Mod Pizza is shuttering its last restaurant in Fairfax County, making way at Plaza America in Reston for the past decade for a RAMMYs Award-winning chain.
A Mod Pizza spokesperson confirmed to FFXnow that its Reston location will permanently close at the end of September, just over a decade after opening its doors at 11642 Plaza America Drive.
“MOD Pizza has made the difficult decision to close its Reston location after nearly 10 years of operation. The final day of business will be September 30,” Mod Pizza said in a statement. “We want to thank our Squad members for their hard work and dedication over the years. It has been a pleasure serving the Reston community, and we are so grateful to our loyal guests who supported us along the way.”
The Seattle-based company didn’t elaborate on what led to its decision to leave Reston, but it has been gradually pulling back from Northern Virginia over the past few years, closing up shops in Vienna, Herndon, Fairfax City, Ashburn and Greenbriar Town Center near Chantilly.
After the Reston closure, Mod Pizza’s presence in Northern Virginia will be reduced to outposts in Gainesville and Woodbridge.
Luckily, local pizza fanatics won’t have to wait long to get a cheesy slice at Plaza America.
Fresh off its designation as the D.C. region’s Fast Casual Restaurant of the Year, an honor bestowed last month at the 44th annual RAMMYs Awards, Andy’s Pizza has signed a lease for the Mod Pizza space at Plaza America, where it’s expected to open by the end of this year.
“I think it would be a great location. I had a lot of folks ask when we’re coming to Reston,” a manager at Andy’s Tysons Galleria location said when confirming the expansion plan.
Founded by cousins Emily and Andy Brown, Andy’s Pizza launched in December 2018 as part of Tysons Galleria’s Taste of Urbanspace food hall.
While other vendors struggled to recover from pandemic-related shutdowns, Andy’s managed to not only persist, but thrive after it reopened in October 2020. Less than a year later, its traditional cheese pizza won an international competition, and its New York-style slices have regularly drawn the attention of both critics and regular diners, culminating in this year’s RAMMYs Award.
The regional chain now has more than a dozen locations across the D.C. area, including a spot in Fairfax City and recent openings in Arlington and Gaithersburg — where Andy’s also took over a former Mod Pizza.
The Reston location will be Andy’s 16th, following an addition in Union Station that’s anticipated to open in the “next two or three months,” the Tysons Galleria location’s manager told FFXnow in late June.
Spanning 2,963 square feet, Andy’s Pizza in Reston will accommodate around 100 occupants in its main dining room, which will include seating at regular tables, high tables and booths, according to building plans currently being reviewed by Fairfax County staff.
In addition to pizza, which can be ordered whole or by the slice, the restaurant’s standard menu features a variety of appetizers, such as Old Bay-seasoned fries, chicken wings and fried brussels sprouts. Some locations, including the one in Fairfax City, offer beer, along with soda and other non-alcoholic drinks.
