A new restaurant is getting ready to open at Capital One Center in Tysons.
Ometeo — a new Tex-Mex concept from a former “Top Chef” winner and the team behind The Salt Line — is expected to open in Capital One’s headquarters building at 1640 Capital One Drive next week, according to a sneak peek from Eater DC.
An exact opening date hasn’t been confirmed yet, but Ometeo spokesperson says to expect a reveal early next week.
Located near where Starbucks used to be, the new 11,000-square-foot restaurant will seat 240 people inside and 75 people outside, Eater DC reported. The “seafood-focused” menu includes fajitas, tacos, enchiladas and more made with ingredients sourced from the Gulf of Mexico.
Ometeo will also serve wine, cocktails, margaritas and frozen drinks, per the menu shared by Eater.
The concept was developed by chef Gabe Erales, who won the 18th season of “Top Chef” in 2021, and the D.C. restaurant group Long Shot Hospitality. Typically based in Austin, Texas, Erales was fired from a restaurant there in 2020 for alleged sexual harassment.
Erales issued an apology in July 2021 “for the impact that my poor decisions had on those involved.” He opened two new restaurants in downtown Austin this fall.
Planned for 6 million square feet of mixed-use development, Capital One Center is poised to add more food-and-drink options next year, including Sisters Thai, Stellina Pizzeria, Ox & Rye and Starr Hill Brewpub. An announced Spanish restaurant from Jiwa Singapura chef Pepe Moncayo was put on hold earlier this year.
Martinis will be shaken and stirred across the D.C. area in the week following Thanksgiving.
That’s when more than 85 restaurants and bars around the region will celebrate D.C. Cocktail Week, an annual promotion organized by Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) that will begin on Nov. 28 and end on Dec. 5 — the 90th anniversary of Prohibition’s repeal.
“Enjoy cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages paired with food bites, cocktail classes, tasting dinners, happy hours, and other happenings at restaurants throughout the region,” RAMW said in a press release.
While the festivities are mostly focused on the District, the line-up of participants includes two based in Tysons: Jiwa Singapura in Tysons Galleria (1702u Galleria at Tysons II) and Wren in Watermark Hotel (1825 Capital One Drive) at Capital One Center.
Opened in September 2021 as part of the hotel, Wren serves Japanese cuisine and hosts a full bar with wine, beer and cocktails. For D.C. Cocktail Week, the restaurant will pair tuskune — a grilled chicken thigh meatball skewer with housemade tare and poached egg on the side for dipping — with “It’s been oolong time” — a roku gin cocktail mixed with smoked oolong tea, strawberry cocchi rosa and lemon oil, according to the campaign website.
Jiwa Singapura is participating in the seven-day promotion for the first time since it opened at Tysons Galleria on Feb. 15. The Singaporean restaurant from chef Pepe Moncayo hasn’t revealed its featured pairing yet.
To try other newcomers, Fairfax County residents can hop across the Arlington border for Clarendon eatery Bar Ivy and Sabores Tapas Bar in Penrose, or across the Potomac River for AIR Restaurant & Lounge, Casta’s Rum Bar, Code Red, DC Capitol Square Bar & Grill and more in D.C.
“Special events and in-house happenings will take place throughout the week including special happy hours and cocktail making classes being added daily,” RAMW says, though the calendar currently only lists D.C. events.
Instituted on Jan. 17, 1920 after the ratification of the 18th Amendment, Prohibition banned alcohol sales ostensibly in an attempt to reduce domestic violence, poverty and other social issues, though rampant anti-immigrant sentiments were also a driving force.
The move instead fueled more drinking and dragged down the hospitality and entertainment industries, giving rise to a black market of bootleggers and organized crime. Deemed a failure, Prohibition was repealed on Dec. 5, 1933, though its legacy as a period of expansion for U.S. policing continues to have consequences.
The sounds of Broadway are coming to Fairfax County in a truck this fall.
The Concert Truck will kick off the season with six stops across the county in three days, starting at the Oakwood Meadow Senior Residences in Rose Hill on Sept. 27 and concluding on Sept. 29 at the Providence Community Center in Oakton.
The mobile concert hall will also make stops at The Boro for its inaugural Tysons Fall Mixed Market, George Mason Regional Library in Annandale, the Mosaic District in Merrifield, and Capital One Center in Tysons.
At each stop, The Concert Truck co-founder and pianist Nick Luby will be joined by singer Jacob Lamb for an hour-long performance “featuring arrangements of Broadway classics,” according to a public relations representative for The Boro.
