PROJECTED OPENING: August 6th, 2024 1337 14th Street NW Neighborhood Restaurant Group and Chef Hamilton Johnson will be opening Mallard, a new restaurant that reimagines Southern cuisine with a refined yet playful twist this August in the space formerly home to Birch & Barley beneath ChurchKey. At Mallard, Chef Johnson will blend global and classic techniques with Southern food traditions, utilizing local and regional ingredients. Chef Johnson will also take inspiration from memories from his family's dining table for Mallard's dining experience. The beverage program at Mallard will be lead by Greg Engert, Nick Farrell, and Erin Dudley. Mallard will initially open with lunch and dinner service, eventually expanding to brunch service as well in September. For more information, visit Mallard's website here. 

PROJECTED OPENING: Fall 2024 333 G Street NW Chef Pepe Moncayo will be opening his latest culinary venture, Arrels, at Arlo DC this Fall. Arrels, meaning "roots" in Catalan, will be a modern Spanish restaurant deeply connected to Moncayo's heritage, celebrating ties to Barcelona, Sant Celoni, Blanes, and various Spanish regions. The menu will offer a contemporary take on classic Spanish dishes, including tapas, composed plates, and signature beverages like sangria and gin and tonics. Featuring a state-of-the-art Spanish oven and grill fueled by charcoal. Arrels will showcase a variety of dishes from whole fishes to charred vegetables, enhancing natural flavors with traditional Spanish techniques. Chef Moncayo aims to create an inviting space where guests can savor the essence of Spanish cuisine.Photo by Leading DC

PROJECTED OPENING: Winter 2024 1328 4th Street NE The team behind Jane Jane will be opening a new destination cocktail bar, Bar Betsie, in DC’s Union Market District this Winter. Bar Betsie will offer a menu of thoughtfully crafted cocktails, wines, beers and bar snacks, inside a striking and intimate space. Bar Betsie aims to be a soulful, unpretentious gathering place for guests. Neon accents will play off mirrored walls, wood paneling and a dramatic sculptural ceiling. There will be four intimate booths, an extensive banquette, a 14-seat bar and an outdoor patio space.

PROJECTED OPENING: Winter 2024 1800 Chain Bridge Road, McLean, VA Sunday Morning Bakehouse will be opening its first Northern Virginia location in McLean's Heming development this Winter. This family and female-owned elevated bakery will occupy 3,100 square-feet of ground space. Guests can get excited to enjoy Handmade Croissants, Seasonal Breads and Pastries, Special Occasion Cakes, and much more. For more information, visit their website here.

PROJECTED OPENING: Winter 2024 967 Rose Avenue, North Bethesda, MD A new Japanese-inspired restaurant, Mui, will be opening at North Bethesda's Pike & Rose in the space formerly home to The Block this Winter. This 8,506 square-foot restaurant will feature non-traditional Japanese dishes as well as traditional kaiseki, sushi, omakase from Japan (which will be the highlight of Mui). Some additional menu options will be seafood and meat cooked on a Robata grill. The food menu will be complemented by an agave, scotch, and sake menu curated by a highly trained mixologist. More information to come as the opening is closer. For more information, click here.

PROJECTED OPENING: Winter 2024 734 15th Street NW Ned's Club Washington DC, an elite downtown club, will be opening this Winter in the space formerly home to Riggs Bank and American Security and Trust Company. This new DC location will be Ned's Club's fourth location, and it will be its first club-only location that caters only to its members. In DC, Ned's Club will boast two private restaurants, Loft Restaurant and Rooftop Terrace. Applications to become a member of Ned's Club opens in May, with fee and number of members TBD. Ned's Club was founded by Nick Jones and Ron Burkle. The theme at Ned'c Club DC will be “roaring 20’s”. For more information, visit their website here.

PROJECTED OPENING: Late 2024 269 19th Court Street, Arlington, VA Co-Owners Swati Bose and Kabir Amir will be reopening their wine bar, Flight, later this year in National Landing, after their Chinatown location closed at the end of last year. This new 2,175 square-foot location will feature a similar selection to its former location, however, this new National Landing location will act more as a bottle shop, rather than a bar and restaurant. Flight will open with a much smaller wine list that features 150 wines. More information to come as the opening gets closer.

PROJECTED OPENING: Summer 2024 1400 Bridgeport Way #103, Suffolk, VA Sojourn Fermentory will be opening in Suffolk, Virginia this Summer. The brewery and cidery with a tasting room and full kitchen will be the first of its kind in the Suffolk market. This new venture is a partnership between Jinson Chan and Michael Pawley. Sojourn Fermentory will offer progressive European-style lagers, ciders and American ales, including limited releases of barrel-aged stout. Czech Republic-inspired lager service, complete with dedicated Lukr faucets, will be the highlight of the taproom. The taproom will feature a family-friendly area and an indoor and outdoor beer garden with live music. The kitchen will offer Roman-style pizzas made from in-house 72-hour fermented organic dough, Florence-style sandwiches with freshly baked bread, and small plates that pair well with craft beer. For more information, visit their website here.

PROJECTED OPENING: Summer 2024 1452 4th Street NE M. Frances, a non-profit fine dining restaurant from The Lee Initiative, will be opening in DC's Union Market neighborhood this Summer. M. Frances's mission will be to serve as a think-tank project, implementing real time research and solutions for independent restaurants to be more sustainable, innovative, and fair. With the help of university partners, mentor chefs, and an in-house research team, M. Frances will tackle some of the most pressing issues facing the restaurant industry and publish the findings in an open-source method. M. Frances will be the first of its kind in America. The restaurant will offer a hyper-local and seasonal seven-course tasting menu which will be created by a collective of chefs rather than the traditional Executive Chef method. The all-female culinary team will consist of: Chef Amy Brandwein, Chef Lisa Donovan, Chef Liliana Myers, Chef AuCo Lai, Chef Taylor Davis, and Lindsay Ofcacek. For more information, visit The LEE Initiative's website here. 

PROJECTED OPENING: Fall 2024 10128 River Road, Potomac, MD Duke's Grocery will be expanding and opening a location this Fall in Potomac, Maryland's Potomac Village Shopping Center. Guests at this new Potomac location can anticipate the menu to include Duke Grocery's staples such as Massive Sarnies, Seasonal Bevvies, Hearty Salads, Local Beers, and more. Duke's Grocery Potomac will feature a 32-seat dining room, a 14-seat bear area, a 10-seat high top seating area, a 16-seat banquette seating area, and a 24-seat outdoor dining area. For more information, visit their website here.