Customers who stop by Tysons Corner Center’s Nordstrom this weekend will get a chance to sample free food — and meet the chefs behind the culinary creations.
As part of a Black History Month collaboration, the department store’s Marketplace Cafe will host chefs David and Tonya Thomas, founders of the Baltimore-based catering company H3irloom Food Group, for a pop-up meet and greet on Sunday (Feb. 23) from 12:30-2:30 p.m.
“Guests can meet the chefs, learn about their culinary inspirations, and enjoy complimentary samples of their featured dishes,” Tysons Corner Center said in an announcement of the event.
According to a spokesperson for the mall, H3irloom was chosen by Nordstrom to serve unique dishes at its stores nationwide in celebration of Black History Month.
Through March 1, Nordstrom’s Marketplace Cafe is offering a berbere steak and African fried rice dish with collard tzatziki developed by David Thomas. Tonya Thomas crafted a Southern goulash, described as a “heartfelt tribute to her grandmother” Reesie, that’s available at the store’s specialty coffee shops and eBars.
Married for nearly 30 years, David and Tonya Thomas founded H3irloom in 2020 to promote the “Black food experience” and its historical roots in African culture and religious traditions, according to the company’s website.
In addition to catering, H3irloom regularly organizes events, and it recently introduced the concept Nostalgia Diner to the Light House Pavilion in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Currently a pop-up open on the weekends, the soul food restaurant is expected to become a permanent fixture in the future.
The couple also previously owned the restaurants Ida B’s Table and Herb & Soul Gastro Café & Lounge in Baltimore. David Thomas won an episode of the Food Network competition show “Chopped” in 2018 and became a “Chopped Grand Champion” in 2020 — a title that came with a $50,000 prize.
Other upcoming local Black History Month events include Fairfax County’s annual celebration, which will be held at the Fairfax County Government Center from 5-8:30 p.m. today (Friday) and feature a variety of entertainment and refreshments.
The Fairfax County NAACP will host a free, public celebration of its own tomorrow (Saturday) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Harvest Assembly Baptist church (8008 Fordson Road) in Hybla Valley. Fairfax Education Association President Leslie Houston has been tapped as a guest speaker, and there will be a gospel concert, followed by a “light lunch.”
In addition, Reston Museum will discuss the community’s legacy as an integrated development founded in 1964, at a time when Virginia was largely still fighting to preserve segregation. The free “Reston At The Forefront Of Community Desegregation” program will take place at Reston Community Center’s Lake Anne facility (1609-A Washington Plaza North) next Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 7-8:30 p.m.