Luby started The Concert Truck with fellow pianist Susan Zhang in April 2016 as a way to expand the accessibility of live music, according to the pop-up’s website.
Equipped with lights, sound and instruments, the 16-foot box truck launched in Columbia, South Carolina, delivering eight performances in five days. It has since appeared across the country and partnered with local and national arts organizations, such as the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera and the Virginia Arts Festival.
The full schedule for the truck’s Fairfax County tour is below.
September 27, 2023 @ 11:00 a.m.
Oakwood Meadow Senior Residences
5815 S. Van Dorn Street, Alexandria, VirginiaSeptember 27, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m.
Boro Park
The Tysons Mixed Market
8350 Broad Street Tysons, VA 22102September 28, 2023 @ 11:30 a.m.
George Mason Regional Library
7001 Little River Turnpike Annandale, VA 22003September 28, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m.
Mosaic
2905 District Avenue Fairfax, VA 22031September 29, 2023 11:00 a.m.
Capital One Center — The Sculpture Garden
1680 Capital One Tower Road Tysons, VA 22102September 29, 2023 @ 2:30 p.m.
The Providence Community Center
3001 Vaden Drive, Fairfax, VA 22031
For anyone looking to get a more traditional Broadway experience, Capital One Hall is bringing back its “Broadway in Tysons” series for a third year. The season will open with “Jesus Christ Superstar” — which is celebrating its 50th anniversary — on Oct. 20-22, followed by “The Cher Show” on Feb. 16-18, “STOMP” on April 5-7 and “Little Women” on May 17-19.
With autumn just over the horizon, Capital One Center has lined up an expanded roster of events, vendors and musicians for its fifth Perchfest.
The biannual weekend festival will return to The Perch (1805 Capital One Drive) in Tysons on Sept. 15-17, marking about two years since it launched in 2021 to celebrate the skypark’s opening.
In addition to the usual live entertainment and lawn games, the upcoming festival will feature a mini golf tournament called the Perch Putt Open to benefit Miriam’s Kitchen, a D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness that will serve as the event’s charity partner.
“Each year the program grows,” Meghan Trossen, head of Capital One Center’s public affairs, said of Perchfest. “We are thrilled to team up with Miriam’s Kitchen, which has served our community for over 40 years to end chronic and veteran homelessness in the DC Metro Area.”
The tournament is open to event sponsors and anyone who buys spots for four people at $500. Noting that there are only a few sponsorships remaining, Trossen says interested participants can register by contacting her directly at meghan.trossen@capitalone.com.
The Perch Putt Open will kick off the weekend’s festivities from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15.
For those not participating in the mini golf tournament, this fall’s Perchfest will still offer a new attraction in the form of a Shop Made in VA pop-up market showcasing apparel, home goods and other products from local artisans.
The 18-hole Perch Putt mini golf course, its accompanying food trucks and Starr Hill Biergarten will also be open throughout the festival.
The full schedule is below, though Capital One Center says it’s subject to change depending on the weather:
Friday, September 15th
- 3-7 p.m. — Perch Putt Open, Tysons community vendors on the Great Lawn
- 4-6:30 p.m. — Starting Early at Starr Hill Biergarten
- 7-10 p.m. — Run for Cover at Starr Hill Biergarten
Saturday, September 16th
- 12-12:45 p.m. — Free “Sweat Sesh” fitness class from Body Fit Training (BFT) on the Great Lawn
- 12-2 p.m. — Free Flowing Music Experience at Starr Hill Biergarten
- 12-7 p.m. — Shop Made in VA and Tysons community vendors on the Great Lawn
- 2:30-4:30 p.m. — Texas Chainsaw Horns at Starr Hill Biergarten
- 3-6 p.m. — Four Roses (Wren’s private label) barrel release party
- 5-7:30 p.m. — Sidemen Band at Starr Hill Biergarten
- 8-10:30 p.m. — Kleptoradio at Starr Hill Biergarten
- DJ/MC afterparty with Captain/2nutz at Starr Hill Biergarten until closing at midnight
Sunday, September 17th
- 10:30-11:15 a.m. — FitCoach Caroline HIIT Workout at Starr Hill Biergarten
- 11 a.m.-5 p.m. — Tysons community vendors on the Great Lawn
- 12-2 p.m. — The Vandalays
- 2 p.m. — Pie-eating contests sponsored by Wegmans and Capital One Center
- 2:30-5 p.m. — NovaKane at Starr Hill Biergarten
Coming from Wren, the Japanese restaurant in The Watermark Hotel, the Four Roses barrel release party will require separate registrations. More details on that particular event will be coming soon, Capital One Center says.
