Although it’s been a neighborhood institution since the early 1990s, Dumm’s Pizza isn’t typically the kind of place that gets a write-up in the Washington Post.
But under the management of 2Fifty Texas BBQ owners Debby Portillo and Fernando González, this week it got a rave review.
The restaurateurs took over the neighboring pizza joint in 2019, when they opened up 2Fifty next door, at the suggestion of then-owners Georgia and Mike Sotiriou, who had decided to retire.
Hoping to keep close to the spirit of Dumm’s as much as possible, they carefully reviewed the menu, getting rid of clam chowder and meat loaf while updating other standards in subtle ways, such as using fresh dough and making their own sauce for the pizza.
A self-taught barbecue aficionado who trained as a civil engineer in El Salvador, González did not know much about Dumm’s old-school comfort food when they first took over Dumm’s. But Portillo, whose grandmother started a well-known Salvadoran food business, turned to her training as a restaurateur.
It appears to have paid off. Reviewer Tim Carman praised the restaurant’s redesigned lasagna, Buffalo chicken pizza, chicken pesto pizza and gyro sandwich, among other things.
But the review noted that not everyone was happy with Dumm’s new ownership:
Despite their best efforts, however, González and Portillo have struggled to appease the regulars who frequented the original iteration of Dumm’s. Far too many have stopped coming. It’s gotten ugly at times. Customers have thrown sandwiches at the owners, as a form of complaint that crosses more lines than a union buster.
“People kept telling us, again and again, ‘Why did Georgia and Mike sell this to you? You guys are not White. You’re Latinos,’” Portillo tells me one afternoon. “’What you are going to do with the steak and cheese? Are you going to sell pupusas now?'”
This week, Eater D.C. also ran an in-depth profile of Portillo and González and the lawyer who worked out a plan to help them get the appropriate visas to open the two restaurants.
Dumm’s is located at 4704 Riverdale Rd. in the historic downtown. Delivery through DoorDash, UberEats and GrubHub; takeout and curbside pickup are available.
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