Wiseguy Pizza is set to open its first Montgomery County location this summer at Wheaton Mall, according to a report from The MoCo Show.
The restaurant will be located in the former location of Angel’s Pizza & Pasta in the mall’s food court. Angel’s closed in March 2021.
Nuri Erol opened Wiseguy Pizza at 300 Massachusetts Ave. in the District in 2012, quickly amassing rave reviews in the Washington Post, Washingtonian, and Yelp. The local chain’s fans claim that Wiseguy’s pizza is the closest thing to genuine New York-style pizza in the Washington, D.C. area. According to Eater, they are known for their thin slices, garlic knots, and chicken rolls, as well as their square Sicilian pies and cheesecake straight from New York City.
Reston, Va.-based Thompson Hospitality Group, which owns Matchbox and Milk & Honey Café, as well as Austin Grill, Hen Quarter, and Willie T’s Seafood Shack, acquired Wiseguy Pizza in 2022. Thompson Hospitality CEO Warren Thompson said at the time that Erol maintains a significant equity stake in the company, and the menu will remain unchanged. “Nuri is very much involved in protecting the integrity of the brand,” Thompson said to Eater last year. “Going forward, we won’t open a new unit unless he’s in agreement. Erol will also have [the] final say on any menu additions or tweaks.”
Wiseguy Pizza was Thompson’s second pizza-centric acquisition. Matchbox Restaurants was acquired by the company in late 2020 following the company’s exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; Thompson had managed Matchbox’s nine company-owned locations for two years prior to the acquisition. Currently, Matchbox has 14 restaurants, including one in Pentagon City near a Wiseguy Pizza location. “People might say, why would you buy Wiseguy if you have Matchbox? It’s quite a different concept, experience, and style of pizza,” Thompson said to Eater in 2022.
Photo Courtesy of Wiseguy Pizza