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Matchbox has expanded far beyond its pizza roots in McLean, introducing a dinner menu packed with prime steaks and seafood that isn’t available at any of its other restaurants.

The regional chain launched “Matchbox Prime” on Feb. 24 at 1340 Chain Bridge Road, next to Lidl. The McLean restaurant opened in April 2023.

The additions were developed after regular customers asked for more specialty choices, according to Alex Berentzen, chief operating officer of Thompson Restaurants, the Reston-based hospitality group that manages Matchbox.

“We are keeping all the Matchbox favorites, the pizza and the core menu items, but we wanted to provide some more specialty menu items by request,” Berentzen said.

The Prime lineup includes six varieties of garlic-butter-seasoned steak, each served with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and grilled asparagus. Other additions include Atlantic halibut, branzino, a lobster Cobb salad, jumbo shrimp cocktails, and a truffle and wild mushroom pizza.

Matchbox has also introduced an unlimited brunch program and plans to make seasonal menu changes with the arrival of spring.

A Matchbox spokesperson said the company hasn’t ruled out bringing Prime dishes to additional restaurants, but they remain exclusive to McLean for now. Berentzen said individual locations may offer different products based on community preferences while retaining the chain’s core menu.

Founded in 2003 in D.C.’s Chinatown, Matchbox is best known for wood-fired pizzas, burgers and salads, along with entrees such as fish and chips and chicken fettuccine Alfredo. Its original restaurant relocated in 2019.

Matchbox has 11 locations in the D.C. area, including restaurants in Merrifield’s Mosaic District and at Reston Station, plus one location in Florida.

Thompson Hospitality assumed control of Matchbox in 2018 after the previous leadership team’s national expansion plans encountered cost overruns and delayed openings. Those problems eventually prompted a lawsuit from two of the chain’s founders.

The company’s other restaurant brands include Big Buns Damn Good Burgers, Makers Union, Wiseguy Pizza, and Milk and Honey. The McLean Matchbox shares its location with a Big Buns.