Colony Grill Serves Hot Slice Of Connecticut To Clarendon

CLARENDON, VA — Since mid-October, Clarendon residents have had the opportunity to sample one of Connecticut's delicacies — thin-crust pizza with hot oil from Colony Grill.

Colony Grill started in 1935 in an Irish-immigrant community in Stamford, Connecticut called "The Colony." The big draw for the restaurant has been its thin-crust, bar-style pizza.

"In Stamford, it was meant to be a bar pizza that you can have one slice in one hand and a beer in the other hand," said Bradley Cardoza, general manager of the Colony Grill Arlington. "But it's turned into a big family pizza where people come in just because it's so easy to eat. The kids love it because it's thin-crust. The toppings go well with the hot oil, which is something that is housemade every single day."

The restaurant's signature topping is a serrano pepper -infused hot oil, which is made daily in the Colony Grill kitchen.

"It's got a little kick to it," Cardoza said. "We normally mention it to any guests that come in. Anyone who likes spicy it's perfect for them. Anyone that doesn't like spicy, we let them know they can have it on the side, so you can have a little kick with your pizza if you want."

The four owners of the Colony Pizza chain, who played together in the 1989 Little League World Series, decided to expand the restaurant to four other locations in Connecticut — Fairfield, Milford, and Norwalk — and Port Chester, New York. The company chose Clarendon as its first restaurant in the D.C.-metro area.

"We looked around and this is a very similar market to the ones we have in Connecticut and New York," Cardoza said. "We looked for areas where are a lot of families."

When the Clarendon location its doors at 2800 Clarendon Blvd., it had to adapt to the restrictions put in place by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

"We had it planned before coronavirus," Cardoza said. "It did give us a few setbacks, but the community did help out. We do have a lot of people in Connecticut that know about Colony Grill. So we did get a lot of help from community members coming in, helping out, and tasting the pizza and showing their community pizza is when they go back home."

Colony Grill staff members wear masks and maintain social distance. The restaurant also follows all CDC guidelines for sanitizing surfaces and touchpoints. In addition, all food is available for pickup or third-party delivery.

The COVID-19 restrictions have somewhat limited the restaurant's ability to become more involved in the Arlington community, according to Cardoza.

"With the community, we get involved with schools," he said. "We get involved with people all around the area where Colony Grill is. We want to make sure that we really make an impact and show the community that we're here for them."

One of the company's other long-time traditions is its Wall of Heroes, which is made up of photos of local military members and first responders, past and present.

During the holiday season, Colony Grill also participated in the Wreaths Across America program.

"Any guest can come in and purchase a wreath and put in any picture they want and leave a message," Cardoza said. "We do have family members, some military, who have left messages for any of their loved ones on the wall. All proceeds go to Wreaths Across America."

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Colony Grill Bringing 'Hot Oil' Bar-Style Pizzas To Ballston