Redevelopment of Vienna’s former Wolf Trap Hotel lands pizza eatery with cocktails

Mellow Mushroom is officially coming to the Town of Vienna.

The Atlanta, Georgia-based pizza restaurant has signed a franchise agreement to open a new location at 444 Maple Avenue, the four-story, mixed-use development replacing the now-demolished Vienna Wolf Trap Hotel and Tequila Grande at the corner of Nutley Street.

FFXnow’s sister site, Tysons Reporter, noted early this year that Mellow Mushroom was featured as a leased tenant in a property brochure for the project, but the business didn’t confirm that the location until Monday (Nov. 28).

“We are extremely excited to bring the Mellow Mushroom brand to Vienna,” franchise owner Jay Shah said in the press release. “The support of this community and the Mellow Mushroom team have helped us grow four successful Mellow Mushroom restaurants.”

The restaurant will be operated by the franchisee Vienna Pizza LLC, whose owners also have Mellow Mushrooms in Short Pump, Chantilly, Virginia Beach and Fredericksburg.

Founded in Atlanta in 1974, Mellow Mushroom now has locations in 21 states, including restaurants in Herndon and Chantilly. In addition to pizza, it sells calzones, hoagies and other sandwiches, burgers, salads, and both cocktails and “mocktails”:

Each Mellow Mushroom is unique in its design and décor and frequently captures unique aspects of the local community. The cornerstone of the Mellow Mushroom menu is stone-baked pizzas featuring a crust made from five simple ingredients, including water from Appalachian Mountain springs. Other menu highlights are freshly made salads, handcrafted cocktails, and a wide selection of beers, many of them local.

Mellow Mushroom didn’t return an inquiry about a possible opening timeframe by press time.

The vacated hotel and Tequila Grande buildings were razed this spring, but nothing appears to have been built on the 2.79-acre site yet. Developer Hekemian & Co. estimated in February that construction would take 18 to 20 months.

The 444 Maple project will consist of a four-story, 151-unit residential building with approximately 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, supported by plazas and two levels of parking.

In addition to Mellow Mushroom, Hekemian’s marketing brochure indicates that space has been leased to the restaurant Tom Yum Thai and Gloss Nails salon. There are still three available commercial suites.