My Beautiful Pizza Place
I'm more than a little bummed tonight. I went to my favorite local Italian restaurant, Joe's Pizza & Subs, to get some Lasagna for dinner and discovered much to my horror that they are due to close shop after 27 years. There was a notice on the door. As of January 30 they will be gone. I talked to the owners and they told me the reason for closing was because the lease holders on the building decided jack the rent and big out to a contractor who is going to demolish the restaurant and erect an office building.
I'm extremely upset. Joe's has the best NY style pizza in the area and their pasta dishes are exceptional. They are family owned and operated, and while they have a few locations in the area, they aren't a chain. We need more places in Northern Virginia and DC like Joe's. Unfortunately they are all becoming victims of commercialization and big corporations. The land prices and rents are sky high and the huge chains have made it nearly impossible for independent companies to stay in business.
It's hard to think that in just 5 days a fond piece of my childhood will be gone. I know there are others in the area but they aren't the same or close by. This one location was the first location in the area and the one we always went to. This Joe's has been a fixture in my world for as long as I can remember. I spent some of the happiest times of my life there. As a kid my family would go there on a weekly basis, and every time we went my brothers and I would play the arcade games they had in the restaurant while we waited for our food. They had two, Space Invaders and Bump 'N' Jump. I LOVED Bump 'N' Jump. While they did away with Space Invaders some years ago they still have the Bump 'N' Jump machine in all it's faded, beaten up glory. I played a last game tonight for old times sake. After all these years it was still just 25¢. As I pounded the buttons and swiveled the joystick I thought back to all those happy times and tried hard not to cry. Nothing lasts forever but some things should always remain the same.
I will miss Joe's. It's closing up is one more reminder to me of just how much this area has changed. The world I knew growing up has changed so much, and with it I have changed too. With my decision to move to New York I have become more and more aware of the changes and how what was once familiar has drifted away. It really is time to move on and make new memories elsewhere. I just wish it wasn't so damn hard on the heartstrings.
