Marriott Marquis in Washington finally lands a celebrity chef

Celebrity chef and restaurateur Mike Isabella will take the remaining restaurant space available in the Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C., opening Spanish restaurant Arroz in early 2017.

The announcement comes nearly a year after we learned Chicago restaurateur Alfredo Sandoval pulled out of a deal to open Mercadito, which would have been his first D.C.-area restaurant, in the convention center hotel at 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW.

Continue Reading →

Get ready for an REI-tastic summer before the brand’s new flagship store opens in D.C.

REI, the outdoors retailer that will open what will be its fifth flagship store nationwide in D.C. this fall, knows its timing is less than perfect.

“It’s not our first choice to try to open a flagship in D.C. two weeks before a presidential election,” laughed REI CEO Jerry Stritzke in a phone interview. “It’s going to be a little noisy.”

Continue Reading →

Bernstein flanks I.M. Pei, Holladay Corp. in Park View and REI joins a beer garden

785 Lamont St. NW: New construction from The Holladay Corp. of a four-story, eight-unit apartment building on a parking lot adjacent to the former Alsco plant and Linens of the Week buildings. This is only the beginning for Holladay Corp. on this Park View block. Permits are still to come for the conversion of the Alsco plant into 77 units, and for a big addition to the Linens of the Week building totaling 139 units.

Continue Reading →