Greg Dohler/The Gazette Hyattsville residents Heather and Sean Zadig and their five-month-old baby, Fiona, wait for their food outside of Rhode Island Reds Cafe Saturday in Hyattsville. "I'm sad to see it close," Sean said of the cafe, which is scheduled to close June 30. "It has a lot of charm -- and the best pizza."

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Greg Dohler/The Gazette Hyattsville residents Heather and Sean Zadig and their five-month-old baby, Fiona, wait for their food outside of Rhode Island Reds Cafe in Hyattsville. "I'm sad to see it close," Sean said of the cafe, which is scheduled to close June 30. "It has a lot of charm -- and the best pizza."

Greg Dohler/The Gazette Hyattsville residents Heather and Sean Zadig and their five-month-old baby, Fiona, wait for their food outside of Rhode Island Reds Cafe Saturday in Hyattsville. "I'm sad to see it close," Sean said of the cafe, which is scheduled to close June 30. "It has a lot of charm -- and the best pizza."

 

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With its laid-back atmosphere and menu that name-checked sports heroes, sex symbols of the 1950s and Italian filmmakers, residents say Rhode Island Reds brought a unique charm to the Hyattsville community.

"It was always the place that I would point to when I talked about the kinds of businesses I wanted Hyattsville to attract," said Ward 2 Councilwoman and frequent customer Shani Warner, adding that the small, inviting location made the restaurant a great place to meet people from the neighborhood.

But no longer. The restaurant, located on Rhode Island Avenue near the boarder of Hyattsville and North Brentwood, is scheduled to close its doors today after nearly three years in operation.

Owner Christopher Brophy said in an email that he's decided to try to sell the business, which he described as “modestly profitable,” to spend more time with his family.

“This food business ... could make good money in the hands of a more ambitious, clever, and energized person than myself,” Brophy wrote.

Brophy, who is also an actor and playwright, modeled the restaurant on coffee shops in San Fransisco.

Local artwork hangs on the wall, as do a series of photographs juxtaposing recent pictures of actors such as Val Kilmer and Mickey Rourke with images of their younger, slimmer selves. The menu includes items like The Joe Dimaggio sandwich and The Gina Lollobrigida and The Fellini pizzas. The brunch menu included dishes such as the Awesome Amaretto Thingy and the McTrotsky.

“They had really good food,” Warner said. The quiet atmosphere often gave way to lively conversation, not only with the people at your table, but with those at other tables, Warner said.

But the great pizza and charming space just weren’t enough, said Stuart Eisenberg, executive director of the Hyattsville Community Development Corp. and owner of the building that housed Rhode Island Reds.

“Local capital, local labor, and local skill ... brought the building back to life,” Eisnberge wrote in an email. “[But] the café business is a very difficult one to stay in.”

But the end of Brophy’s business doesn’t necessarily spell the end of Rhode Island Reds altogether.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Chris can recruit a buyer,” Eisenberg wrote.

dleaderman@gazette.net