Four minutes is how long it took Justin Timberlake and Madonna to save the world. But two minutes is fast becoming the standard length of time for piping hot pizza — and this is restaurant pizza, not microwaved or reheated pizza.
Fast-casual pizzerias, particularly those with a quick-heating, conveyor-belt customized format, are beginning to dominate the D.C. region. It's a new take on grab-and-go, pizza by the slice options. Consider it pizza, Chipotle-style.
At most spinoffs, customers rattle off their preferred dough, sauce, cheese and toppings and then wait a matter of minutes for a piping hot pie straight out of the oven. Chipotle itself is now even in the pizza game, with a burgeoning concept called Pizzeria Locale, open in Colorado presently. A spokesman for the company told Eater there are no planned D.C. locations for Pizzeria Locale as of yet.
This map gives the current and near-future landscape of fast-casual, quick-cooking pizza options. And there are more to come. Dallas-based Pie Five has signed a deal for franchising in Washington, though no locations have yet been revealed.
—Adele Chapin contributed to this report