Perchfest is free to attend, but advance registrations through Eventbrite are encouraged.
In the past, the festival has drawn about 15,000 people over three days, according to Capital One Center. The most recent edition in May offered a preview of three restaurants — Sisters Thai, Stellina Pizzeria and Ox & Rye — coming to the mixed-use development, though now, they’re not expected to open until next year.
Santi is no longer coming to Capital One Center — at least not in the immediate future.
Michelin-starred chef Pepe Moncayo, who recently opened Jiwa Singapura in Tysons Galleria, has paused plans to bring a new Spanish restaurant concept to Tysons, he confirmed through a public relations representative.
“The financial climate and the escalating costs of materials and construction made us take the decision to put a hold into the project waiting for a more favorable time to arrive,” Moncayo said in a statement to FFXnow.
Moncayo and his partners behind the Spanish-Japanese fusion restaurant Cranes in D.C. leased about 7,000 square feet in the mixed-use neighborhood around Capital One’s headquarters, the Washington Business Journal reported in March 2022.
While little was initially shared about the concept, a now-defunct website indicated that it would be called Santi and celebrate “Spanish culinary tradition.”
Capital One Center doesn’t list Santi among the current and upcoming dining options on its website, but Moncayo still “hopes to bring the restaurant to Capital One Center at a later point,” his representative said.
For now, Capital One workers and Tysons foodies can still look forward to the impending arrivals of Sisters Thai, Stellina Pizzeria, the steak-and-whiskey restaurant Ox & Rye, the Tex-Mex concept Ometeo, and Starr Hill Brewpub, an expansion of the beer garden currently operating at The Perch skypark.
While none of the eateries have determined opening dates, Ometeo is expected to launch this year, a Capital One Center spokesperson confirmed. The other businesses are all projected to get 2024 openings.
In addition to Starr Hill Biergarten, The Perch is home to the bar Rhum Roost and a line of food trucks next to the Perch Putt mini golf course. The development also has Wren, a Japanese restaurant that opened with the Watermark Hotel in 2021.
Visitors to Capital One Center in Tysons might’ve noticed signs advertising an upcoming change for Starr Hill Brewery, operator of the development’s rooftop beer garden.
The company confirmed today (Tuesday) that it will expand its presence in the neighborhood with a new, street-level brewpub, featuring a new food menu and two bars.
“We are incredibly excited to announce the addition of our new Brewpub at Capital One Center,” Starr Hill Brewery Vice President of Commercial Operations Josh Cromwell said. “This expansion represents our commitment to providing an exceptional entertainment experience, complementing the amazing atmosphere that Biergarten has developed in the past two years. We are excited to continue showcasing our fantastic beers, food and entertainment at a premier destination in Tysons.”
The 7,572-square-foot pub will be located at base of Capital One Hall at 7730 Capital One Tower Road. The spot had previously been slated to get the restaurant Sisters Thai, which has instead moved across the street.
Starr Hill Brewpub will open in early 2024, according to the press release.
The Brewpub will feature 2 separate bars with over 20 beers on tap, complimented by a robust cocktail menu and a variety of ciders and wines. The expanded food menu will focus on Americana, high-quality pub fare, offering a mouthwatering selection of classic and innovative dishes, designed to perfectly complement Starr Hill’s award-winning beers. An impressive seating capacity of over 225 seats will include an outdoor patio area and a stunning 2,000 square feet mezzanine.
The business also announced that it has hired Arlington chef Steve Winterling to serve as executive chef for Starr Hill Biergarten, which will launch “a renewed and updated food menu” this July. Winterling was the director of dining services for Marymount University before joining Starr Hill.
Starr Hill Biergarten opened in August 2021 as part of The Perch, Capital One Center’s 2.5-acre elevated park that also features mini golf, food trucks, a dog park and an amphitheater. The biergarten has been hosting a variety of events this summer, including live music and movie nights.
“Capital One Center is thrilled to expand our partnership with Starr Hill,” Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said. “Starr Hill Biergarten curated a destination at The Perch and led the way as one of our first retail openings at Capital One Center. Their unique programming and expertise as one of the oldest craft breweries in Virginia has elevated the entire Perch experience.”
