The Latest Dish

Phoenix-based True Food Kitchen is expanding across the bridge. The company’s first metro-area location in Fairfax, Virginia, gets a sister operation in Bethesda, Maryland, this summer, when it opens in the Solaire luxury apartment building at 7100 Wisconsin Ave. Randall Matthews will be executive chef. The restaurant’s seasonal menu offers gluten-free, organic, vegetarian and vegan options. It will include an outdoor patio with seating for about 30 people. A local artist will create the wall art. Opening day is June 14.

Jordan and Jonathan Stahl will open Tyber Creek Wine Bar & Kitchen in Bloomingdale where Rustik used to be. The name comes from a tributary of the Potomac River. Chef Kerry Tate, formerly of The Heights, reigns over the kitchen and menu. It will seat 45 people with outdoor seating for 45. The renovations included a new floor and lighting and a live wall from Holley Simmons of Sill Life.

Quick Hits: Jaimie Mertz will open her brick-and-mortar Red Bandana at 8218 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda after introducing locals to her gluten-free baked goods at the Bethesda Farmers Market … Alemayehu Abebe, owner of Chercher Ethiopian Restaurant & Mart on 9th Street NW, plans to open in Arlington (Courthouse) at 2000 N. 14th St., with 100 seats inside and an outdoor patio. A summer opening is planned. A bit more upscale than the D.C. store, it will include a wine bar … Sports-themed Glory Days Grill will open its 15th restaurant in Virginia at 3141 Duke St. in the Alexandria Commons Shopping Center by the first quarter of 2018. There are 26 Glory Days Grills in four states … District Barbecue will open at Bristow Center in Bristow, Virginia … Pitango will open this summer at 1841 Columbia Rd. NW in Adams Morgan.

Chef Roberto Santibañez and Knead Hospitality + Design plan to open Mi Vida, a Mexican restaurant, this November at the Wharf project on the Southwest waterfront. It will seat up to 400 and include an outdoor patio and private dining rooms. Knead Hospitality + Design will design and operate the space. Santibañez owns New York City’s Fonda restaurants. It joins French Mediterranean restaurant La Vie, Spanish and seafood restaurant Del Mar, Requin, Hank’s on the Water, Rappahannock Oyster Bar and Kirwan’s Waterfront Pub.

Georgetown Gets Sweeter: Fresh Baguette plans to open in Georgetown where Sweet Frog was, at 1737 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Their first location is at 4919 Bethesda Ave., with a commissary bakery and small retail operation planned for Rockville … Pierre-Antoine Raberin and Elisabeth Holder Raberin just opened Paris-based Ladurée at 3060 M St. NW, filled with their signature macarons as well as cookies and candles, plus brunch menu items and teas.

The Capital Burger, a more casual “brand extension” of Capital Grille, will debut in D.C. at 1005 7th St. NW near the Convention Center (the former Living Social HQ). Darden Restaurants is using D.C. as the testing ground for the new concept.

Aaron Silverman, chef-owner of Rose’s Luxury and Pineapple and Pearls on Barracks Row on Capitol Hill may be taking over David Guas’s second Bayou Bakery, at 901 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. The original Bayou Bakery continues to operate. By this summer, Guas will open a casual cafe called Lil’ B in the Darcy, a new hotel opening on Rhode Island Avenue NW.

Compass Rose’s Rose Previte and partners Mike Schuster and Andy Lacy plan to open Maydan in the Manhattan Laundry Building at 1346 Florida Ave. NW this fall. It will offer comfort food from Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Maydan describes it as open space where people can gather and dine. Chefs Gerald Addison and Chris Morgan will be co-executive chefs there and at Compass Rose. Chris was previously at The Dabney.

Chef, Somm, GM Update: Thierry Delourneaux was named executive pastry chef at the St. Regis Washington D.C. While at The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, he redesigned the brunch menu at the late, great Maestro. He also ran the pastry kitchen at Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel’s The Stamford. He most recently worked at New York’s legendary Rainbow Room … Andy Powell was named beverage manager at the St. Regis. Previously he was wine director at Central Michel Richard … Eric McKamey now heads up the kitchen at DGS Delicatessen in Dupont Circle. Previously, he was executive chef at Mintwood Place … Jamie Rutherford is the new chef at Petworth Citizen. He was previously at The Dabney and Tail Up Goat … Jennifer Meyer is the new general manager at Bourbon Steak … Jo-Jo Valenzuela is beverage director at Granville Moore’s … Chad Wiese was named chef de cuisine at Occidental Grill & Seafood, which is undergoing significant renovations (new bar and first-level private dining room) to be completed by June.

Linda Roth is president of Linda Roth Associates, a public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the hospitality industry. Reach her at linda@lindarothpr.com.