Riverstead (Formerly Town House), Chilhowie, VA - Chefs John and Karen Shields Have Reopened, But Are Departing For Good April 24-25 - Closed

[cheezepowder]

Wash Post article about the chefs' wedding including Karen Urie's making her own wedding cake and other foods. Talk about wedding planning stress!

[LauraB]

Town House now offers overnight lodging accommodations in its newly renovated house, Riverstead

Given that TH is 5 hours from DC and in the middle of nowhere, this option might make it possible for more of us to think about going there.

[Beto]

Town House now offers overnight lodging accommodations in its newly renovated house, Riverstead

Given that TH is 5 hours from DC and in the middle of nowhere, this option might make it possible for more of us to think about going there.

Here's a Google Maps street view of the property. The before and after images are stunning. Quite the renovation, I'd say.

[mtpleasanteater]

We stayed in Marion VA which is a nice small town and much closer to what I was expecting Chillhowie to be than Chillhowie itself was. The gas station in Marion has a better selection of beer than A LOT of places in DC.

I am sure that Riverstead is nice though, and it's probably closer.

My meal was really wonderful. I'll try to post more about it later.

[cjsadler]

It really is amazing that this place exists where it does, on the otherwise abandoned main street of Chilhowie. By the time I arrived, it was dark. I think every single storefront was boarded up... felt like I was in a Twilight Zone episode or something.

You gotta wonder what locals (there seemed to be a few of them there that night) think of a dish like "The Orange from Valencia", which was an orange ice cream shell filled with mussels and olive jelly. Starting with that as a first course, my dinner was a pretty wild ride. The "Orange" was better than it sounds, but it wasn't something I'd want to eat again. The execution of this dish, and everything that followed, was perfect. I'm not sure how they're able to manage that with such complex platings. These are some highly talented chefs, but I couldn't help wondering what the meal would have been like if they weren't trying so hard to constantly push the envelope. The emphasis here is obviously on appearance and (sometimes jarring) novelty. I found things to be hit or miss. A dish like the Vegetable Minestrone was certainly beautiful to look at, but only amounted to some plain vegetable shavings with a bit of vegetable broth. Head Cheese Tacos, however, which were my favorite bite of the evening, need to become a new bar snack trend.

Sommelier Charlie Berg's pairings were a real highlight. Often left-field picks, as you might expect, but ones that went very well with the food. The prices aren't listed on the website, but the pairings are available at two levels: $40/$55 for the 4-course and $60/$75 for the 9-course. Not sure what I would have been served otherwise, but the upgraded pairing seemed to be money well spent. Two of the courses included multiple pairings (a spatlese riesling/sake pairing with a hamachi and pig tail dish, and a gewurtztraminer/Westmalle dubbel duo with a short rib dish).

Go now, as I'm not sure how long they can keep this up. On the Saturday night I was there, the dining room remained half-empty the entire night. It was a fun evening and I'm already looking for an excuse to go back.

[Waitman]

Go now, as I'm not sure how long they can keep this up. On the Saturday night I was there, the dining room remained half-empty the entire night. It was a fun evening and I'm already looking for an excuse to go back.

Bonnaroooooooooooo!

[Heather]

Bonnaroooooooooooo!

I seriously wonder if they will be around by next June

Chris, your reaction to the food was very similar to mine, A lot of "Wow, this is really unique!" and not a lot of "I'd totally order this again!"

[mtpleasanteater]

I can't wait to go back. I would probably re-order 13 of the 14 things that I had.

I think the reason that they are able to execute so well is that it's so small. The chef told me that he personally cooked everything that we ate, and that the other side of that coin is that everyone who works there has to do dishes.

BTW this place deserves to be included in the DC area just as much as places in New York City do.

[stickmoon]

Chef John Shields wins Food and Wine's Best New Chef award for 2010. Road trip!!!!

[youngfood]

Chef John Shields wins Food and Wine's Best New Chef award for 2010. Road trip!!!!

Well deserved! We had maybe our best meal of the year there over the Memorial Day weekend en route to see some extended family down south and I totally dropped the ball on writing it up.... GO, GO, GO! It's a steal and you wont regret it.

[ol_ironstomach]

This is just a placeholder message to remind me to post pics and descriptions from our meal last week. I still love this place, including their choice of music. But in case I don't get around to it (ahem) a quick recap: still lots of intriguing work, although chef John Shields seems to be focusing more on incorporating savory flavors into each preparation (and a bit less on color and crunch). Complex is still good, but two of our favorites were among his "simpler" dishes - "scrambled egg mousse", and a squid "risotto". After a strong start with the amuse and first six dishes, we thought the squab and lamb lost a bit of momentum.

