About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
It’s more fun to eat at a bar than drink at a restaurant. That’s the mantra Fritz Brogan and Reed Landry—who own Mission, Hawthorne, and the Admiral—are bringing to their newest Tex-Mex-and-tequila spot, Salazar. The bar will takeover the 8,000-square foot space formerly occupied by El Centro D.F. on 14th Street later this year.
Salazar will have plenty of margaritas and tacos like its sister Tex-Mex restaurant Mission, which has locations in Dupont and Navy Yard. But the new place will be even more drinks-focused: there will be a nightly happy hour plus four separate bar areas across three floors and a rooftop. “The bar is the heart of the operation,” Brogan says.
An extensive tequila list will showcase “cool, rare, and hard-to-find” bottles, Brogan says, as well as lots of reasonably priced options so people can explore a bunch of different varieties. The food menu is still in the works, but expect bar-friendly Tex-Mex staples. A basement bar will house DJs and dance parties on weekends plus group brunches with bottomless margs. The rooftop bar will be lightened up with white-washed brick for a “fun, casual vibe.”
Reed says the company has weathered the past year “better than we thought,” which has put them in a position for even more expansion. They plan to announce another (not Tex-Mex) concept later this month. While the pandemic has caused many restaurateurs to focus on smaller spaces, Brogan and Reed want to go big with venues that can accommodate lots of events and large groups. The bigger-is-better mentality also applies to the size of their own business.
“Our goal is to be the biggest bar-focused hospitality group in the region,” Brogan says. “We want to keep adding locations.”
Salazar. 1819 14th St., NW.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
