen in the new restaurant. “It’s great. It keeps you honest. There’s nothing to hide from our product to how we work, to the quality of ingredients we’re using.”
Little Birdie’s ribbon cutting was also attended by state Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-39), Del. R. Kirk McPike (D-5), Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and City Councilman Canek Aguirre.
“Small businesses are, of course, the heartbeat of our community, and I think Mount Vernon Avenue is one of the best examples of that,” Bennett-Parker said. “I represent a fairly large geographical area, so I’m legally not allowed to have favorites, but I’m just gonna wink a lot.”
Lauren Fisher, president of the Del Ray Business Association, said that the pair have done well with Matt & Tony’s and have been an active part of the community.
“We love that you chose to stay here and invest and share a whole other vision with us,” Fisher said. “On behalf of the businesses and residents here, we are so excited to see the magic that you create here, too.”
Little Birdie is open Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It is closed Monday.