Karen Urie Shields deserves to be celebrated at least a much as her husband does; her desserts were simply among the best things I ate in 2010. Forget about elaborate showpieces; these were playful, vibrant, and downright fun. Her dish of "stones" - textures of chocolate, black sesame, crème fraiche, and coffee - was possibly my favorite single dish of the year. It's a slate of assorted textures and temperatures and flavors that I'd go out of my way to eat, if only they were available à la carte. The follow-on of "a curd of sour quince juice & olive oil" - black pepper, dill, Douglas fir ice cream, toasted meringue - was completely different, yet also more than held its own ground. The ice cream is fluffy, and reminiscent of the crumb of a good French bread; I think it must be made with liquid nitrogen.

"stones"

And for the record, her potato ciabatta, which I think I maligned last spring, is wonderful now.

Menu:

• CHILLED VEGETABLE "MINESTRONE"
  
• SMOKED IKURA ROE
  
  young coconut, delicate squash, parsnip,
  t****
  bean

• MAINE LOBSTER
  
  cream from the shells, consommé, butter, crustacean oil

• SCRAMBLED EGG MOUSSE
  
  smoked char roe, sorghum, sweet spices, preserved ramp

• STONE CRAB IN BROWN BUTTER & LIME
  
  onions, dried scallop, banana, milk skin, vegetable crab meat

• "RISOTTO" OF SQUID
  
• SQUAB BREAST COOKED IN SMOKED BUTTER
  
  beets, chicken skin, rose, cured green strawberries, malt

• BORDER SPRINGS FARM LAMB COOKED IN ASH
  
  glazed in eggplant juice, sesame, yogurt, black garlic, bread

• STONES
  
  textures of chocolate, black sesame, crème fraiche, coffee

• A CURD OF SOUR QUINCE JUICE & OLIVE OIL
  
  black pepper, dill, Douglas fir ice cream, toasted meringue

  
  

[Joe H]

An e-mail an hour ago said that Karen and John Shields are leaving to pursue new career opportunities. Absolutely no idea where they are going: does anyone know? This tiny outpost, 290 miles south of D. C. off of I 81 which rivalled D. C. and Chicago's best on a good night will now close. I must note that Chilhowie became a national destination for foodies; but no more.

I post this here because Chilhowie's Town House Grill was a very real pilgramage for many of us.

[TedE]

I wouldn't exactly call this a bombshell. With all of the good press and raves Town House received did anybody really believe they would stay put in such an out-of-the-way location? But now I do wish I'd been able pay them a visit. Best of luck wherever they land, and I hope the hype machine doesn't do them in.

[Joe H]

http://www.washingto...heck=0&denied=1

"One of the cities they’re considering is Washington, which they visited a few weeks back. They dined at Sushi Taro and at Toki Underground . “I’ve always loved D.C., “ says John Shields. “It’s got a great vibe.”

[B.A.R.]

This will be the most significant restaurant to open in DC since the last most significant restaurant to open in DC.

[Waitman]

Theis was pre-ordained the moment the doors opened.

Bummer, anyway.

[lion]

Always wanted to visit the restaurant, though having to use the verb 'visit' and it have a meaningful connotation to eating at a restaurant probably wasn't a good sign.

If I had to choose where I would want them to land for purely personal reasons, the recently closed Once upon a Time toy store in Vienna.

[johnb]

I must note that Chilhowie became a national destination for foodies; but no more.

I post this here because Chilhowie's Town House Grill was a very real pilgramage for many of us.

I wouldn't write Town House Grill off just yet. IIRC, the Shields went there because of the owner, a local very rich busnessman who wanted to have an accessible 5-star restaurant for himself and friends/clients. Making money was never in the equation for him, and I have to believe they were paid in accordance with their talent. If all this is true, I would think he might find a new budding young chef of high ability to take over. So we'll see.

And I join the ranks of those who are sorry they never got there.

[Joe H]

John, we actually got there. On the day it was closed. Serious. Looked in the window from the front, parked in the lot behind and cursed that it was closed. In truth we knew it would be closed, it was just frustrating that on the day we happened to be travelling down I 81, past Chilhowie, I stopped to see the Town House Grill fantasizing about it being open.

