Baltimore's pizza proliferation is continuing with the growth of several fast-casual chains.

A Washington-based pizza shop, &pizza, is the latest player to enter the Baltimore market. The restaurant will open at 1201 S. Charles St. on the ground level of an apartment building at the corner of West Street.

Founded in 2012, &pizza has 14 locations throughout the Washington area. The Federal Hill shop, set to open this summer, will be its first in the Baltimore area.

Like many of its peer pizza shops, &pizza allows guests to build their own pizzas or choose from a signature menu. The chain's seven signature pizzas include such flavors as “Gnarlic” (roasted garlic puree, ricotta spread, fresh mozzarella, four-cheese blend, garlic oil, black pepper, basil and salami); “Maverick” (classic tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, salami, aged pepperoni, fennel Italian sausage, oregano oil and Parmesan cheese); and “Farmer's Daughter” (spicy tomato sauce, spinach, fresh mozzarella, fennel Italian sausage, local eggs, red pepper chili oil and Parmesan cheese).

The restaurant also serves salads, a dessert pizza, cookies and seasonal menu items that rotate quarterly.

&pizza is moving into Baltimore's food scene as other competitors expand in the area. Blaze Pizza is opening downtown, local chain Bagby Pizza Co. continues to increase its presence and Pie Five Pizza Co. is growing locally, too.

Pie Five plans to open two locations at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport this year. Both shops will be located in the pre-security main entrance in Concourse B.

Based in Dallas, Pie Five lets customers make personal pizzas cooked to order in five minutes. The restaurant has several locations locally, including restaurants in Ellicott City, Glen Burnie, Laurel and Owings Mills. Another Pie Five is slated to open in Columbia.

The addition of Pie Five at the airport comes amid other changes at BWI. Bryan Voltaggio will open a Family Meal location in Concourse A, and Mike Isabella is opening Kapnos Marketa in Concourse B.

Meanwhile, Baltimore-based Pie 360 is growing beyond Charm City. Before the end of the summer, Pie 360 plans to quadruple its presence in Maryland, Washington and Northern Virginia.

The Canton Crossing restaurant, a spinoff of Coal Fire Pizza, made its debut last spring, and from its inception, the shop's owners planned to open several locations in the Washington area. Pie 360 has plans to open three new locations by July. The next restaurant is projected to open in May at 655 K St. NW in Washington, followed by another at 1800 Rockville Pike in June and a third at the Shoppes at Foxchase in Alexandria, Va., in July.

Pie 360's parent restaurant, Coal Fire, is opening new locations, too. The company, which has locations throughout the Baltimore area, plans to open two Northern Virginia restaurants — one at Dulles Landing in August and another in Sterling in the first quarter of 2017.

In brief

Jeff Keeney, the former executive chef of Tark's Grill and owner of the shuttered Crazy Lil's, is opening a new restaurant in South Baltimore. At Light's End will open on the first floor of the 2 East Wells apartment building. The restaurant will feature a menu of 15 items that change daily, as well as whiskey from nearby Sagamore Spirit. He said he'll keep the prices affordable — between $12 and $18 for most dishes, with a few priced around $21. Keeney is aiming for an Aug. 15 opening, but construction on the 127-seat space hasn't started yet.

Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop turns 60 today, and the location in Little Italy is offering a special menu to celebrate. It includes a slice of rum cake or cassata “cannoli” cake for $2.60; gelato or granita for $2.60; cappuccinos and lattes for $2.60; and American coffee for 60 cents. Vaccaro's locations in Canton, Bel Air and Hunt Valley will also offer large cannolis for 60 cents and a cookie assortment for $5.60 through Friday. Gioacchino Vaccaro opened the pastry shop on March 16, 1956.

smeehan@baltsun.com