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In a year when some small businesses in northern Prince George's County, including restaurants, bookstores, pharmacies and pet stores, have closed in part due to the recession, two small businesses are opening their doors in Mount Rainier.

Sidamo Coffee and Tea, a Washington, D.C.-based Ethiopian coffee house that roasts its own beans daily, has plans to open a second location at 3311 Rhode Island Ave. by the end of the fall, and ZZ Pizza opened Oct. 2 at 4000 34th St. in downtown Mount Rainier.

ZZ Pizza owner Jay Jahangir of Fort Belvoir, Va., said lines were out the door during opening weekend, and for weeks afterward, the Mount Rainier listserv has been abuzz with recommendations and rave reviews from city residents.

Jahangir has been in the restaurant business for 15 years, starting originally as a busboy and working his way up to co-owner of fine dining restaurants in Washington, D.C.

When the recession hit, business took a turn for the worse, and he decided he was done with fine-dining restaurants as demand dropped. Instead, Jahangir decided he wanted to open a small business with "good food at a cheap price."

"I was driving around, looking for a spot and I saw there was such a big neighborhood [in Mount Rainier]. It's a historic area," he said.  "And there is no good food place to eat. I said, ‘You know, the food I have to offer, this is the right place.'"

ZZ Pizza offers more than just the typical pizza-shop fare, which includes subs and chicken wings — Jahangir included Middle Eastern fare such as kabobs, with some vegetarian options like falafel, on the menu, as well.

"This community has a lot of vegetarian people. They eat a lot of organic food," he said. 

Other nearby food businesses in Mount Rainier include the Glut Food Co-op and Island Style, which sells organic ice-cream.

Resident Laura Dugan, 43, said ZZ Pizza was a welcome respite from the frozen pizza or delivery food options, which she didn't like. 

"Clearly [ZZ Pizza] did their market research, just because the food choices are really appealing to the people that live here," she said.

Chairman of the Prince George's Chamber of Commerce, Sherman L. Ragland II, said a number of large successful businesses had their roots in starting during economic downturns, such as FedEx.

"Fundamentally, it always comes down to what's the business and does it have customers," he said.

He added that small businesses may be in a better position to survive the recession than large chains, since they are much more flexible to adapt to changing market needs.

Jahangir said he knew he took a big risk in opening a business in such a climate, but so far his fears have been allayed by a positive response from the community, he said.

He added that he has an advantage because people still want to eat out, just at more affordable prices.

"I am selling restaurant food in a fast food place," he said. "People used to go to [expensive] restaurants. Now they're not going."

Dugan agreed.

"People need a break from cooking their own food, and I think the prices aren't so high, and people generally want to support local businesses," she said.

E-mail Elahe Izadi at eizadi@gazette.net.