After months of community speculation following the closure of the former Lincoln Wine Bar (106 13th St. SE) in February, a new restaurant is finally coming to the east side of the park.
Restaurateur Spiro Gioldasis, owner of Pacci’s Restaurants, purchased the building in September and is planning a neighborhood eatery catered to families. The restaurant is projected to open in October 2019 following a complete renovation that will dramatically increase capacity.
Third Pacci’s Restaurant
The Lincoln Park location will be the third restaurant for Gioldasis, already the owner of two restaurants, Pacci’s Pizzeria (8113 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910) and Pacci’s Trattoria in the Forest Glen neighborhood of Silver Spring (6 Post Office Rd.). The brand, named for his two sons Pavlos and Cicci, is well-known for their great pizza dough, made in-house.
The Lincoln Park location is expected to be similar to the trattoria, which Gioldasis describes as a well-loved, family-oriented establishment serving wood-fired pizza, fresh pasta and sea food as well as ‘reasonably-priced’ wine, beer and liquor.
Gioldasis said that he knows of several Hill residents that are already fans of Pacci’s italian cuisine. “People from your neighborhood come to the Forest Glen location to pick up food,” he said.
The restaurant will do carry-out, Gioldasis said. Online dinner orders placed in the morning or the night before will be offered at a discount. Customers can order items from the menu or listed daily specials, then pick up dinner on the way home from work. “We’ll cook for you, and everything will be ready for pick up on the way home,” said Gioldasis.
The Lincoln Park location will be the first of the Pacci’s Restaurants to serve the family rotisserie recipe, a sort of Porchetta that is marinated for three days before eight hours of roasting. Gioldasis has been serving his father’s recipe for 25 years at home to universal acclaim, he said. “Every time I cook this, all my friends and family say they don’t need anything else. It’s the first time I’m putting it in a restaurant.”
Gioldasis said he had been looking for a place for a neighborhood eatery in the District for a while. He was attracted to this neighborhood because of similarities to Forest Glen, where he has had success, as well as the park vista.
“That park is a great park, an amazing location,” he said.
Three Times the Seating
The building is being completely gutted to address structural issues. A complete interior renovation will follow, although the exterior will remain untouched.
The main floor will house an open kitchen and dining area, while a wine bar and additional seating will be located in the basement. Private dining will take the place of the living space on the upper floor. Gioldasis said restaurant capacity will increase to 140, three times the capacity of the former wine bar. Limited outdoor seating is planned after opening.
So far, the restaurant is expected to serve the dinner crowd on weekdays and open up for brunch and a full, light lunch in addition to dinner on weekends.
Gioldasis said that a name for the restaurant has not yet been finalized, but he wants it to link the park and neighborhood to the Italian culinary experience.
The project has not yet been heard by Advisory Neighbor Commission (ANC) 6B, which will weigh in on the Alcohol and Beverage License. Commissioner Chander Jayaraman (6B08) said he was glad to hear the news.
“I’m very excited that the space will be reactivated for the benefit of the community,” he said, adding that the ANC wanted to work with the applicant on issues of trash control and rodent abatement.
Gioldasis said he was also tremendously excited.
“I can’t wait to open this space,” he said. “It is a great park and an amazing location.”
Learn more about Pacci’s Restaurants at paccispizzeria.com and about Pacci’s Trattoria, on which the Lincoln Park restaurant will be modeled, at paccistrattoria.com.
