Steve Salis
Steve Salis (born ) is an American businessman, the co-founder of &pizza and owner of restaurants Ted's Bulletin, Federalist Pig and Kramers in Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. Early life and education. Salis grew up in New Hampshire. His dad ran an Exxon gas station and his mom worked odd jobs. He received a scholarship to attend and play basketball at the University of New Hampshire and studied economics at the school for two years. Career. He worked in New York City, where as a nightclub doorman, and consulting for bars, hotels, and restaurants. In the summer of  2011, Salis moved to Washington, D.C. to open &pizza. In June 2012, he co-founded &pizza with partner Michael Lastoria. He was the CEO until 2015, when he stopped running the daily operations of the company. Salis remained as a major stakeholder until he sold his stake in 2019. He created Salis Holdings in 2015. In 2016, he founded Federalist Pig with Rob Sonderman. In late 2016, Salis purchased Kramerbooks. The management team at Kramerbooks resigned after disagreements with Salis. In March 2021, he launched Sizzle, a special-purpose acquisition company in the food and beverage industry. In November 2021 , Sizzle made an IPO of $155 million. In August 2021, Salis, along with Prefab Partners, a real estate development company he co-founded, was sued in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the owners of two residential homes the company had built in The Palisades neighborhood of Washington, DC. The homeowners alleged that Salis, Prefab Partners, and several other defendants had sold them homes with significant structural defects and flaws that caused extensive flooding and required temporary evacuation. Salis and his co-defendants filed counterclaims arguing that any structural issues were the fault of Blueprint Robotics , the company that manufactured the parts for the homes, and further argued that Salis was not personally legally liable in the case. Salis resisted efforts by earlier buyers who sought a return of their deposit after they became aware of the property's defects.