In the continuing saga of Gifford’s Ice Cream and Candy Co., principal Neal Lieberman has seen the fruits of his efforts coming to blossom. He came to an agreement with Chevy Chase Land Company to re-open the Gifford’s in Chevy Chase in early April. Also, Gifford’s and ACKC (Artfully Chocolate Kingsbury Confections) have formed a marketing partnership, so that all of the ACKC locations will be scooping Gifford’s ice cream. ACKC will manage the Gifford’s location in Chevy Chase. Still more news in the right direction: Gifford’s will now be carried in all three area Balducci’s markets, as well as the Balducci’s & Kings markets in New York and Connecticut, which makes 34 stores total, serving five Gifford’s pint flavors. As part of a continued expansion selling to area restaurants looking for local, all-natural ice cream, Gifford’s and BGR: The Burger Joint have teamed up to offer Gifford’s milkshakes at all of the Burger Joint restaurants in DC and Bethesda, as well as the new BGR locations in Springfield, Va., Clemson, SC, and coming soon to Cabin John, Md., Columbia, Md., Mobile, AL, and Miami, FL.
Zed Wondemu has sold her renowned Ethiopian restaurant, Zed’s Ethiopian, to an Ethiopian couple with a strong background in food and beverage, who plan to rename it Das Ethiopian. Das translates to “tent” in Ethiopian. The location will get a facelift as well as some new menu items. They will still be the first outdoor dining spot you come to on M Street on the west side of Georgetown.
A new American bistro called Sixth Engine will open in an historic former firehouse in the burgeoning NoMa area of the Mount Vernon neighborhood. Pioneer developer Douglas Jemal bought the landmarked property from D.C. in 2005 knowing a thing or two about up-and-coming areas. He signed a deal with Gavin Coleman of The Dubliner on Capitol Hill and partners Jeremy Carman, Paul Holder, Paul Madrid and Tim Walsh of Town Hall in Glover Park. They plan to open a 3,600 square-foot American tavern-style bar and restaurant. They will even restore the firehouse’s old pole — fill in the blank for crazy bar promos here.
Chef/Manager Update: The new exec chef at Central by Michel Richard in Penn Quarter is Jason Maddens, a former sous chef at the new Michel in The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner.
Pizzeria Orso’s new pizza chef is Chris Nye, a 30-year-old sous-chef from 2941 restaurant, owned by the same folks who own Orso.
Fabio Trabocchi, who is opening Fiola where La Paradou used to be in Penn Quarter, has hired Miles Vaden as executive chef. He was formerly of at Eventide in Arlington. Trabocchi refers to Vaden as his rising star. Adrian Reynolds, a former sommelier at Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, will oversee the wine list. Jeff Faile, formerly of Palena in Cleveland Park, is the bartender supreme at Fiola. Jason Gehring, the former pastry chef at Cindy Wolf’s Charleston in Baltimore, takes over those duties at Fiola. Interesting tidbit: The restaurant was known as Bice in the mid-1990s, where Fabio first started cooking in the US and met his wife Maria.
NYC’s incomparable restaurant impresario, Shelly Fireman, plans to open Fiorella Pizzeria e Caffe in May at National Harbor. Everything is imported from Italy – even the workers, who are the only ones who can install the lighting fixtures from Milan. It is his second venture into National Harbor, as he opened Bond 45 in January 2010.
There’s more pork coming to DC – who didn’t know that? Actually, Alicart Restaurant Group, the NYC company who brought you Carmine’s, plans to open Virgil’s Real Barbecue, targeting Penn Quarter, since Carmine’s has done so well there. It may open by year’s end at the earliest.
We wrote about this awhile ago, but things are going into full gear now with Mike Anderson’s new three-pronged Del Ray project at 2312 Mount Vernon Ave. The barbecue concept, Pork Barrel BBQ, has the biggest space, complete with a long bar (always a good ROI). Then there’s the sushi and sake bar which Mike needs to name real fast – how about Mt V Sushi & Sake? The third part of the F&B triumvirate is Chop Chop, a fast-casual restaurant serving Asian dishes. All three spaces share a dishwashing and prep area, as well as storage.
If you like Dupont Circle’s Public Bar and Metro’s red line, a second Public Bar is planned for Tenleytown, where Dancing Crab used to be on Wisconsin Ave, NW. Co-owner Tony Hudgins of Public Group, says there will be more interactive games, like skeeball. Although the Tenleytown space is smaller, the kitchen area is larger so expect more food to come out of the kitchen there, especially with the team behind Founding Farmers helping to develop the menu. Public Group also operates Lupe Cantina in DC and Sushi Rock in Arlington.
Ashok Bajaj, Knightsbridge Management, with an impressive restaurant empire in DC –from Bombay Club serving Indian food to Bibiana Osteria Enoteca serving Italian cuisine, plans to open his eighth restaurant in the area, at the new 22 West Residences in the West End. Construction begins in late summer so it may not open until 2012.
Nancy Koide and Errol Lawrence of Sei and Oya plan to open Sax where Posh used to be on 11th Street, NW. Think gold and gilded and red velvet. Jonathan Seningen, most recently with Oya, will be the executive chef. Sax will offer contemporary French cuisine on small plates sans utensils. A May opening is planned.
Barry Berkowitz, the operator of The Melting Pot restaurants in this region plans to relocate his popular Reston fondue restaurant to Plaza America, off Reston Parkway. The current location on Wiehle Avenue will remain open through May so look for a June opening for the new spot, which will include an 80-seat patio and non-fondue bar and patio menu.
Linda Roth Conte is president of Linda Roth Associates, Inc (LRA) specializing in making creative connections through media relations, marketing initiatives, community outreach and special events for the hospitality industry. Contact Linda at 703-417-2700 or linda@lindarothpr.com or visit her web site at LindaRothPR.com
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- Fabio Trabocci of Fiola in Penn Quarter
