For 20 years, the ovens have been hot, the tables have been filled and generations of families have gathered over pizza at Fire Works Pizza in Leesburg.

On Oct. 1, the popular restaurant celebrated two decades in business with a ribbon cutting at its longtime home at 201 Harrison Street SE in Market Station.

For many customers, Fire Works has become more than a place to grab a pizza. Children who first came through its doors with their parents have grown up alongside the restaurant, and two decades later, some are old enough to return with families of their own.

That seems fitting for a restaurant whose own story is very much about family and community.

Fire Works is part of the Tuskie’s Hospitality Group, which grew from Tuscarora Mill Restaurant, the Leesburg institution opened by the late Kevin Malone in 1985. The family’s hospitality businesses today include Tuscarora Mill and South Street Under in Leesburg, Magnolias at the Mill in Purcellville and Birkby House, a historic Leesburg wedding and events venue, and the soon-to-open Maggie’s Corner Cafe in Purcellville at the Shoppes at Main & Maple.

The Malone family is also preparing another chapter in downtown Leesburg. Evan and Meaghan Malone and Evan’s mother, Kathleen, purchased the longtime Downtown Saloon property at 5 and 7 N. King Street and are transforming it into a traditional Irish pub—a dream Evan shared with his late father.

Long before diners gathered there for wood-fired pizza and craft beer, the building was a freight depot that served commerce along the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad for nearly 60 years. After the rail line was abandoned, the depot was moved to Market Station in 1984 and became home to Fire Works Pizza in 2006.

Since then, Fire Works has developed a personality all its own.

The restaurant is known for its wood-fired pizzas, with an extensive beer selection and a menu that has evolved to accommodate food allergies, sensitivities and different dietary preferences. It has also developed a particularly enthusiastic following among another group of customers—dogs.

Friendly, well-behaved pups are welcome on the patio, and Fire Works has embraced them with its Food for Fido menu, Pups on the Patio contest and logoed dog bowls.

“We are very proud of all we have created and the community that has embraced it all,” General Manager Jennifer Miller said.

That relationship with the community was tested during the pandemic, when restaurants suddenly had to figure out how to survive without operating as they always had.

Fire Works’ customers responded in a way Miller hasn’t forgotten.

“Our guests kept coming out despite not being open inside,” she said. “There were pizza parties in the parking lot and lots of love for our hardworking staff as we reinvented how to run a restaurant.”

The restaurant made it through those difficult months and kept serving the community, earning recognition over the years for categories including “Best Pizza” and “Family Dining.”

Twenty years after the first pizzas came out of the oven, Fire Works remains tucked into historic Market Station, steps from downtown Leesburg and next door to the restaurant from which the Malone family’s hospitality story grew.

Miller said she enjoys being close to downtown and being part of Leesburg’s growth and looks forward to what comes next.

And perhaps that is what makes a 20th anniversary worth celebrating. Restaurants come and go. The special ones become part of people’s lives—the place for a family dinner, a first date, pizza with the kids, a beer with friends or, during one extraordinary period, a pizza party in the parking lot.

Twenty years later, Fire Works Pizza is still making pizza—from the Smokey Blue, layered with Gorgonzola, bacon, roasted onions, rosemary and a balsamic glaze, to the Sweet Heat, with pepperoni, chorizo, jalapenos and a drizzle of honey.

It has also made a lot of memories.