A D.C. pizza restaurant with a colorful monster theme is looking to open a second location, in Falls Church.
Known for its picture book-style art and Detroit-style pizza, Little Beast Cafe & Bistro plans on bringing a little whimsy to the ground floor of Broad & Washington (111 E. Broad Street) sometime next year.
The restaurant hopes to become go-to spot for family dining.
“As a family person, I know that if there are other families in the restaurant, you feel like it’s okay to bring your kids. That makes a big, big difference,” restaurateur and founder Aaron Gordon told ARLnow. “Having kids and bringing them to a restaurant can always be complicated … We want to be able to invite those people in and have a good time.”
Though the menu is still in development, Gordon said Little Beast will have a kids menu and offer brunch, lunch and dinner service. It will, of course, also serve the pizzas that have won kudos from Northern Virginia Magazine and The Washington Post.
“Detroit pizza, when made well, it’s really awesome,” Gordon said. “It’s light, it’s airy. There are air bubbles throughout. It’s like a really beautiful buttery focaccia bread, which makes it sort of crunchy all over.”
The bistro also hopes to operate a takeaway bakery inside, offering soft-serve ice cream and treats by longtime restaurant partner and pastry chef, Naomi Gallego.
“We’ll have all sorts of cool things, whether it’s [Naomi’s] specialty pies and tarts … cookies and brownies, some of her specialty French and Viennese-inspired pastries,” Gordon said.
Gordon first came up with the restaurant’s concept in 2018 while living in D.C.’s Chevy Chase neighborhood. His daughters, Mila, 10, and Vivian, 7, inspired the bistro’s theme.
“Like any child, they’re feisty and beastly in the best sense of the word,” Gordon said. “What I mean is that they’re fun and they make faces and they stomp around — makes me think of ‘Where the Wild Things Are.'”
The bistro previously operated a second location out of Reston, but that closed last December.
Gordon — a long-time D.C. area restaurateur who previously operated Red Velvet Cupcakery, froyo spot TangySweet, sausage-centric eatery Fatshorty’s and Rabbit Salad and Grill in Arlington — said he is excited to join the “family-oriented” Falls Church community.
“We could be open by summer, so let’s knock on wood,” Gordon said.
