Washington, D.C., February 2, 2011 – The Perfect Pita has signed a lease in NoMa, bringing delicious hummus and a new frozen yogurt concept to this burgeoning neighborhood, which experienced a retail explosion in 2010 with eight new shops and restaurants. The Perfect Pita will open in April 2011.
The highly visible location at 1300 Second Street, NE, sits across from the Courtyard by Marriott and the New York Avenue Metro Station, and adjacent to the headquarters of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The Perfect Pita will offer both breakfast and lunch, and complement the existing options on Second Street, NE, offered by Au Bon Pain, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, and Pound Coffee, a growing coffee shop and popular lunch spot that expands to its second location on Capitol Hill in February. The 2,940-SF space was formerly leased to Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli and Sisters Pizza & Mussels, which closed last year.
The Perfect Pita features a Mediterranean-American menu, offering diverse options such as the BLT, falafel, chicken hummus veggie pita, the popular gyro, and the spinach melt. The Perfect Pita focuses on baked items – nothing is fried – and makes everything fresh daily in its Springfield, Virginia, kitchen. The food items are then delivered each day to locations around the metro area. The restaurant’s popular pita breads are sold at Whole Foods and Dean & Deluca; they plan to start selling at Wegmans soon.
In addition to their healthy savory options, The Perfect Pita plans to debut a new frozen yogurt concept here in NoMa, according to owner Fatih Altun. “We are excited to be coming to NoMa; everybody was asking us why we weren’t there,” Altun said. “We have every type of food for every kind of person.”
The privately owned restaurant chain was founded more than 20 years ago by Atilla Kan, and remains a family business. The Perfect Pita will open its largest and 12th location in NoMa; they plan to expand further in 2011, with four additional locations.
“We are proud that we have been able to lease to local entrepreneurs who are offering interesting restaurant concepts,” said leasing agent Robert Tack with Capital Retail Group. “With local favorite Pound Coffee, and this highly visible location for The Perfect Pita, NoMa is getting a nice variety of restaurant options with high-quality food at fair prices.”
Retail options continue to grow in NoMa, DC’s fastest growing neighborhood:
- DC’s largest (50,000 SF) Harris Teeter opened in December, marking First and M Streets, NE, as the new heart of the neighborhood.
- Seven other retailers opened in 2010, including: Potbelly Sandwich Works, Georgetown Valet, TD Bank, 7-11, Café Phillips, Tynan Coffee & Tea, and Constitution Café.
- CVS opened in January at 1200 First Street, NE.
- Roti Mediterranean Grill opens its second Washington, DC, location in February at Constitution Square, offering tasty and healthful Mediterranean cuisine, known for its abundant use of olive oil, vegetables and legumes.
- Two well-known local chefs will open unique, full-service restaurants this spring. Todd Gray’s Watershed, featuring seafood from the Eastern seaboard, opens in April with the Hilton Garden Inn, NoMa’s second hotel. Chef Gillian Clark of Colorado Kitchen fame, will open Kitchen on K Streetin the Loree Grand in late spring.
About NoMa
NoMa is a vibrant, growing neighborhood north of Union Station and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. In the last five years, private developers have invested more than $3 billion in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID, and have plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space. In 2010, more than 6,000 people moved into NoMa to live or work; and eight new retailers opened for business. NoMa has 15 modes of transportation, including two Red Line Metro stops, and the best biking facilities in DC, with the only East Coast Bikestation, the 8-mile Met Branch Trail, and six Capital Bikeshare stations. For more information about NoMa, visit nomabid.wpengine.com and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter.
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