Nighthawk Pizza in Pentagon City hopes for late March opening

Nighthawk Pizza, the beer and food hall with a “’90s vibe,” is aiming for a late March opening in Pentagon City, co-owner Scott Parker tells ARLnow.

The newest venture from the local serial entrepreneur was initially expected to start serving  in the late fall, but supply chain hang-ups (a common refrain these days) pushed the date a few months.

The restaurant is a much-anticipated addition to Westpost, the retail and dining center formerly known as Pentagon Row, filling the large former Champps space.

The head chef is Johnny Spero, breakout star of Netflix’s Final Table and one of the buzziest chefs in the D.C. region right now. The menu will feature thicker-crust Sicilian pizzas and a crisper, thinner tavern-style pizza as well as sandwiches, smoked wings, fried cheese curds, ribs and ice cream sundaes.

The beer will be from Northern Virginia-based Aslin Beer Company, which will brew “approachable low ABV beers, that will be reminiscent of old-world styles for the working class.”

The 10,000 square foot beer and pizza eatery is leaning hard into the ’90s vibe with the design inspired by the after-school hot spot “the Max” on the television show “Saved by the Bell.”

“The whole space is not going to be as bright or as loud, but when we were looking for design touches, that was the inspiration,” Parker says. The interior is currently under construction, so photos are not available quite yet to compare Nighthawk to Zack Morris’s favorite place to hang out.

There will also be an outdoor bar, which pairs nicely with Westpost now permitting “sipping and strolling.” Meaning, patrons can roam the shopping plaza with a drink in hand.

Nighthawk Pizza is the latest from Parker, well known in Arlington not just for his restaurants but barbershops, boxing gyms and doggy daycares.

He says one of the reasons he chose to open his newest creation at Westpost was because of the abundance of buzzy openings in recent months, including Lucky Danger, Mattie and Eddie’s, and soon-to-open Banditos Bar & Kitchen. Amazon’s arrival in the neighborhood is driving these restaurants to set up shop in Pentagon City, says Parker.

As to why Arlington is constantly the setting for Parker’s new businesses, he says it’s because of the clientele.

“There are so many people who are doing well professionally right out of college,” he says. “It’s just a great demographic with a lot of people who have disposable income. For the business I’m part of, that just fits well.”