Nearly a year after Armand's Chicago Pizzeria shut its doors at 4231 Wisconsin Ave., Nando's Peri-Peri restaurant has announced plans to take over the building.
Scheduled to open this December, the African-Portuguese-style chain prides itself on its spicy "Peri-Peri" chicken.
Armand's, which had occupied the building for 37 years, closed in June due to rent problems. Rent increased from $260 per month to $12,000 over the span of Armand's 37-year run.
The restaurant will seat 148 people with room for an additional 58 outside, according to a liquor license posted on the restaurant.
The new Nando's will be just one of several additions to the company's growing roster of D.C. restaurants, with others currently planned for Navy Yard, Maryland and Virginia.
The restaurant chain has over 800 locations in more than 30 countries.
"Experience has also taught us that as long as we stick to our principles of serving amazing food in a totally unique environment with genuinely caring customer service, we can earn the trust and patronage of the local market and convert them to Peri-Peri fans," said Sepanta Bagherpour, director of marketing for Nando's Peri-Peri USA, in an email.
Even those who have dined at one of the over 800 Nando's restaurants will be in for a surprise at the new location. While each restaurant is decorated with an elegant charm and an eye-popping assortment of African paintings, the rest comes down to the individual location.
"We put a lot of effort in ensuring no two Nando's restaurants look the same," Bagherpour said in the email.
Nando's offers food once described by The Washington Post as "fast and sometimes fabulous."
Bagherpour is confident that the restaurant will be able to do well at its new location due to its popularity at its Dupont location and around universities in the United Kingdom, Bagherpour said in the email.
"College life is not only about drinking," Bagherpour said in the email, "sometimes you have to eat, too."
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