The longtime owners of Starvin Marvin’s Pizzeria & Grille have permanently closed their Frederick location, bringing an end to their nearly four-decade run in the restaurant business.
While the Frederick restaurant has now closed for good, the Gaithersburg location remains open and is unaffected. That restaurant has been independently owned and operated by different owners since 2012, when the Foundas family sold it to two longtime employees.
The closure comes after months of uncertainty. In January, the Frederick owners announced that a previously planned sale of the restaurant had stalled, telling customers the deal was “in limbo” due to circumstances beyond their control. At the time, they assured the community they would continue serving customers while the future of the business remained unresolved.
The Foundas family’s history with Starvin Marvin’s dates back to 1987, when they purchased the original Gaithersburg restaurant, which first opened in 1982. They later expanded with a Wheaton location in 1990 before opening the Frederick restaurant in 2009. After selling the Gaithersburg location in 2012, the Frederick restaurant became their sole operation.
When the family first announced plans to retire in late 2025, they reflected on generations of loyal customers, countless school and community fundraisers, youth sports sponsorships, and the many employees and family members who helped shape the business over the years. They also shared that the Starvin Marvin name would retire with them, while leaving open the possibility that a future generation of the family could revive the brand someday.
Although the Foundas family’s chapter has now come to a close, customers can still visit Starvin Marvin’s in Gaithersburg, where the independently owned restaurant continues to operate under longtime local ownership.
