The Young & Hungry columnin the Washington City Paper (which abhors the name Washington but uses it anyway) revealed today that Sam Fitz, beverage director at Pizzeria Paradiso, will soon depart after only a few months on the job.

Jessica Sidman reported: “Beer aficionado Sam Fitz is leaving his position as bar manager of Pizzeria Paradiso over the next month to open his own place with his sister Rachel Fitz. He’s not revealing a lot of the details at this time, but the business will be in D.C. and take inspiration from a cider-focused trip he took to the French and Spanish Basque country last February. He’s registered an LLC for Basque Bar.”

In a statement to the City Paper, Pizzeria Paradiso owner Ruth Gresser said, “Sam’s tenure at Pizzeria Paradiso was always seen as a transitional one, both for him and for Pizzeria Paradiso.”

Longtime Paradiso manager Josh Fernands is slated to take over the beer program after Fitz’s departure sometime in the next month.