The Latest DishAugust 21, 2013

Clover Restaurant Group will open its fifth Cafe Deluxe restaurant at the corner of 22nd& M St., NW in D.C.?s West End. Located in the Hilton Garden Inn, the restaurant is slated to open in spring 2014. Cafe Deluxe will open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, weekday happy hour and weekend brunch. It will seat 130 in the dining area, 38 at the bar, 50 in the PDR and up to 225 in hotel event space (can you say ?holiday party??). Room service will also be provided by Caf? Deluxe.Other Caf? Deluxe restaurants are located in D.C?s Tenleytown, Tysons Corner,Va., Bethesda and Gaithersburg, Md.

Conan and Genevieve O?Sullivan plan to open Sona Creamery and Wine Bar at 660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE on Capitol Hill by early November. The restaurant will feature cheese made on-site at the creamery. The couple relocated to D.C. from the Seattle, and will feature wines from their hometown region. Their passion translates in the name, as Sona means ?happy? in Gaelic. Wine and cheese equal happy.

Farmers Restaurant Group plans to open a Founding Farmers at 1800 Tysons Blvd. where Inox used to be. This will be their fourth restaurant: Founding Farmers in downtown D.C. and Potomac and Farmers, Fishers and Bakers on the Georgetown waterfront. Founding FarmersTysons will seat 280 between the bar and dining areas, with the potential to add outdoor seating. A spring 2014 opening is planned.

That Atlas District continues to grow. Miss Kitty?s Saloon is slated to open the end of August at 1208 H St., NE. The managing operator and executive chef, Scott Webster, is a CIA grad who worked for Clyde?s Restaurant Group for 16 years, including executive chef at Clyde?s in Tysons Corner. The rustic mid-western saloon will be on two floors. Second floor expected to open in the fall, featuring a bourbon/whiskey bar.

Quick Hits: America Eats Tavern may have closed in Penn Quarter, but it will be reborn at The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner where Michel Richard used to be. Chef-owner David Hong of TBSP (The Best Sandwich Place) in Georgetown?s Washington Harbour, signed a lease to expand to downtown D.C. at 1776 Eye St, NW.Fatty Crab restaurants plan to open units in D.C., with the help of Philadelphia-based Stephen Starr of STARR Restaurants. Starr opened the uber-popular LeDiplomate here in Logan Circle. Thally will open in the Shaw neighborhood, serving modern American cuisine created by executive chef and co-owner Ron Tanaka, along with a rotating wine list, and craft spirits and beers. California Tortilla plans to open at Hampstead Square in Merrifield, Va. San Francisco-based Tadich Grill recently signed a lease to open at 1001 Penn Ave., NW. They have been a San Fran institution since 1849.NYC-based Max Brenner Chocolate Bar opens soon in Bethesda Row.

Openings Update: Dublin (Ireland)- based Ri Ra now plans to open in early December in Georgetown. Cleveland-based Latin-Caribbean chain Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar(over 50 rums!) plans to open in Rockville?s North Bethesda Market development in mid-August. The company also plans to open in Gaithersburg at the Downtown Crown development and in Tysons Corner at 1934 Old Gallows Road.

El Centro D.F. will open a second location in Georgetown by mid-August where the Third Edition used to be. This store will be different from the 14th Street location, with over 200 types of tequila and mescal to complement Mexican comfort food. This is brought to you by Richard Sandoval and his Georgetown chef, Juan Romero.

Georgetown: If it?s not a whiskey bar, then it?s a wine bar. ENO Wine Bar is scheduled to open by summer?s end, a value-added food and beverage spot of the Four Season Hotel. The wine bar features flights of three 3.5 oz. glasses as well as an extensive wine-by-the-glass list. Wines, charcuterie and chocolates are locally sourced.

Chef Update: Graham Bartlett was named new regional executive chef for Richard Sandoval Restaurants in the, D.C. area. Graham, a graduate of Ecole Ritz Escoffier in Paris, France, worked for Sandoval when he opened the first Zengo in Denver. He was chef de cuisine for Zengo D.C. and now oversees the Sandoval D.C. empire of restaurants: Masa 14, El CentroD.F. (soon to be two) and the soon to open Toto Toro.

In related news, Jason Streiff was promoted to chef de cuisine of Sandoval?s Zengo restaurant on 7th Street, in Penn Quarter.
Chef Nick DeLuca, formerly of Brasserie Beck and Bean & Bite, is now heading the pastry department at Purple Onion Catering Company.

Todd Gray has named former sous chef Colin McClimans as chef de cuisine at Equinox.

GM Update: Curtis Allred was named the general manager for Ovvio Osteriain in Merrifield, Va. Previously, Curtis was General Manager and Beverage Director for Concepts under the management of Tuscarora Mill Restaurant Group in Leesburg, Va. He also managed The Capitol Grille in D.C. Tim Donah was named general manager for Del Frisco?s Grille at 13th& Penn. Previously, the Johnson & Wales graduate was Director of Operations and Franchising for Vapiano International, overseeing daily operations for restaurants in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. And speaking of Grays, this time out of the kitchen, Travis Gray, formerly of Equinox, is the new general manager at Occidental Grill & Seafood. Shelly?s Back Room in D.C.?s Penn Quarter hired Derrick Williams as its Beverage Manager. Previously, he worked at Old Ebbitt Grill. Atef Tayarihas been named general manager for Vinifera at the Westin Reston hotel. Previously, Tayarihas worked as food and beverage operations manager at Key Bridge Marriott.

Mike Isabella just opened G Sandwich , an Italian sandwich shop at 2201 14th St., as well as Kapnos, his Greek restaurant, also in U Street Corridor. Korean twice-fried-chicken chain BonChon opened in Arlington recently on Pershing Drive. Their first in the region is in Centreville, Va.

Chris Bukowski (of ?Bachelor Pad? fame) is opening Bracket Room in Arlington on N. Garfield Street. Roland Kator, the chef, graduated from the Las Vegas campus of Le Cordon Bleu. Previously Kator worked at Grand Lux Caf? in Chicago.
Congratulations to Ripple restaurant in Cleveland Park, celebrating its third anniversary this month.

Linda Roth is president of Linda Roth Associates, a public relations & marketing firm that specializes in the hospitality industry, providing creative connections through media relations, marketing initiatives, community outreach and special events. Reach her at: Linda@LindaRothPR.com or 703-417-2700. www.lindarothpr.com.