8 New Restaurants, Bars & Cafés in Mount Vernon
There was a time when the dining options in the Mount Vernon neighborhood were limited to a handful of standbys, like The Helmand or The Brewers Art. The food and drink options have exploded this year, from the small plate spot Flavor Restaurant to basement charcuterie bar Sugarvale. Most of the new entries can be credited to business owners and developers taking advantage of the tax credits available for rehabbing historic properties. The recently opened Brew House No. 16 and the eagerly anticipated makeover of The Brass Elephant (now called The Elephant) are prime examples of adaptive reuse. Here's a look at eight new restaurants, bars and cafés in Mount Vernon.
The wait for the highly anticipated rebirth of this iconic Mount Vernon restaurant is almost over. With seating for 120, The Elephant will open in early 2016, says co-owner Steven Rivelis, who is refurbishing the historic property with wife Linda. The couple will preserve many of the former Brass Elephant’s design details, including the chandeliers and Tiffany-stained glass.
Married couple Julia and Vanna Belton bought the building and restaurant that housed Midtown BBQ & Brew and reopened the space this month as Flavor Restaurant and Lounge. The pair invested more than $1M into the new business, including the building and equipment purchase and renovations, Julia says. The 85-seat restaurant serves small plates and locally sourced cuisine while the LGBT-friendly upstairs lounge can hold 150.
Retired architect Harry Hummel, his son Ian and wife Jyl opened the 120-seat gastropub Oct. 21 in a 107-year-old firehouse at 831 N Calvert St. The Hummels spent $1M to convert the building into an industrial chic eatery, preserving many of the original details, including the fire engine-red doors and exposed ductwork. The family plans to open a beer hall and banquet room upstairs and a bakery downstairs.
Since opening inside the opulent The Ivy Hotel in June, Magdalena has been winning praise for chef Mark Levy’s inventive, sophisticated cuisine. Garrett Hotel Consultants’ renovated a former Gilded Age mansion to open the property, which last month became the first Maryland property to join the prestigious Relais & Chateaux collection of luxury independent hotels and restaurants.
The 35-seat wine and cocktail bar serves house-cured charcuterie in the basement of the same building that houses Phil Han's Dooby’s café. Phil Han opened Sugarvale in June.
The contemporary bar and restaurant opened inside the Hotel Indigo in June, serving a mix of local favorites, including crab cakes, and light and healthful dishes such as quinoa salad. Poets is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Featuring 13 food and drink vendors under one roof, Mount Vernon Marketplace debuted Oct. 13, counting soups, oysters, dumplings and crepes among its offerings. The $1.5M food market is on the first floor of a 171-unit apartment building in the former Hochschild Kohn warehouse at 520 Park Ave. The space contains creative flourishes, including a mural from artist Michael Owen and a ping-pong table next to Pinch Gourmet Asian Dumplings (pictured).
Since opening in September, Ceremony Coffee Roasters has received as much buzz for its minimalist, Apple store-like design as its nitro cold brew coffee. Located next to Mount Vernon Marketplace, the Annapolis-based roaster sells its coffee nationally in cafés, restaurants and specialty stores.
