Est. December 2018
OUR STORY
One food hall counter in 2018. World Pizza Champion by 2021.
December 2018 · Tysons
DAY ONE.
He'd never worked at a pizza shop.
He'd never even stretched an 18".
Andy Brown opened the first Andy's Pizza in December 2018 at Tysons Urbanspace food hall. He had never worked at a pizza shop — he'd started a local frozen pizza company and made every pizza by hand. But those were 10" pies. He'd never even stretched an 18", and had never cooked on a real deck oven.
The pizza was passable, but nothing great. The dough wasn't right, the sauce and cheese ratios were off, and there was no way to handle it when things got busy. But every single week, something changed. A recipe tweak. A technique refined. A deeper understanding of what makes a truly great New York-style slice.
Scroll to the bottom of the Andy's Instagram and the pizza looks nothing like it does today. That's the point. Andy's is built on the belief that you can always get better — sometimes that means modifying the recipe, sometimes it means chasing consistency across every pie that comes out of the oven, but it always means getting better.
The Craft
72 HOURS OF
COLD FERMENTATION.
Cooked on stone in a real deck oven — a crust you simply cannot replicate any other way.
The dough is cold-fermented for 72 hours, developing a unique crisp but soft bite with a touch of sourdough. The intense heat transfer off the stones creates a crispy, well-colored, umami-filled crust.
The ratio of sauce to cheese must be in perfect balance with the thickness of the crust. Toppings should never slide off when you pick up a slice, and a slice should hold when you grab it by the cornicione.
Cut from an 18" pie and served on a paper plate, every slice comes out fresh and hot. That's the standard. Every time.
The Standard
WE JUDGE EVERY
PIE WE MAKE.
Seven criteria. Every pie. Every time.
Andy's has a rubric for evaluating every pizza that comes out of the oven. It's how we train new cooks, develop the “eye” of our cashiers, and how we make sure every guest loves their pizza every time they come in.
That discipline is the reason a plain cheese pie from Andy's beat 90 competitors to win the World Pizza Championship.
Shape & Roundness
The first look, before the first cut.
Coloring & Char
Well-colored crust from intense stone heat.
Distribution & Melt
Cheese and sauce balanced to the rim, melted into that orange-ish hue.
Undercarriage
Flip the slice — proper stone contact underneath.
Crumb Structure
Open, irregular air bubbles that signal proper fermentation.
Blistering
Micro-blisters that only come from long fermentation and high oven heat.
Hold & Fold
A slice supports itself by the cornicione — and bends without breaking.
2021 · International Pizza Expo · Traditional Division
NO FANCY TOPPINGS.NO GIMMICKS.JUST A CHEESE PIE.
Against 90 competitors from across the world, Andy's cheese pie took home the gold.
In 2021, Andy's entered the Traditional division — the most competitive category. 72-hour cold-fermented dough, red sauce, and mozzarella. That's the whole recipe.
the best cheese pizza in the world.
World Pizza Champion
International Pizza Expo — Traditional Division
RAMMY Winner
Best Fast Casual Restaurant — Washington, D.C.
#1 Pizza — Washington Post
Best New York-style pizza in the D.C. area
#1 Pizza — Washingtonian
Best Pizza in DC
#1 Pizza — Washington City Paper
Best Pizza Winner
From One Food Hall
14 LOCATIONS.
What started at a Tysons food hall has grown across the entire DC metro area. Every location features the same world-champion pizza, curated wine and beer, and a space designed to make you want to stay.
Find Your Andy's