Stamford, Connecticut in 1935 was a far cry from the ritzy, glitzy, uber-wealthy Stamford of today. Picture a bustling, working-class, industrial 1935 Stamford, trying to rebuild on the tail end of the Great Depression and on the cusp of WWII. A post-Prohibition tavern named Colony Grill opened in this Irish immigrant neighborhood, feeding “hot oil” pizza to hungry factory workers.
Much has changed with Colony Grill since 1935, but the pizza remains true to its original formulation. The Grill of Colony Grill remains as a nostalgic, linguistic fossil — they removed the grills from their kitchens long ago when the soaring popularity of their bar pizza eclipsed everything else on the menu. Today, Colony serves NBP (nothing but pizza) and drinks.
Four enterprising Trumbull, Connecticut, 1989 Little League World Series champions created the parent company, Colony Grill Development LLC. Thanks to them, Colony Grill locations have mushroomed across the East Coast: five in Connecticut, one in New York, two in Florida, one in Arlington, Virginia (2020), and one in Cabin John, Maryland (2023). They also have a mobile pizza truck, cleverly named, the Colony Grill Hot Oil Rig. Additionally, Colony has partnerships with several sporting venues, including Nationals Stadium, to sell hot oil pizza at concession stands. Colony has colonized!
DishingPizza recently visited the Cabin John, Maryland, location at an off time. The massive 4800-square-foot space, accommodating 175 customers at tables, the bar, and on the outdoor patio, was a ghost town. Odd, considering the Spain vs. France World Cup semifinal match was on, and Colony is a sports bar. Often, the worst service occurs when servers are underutilized in an empty restaurant, but ’twas not the case — DishingPizza’s server was friendly, informative, and efficient — triple aces.
DishingPizza ordered two pizzas — an Original Hot Oil Bar Pie with mushrooms, and an Arugula salad pizza, essentially a salad heaped atop a pizza crust. Colony Grill’s pizza-only menu is surprising when one considers the humble origins of bar-style1 pizza — bars gave away these small, thin pies for free to encourage patrons to buy more beer. Even more astonishing is the cultish devotion to this pizza that precipitated Colony’s multi-State expansion.
Mushroom and hot oil — the green thingies in the middle are serrano peppers (l) Arugula and parmesan (l)
There’s nothing wrong with Colony pizza, but it’s hard, even for DishingPizza, to understand the big hullabaloo about the stuff.2 As bar pizza goes, Colony Grill’s is perfectly acceptable. The micro-thin crust is firm and crispy. The shredded mozzarella extends to the edges, where it becomes caramelized. The mild, thin tomato sauce neither adds nor subtracts from the pizza.
The serrano pepper-infused olive oil, aka “hot oil,” is Colony Grill’s secret sauce. After the initial shocking kick of the hot pepper oil, DishingPizza settled in and quickly understood its appeal. Although the base Colony pizza may be mundane, the hot oil makes it unique and cravable. Interestingly, this hot oil gimmick, which may have begun as an afterthought, has become the linchpin of the organization.
One of Colony Grill’s original owners, Eugene “Bo” Bohannan, was a WWII veteran who started the practice of hanging portraits of local service members. Each location has a wall of heroes, and veteran families are invited to submit photos to add to the walls. Pretty cool.
Many people love chain restaurants because of their predictability. If a chain is careful, one can eat the same food from Podunk to Peoria. Virtually every chain with a history, like Colony Grill, attempts to reflect its past in the new outposts. Actual antiques and reproductions may look similar, but the reproductions lack the patina of age and usage. With its brick walls and dark wood booths, the Cabin John Colony Grill is handsome but antiseptic. The new signage painted on the freshly painted walls looks as authentic as reproduction Coca-Cola paraphernalia.
DishingPizza well understands that many people prefer a spanking-new, rodent-and cockroach-free experience. If that’s the case, this Colony Grill is for you.
Colony Grill
11325 Seven Locks Rd, Potomac, MD 20854
2800 Clarendon Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201
Additional locations in Connecticut, Florida, and New York
Concession stands at sporting venues, including Nationals Park
Pizza type: Bar-style
Pizza quality: 🍕🍕
Overall experience: ⭐⭐
Pie – 12″: $11.95
Pie price per square inch: $0.11
- Bar-style and Tavern-style pizza are essentially the same animal with different regional names. The only discernible difference is that Tavern-style is typically cut into small squares, and Bar-style is standard pizza slice-cut. ↩︎
- In the 1940s, people likely regarded bar pizza like their dogs — they appreciated them, maybe loved them, but it wasn’t their whole life. They never would have considered paying for a school bus to pick up their pooch for doggie daycare, nor would they consider bar pizza as more than a drinking accouterment. ↩︎