There’s a new Honduran restaurant in town.
Como En Casa (Just Like Home) opened last month at 4112 Mount Vernon Avenue in the former home of Ferman’s Bar & Grill. It’s the first restaurant for owner Jury Vaquedano, who brightened the interior by painting the walls, and adding large televisions, as well as a fresh menu and staff.
One thing that is sticking around is the rotisserie oven for cooking roasted chicken.
“We have great pupusas, chicken fajitas and tacos,” Vaquedano said. “Lunch is getting busier every day because people are finding out how good the food is.”
Vaquedano is in the process of getting a license to serve wine and beer, and wants to host Olympic watch parties this summer, as well as for other big sporting events.
The entrees at the restaurant cost between $15 and $30.
Vaquedano has owned a roofing company, JVC Home Improvement, for the last eight years. In 2018 she opened a food truck, El Sazon Catracho, but closed it in 2020. Since then, she’s worked with her sister’s Honduran restaurant in Springfield, Hondu Pollo (6959 Hechinger Drive).
Como En Casa serves breakfast all day and is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
There’s a new barbecue restaurant in an Old Town space that was previously home to… You guessed it — a barbecue restaurant.
Mystic BBQ & Grill formally opened this month at 220 N. Lee Street in the space previously occupied by Myron Mixon’s Pitmaster Barbeque, the Zebra first reported. Myron Mixon’s closed last Christmas Eve.
RT’s Restaurant (3804 Mount Vernon Avenue) owners Ralph Davis and Matthew Davis took over the restaurant, after their special use permit was approved. The menu has undergone a visual and branding overhaul and the “southern-centric menu” also features fresh seafood, “including our signature spicy she crab soup, low country shrimp & grits & creole bouillabaisse,” according to the restaurant.
According to Mystic BBQ & Grill:
Opened in April 2024 by a family that has been operating restaurants in and around Old Town for almost 50 years. Located in the heart of Old Town, Mystic has a diverse menu featuring Texas style smoked brisket, baby rack ribs & Carolina pulled pork. Meats are smoked low & slow in BBQ champion Myron Mixon’s signature smoker that is front and center in our open kitchen.
BBQ is just one part of this southern centric menu that also features fresh seafood including our signature spicy she crab soup, low country shrimp & grits & creole bouillabaisse. Not to be missed is the jumbo lump crab cake sandwich, which sets the standard for all of Old Town. Specialty sandwiches & unique salads are available all day in a casual setting that features upscale but moderately priced food. Great little wine list & large selection of draft beers are also available. Don’t forget about the “bananas foster” bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream & brown sugar rum sauce.
The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, and from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Italian restaurant L’Italiano Vero is coming to Old Town North, the Washington Business Journal first reported.
The new restaurant is moving into a 4,695 square-foot space at 682 N. St Asaph Street, the same block as Trader Joe’s and formerly Sunday In Saigon, which closed last November.
According to a release from broker Divaris Real Estate Inc., the restaurant is slated to open sometime this May.
Food trucks have been a hit at Port City Brewing Company (3950 Wheeler Avenue) gatherings, and now the company is hoping to expand on that with a new restaurant operating from an onsite trailer.
The brewery regularly hosts tastings, tours and other events with a rotating cast of food trucks supplying accompanying meals. Port City filed a special use permit (Permit #2024-00014) to operate a temporary trailer at the site, operated by a restaurant, that would serve tacos from 11 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.
“Given the popularity of the food trucks and increased demand, Port City plans to partner with a restaurant operator to open a restaurant at the brewery serving tacos from an onsite trailer,” the permit said.
The permit said the trailer would be approximately 160 square feet and include a kitchen.
“The addition of the trailer will be an additional amenity for the patrons of the brewery and Port City looks forward to attracting even more visitors than they already host, with the addition of a quality restaurant partner in the near future,” the permit said.
The permit is scheduled for review at a Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, May 7.
Photo via Port City/Facebook
Marino’s Pizza and Subs at 3100 Richmond Highway* could soon become a Middle Eastern restaurant with a carry-out focus.
Owner Talat Omar filed a special use permit with the City of Alexandria to turn the now-closed pizza place into Omar’s Pitas & Platters.
