Kentlands resident Steven Shen usually has to drive upwards of 45 minutes to get his Andy’s Pizza fix from the popular DMV pizza chain’s Tysons Corner location in Virginia. Now, he has access to one of his favorite restaurants in his own backyard.

Andy’s Pizza, the ever-expanding chain with a major fan following, opened its second Montgomery County location on Wednesday to serve up its signature New York-style pies in the Kentlands.

“It’s hard to find really great pizza,” Shen said.

He’s grateful to have Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana (helmed by James Beard Award finalist Tony Conte) nearby, too, but while that Neapolitan-style spot satisfies a craving for wood-fired pizza, great New York-style slices are harder to find in his neighborhood.

“We usually get the sausage [pizza], but even the cheese slices are good,” he said.

The new Andy’s location is the farthest by a long shot from the chain’s Washington, D.C., epicenter, bringing the pizza joint to a whole new crowd in the upper half of the county. Previously, the only Montgomery County location was in Bethesda; a third spot is also in the works at Montgomery Mall. Across D.C. and Virginia, Andy’s, founded by Potomac native Andy Brown, offers a dozen other shops.

Aside from the usual pepperoni, Margherita, white, and mushroom and onion pizza options, Andy’s is known for its specialty pies, notably the buffalo chicken, diavolo (pepperoni, Calabrian ricotta, basil and onion) and pepperoni special (creamy burrata, basil, Parmesan and a drizzle of hot honey) pies. They’re served by the slice from $4.50 to $7, or as a whole pie from $22.50 for cheese to $32.50 for the pepperoni special.

Wednesday’s 11 a.m. opening brought the Gaithersburg location’s first lunch rush, with roughly a dozen employees staying busy behind the counter serving up dine-in and to-go orders to local workers on lunch breaks and parents with young children.

Vicky Liu was one of those folks who works nearby. She said Andy’s hadn’t been on her radar before.

“They were advertising that it tastes like New York [style pizza], so I just wanted to try it,” said Liu, a former New York resident.

After her first slice, consider her a new fan.