Saturday, December 03, 2011

Zuppa Fresca Comes to Loree Grand

Good news, the vacant space originally slated to house Kitchen on K has a new tenant. Zuppa Fresca, an Italian resaurant, will open there with a young chef named Alfrio Celia. He apparently has lot's of kitchen experience in various fine dining kitchens in the metropolitan area, but this will be his first experience opening his own restaurant.

From Loree Grand management:

"We are very excited to announce that Zuppa Fresca will be opening in our retail space on February 1st! Featuring traditional Italian food with a modern twist, Chef Alfio will bring a unique feel to NoMa and The Loree Grand. They will initially start with a breakfast and lunch menu with brunch on Sundays. Shortly after opening they will have dinner and bar services available."

"Alfio Celia was quintessentially 'born in the kitchen'. Coming from a family with 40+ years of restaurant experience, Alfio is bringing a rustic Italian flair to the DC market. Set to be one of the youngest chefs in DC, this chef will incorporate old style ideas from Sicily into the atmosphere and food at his new restaurant. After working for his families' restaurants for 7 years, he graduated in 2009 from L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD. Alfio has worked at several fine dining restaurants and hotels in the metro area. He and his partner started AC Culinary, Inc. in 2011 and are working on opening their first restaurant within the year."

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I reckon it's "Alfio" vs. "Alfrio".

Campy said...

DC NoMa shared their menu:

Zuppa Fresca

Anonymous said...

Almost everything is under $10 on the menu? How long until February 1? Looks great!

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to see the dinner menu too!

Anonymous said...

The unpleasant truth is that this place will cater towards pure thuggery, plain and simple. Save the racist arrow from your quiver, people, and someone please suggest to us with a straight face that this place is not going to be a magnet for mindless fighting, stabbings or shootings over some trifling point of pride. It's depressingly predictable, and yet totally unnecessary.

Does anyone know what we can do to fight this place? I am going to get in touch with my council member, but in addition to that, is there an ANC meeting we can attend to voice our opposition?

for me to poo on! said...

Will the ANC oppose Zuppa Fresca, too?

inked said...

1:08,
It might have been cute/made a point to repost other people's comments in a different context. But to keep doing it makes me suspect that you are just trolling.

Anonymous said...

Zuppa Fresca will not need to come in front of the ANC. Kitchen on K already received a license for this, and it will transfer to the new restaurant. With the build-out nearly complete as well, this place should be able to open on time.

le poo said...

wow. all those kids at the washington center across the steet are going to be in for a treat. there is no way this place can fail!

Anonymous said...

I am very excited about this place. I live a few blocks away and I am very much looking forward to walking down when I am too lazy to cook. With this place, Big board, ethiopic, three new condo places under construction, and the new Giant coming in, I am loving what is going on on the west end of H.

Anonymous said...

The western stretch of H Street is filled with uppity snobs. Once the Steuart project is completed, they will have two legitimate grocery stores, many non-alcohol servicing retail establishments, and apartment buildings with below grade parking. The eastern stretch is stuck with parking decks, an Aldi and a pitiful Safeway, and vomit-covered street fronts. Ugh, this isn't fair.

Anonymous said...

i dont know inked.. 1:08 may have a point. i've seen the sopranos.

Chef Alfio said...

Neighbors,
I want to first say we are excited to be serving your area. We are in the hiring process now and we are expediting everything we can to be open as fast as we can. I can also promise you that there will be no fights, stabbings, or shooting in my restaurant. We will have strict guidelines and enforcements in line to make sure that our customers and friends are safe and never in harm's way. We are seeing what we can do about opening for breakfast and lunch sooner than later. We will be opening dinner once the liquor license pans out. Thank you for all your support and I cant wait to see you all dining with us. Please, if you have any questions I will be happy to answer them.

Send me an email:

alfiocelia@acculinary.com

Thank you again,

Chef Alfio

Anonymous said...

Super excited to eat Chef Alfio's food! I hear he is one of the best chefs in the dc area! Good luck!....Also looking forward to no stabbing, shootings, or anything of that nature for a change!

Anonymous said...

The menu looks really solid and like a place that I would regularly go to. The prices are very reasonable and most items look well chosen for a neighborhood place. I'm stoked about the cheese steak, the avocado-buttermilk soup and the eggs Benedict. I just really, really hope this place will open by February. Knowing DC, there could be some bureaucratic hiccups.

I think with the tenants at the LG, Union Square and the Washington Center, this place should have a captive audience. Plus there's a potential for some spillover from the new businesses and Feds west of the tracks.

Anonymous said...

We are opening this Saturday at 8 am until 4 pm for breakfast and lunch. Please visit our website for the menu and our regular hours starting sunday.

Thank you everyone

Chef Alfio
Zuppa Fresca