My name is Abby, and I will be your tour guide for today. Before we begin, I'll go ahead and give you a bit of information on the grand, ten-story building you're standing in right now. Pizzaro Plaza was established in 2008, a year of radical change. If anyone here remembers—well, a couple of you probably weren't even born yet—but it was the year our first and only Black president, Barack Obama, was elected. That means this fine building has been around for over a decade! It got its name, not from the pizza restaurant we have on the first floor, but from Francisco Pizzaro, a great Spanish conquistador with a really cool last name. He traveled all the way from Spain to conquer South America, and now we honor his name all the way here in Washington D.C. at Pizzaro Plaza. This ten-story building has— Oh, what was here before? I am not sure. Yeah, I'm actually not sure. Give me a second to get to that information for you. I think it was just an old residential lot, so maybe just over a couple of houses. Yeah, but again, I am not sure.
Anyway, so, where was I? Oh, I already mentioned our pizza restaurant, but Pizzaro's Plaza has so much more to offer, including niche shops that sell everything from art to toys. Yes, I see the little ones got excited when I mentioned toys. We have a small little toy shop on the fourth floor. Today on Memorial Day— I'm sorry—MLK Day, they're actually having a sale. Everything is half off! So, we're definitely going to stop by there on the tour. Speaking of the tour, let's go ahead and get started.
Here you see our Starbucks located conveniently on the first floor and right beside the entryway. Our Starbucks is one of our most popular shops, if not the most popular shop. This way, everyone—These? Oh, these are just a couple of local boutiques. There’s actually another coffee shop down that way as well. We're going to spend a few more minutes on this floor, so everyone is welcome to roam around and look into anything you like. Ha, a couple of people are already headed towards the Starbucks, me too.
As you can see, our Toys R Us is another popular shop of ours. This is actually one of the last Toys R Us in existence. It is extremely important to us to preserve something that has been so important to our community. If you need any assistance with anything, feel free to ask Lashaun over here. Love the hair, by the way, girl. Did you cut it?— Oh, wow, "shrinkage" okay. Anyway, everyone, feel free to ask Lashaun anything. Everything is half off. Don't forget!
On my last tour, I had this huge family. The dad, this guy is maybe 6’3, 6’4 honestly, a big Black guy, and he has like five kids. So, they come in here, touch everything, haha I’m not kidding, everything. Then they get to the register, each kid only gets to pick like one toy each, by the way, and they’re super excited about it. The guy is getting snappy with the cashier for something I don’t even know what. Then guess what? All of a sudden, the guy’s card declines. No, I didn’t laugh! I felt bad for the kids, honestly. I know right!— Yes, those are half off too, and so are the clothes that come with it. Remember, if you have any questions, you can ask Lashaun. She’s over there by the register.
We've made it to our beautiful and scenic rooftop. Here you have a full view of the city on all sides. Ignore the construction, and sorry if it feels like I'm screaming. To your left, you can see the cityscape, and on your right side, our lovely capital building. For ten years and with ten stories, Pizzaro's Plaza has stood here overlooking our flourishing community. As we've extended and added stores you love like Starbucks, Macy's, and the kids' favorite, Toys R Us, we've also cemented ourselves as an essential part of this community. Wow, that construction is really loud! Are there any last questions I can answer for you guys? Feel free to check out one of the bars we have up here on our rooftop. There's also a reservation-only restaurant called The Catch located past the first elevator — I actually don't know what they're building down there. I think it used to be a residential lot, but I'm not sure— Oh, you're right! There are still some houses down there, so I guess it was. I guess they were abandoned hou— They're turning it into a Whole Foods, actually. Yes! I know a lot of our customers are excited about that.
Thank you all for joining us on, um… whatever holiday it is. Though the tour is over, feel free to stay and definitely feel free to come back and visit Pizzaro's Plaza again sometime. We hope to continue serving our community for many more years to come.
Tahira Bradley (she/her) is a senior English creative writing major at Georgia State University. Her other fields of study include 2D art, Korean, and linguistics. Pulling from these different areas and her own personal experiences as a queer Black woman, she enjoys writing diverse literature that is both inclusive and explorative.
Follow Tahira on Instagram: @hoodbabyhira