“We are transitioning to a carry-out Middle Eastern restaurant with revised cuisine/kitchen equipment and different hours,” Omar said in the application. “We will be serving pitas and rice platters with a variety of toppings.”
The permit said the new business will operate from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m.-1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
*That might be Lynhaven rather than Potomac Yard, but that’s not as alliterative.
Image via Google Maps
Mediterranean restaurant La’Baik should open in the next several weeks in the former Rubia’s Tacos at 2309 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray, its owner tells ALXnow.
Rubia’s, which was previously Stomping Ground for eight years, closed in January, and new restaurant owner Mohammad Abdel-Hay is keeping the interior and equipment and tables and chairs as-is, only changing the menu, staff and signage.
“If we get a couple more city approvals, I’m hoping to open in the next two-to-three weeks,” Abdel-Hay said.
La’Baik translated from Arabic means “at your service.”
Abdel-Hay, who lives with his family in Lorton, said that he’d been looking for the perfect location for six months. He signed a five-year lease with two options for extensions, and he said that the menu will include gyros, chicken, falafel, pita pockets, flatbread pizza and wraps.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll be there for 10-to-15 years.”
He also said that customers should be able to get their food within three minutes.
“It’s going to be exactly like an assembly line,” he said. “The lamb, chicken, beef and the falafels are going to be pre-made and it will be ready to serve.”
It will be the first solo restaurant for Abdel-Hay. His family owns the New York Grill in northwest D.C., and he worked in the family business for most of his life. Abdel-Hay took a break from restaurants for the last eight years, and is co-owner of an auto body shop and dealership in Fairfax County.
Abdel-Hay says that diners should expect so spend less than $20 per visit. He also wants the restaurant to be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
New pizza restaurant Benny Diforza’s (1504B Mount Vernon Avenue) has been popular since opening last week. The restaurant was well attended this weekend, and according to an application with the City of Alexandria, there could be more space for diners soon.
Benny Diforza’s is part of a Benny’s Pizza chain with locations across Virginia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wyoming.
The application said the restaurant is opening to add 8-10 seats out in front of the restaurant.
There’s currently limited seating (15 seats) inside the restaurant; where the kitchen fills most of the building.
The application also noted that the Benny Diforza’s could be selling beer and wine soon, pending an ABC permit.
Old Town Deli at 109 N. Washington Street will be joining the regional chain Capo Italian Deli sometime over the next month.
A special use permit was filed with the City of Alexandria to rebrand the deli as Capo Deli. The Alexandria location will be the second Capo Deli location in Virginia after one in Tysons.
The application said there will be few other changes at the site, just interior painting and new flooring/tiling.
The Capo Deli menu features a mix of cold and hot subs with a variety of Italian meats, along with salads, Italian pasta dishes and meatballs.
Old Town Deli owner Andrew Seligman told ALXnow the plan is to convert the restaurant to a Capo Deli at some point in the next 30 days or so, depending on when the special use permit is approved.
Photo via Capo Italian Deli/Facebook
A barbecue restaurant in Old Town is keeping the same meat-focused menu but with a new visual and branding overhaul.
Myron Mixon’s Pitmaster Barbeque at 220 N. Lee Street filed a special use permit to change to Mystic BBQ & Grill.
The permit also notes a change in ownership, with RT’s Restaurant owners Ralph Davis and Matthew Davis taking over the restaurant.
According to the permit:
There will be no changes to the existing business other than a name change and some cosmetic changes to the facility, including painting, refinishing floors and changing out some decor.
It will continue to serve BBQ with some additional items similar to what was on their menu the first couple of years they were open.
Tatte Bakery & Cafe is opening on Jan. 24 at 515 King Street, staff tell ALXnow.
A sign that the restaurant will open in winter 2024 was recently posted outside a main window. Staff inside the confirmed that it will open on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
By the time the bakery opens, it will have been more than a year since the company filed permits with the city.
There are 24 Tatte Bakery & Cafe locations in Massachusetts and the D.C. Metro area. This is the first Alexandria location.
The cafe will be open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. and serve approximately 400 customers per day.