Capital One Center said it had no updates on an opening date for Sisters Thai, which was once expected to open in late 2022. The Tysons location will be the restaurant’s largest yet and first to include an outpost of Magnolia Boutique Dessert Bar and Coffee, which can currently only be found in Vienna.
The development will also add Stellina Pizzeria, a Tex-Mex concept called Ometeo, and the upscale American restaurant Ox & Rye over the next year, per the press release.
Chef Pepe Moncayo, who launched Jiwa Singapura at Tysons Galleria earlier this year, is bringing a Spanish restaurant called Santi at 7775 Capital One Tower Road, but it wasn’t mentioned in the press release. The restaurant website says it’s coming in 2023.
Built around Capital One’s headquarters, Capital One Center will have a total of more than 250,000 square feet of retail space.
The new Sisters Thai in Tysons remains a work in progress, but community members will get a taste of what’s to come next month at Perchfest.
Set for May 19-21, the spring edition of Capital One Center’s biannual festival at The Perch (1803 Capital One Drive) will feature food tents for three of the development’s upcoming restaurants, along with live music, lawn games and other activities offered in the past.
In addition to Sisters Thai, which is building its biggest location yet at 7730 Capital One Tower Road, showcases are planned for Stellina Pizzeria (1610 Capital One Drive) and the upscale American restaurant Ox & Rye (7770 Capital One Tower Road).
“Capital One Center is delighted to host the next celebration of Perchfest — our biannual signature event at The Perch, which has become an exceptional rooftop experience for our community and Capital One associates,” Meghan Trossen, Capital One Center’s marketing and community affairs manager, said in a press release.
Trossen said there are no updates yet on actual opening dates for the restaurants. Sisters Thai and Stellina were previously projected to open in the later half of 2022, while Ox & Rye is slated for winter 2023.
The Tex-Mex restaurant Ometeo and a Spanish concept called Santi are also on the way, but they won’t be among the food offerings at next month’s festivities.
Capital One Center, the mixed-use development around the financial giant’s Tysons headquarters, has turned Perchfest into a spring and fall tradition since The Perch opened atop Capital One Hall in 2021. The festival typically draws about 15,000 people over three days, according to Trossen.
Next month’s festivities will include live music by local bands, kid-friendly activities like face-painting and inflatable lawn games, a morning fitness class, and a pop-up box office for Capital One Hall, which will sell fee-free tickets for upcoming performances.
The Watermark Hotel will also have a presence, offering merchandise and prizes as well as “VIP” packages with “special access to festival perks, an upgraded suite overlooking The Perch, welcome amenities and more,” per the press release.
Starr Hill Biergarten and the Perch Putt mini golf course and food trucks will be open throughout the weekend.
Perchfest will run from 4 p.m. to midnight on May 19, 11 a.m. to midnight on May 20, and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 21. Admission is free, but Capital One Center recommends registering in advance and making a donation to its charity partner, Lucky Dog Animal Rescue.
Easter will be a decidedly secular affair at Capital One Center this year.
The Tysons development will host an Easter at The Perch celebration in the skypark atop Capital One Hall (1805 Capital One Drive) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday (April 8), a day before the religious holiday is observed.
The highlight of the event is an egg hunt, which will begin at 10 a.m. with a 9:30 a.m. check-in time. Kids are required to have tickets to participate. The $20 price tag covers admission and a goodie bag, though it doesn’t include a $3.18 processing fee or the sales tax.
The rest of the festivities are open to the general public, according to a media advisory.
Post-egg hunt activities will include:
- Live entertainment featuring Captain Seawalker and his Yacht Rock EGGS’travaganza
- A petting zoo with alpacas, bunnies, and other animals from My Pet Alpaca
- Easter k’EGG Roll
- Easter-themed arts and crafts station
- Easter-themed sack races
- Temporary tattoo stations
- An Instagram photo booth station
- Meet and Greet with the Easter Bunny
Capital One Center also recently reopened its Perch Putt mini golf course after a winter hiatus. Players during Easter at The Perch will get music, giveaways and prizes from the hosts of the radio show Toby and Chilli in the Morning on WASH FM 97.1.
Raffle prizes will also be offered from Capital One Hall and The Watermark Hotel.
For those looking to celebrate spring without the Easter tie-in, Capital One Center’s now-biannual Perchfest is scheduled to return the weekend of May 19-21, per the media advisory.
