A well known neighborhood pizza place announced Friday that it was closing after 31 years.
Vince & Dominic’s, which took up a spot in the Home Depot-owned shopping center near Westfield Montgomery mall, announced on Facebook that Home Depot would not renew the restaurant’s lease. The shop closed at 5 p.m. Friday:
Vince and Dominic’s would like to thank our loyal customers for supporting us for 31 years! As of 5:00 today Home Depot would not renew our lease and the doors are closed for good. Until yesterday we were lead to believe that a new lease would go through, so we were surprised and deeply saddened by this turn of events. We love you all.
That set off a torrent of comments from nearby residents, former employees, people who have moved away from the D.C. area and others.
“I’ve lived in Montgomery County my whole life and deeply saddened that this area has become the sellout capital of the world. I’ve known for a long time the world we live in is changing for the worse but when a pillar of the community has to close it’s doors due to corporate greed that’s when I throw the towel in. If there are any upstanding people left in Montgomery County go support local business if this doesn’t change your mind from ordering a large two topping pizza from Dominos for 5.99 then nothing will. I would camp outside of V and D’s for a year for just one more slice,” wrote one Facebook user.
“Fridays will not be the same without you all! There were so many sad faces tonight when we read the news,” read another.
Vince & Dominic’s had become a community staple, hosting the county police motorcycle unit for lunch each December during the department’s “Santa Ride” to the Children’s Inn at NIH.
Each spring, the restaurant would offer a special Passover Pizza. It became so popular that it made the Jewish holiday one of the busiest times of the year for the proudly Italian eatery.
“Horrible news. I’ve been spreading the gospel of V & Ds since the late 80s. Not only were you the best pizza in the country, you were a part of my childhood. Nothing like stuffing 2 years worth of pizza into a weekend trip back to DC. Thank you for everything,” wrote one commenter on Facebook.
My first job was washing dishes in your kitchen. Hands down the best pizza in the area. I am so angry right now,” wrote another commenter. “I will never go to Home Depot again.”
Photo via Vince & Dominic’s
