The former Rustico location at 4075 Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Jared Serre)
Some of the food items at Grazie Nonna (photo via Grazie Nonna/Facebook)
An Italian restaurant with a devoted following in D.C. is eyeing an expansion into Ballston.
Grazie Nonna appears to be moving into a ground-floor space at 4075 Wilson Blvd, according to county permit records filed Thursday.
The application lists “Suite 120” as the restaurant’s new home, but it is unclear where exactly that is. About 3,500 square feet of first-floor space has been unoccupied since the closure of Rustico, a fellow Italian restaurant, in 2024.
Founder Casey Patten did not respond to a request for more information, but this wouldn’t be his first trip to Ballston. He is also behind the Grazie Grazie brand, which opened a location at nearby 4121 Wilson Blvd last year.
Unlike Grazie Grazie, which bills itself as “your friendly neighborhood Italian deli,” Grazie Nonna is a full-service restaurant inspired by Patten’s grandmother.
Grazie Nonna’s D.C. menu features eight kinds of pizzas, with specialties like The Mistress, which includes hot Italian sausage, roasted red peppers and garlic cream.
Diners can also create their own pie or order pasta dishes with sauces such as red, vodka and alfredo. More Italian-American dishes like shrimp scampi, chicken parmigiana and eggplant parmigiana are additionally available.
Another popular option is the “Feed Me Nonna Style,” which provides diners with “Nonna’s selection of her favorite antipasti, pizza, macaroni and dessert.”
Happy hour specials at the D.C. location include $10 spritzes and pizza by the slice.
A permit application at 4075 Wilson Blvd lists plans for $400,000 in renovations, including a “new interior bar, dining area, restrooms and commercial kitchen.”
If Grazie Nonna moves into the Rustico space, it’s unclear if it would occupy the full footprint. Plans to subdivide the space into two storefronts were made public last year, though the smaller space does not appear to be under contract.
Other Italian restaurants in Ballston include Carbonara (3865 Wilson Blvd) and Scolapasta in Ballston Quarter.
Photo (2) via Grazie Nonna/Facebook
Dining and Cooking