I really can't say much about Chilhowie. Frankly, absolutely remarkable that they stayed there as long as they did. BUT, we were in Chef Vola's in Atlantic City on Tuesday night which I have raved about-everywhere-for a number of years. Carol and I had a discussion that while this is a great Southern Italian restaurant what makes it even better is the nondescript beachhouse basement that you have dinner in. Our table was literally under the porch with a ceiling no more than seven feet high. Vola's is indeed excellent. However, it goes over the top because of the character (or absence of...) of where and "how" you eat.

I wonder if the Shields profited in the same way from the Town House Grill?

Anyway, I really hope they come here. We will seriously profit from their presence.

[DonRocks]

I've been reluctant to "declare" Town House permanently closed because I never made it down there, but I have it on pretty good word that Town House "died with Shields."

It saddens me because I have to retire it in Italic, and from everything I've heard, from everyone, it would have deserved a ranking at the highest possible level. I know that sounds like a maniacal reason to be sad, but it's true.

And this page of history, is now closed.

[astrid]

If it's any consolation.

"Critically-acclaimed chef John Shields, who previously announced that he picked Philly to open his first solo project, has been rethinking his original plan because of a lack of interest financially.

"I love Philly, I love the energy, and my wife and I have had a great time here," Shields told Eater. "But, we've gotten virtually no interest from financial backers. And, we've gotten some strong leads in Washington, D.C.""

[DonRocks]

If it's any consolation.

"Critically-acclaimed chef John Shields, who previously announced that he picked Philly to open his first solo project, has been rethinking his original plan because of a lack of interest financially.

"I love Philly, I love the energy, and my wife and I have had a great time here," Shields told Eater. "But, we've gotten virtually no interest from financial backers. And, we've gotten some strong leads in Washington, D.C.""

It is a consolation, but there was something so ... what's the word ... LiChaCool (Life-Changingly Cool) about this restaurant being in a remote, isolated, backwoods ex-ex-ex-ex-exurb, and right now we have Tarver King, José Andrés, RJ Cooper, Enzo Fargione, Logan Cox, and several others that are doing breathtaking, Adrià-inspired work, and it's just not as lichacool. No matter how great John Shields' new restaurant may be, it's just not going to be the same.

[giant shrimp]

It is a consolation, but there was something so ... what's the word ... LiChaCool (Life-Changingly Cool) about this restaurant being in a remote, isolated, backwoods ex-ex-ex-ex-exurb, and right now we have Tarver King, José Andrés, RJ Cooper, Enzo Fargione, Logan Cox, and several others that are doing breathtaking, Adrià-inspired work, and it's just not as lichacool. No matter how great John Shields' new restaurant may be, it's just not going to be the same.

There was something really lonely about it as well. When we ate there early last New Year's Eve, which I believe was its final night open, there were only a few occupied tables and my conclusion was that the restaurant was unsustainable in this neck of the back woods. Chilhowie is dark. I did not especially like driving the winding country roads there and back to the Francis Marion Hotel in the dark (in lieu of 81), but it definitely was a travel experience. However, I do not believe anyone is cooking like John Shields in Washington today, and I am not sure he is exactly Adria-inspired. Who else will serve you a replicated patch of the Appalachian Trail for dessert? If his restaurant does come to Washington, I would expect it to transport diners to places they have seldom been (at higher prices than they would have been charged in the hinterlands, if you want something to get all sad about).

[DonRocks]

There was something really lonely about it as well. When we ate there early last New Year's Eve, which I believe was its final night open, there were only a few occupied tables and my conclusion was that the restaurant was unsustainable in this neck of the back woods. Chilhowie is dark. I did not especially like driving the winding country roads there and back to the Francis Marion Hotel in the dark (in lieu of 81), but it definitely was a travel experience. However, I do not believe anyone is cooking like John Shields in Washington today, and I am not sure he is exactly Adria-inspired. Who else will serve you a replicated patch of the Appalachian Trail for dessert? If his restaurant does come to Washington, I would expect it to transport diners to places they have seldom been (at higher prices than they would have been charged in the hinterlands, if you want something to get all sad about).

The good news is: Minibar is now open.

A replicated patch of the Appalachian Trail is off-the-charts. Obviously, it all boils down to execution, but the concept is just brilliant.

[Marty L.]

The good news is: Minibar is now open.

A replicated patch of the Appalachian Trail is off-the-charts. Obviously, it all boils down to execution, but the concept is just brilliant.

