Latest Dish : Betting on D.C. Expansion, Sportsbooks and Restaurant Groups  

A second sportsbook location will open in the next year by Brian Vasile of Grand Central Restaurant, Sportsbook and Bar, in partnership with Elys Game Technology.  It will be located in another quadrant of Washington, D.C., and have less square footage.

Kyojin will open in Georgetown’s Cady’s Alley where the late, great L2 nightclub used to be. The 130-seat Japanese restaurant is brought to you by Jeff King and Peter Kannasute, of Yume Hospitality Group. They also own Arlington’s Yume Sushi. The expanded space will allow for a sushi bar (advanced level prep sushi) and sake tasting counter as well as a dining area that features chef’s specialty omakase menus. They’ve tapped Andrew Lamkin, from the Graham Hotel farther down M Street in Georgetown, to be mixologist. The opening is targeted for Q1 2023.

NYC-based Tom Colicchio’s Craft Hospitality (Craft, Temple Court, Vallata) plans to open a restaurant in 2023 where 701 Restaurant used to be at the Market Square building at 701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. Craft Hospitality also operates the fast-casual Root & Sprig at Children’s National Hospital in Northwest.

Michael Mina’s MINA Group will open two restaurants at City Ridge development near Tenleytown: an Italian-themed restaurant and a pool club rooftop bar and cafe serving tropical small plates. His footprint in D.C. began with Bourbon Steak at Georgetown’s Four Seasons Hotel.

Enrique Limardo and Ezequiel Vázquez-Ger of Seven Restaurant Group plan to open The Saga, a Spanish-Latin fusion restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Washington DC, where West End Bistro used to be, by the end of Q1 2023. They’ll also operate Quadrant, the hotel’s cocktail bar and lounge, as a French-American restaurant.

Quick Hits:  Guapo’s will open where Chevys Fresh Mex used to be at 3052 Gate House Plaza in Falls Church. It will be their 10th Guapo’s in the DMV…. Silver Diner will open a free-standing location at Loudoun Crossroads shopping center in Chantilly, in Q3 2023…. Chef Elias Taddesse (Mélange) plans to open Doro Soul Food, a fast-casual eatery serving Afro-American soul food with Ethiopian flavors at 1819 7th St. NW, not far from Howard University, in Shaw, in Q4 2022…. Baton Rouge-based Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers will open Q4 2022 at 4545 Dulles Eastern Plaza in Sterling, Virginia, part of its significant expansion plans into the DMV.

Linda Roth is Founder & CEO of Linda Roth Associates (LRA), a D.C.-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the foodservice and hospitality industries. Follow her at: @LindaRothPR, #LindaRothPR,  or www.lindarothpr.com.    

Courtesy Enrique Limardo.