No Regrets Pizza is set to bring New York- and Roman-style pies as well as other Italian dishes to North Bethesda in April, owner Richard Weiner told MoCo360 on Wednesday.
Weiner said the eatery at 5454 Nicholson Lane will be a fast-casual pizza spot for lunch and turn into a sit-down restaurant offering craft cocktails and locally produced beers for dinner. The restaurant will feature a 30-foot bar with at least 11 seats, plus 24 seats for inside dining and 24 seats outside.
Weiner, who lives in Potomac and owns Bethesda mortgage company Mortgage Star, said people have told him he’s crazy to open a restaurant because he has no previous experience in running one. But he disagrees.
“I don’t plan to have any regrets, and I’m hoping for no regrets,” he said. “So I named my restaurant No Regrets [Pizza].”
He said the restaurant will offer pizza that is “very high-end” and “artisanal,” which he expects will differentiate the eatery from more casual pizzerias.
The pizza dough will be fermented for 72 hours, and the restaurant plans to use high-quality ingredients, including 24-month-old prosciutto and Parmesan Reggiano, for the pies, according to Weiner.
“Our ingredients are locally sourced, with an emphasis on ethical farming and organically grown food whenever possible,” he wrote in a statement.
He said featured pizza will “cup and char New York-style pepperoni and chorizo,” a mashed potato pizza (with asiago cheese, bacon, scallions, and fresh cracked black pepper) and a white pizza (with fresh-sliced pears, blue cheese crumbles, baby arugula and balsamic glaze.)
The eatery also will offer vegan and vegetarian options and Wiener said he hopes to eventually offer gluten-free alternatives as well.
The restaurant hired an executive chef to ensure that everything on the menu, including Italian street sandwiches, salads and pastas, is of high quality. “All of our pasta [will be] freshly made every day, in-house, as well as the sauces,” he said.
Other menu items will include charcuterie boards and desserts, such as gelato, homemade olive oil cake and cannoli.
Wiener, who has owned Mortgage Star for 30 years, said he has been working on his restaurant concept for six years and the opening of No Regrets Pizza marks an important “personal segue” for him. As a longtime Montgomery County resident, he says it’s also important to him to involve businesses from the region in his restaurant.
For example, the restaurant will serve Rustic Route Coffee from Barnesville and pulled pork from 2Fifty Texas BBQ in Riverdale Park. The space includes a hand-painted mural from local artist Eric Ricks.
Weiner said he and his business partner, Nicholas Framarini, who also works at Mortgage Star, are looking forward to serving the community.
“We’re very optimistic,” Weiner said.