The photos provide a good sense of what John and Karen were up to at TH:

http://townhouseblog.blogspot.com/

[Escoffier]

I've been in Marion a number of times and never heard of anyone speaking of this restaurant. A shame it's closed. I'll be back in the area (at the General Francis Marion as a matter of fact) in April. I'll be eating Chef Greystone's food and trying to decide how I ever missed Town House.

[Joe H]

The Town House Inn is something of a legend-just scroll back on this thread. Frankly, a real shock that it lasted as long as it did. My guess is that the couple who owned it subsidized the restaurant out of pride. We have friends who flew from Toronto to eat dinner at it. Twice.

The "Elements" dinner he refers to was in Princeton, NJ.

It would be huge if he and his wife move to the D. C. area.

[Joe H]

This is the most intriguing, mysterious restaurant in America: Chef John Shields was sous chef at Charlie Trotter's then opened Alinea with Grant Achatz as his sous chef for two years before moving to Chilhowee. Chef Karen Urie worked at Tru then later moved to Charlie Trotter's as its Head Pastry Chef for five years...before moving to Chilhowee.

http://www.townhouse..... Profiles.pdf

At the Town House Grill they are nightly serving absolute blow out dinners among the best in America: http://townhouseblog.blogspot.com/

Several weeks ago, en route to Asheville, we stopped in Chilhowee for dinner.

It is 296 miles from Reston to the Chilhowee turnoff of I 81. Within seconds of exiting the Interstate there is a huge junk yard covering several acres on the right side of the road, only a hundred yards from the town's several block long Main Street where the Town House Grill sits a few doors down. Gas stations, a convenience store or two and an aging Super Market frame the intersection along with a vacant store front. We also passed several locals chewing and spitting tobacco walking down the street near where we parked. Behind the restaurant we expected to find a garden or a stream or, at least a cornfield. There was a parking lot. With chipped cement.

I should also note that Bristol, VA/TN is 29 miles down the road while Blacksburg is an hour or so north. Neither Bristol nor Johnson City seemed to us as the type of sophisticated metropolitan area that would support the kind of creativity that graduates of Trotter's and Alinea's may have fostered. We also weren't quite certain how they sourced most of their foodstuffs. Fed Ex? This was not an area similar to Washington where The Inn sourced locally.

All the more reason to have dinner there.

They were closed. On Monday. (No wonder no one had answered the phone when I called for a reservation-they are only open 5-9 Tuesday to Saturday.)

We looked in the windows and I took pictures. A lot of photos. The interior of the restaurant seemed to match the town. Plain, brown and aging.

There has got to be a story here. A REAL story. I am also absolutely obsessed with returning to Chilhowee to have dinner here. "One whose opinion I trust," Estufarian from Chowhound, has been here. He has eaten his way around Europe and the U. S. as well as Trotter's, Tru and Alinea. He insists that he and his wife thought this is one of the five best restaurants in North America right now.

In Chilhowee, VA.

I don't know how much longer this couple will be there but I suspect I shouldn't wait too long to find out. Six hundred miles round trip for a dinner that may be a real memory...and a story for the nursing home. True cutting edge cuisine: Chicago, Manhattan and Chilhowee.

Addendum: shouldn't someone in the industry in D. C. be trying to talk this couple into moving here? To hell with Gordon Ramsay, they may be able to fill Maestro...

It is Estufarian who flew from Toronto to have dinner at the Town House. Twice. Huge credibility on CH.

Someone-someone (!) should be investing in this couple's move to Washington... I can't think of another chef in America that would have the appeal or the back story that they do. I would suggest that if they were to open here this would be the most anticipated restaurant in years.

[ol_ironstomach]

The "Elements" dinner he refers to was in Princeton, NJ.

It would be huge if he and his wife move to the D. C. area.

I wish I had known, but shouldn't have been surprised. We had a tasting menu at Elements two summers ago, and chef Scott Anderson's work was both gorgeous and delicious, if only a bit less broadly conceptual than Town House had been. (Almost obscenely generous use of morels, but you should have seen the box his forager brought into the kitchen...) Worth the trip, if you're between Philly and NYC.

[johnb]

The Town House Inn is something of a legend-just scroll back on this thread. Frankly, a real shock that it lasted as long as it did. My guess is that the couple who owned it subsidized the restaurant out of pride. We have friends who flew from Toronto to eat dinner at it. Twice.

The "Elements" dinner he refers to was in Princeton, NJ.

