The Latest Dish
By • December 8, 2021 0 1295
Owner K.J. Hughes will officially open Manifest on Dec. 8 at 1807 Florida Ave NW in Adams Morgan where Salon XYZ used to be. Not everything has changed since its salon days, as it’s a three-fer: barber shop, coffee bar and speakeasy. The intimate upstairs speakeasy is referred to as: Out of Office. NYC-based Tacombi also opens on Dec. 8 at 1550 Crystal Drive in Crystal City (aka National Landing), Arlington. The retro design is meant to look like a well-worn 1970s taqueria. More are planned at 14th Street in D.C. and in Bethesda, which complements their 11 stores open in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, NY.
It-Runs-In-The-Family: St James restaurant featuring Caribbean cuisine, from siblings Peter and Jeanine Prime, who brought you Cane, is slated to open in D.C.’s U Street Corridor by end of Q4 2021….. Siblings Ken and Aki Ballogdajan will open Kema by Kenaki at 11325 Seven Locks Rd. in Potomac’s Cabin John Village in Q1 2022.
Rob Sonderman of Federalist Pig in Adams Morgan, and Steve Salis plan to open Honeymoon Chicken at 4201 Georgia Ave, NW in Petworth where Slim’s Diner used to be. Federalist Pig Hyattsville is now targeting the end of Q2 2022 to open.
Just Opened: Mike & Lois’s Late Night Grill in the Highroad Hostel at 1800 Belmont Rd. NW…. Dolce Vita opened at 1610 14th Street, NW in Logan Circle where Ghibellina used to be, featuring foods from countries surrounding the Mediterranean. Owner Med Lahlou also has Lupo Verde, nearby on 14th Street, and in the Palisades and at the Wharf.
Kiki plans to be a friendly new place to go for the LGBTQ community when it opens at 915 U Street NW where the iconic Velvet Lounge used to be. Brought to you by Keaton Fedak, former general manager of Dirty Goose, it features dance floors, a drag show stage, bars, and, eventually, a beer garden in back. By Q2 2022, the plan is to expand into the old Dodge City space next door.
Quick Hits: Look for Spike Mendelsohn’s Santa Rosa Taqueria to re-open in the same block as its old location, at 301 Pennsylvania Ave SE where Pret-A-Manger used to be, in 2022…. George Rodrigues, former chef de cuisine at Boqueria in Penn Quarter, plans to open El Mercat Bar De Tapas Rockville Town Square where Gumbo Ya Ya used to be…. Italian Bar opens next to I’m Eddie Cano, at 5008 Connecticut Ave, NW with espresso, cappuccinos, gelato and pastries, to be enjoyed standing, as they do in Italy. No seats.…. Jimmy Khan reopened his Pines of Florence in Arlington’s Cherrydale neighborhood where Portobellos used to be, at 2109 North Pollard Street, just off Langston Blvd. (formerly Lee Hwy).
As You Are Bar (think Nirvana) will open on Barracks Row where District Soul Food and Banana Cafe used to be at 500 8th Street, SE. Jo McDaniel and Rach Pike are alumni of A League of Her Own in Adams Morgan. The plan is to have a daytime cafe and nighttime lounge on the first floor and a place to dance upstairs, along with a back room with video games. They asked Nina Love to develop the food menu and kitchen operations.
Linda Roth is Founder & CEO of Linda Roth Associates (LRA), a D.C.-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the food service and hospitality industries. Follow her at: @LindaRothPR @LRAPR #LindaRothPR or www.lindarothpr.com.
