Al’s Steak House in Alexandria Gets New Life with Ponzi Restaurant Team
ALEXANDRIA, VA – It looks like Larry and Christine Ponzi, and their partners in Avenue Comfort Foods LLC, are taking over the legendary Al’s Steak House at 1504 Mount Vernon Avenue in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, according to papers recently filed with the City.
Al’s Steak House, which has fans all over the country, has been serving authentic Philly cheesesteaks in Alexandria since 1955. It even has its own Facebook fan group called Al’s Steak House Lunch Bunch with over 1300 active members.
Current owner Dorothy Breeding told The Zebra recently, “If anyone was ready for a curbside-only world, it was Al’s,” continuing “We’ve always been a carryout and delivery business. This year has been ironically amazing. We are busier and busier every day.” In fact in 2020, they sold approximately 32,000 of the famous provolone-oozing sandwiches overflowing with shaved and marinated ribeye beef.
But Breeding is ready for new horizons and placed the restaurant on the market last fall and was waiting for the right owner to come along. As she said at the time, “I just wanted to see if I could find a buyer who also loves Al’s like we do, and someone who wants to keep the place going as Alexandria’s first and foremost Philly cheesesteak house.”
It looks like the Ponzi family is the right buyer. You may know the Ponzis from their other successful establishments in town including Pizzaiolo, Market to Market Deli, St. Elmo’s Coffee, and Piece Out.
The Ponzis have applied for a special use permit for AL’s Steak House which will allow them to serve beer along with their breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. There will also be additional seating both inside and outside, including 16 seats inside and a patio for 16 outside.
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