Just one day after Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, Capital One will kick off the inaugural season of its newly built baseball stadium in Tysons.
Capital One Park, located at 1600 Scotts Crossing Road, will host its first-ever games on March 31, introducing itself to the neighborhood with a double-header between Arlington’s Marymount University and Centenary University from New Jersey.
“Capital One Park, when it comes online in late March, will be an attraction for the community to come together and experience America’s favorite pastime,” Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said.
Approved by the Fairfax County Planning Commission in October, the park represents the first step toward developing the 6.9-acre site known as Capital One East.
Previously occupied by a parking lot, the property will be an extension of the Capital One Center campus where the financial company has its headquarters. It was part of the planned Scotts Run North development until Capital One acquired the land in May 2019.
Though a representative for Capital One told the planning commission it would discuss letting residents of the adjacent Gates of McLean condominiums use the field when it isn’t booked, Griffith says the baseball stadium isn’t designed for casual recreational use like a public park.
Instead, it’s meant to be “an attraction for friends, families, and community baseball aficionados to experience the game played at a high-intensity level,” he said.
Primarily made out of artifical turf, the field was built to meet NCAA standards. The facility can seat over 300 spectators and has picnic areas, restrooms, and a press box.
A schedule of games through Aug. 1 is now on the Capital One Center website.
In the spring and fall, the stadium will host college and high school baseball as well as the Northern Virginia Travel Baseball League. In the summer, the Potomac League — a wooden bat league for D.C.-area college players — will take over with nightly double-headers.
“In planning for Capital One Park, we have worked to ensure that the fan experience is front of mind with easy parking, game-day activations, and a robust concession program all as elements to complement and amplify the action on the field,” Griffith said.
Capital One plans to have an official grand opening celebration for the stadium in June.
Intended to be temporary until the site is built out, Capital One Park will later be joined by a publicly accessible urban park with a water feature, landscaping, a playground, a fitness zone, a plaza with seating, and food truck parking, according to the plan approved by the county.
According to Griffith, construction on that next phase of Capital One East is expected to begin later this year for a potential opening in late 2024.
Capital One Center has landed another brand-new restaurant concept.
Billed as a “new classic American restaurant,” Ox & Rye signed a lease in mid-December for an 11,000-square-foot, 318-seat space at 7770 Capital One Tower Road in Tysons, the Washington Business Journal reported on Friday (Jan. 13).
Developed by the Arlington-based Wooden Nickel Bar Company, whose existing establishments include Copperwood Tavern and The Pinemoor, the restaurant will focus on “local cuts of beef and unique twists on American classic dishes,” according to a press release.
Per the WBJ, menu items will include oysters, steak, wagyu, and lobster fettuchini. As implied by the name, rye whiskey will be prominently featured on a cocktail menu, along with selections of local beers and regional wines.
“We are excited to bring a new dining option to Tysons and can’t wait for guests to experience the unique flavors and atmosphere of Ox & Rye,” owner Reese Gardner said in the press release.
According to its website, Ox & Rye is anticipating a winter 2023 opening. The restaurant will include a “rye lounge” and private dining room for special events.
The announcement brings the number of restaurants expected to join Capital One Center this year up to five. Previously reported tenants include:
- Sisters Thai, which is opening its fifth and largest venue at 7730 Capital One Tower Road
- Ometeo, a Tex-Mex restaurant from the team behind Ballston’s The Salt Line
- Santi, a new concept from Cranes chef Pepe Moncayo that will focus on “Spanish culinary tradition,” per its website
- Stellina Pizzeria, which is filling the vacated Starbucks space in Capital One’s headquarters tower
A Capital One Center spokesperson says no opening dates have been set for any of the restaurants, but the development is “delighted to grow our retail portfolio with five new restaurants opening here in 2023.”
The budding mixed-use development around Capital One’s headquarters is currently a little light on dining options, though it added food trucks last spring with the opening of the Perch Putt mini-golf course on top of Capital One Center.
Known as The Perch, the elevated park also hosts Starr Hill Biergarten and provides access to Wren, the Japanese restaurant and bar in The Watermark Hotel’s lobby.
Designed to accommodate 6 million square feet of development when fully built, Capital One Center is nearing completion of a new office and retail tower. Bisnow reported last week that Capital One has started moving workers into the high-rise, but the company didn’t confirm that it will be delivered this month.
“We are moving associates into our new tower with a multi-phased approach and continue to offer a flexible work environment,” the Capital One Center spokesperson told FFXnow.
