Angry Marylanders Torch Pizza Oven Restaurant

Marylanders had an incendiary response to an announcement on the reopening of iconic restaurant Pizza Oven just a couple days after it seemingly closed permanently. An angry mob set fire to the Riverdale restaurant, which has been in the same location since September 1957 and is a pioneer of Maryland style pizza.

In the last days of December, hundreds of nostalgic Marylanders lined up for "one last" Pizza Oven slice, after an announcement that 90 year-old owner, Takoma Park native Brian Boileau, was retiring and closing the restaurant at the end of the year. They say they were duped by the new owner's publicity stunt and would have gone to Ledo's had they known.

"I waited on line two hours for cold flaky crust and congealed cheese, and even pretended it was great. Fuck them!," said Bob Reiter of Twinbrook. Reiter grew up near the Pizza Oven in Rockville's Rock Creek Village Shopping Center in the 1980s, which he says was, "the cool place to hang out, like Arnold's in 'Happy Days' before Al Delvecchio took over."

Reiter and an angry mob began protesting at the Riverdale Pizza Oven hours after the reopening announcement, demanding the restaurant's immediate and permanent closure. Just after sunset, the restaurant's facade burst into flames.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined but fire inspectors say protestors' torches are suspected. Reiter claims fire officials themselves are to blame. "They were holding the door open for people. I have video on my phone," Reiter told The Montgonion. The Riverdale City Council said it will appoint a Special Committee to investigate the cause of the fire and circumstances leading up to the protest.

Fire officials said no one was injured in the blaze, which caused an estimated $30,000 in property damage. Pizza Oven released a statement yesterday evening saying the restaurant would continue to operate "like always" while repairs are made.