It would be huge if he and his wife move to the D. C. area.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, according to a story I read somewhere it was owned not by the Shields by a very rich local guy, and he did the subsidizing, as the story goes, to have a place he and his wife could eat and bring their business clients and personal friends. If that is/was so, then I would assume John and Karen left either due to some difference of opinion or just because they got bored with the place, or because the rich guy pulled the plug. Not that it particularly matters. As for me, I surely would like to taste their cooking some day.

[DonRocks]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, according to a story I read somewhere it was owned not by the Shields by a very rich local guy, and he did the subsidizing, as the story goes, to have a place he and his wife could eat and bring their business clients and personal friends. If that is/was so, then I would assume John and Karen left either due to some difference of opinion or just because they got bored with the place, or because the rich guy pulled the plug. Not that it particularly matters. As for me, I surely would like to taste their cooking some day.

It's almost like they were personal chefs, and this was their outlet to keep them from going insane and/or part of the deal.

[Joe H]

Absolutely isolated location, John. I'm not even certain what kind of entertaining could be done even infrequently for business. Bristol is the nearest city of any size but not the kind of place that would support a restaurant like this. I just remember turning off of I 81 and being shocked. Of course this adds to the appeal and the character of it for someone from D. C., New York or Toronto. Or Chicago.

I suppose restaurants have varying objectives; for some it may be possible that profit does not matter. This seems to have been one.

Can you imagine where some of the food must have been sourced? And how much Fed Ex would have added to its cost?

[mtpleasanteater]

strongly agree with giant shrimp about the lack of similarity between what adria was doing at el bulli and what shields was doing at townhouse. it's really hard to believe that someone who had eaten at either restaurant would make the comparison.

also strongly agree with don about the lack of "for profit business" feel of the town house restaurant in chillhowie.

[johnb]

For those who may be interested, here is an article from four years ago that gives some background on how John and Karen came to Chilhowie and Town House. The part about how they auditioned for the job is interesting.

[Joe H]

On their wedding Web site, Urie wrote: "We have found one another, the missing piece of the puzzle. We wanted to nurture rather than destroy that.

Being chefs at the Town House restaurant has brought us closer ... and revealed the true inner chef in us.""

John, thank you for an extremely interesting and insightful article. Many of us have no idea of the personal sacrifice-in time, in a relationship or in a friendship that a chef, staff or family might pay. This article speaks volumes about what they both looked forward to (and, perhaps, attempted to escape from in Vegas) in travelling to Chilhowie.

A different perspective, a respectful one that goes a long way towards explaining the trek to rural southwestern VA. Unlike my post above which mentions a wealthy benefactor this speaks more of a couple willing to sponsor another who share the same idyllic fantasy, perhaps creating a destination in the process. I know this is after the fact but they both tried.

Now, selfishly, I want John and Karen to open, to stage here. I also cannot help but wish Tom and Kyra Bishop could be with them-although they may have no interest in our area. A wonderful, ambitious story-that only adds to the magic of their move.

[B.A.R.]

Miss this place? Never been? Try here. Not the same, but its great, and it's closer.

[astrid]

I enjoyed my meals at Townhouse and Rogue 24 immensely, but I don’t think they’re similar in inspiration.

Townhouse courses were magical. They’re like masterful works of needlecraft. I’ve never been to NOMA or Faviken, but based on pictures in their cookbooks I suspect they’re the closest kins to what the Shields created at Townhouse. The closest DC comparables I can think of are Volt’s composed salads and some Eola dishes.

Rogue 24 courses felt like the work of master watchmakers. They’re certainly wonderful and inspired, and I would go in a heartbeat if someone else was paying, but their dishes don’t have quite the same whimsical and handcrafted feel (possibly because they serve more than 10 covers every night).

[Waitman]

I enjoyed Townhouse quite a bit, and a Version 2.0 would be a fine addition to the local dining scene, but I'd say that there are at least half a dozen better restaurants -- if not more -- already in DC.

[RJ Cooper]

And food cost, labor cost, rent, ect. ect. ect. And we don't like to be compared to any other restaurant. You have to enjoy us and the others as what the are. Individual journeys.

[astrid]

I certainly did not mean to imply that Townhouse was the undisputed best. Just trying to articulate Don’s LiChaCool factor. I’ve had a few meals in DC that I’d prefer over my dinner in Townhouse, including my dinner at Rogue 24, but none came with a heavier sprinkling of magic pixie dust – probably because those chefs were trying to run sustainable businesses in addition to creating edible art.

