National Harbor Signs Six More Restaurants
Combination of National and Local Restaurants to Open on Potomac Waterfront
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., March 23, 2007 — Some of the nation’s most fashionable restaurants – including two of Hollywood’s trendiest hotspots, two of Manhattan’s most stylish, upscale dining destinations and two legendary Washington-area culinary landmarks – are among six waterside restaurants that have made early reservations at National Harbor.
The Peterson Companies, the master developer of the 300-acre mixed-use development, announced agreements today with the following restaurants: Ketchup, Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante, Rosa Mexicano and Grace’s Fortune. Letters of intent also have been signed with the Ark Restaurants Corp., which is planning to open two additional restaurants, including a second Sequoia and their high-end New York-style steakhouse, Gallagher’s at National Harbor.
“This grouping of restaurants chosen for National Harbor will make this spectacular waterfront destination unlike anything this region – if not the entire East Coast – has ever seen,” said Marc Menick, vice president, retail at National Harbor. “National Harbor will become one of the nation’s premier dining and shopping attractions, offering patrons the best in food and shopping as well as fresh, sophisticated and unique-to-the-market concepts.”
Four of the restaurants have signed tenant agreements with National Harbor. They are:
Ketchup, one of the signature restaurants of Los Angeles-based The Dolce Group, whose celebrity ownership includes Ashton Kutcher, Wilmer Valderrama and Tara Reid, will offer an exciting menu of American comfort food, presented in a unique, upscale manner. Taking a cue from classic American grills, the National Harbor location of Ketchup will be designed brightly, with plush white leather booths and glowing red ball lights overhead. True to America’s favorite condiment and the restaurant’s name sake, Ketchup will offer a variety of homemade ketchups and sauces, modern twists on classic American dishes, and an exciting cocktail list.
Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante, another popular concept of The Dolce Group, will offer classic Italian food presented in an exciting and elaborate way. With a contemporary Italian menu featuring a modern mix of Northern & Southern Italian cuisine, Dolce Enoteca is The Dolce Group’s signature Italian restaurant and lounge. The National Harbor location of this famed eatery will feature a comfortable, sleek lounge and modernly designed restaurant space, perfect for private events, large dinner parties or intimate dinners.
Rosa Mexicano brings its signature style of authentic Mexican cuisine in a stylishly, festive atmosphere to National Harbor in a 300-seat, 10,000 square foot property. Setting a new standard for Mexican cuisine in New York when it first opened its doors in 1984, Rosa Mexicano’s award-winning signature dishes and crowd pleasing classics include Guacamole en Molcajete, made in a traditional lava-rock mortar; Tablones (Grilled Boneless Short Ribs Served with a Tomatillo-Chipotle Sauce, Rajas and Charro Beans), Zarape de Pato (Roasted Duck Layered Between Soft Tortillas and Topped with Yellow Pepper-Habanero Sauce), and a host of specialty cocktails like Rosa Mexicano’s wildly popular Pomegranate Margarita. With culinary director Roberto Santibañez at the helm, Rosa Mexicano has remained faithful to its traditional roots while incorporating diverse regional accents and inspired innovations.
Grace’s Fortune, a Prince George’s County tradition since 1990, this Bowie-based Chinese restaurant balances the principles of “fan” (rice, noodles, grains) and “choy” (vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood) within an authentic Chinese atmosphere. The Grace’s Fortune planned for National Harbor will be its third location and offer the same posh decors and succulent meals that have made it one of the most sought-after restaurants in the region.
Sequoia at National Harbor will be The Ark Restaurant Corporation’s second location in the Capitol Region. The company owns a 1000-seat restaurant located at Washington Harbor in Georgetown. Ark operates distinctively designed restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.
Gallagher’s with its dark wood décor, is the sister restaurant of one of New York’s great landmark steakhouses. The menu features traditional dry-aged steaks and seafood favorites prepared over its famous open flame mesquite grill. A third Gallagher’s restaurant is located in Las Vegas.
The restaurants will open as early as spring 2008. They join McCormick & Schmick’s, which was previously announced, as well as an array of hotels, including the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, W Aloft, Westin, Hilton’s Hampton Inn and Suites and Residence Inn by Marriott.
Construction already has begun on the first residences at National Harbor. Sales at One National Harbor, which will include more than 250 upscale condominiums and 40,000 square feet of first-class retail space, are expected to begin as early as this summer.
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About National Harbor
Rising from the banks of the Potomac just south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Prince George’s County, Md., National Harbor is a 300-acre, mixed-used development that will include five hotels (including the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, the largest such facility on the East Coast), thousands of residential units, tree-lined promenades with scores of shops and offices, a marina and much more. Created by Washington, D.C.-area developer, The Peterson Companies., the project will command a mile and a quarter of the Potomac.
About The Peterson Cos.
The Peterson Companies and its affiliates have had a major impact on real estate development in the Washington, DC, area for more than 30 years. The firm is one of the largest privately owned development companies in the region.