The Meatball Shop is preparing to open its first location outside of New York City late spring in Washington, D.C. “The Meatball Shop is thrilled to bring our meatballs and hospitality to D.C and to continue to grow our family outside of NYC,” CEO Adam Rosenbaum says. “We’re so excited to enter the fabric of the city’s amazing community and booming food scene, which is filled with such a wealth of incredible chefs, restaurants, bars, and bakeries.”

The Meatball Shop first opened its doors on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2010, and has since opened five additional locations in Manhattan and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Made of all things good, much like the meatball itself, The Meatball Shop mashes a high-energy environment, fun-loving staff and family-friendly atmosphere with its iconic mix-and-match menu. The founders, childhood best friends Dan Holzman and Mike Chernow, instilled early on that The Meatball Shop is special “because we care about every aspect of our business: the high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients, our incredible purveyors and our staff that know hospitality inside and out … and of course, our guests, who from the moment they enter The Meatball Shop, are treated like old friends—because that’s where we started.” At The Meatball Shop, we welcome everyone, from all walks of life, to sit down and smile—whether they’re letting loose late on a Friday night with our house-made Jello shots, taking a date out for the night, or feeding their kids their first Meatball Smash.

The Meatball Shop has developed a loyal, community-driven following in New York, around the notion that everybody, and we mean everybody, loves the nostalgia tied to meatballs in some shape or form. Chef Holzman says, “everyone loves meatballs—meatballs aren’t just a New York thing, they’re loved all over the world! When we started in 2010, we quickly learned that meatballs make people smile, and that’s exactly what we want to bring to D.C. —a little slice [or ball]—of happiness.”