Sorry if I offended anyone.

[B.A.R.]

I enjoyed Townhouse quite a bit, and a Version 2.0 would be a fine addition to the local dining scene, but I'd say that there are at least half a dozen better restaurants -- if not more -- already in DC.

This was my intent. We're pining for a restaurant that's been closed for over a year that was 8 hours away, when we have similarly groundbreaking restaurants right under our nose.

And food cost, labor cost, rent, ect. ect. ect. And we don't like to be compared to any other restaurant. You have to enjoy us and the others as what the are. Individual journeys.

Very true, hence why I was highlighting your restaurant as not the same, but equally great.

[RJ Cooper]

Oh gosh no astrid, wasn't offended what so ever. Just pointing out the facts..John is an amazing Talent and I believe he should be down here not in Philly. He would be appreciated much more.

And thanks all we try hard every day....New menu was written today and a New chef de cuisine from a 2 star in Australia now has the keys to the car. He is a bad ass.

vegetable soups/complex & simple

kimchee/crispy/bulgogi

urchin/ink/bread/clamato/sea grass

sunchoke/black olive dip

caesar/anchovy/romaine/lemon

steelehead/roe/creek bottom

potato/squab/leek/calamancy

blood macaroon/chicken liver/onion/cepe

scallop/pinenut/buddah’s hand/sea grass/malt

foie gras/bánh mi/pickles

razor clam/chowder textures

ham hock/brussel sprout/potato/ears

skate wing/red cabbage/mustard/rye

pig rib/smoked bacon/marrow bean

ox tail/celery root/celery/onionsmushroom bark/accents & textures

hare in 3 compositions

• rillettes/cranberry/quinoa
  
• bouillon/parsnip/black truffle
  
• loin/fig/endives
  

brad’s goat cheese/olive textures

quince/dolce de leche/walnut/honey

peppermint/not paddy

chocolate/soft/crunchy/blood orange

happy endings/little things/small bites

Does anyone on the board know about RogueSpirits?

Well, its the four stools in front of the chef tender Bryan. For $55 bucks you can enjoy 3 hand crafted cocktails with 3 culinary pairings. Make a reservation and see how a great cook incorporates spirits.

[mdt]

Oh gosh no astrid, wasn't offended what so ever. Just pointing out the facts..John is an amazing Talent and I believe he should be down here not in Philly. He would be appreciated much more.

Why less appreciation in Philly? They do have quite a few excellent restaurants there and a vibrant food scene.

[johnb]

Another report on John Shields' interest in Washington here from today's NYT. The mention is in the "Sunflower Power" section of the article. The link on his name is to a 2009 article in the Times that has some more info on how John and Karen wound up at Town House.

[Gary Tanigawa]

johnandkarenshields.blogspot.com

[DonRocks]

"John Shields Returns To Familiar Turf As D.C. Restaurant Falls Through" by Tom Sietsema on washingtonpost.com

[Joe H]

That's a bombshell.  Also a bombshell to have the new experience,especially bringing one's own wine.

[hungry prof]

This sucks.  Georgetown could so have used that restaurant.

[Escoffier]

I'll be there a week before he opens.  Maybe on the way back from Fontana, I can arrange dinner.

[southdenverhoo]

If thwarted in Georgetown, the Shields so ought to go to the former Ben & Mary's Steak House in Warrenton VA.  Been sitting empty again for months. Perfect size for intimate dinners albeit for 60 or 70 vs 14. Not even listed for lease anymore, I believe the owner finally got tired of failed restaurants.

If they are interested in opening a restaurant in DC or thereabouts, they MUST read this website, so: Mr. and Mrs. Shields, the property owner is Keith Fletcher, and his website is www.fletcherrentalproperties.com.  The space had a long career as the place to be among wealthy local horse people as well as  middle class folks like my parents, too, with great steaks, but fell off horribly after Ben & Mary Golightly retired, and has been mediocre to poor under a string of owners since. But it's a hell of a lot closer to the District than, say, Little Washington.

Or Chilhowie.

I mean, it's just sitting there. 6806 James Madison Highway, Warrenton VA, 51.1 miles/57 minutes from the corner of Wisconsin & M in G-town...

There is a moneyed clientele around, I'll bet Neil Wavra would tell you a surprising amount of his business comes from Fauquier and western Loudoun counties, as opposed to day-trippers and weekenders from inside the beltway.

(my interest is strictly as an occasional visitor to my old home town; my dad's place is less than 3 miles away...)